Also known as: coehorn.
| Type | Small portable mortar |
|---|---|
| Transport | Carried by handles on its bed by a few men |
| Use | Lobbing shells into trenches and works |
| Named for | Menno van Coehoorn |
The trench mortar
The coehorn was a small mortar, named for the Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn, mounted on a light wooden bed fitted with handles so that a few men could carry it. Its portability let it be brought forward into the trenches and siege lines.
From there it lobbed its shells at high angle into the enemy's trenches and works at close range, a handy weapon of siege warfare where the great siege mortars could not easily be placed.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.