Krupp pieces in Uruguay 1907.
In the photo is a representative of Krupp in South America, a veteran German artillery officer Horst Von Restorff, presenting the Krupp 75mm L28 cannon to Uruguayan president Claudio Willman en 1907. The cannon was adopted by Uruguay in 1909. The cannon destroyed a target cannon during the demonstration at 2500 meters.
Horst von Restorff was indeed a key commercial agent for the German arms giant Krupp. He operated out of Buenos Aires but managed sales across the region, including to Uruguay.
He was instrumental in the acquisition of the Krupp 75mm L/28 field guns for the Uruguayan Army. These were part of a broader wave of South American "Kruppization" where nations like Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay modernized their artillery with German technology.
The Weapon
The 75mm L/28 was a rapid-fire field gun that was highly prized for its reliability and relatively advanced recoil system for its time. It became a standard piece of equipment for several South American infantries.
Because of agents like von Restorff or Friedrich Freiherr von der Goltz: , Krupp dominated the South American arms market before World War I, often outcompeting French Schneider and British Armstrong designs.
The differences between the Argentine 1909 and the Uruguayan 1909 Krupp guns went well beyond just the barrel length. While they are often grouped together, the Argentine model was a highly customized "special" order, whereas the Uruguayan model was closer to a standard "off-the-shelf" export design. Unlike the interrupted screw breech the Argentines insisted on for their Model 1909, The model 1909 Uruguayan had the classic Krupp horizontal sliding wedge, unlike the interrupted screw breech of the Model 1909 "Modelo Argentino".
The Krupp 75mm L/28 "Modelo Uruguayo" of 1909 was an updated export version of the Krupp Model 1903 "stock gun."
Krupp used a "stock gun" business model where they offered a standard design—the Model 1903—which could be quickly supplied to various nations with minor alterations to sights or carriages.
The Uruguayan 1909 (L/28) differed from the German "stock" 1903 primarily in these iterative updates
The 1909 models generally featured slightly improved hydro-spring recoil systems compared to the earliest 1902/1903 versions. While many 1903 exports (like those for Turkey or Romania) were L/30, the Uruguayan contract favored the L/28 barrel length, making it a slightly shorter, more mobile "cavalry-style" field gun.
The "Modelo Uruguayo"
This was largely a branding effort by Horst von Restorff to make the Uruguayan military feel they were receiving a bespoke product, even though it was fundamentally the same export model sold to nations like Denmark or Italy as the Model 1906 or 1908. The Modelo Uruguayo was a Model 1903 that had been polished and slightly shortened (L/28) for the 1909 contract year.
Photos: Caras y Caretas 1907.
Horst von Restorff was indeed a key commercial agent for the German arms giant Krupp. He operated out of Buenos Aires but managed sales across the region, including to Uruguay.
He was instrumental in the acquisition of the Krupp 75mm L/28 field guns for the Uruguayan Army. These were part of a broader wave of South American "Kruppization" where nations like Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay modernized their artillery with German technology.
The Weapon
The 75mm L/28 was a rapid-fire field gun that was highly prized for its reliability and relatively advanced recoil system for its time. It became a standard piece of equipment for several South American infantries.
Because of agents like von Restorff or Friedrich Freiherr von der Goltz: , Krupp dominated the South American arms market before World War I, often outcompeting French Schneider and British Armstrong designs.
The differences between the Argentine 1909 and the Uruguayan 1909 Krupp guns went well beyond just the barrel length. While they are often grouped together, the Argentine model was a highly customized "special" order, whereas the Uruguayan model was closer to a standard "off-the-shelf" export design. Unlike the interrupted screw breech the Argentines insisted on for their Model 1909, The model 1909 Uruguayan had the classic Krupp horizontal sliding wedge, unlike the interrupted screw breech of the Model 1909 "Modelo Argentino".
The Krupp 75mm L/28 "Modelo Uruguayo" of 1909 was an updated export version of the Krupp Model 1903 "stock gun."
Krupp used a "stock gun" business model where they offered a standard design—the Model 1903—which could be quickly supplied to various nations with minor alterations to sights or carriages.
The Uruguayan 1909 (L/28) differed from the German "stock" 1903 primarily in these iterative updates
The 1909 models generally featured slightly improved hydro-spring recoil systems compared to the earliest 1902/1903 versions. While many 1903 exports (like those for Turkey or Romania) were L/30, the Uruguayan contract favored the L/28 barrel length, making it a slightly shorter, more mobile "cavalry-style" field gun.
The "Modelo Uruguayo"
This was largely a branding effort by Horst von Restorff to make the Uruguayan military feel they were receiving a bespoke product, even though it was fundamentally the same export model sold to nations like Denmark or Italy as the Model 1906 or 1908. The Modelo Uruguayo was a Model 1903 that had been polished and slightly shortened (L/28) for the 1909 contract year.
Photos: Caras y Caretas 1907.
In the photo is the beach of Carrasco where a polygon for the Krupps was improvised. You can see the mannequins and the effects of the 75mm.
Baron Von Restorff with Mr Williman (President of Uruguay 1907-1911).
Left howitzer open fire in a maneuver with participation of Argentine and Bolivian armies. Right: General Ricchieri, Colonel Dellepiane and possibly Von Restorff, representative of Krupp Cia in Buenos Aires. This may have been an opportunity to present Krupp products to the Bolivians. Photos: Caras y Caretas 1903.
Model 1905
According to a newspaper of Montevideo from this time, the representative of Krupp attributed the following main advantages to the riffled barrel: stability and speed, releasing thirty rounds per minute. With the first shot, the carriage
brakes in the soil and avoids any jitter in the weapon change of location. The gunners sit peacefully and shoot faster in the carriage from which they operate without moving the gun protected by a large shield for operations point. The closed box of the projectiles is located next to the barrel by means of a series of steel plates arranged conveniently. Suppliers of ammunition are not less protected than Part servers. The Chief of drums can find refuge behind the shield which can raise up to three meters high to observe the enemy without increased risk. To aim, the barrel telescope is very refined. The rise is mechanically moved in any direction, only with the use of a lever. The shells explode in the air and at the desired distance, with a device that mechanically triggers the degrees. The cannon can beat enemy positions from a low position,
almost invisible, since the marksmanship is fixable from a reference point located in the rear. The Japanese acquired this model and manufactured it under license as the Type 38, 75mm.
brakes in the soil and avoids any jitter in the weapon change of location. The gunners sit peacefully and shoot faster in the carriage from which they operate without moving the gun protected by a large shield for operations point. The closed box of the projectiles is located next to the barrel by means of a series of steel plates arranged conveniently. Suppliers of ammunition are not less protected than Part servers. The Chief of drums can find refuge behind the shield which can raise up to three meters high to observe the enemy without increased risk. To aim, the barrel telescope is very refined. The rise is mechanically moved in any direction, only with the use of a lever. The shells explode in the air and at the desired distance, with a device that mechanically triggers the degrees. The cannon can beat enemy positions from a low position,
almost invisible, since the marksmanship is fixable from a reference point located in the rear. The Japanese acquired this model and manufactured it under license as the Type 38, 75mm.
Uruguayan commission at Schneider Le Creusot Plants. 1909.
The above photo and those that follow deal with the Uruguayan commission in France under Colonel Schweizer, He was the Director of the Academia Militar de Montevideo and met with the head of commerce of Uruguay in Schneider factories in Creusot, Francia in 1909 to test artilerry pieces. Along with them were the Marquis de Brantes and Count of Jugne examining the pieces.
|
|
In the photos are examples of mountain pieces. The shield is one of the first that was made in a curve.
Schneider 75mm field and Mountain gun. Photo: Caras y Caretas 1908.
Krupps, Maxims and Mausers in The Paraguayan Revolution of 1911:
The Paraguayan Revolution of 1911, also known as the First Paraguayan Civil War, was a period of extreme political instability and military conflict fought from July 15, 1911, to May 11, 1912. It was part of a decades-long cycle of unrest following the devastating Paraguayan War (1864–1870).
The conflict was primarily a struggle between rival factions of the Liberal Party:
Government Side. Led by Colonel Albino Jara (a radical liberal who seized power in a January 1911 coup) and his hand-picked successor, Liberato Marcial Rojas.
Rebel Side. Led by former president Manuel Gondra and Eduardo Schaerer.
Coup of January 1911
Colonel Albino Jara overthrew President Manuel Gondra on January 17, 1911, and was appointed provisional president the next day.
In February 1911, Adolfo Riquelme launched a failed rebellion against Jara in Concepción; he was captured and executed in March.
Following widespread rioting and a loss of political support, Jara resigned on July 5, 1911. Liberato Marcial Rojas was elected as his successor.
On July 15, 1911, Gondra and Schaerer's "Gondrist" faction launched a full-scale revolt against Rojas and Jara.
The war ended after Albino Jara was ambushed and mortally wounded near Paraguarí on May 11, 1912 (dying four days later).
The rebel "Gondrist" faction emerged victorious. Eduardo Schaerer became the 25th President of Paraguay in August 1912, marking the start of a period of relative stability compared to the preceding anarchy.
The conflict resulted in an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 deaths.
The conflict was primarily a struggle between rival factions of the Liberal Party:
Government Side. Led by Colonel Albino Jara (a radical liberal who seized power in a January 1911 coup) and his hand-picked successor, Liberato Marcial Rojas.
Rebel Side. Led by former president Manuel Gondra and Eduardo Schaerer.
Coup of January 1911
Colonel Albino Jara overthrew President Manuel Gondra on January 17, 1911, and was appointed provisional president the next day.
In February 1911, Adolfo Riquelme launched a failed rebellion against Jara in Concepción; he was captured and executed in March.
Following widespread rioting and a loss of political support, Jara resigned on July 5, 1911. Liberato Marcial Rojas was elected as his successor.
On July 15, 1911, Gondra and Schaerer's "Gondrist" faction launched a full-scale revolt against Rojas and Jara.
The war ended after Albino Jara was ambushed and mortally wounded near Paraguarí on May 11, 1912 (dying four days later).
The rebel "Gondrist" faction emerged victorious. Eduardo Schaerer became the 25th President of Paraguay in August 1912, marking the start of a period of relative stability compared to the preceding anarchy.
The conflict resulted in an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 deaths.
The Krupp battery on the left appear to be the 7.5 cm Mountain gun mounted on wooden carriages. The gun on the right seems to be a Krupp tube of Gebirgskanone type round-back sliding wedge on a 1860s wooden carriage.
The C/67, 75mm L/13 Gebrigskanone along to the previous C/64 L/13 Gebirgskanone were used by the Argentine Army in the war against Paraguay (Triple Alianza). After the war, the Argentine troops remained as occupying forces and formed the new Paraguayan army. It is very likely that the origin of that C/67 and even the carriage was Argentine Krupp stuff.
While the 1911 Revolution was an internal Paraguayan civil war, Argentina played a massive logistical role, Argentina frequently provided covert support, arms, and ammunition to various Paraguayan factions to maintain influence in the region.
The C/67, 75mm L/13 Gebrigskanone along to the previous C/64 L/13 Gebirgskanone were used by the Argentine Army in the war against Paraguay (Triple Alianza). After the war, the Argentine troops remained as occupying forces and formed the new Paraguayan army. It is very likely that the origin of that C/67 and even the carriage was Argentine Krupp stuff.
While the 1911 Revolution was an internal Paraguayan civil war, Argentina played a massive logistical role, Argentina frequently provided covert support, arms, and ammunition to various Paraguayan factions to maintain influence in the region.
The Paraguayan Army Officers, inspecting the revolucionaries arsenal. On the left a 7.5 cm L/14 GebirgsKanone 06 Krupp.
Photos: Caras y Caretas 1911.
Argentine Model 1891. This was the most common rifle in the region. Argentina had officially supplied these to Paraguay between 1901 and 1905, and many more were "lost" or sold across the border to rebel factions during the 1911 unrest.
Mauser Model 1907. Shortly before the revolution, the Paraguayan government purchased a small batch of these rifles directly from Mauser Oberndorf. Rebels famously captured these high-quality rifles to use against the government that bought them.
Turkish-Pattern Model 1903. Research suggests Paraguay may have acquired a small number of these 7.65mm rifles, which were essentially the same as the German Gewehr 98 but built for export.
Photos: Caras y Caretas 1911.
Argentine Model 1891. This was the most common rifle in the region. Argentina had officially supplied these to Paraguay between 1901 and 1905, and many more were "lost" or sold across the border to rebel factions during the 1911 unrest.
Mauser Model 1907. Shortly before the revolution, the Paraguayan government purchased a small batch of these rifles directly from Mauser Oberndorf. Rebels famously captured these high-quality rifles to use against the government that bought them.
Turkish-Pattern Model 1903. Research suggests Paraguay may have acquired a small number of these 7.65mm rifles, which were essentially the same as the German Gewehr 98 but built for export.
7.5 cm GebirgsKanone 06 Krupp
Paraguayan Army Artillery. 7.5 L/14 GebirgsKanone 06 Krupp. The crew had German type artillery pickelhaubes and artillery machetes similar to the Argentine artillery model 1909. The Chaco front, where the 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone L/13 Model 1906, it was not at all mountainous; it was a completely tropical and plain front, known as the "Green Hell".
Spanish-Independence War Artillery Survivor:
In the photo is a piece of Royal Artillery, survivor of the Spanish in South America. "Cañón Estrella or Independence War Cannon". Possibily it also was used in The Paraguayan War from 1864–1870. This muzzle-loading cannon ( 6-pounder?), is in great shape, and perfectly restored and preserved in the Museum of Artillery of Paraguarí in Paraguay. Typically this gun was of low caliber and fired spherical projectiles shrapnel at short distance. Its components are original except for the gun carriage. Wheels and cannon are 100% original. It is an example of the artillery of the independence period, to take in reference to the type of artillery of this time. Museo de Artillería de Paraguarí, Paraguari Artillery Museum.
Source: Luján Román .Photo: Sebastián Cáceres (ultimahora.com)
Source: Luján Román .Photo: Sebastián Cáceres (ultimahora.com)
