A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as (mortar) bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing
ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading with short
barrel, generally less than 15 times its caliber.



The mortar is a relatively simple and easy weapon to operate. A modern mortar consists of a tube into which assistant gunners drop a
purpose-designed bomb. The tube is generally set at between 45 and 85
degrees angle to the ground, with the higher angle giving shorter firing
distances. The bomb has a small baseline charge and no cartridge case;
for extra range propellant rings are attached to the bombs fins. When
it reaches the base of the tube it hits a fixed firing pin, which
detonates the baseline charge and fires the projectile. Some mortars
have a moving firing pin, operated by a lanyard; others may be fired by a
trigger.



9.2 Inchhowitzers of a Siege Battery in action on the Western Front WW1



American WW1 railroad artillery detachment posed on a 14in rail gun near Bassons Gironde France after the war



German artillery bombardment on Eastern Front August 1915



One of the big guns used by French against Germans in the great allied offensive Sept 25 1915



Super heavy British 9.2 inches howitzer in the Somme in 1916



World War1 3rd Battle of Ypres 1917 British  18 pounder



World War One 8 inches 204 mm heavy guns in battery on the Somme in 1916



Big Bertha super-heavy howitzer developed by the armaments manufacturer Krupp in Germany on the eve of WW1