10 cm M. 10 Gebirgshaubitz (Austria) : 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment , Ziza

Austrian-manufactured 10 cm M10 mountain howitzer. Bronze rifled barrel, mounted on a box trail. Its recoil is limited by an oil buffer and recuperation is effected by springs encircling the buffer cylinder. The carriage allows a few degrees of traverse, using a handwheel on the left side of the barrel, and elevation using a handwheel on the right side of the barrel to an angle of 45 degrees. The trail is perforated along its sides with oval lightening holes. Sliding breech block. The gun's elevation handwheel retains its leather rim cover. Leather straps are also extant on the two folding layer and loader's seats. The gun has been painted overall with a khaki finish. This finish covers most of the leatherwork. The barrel is marked with the nomenclature, and the barrel weight, and the number - 123. A 100mm x 50mm rectangular brass plate on the carriage also carries the manufacturer's details, the nomenclature, and the carriage number - 58. The gun has no shield fitted. The carriage is fitted with two wooden spoked wheels - 90cm M.10 Speichenrads. The spokes fit into spoke shoes. One felloe is missing a portion of wood near its spoke. The absence of this timber shows that the spoke end had received a narrower round tenon, which had been fitted into a corresponding mortice. A wheel brake is fitted to each side, operated by a crank on the forward right hand side of the gun.

An Austrian 10 cm gun captured by the Anzac Mounted Division when the Turkish II. Corps surrendered at Zisa on the 29th of September, 1918. This gun recalls an unique experience in military history, for it was at Zisa, after the fall of Amman, that a large body of Arabs, taking matters into its own hands, was waiting for an opportunity to plunder the surrendering Turks. In order to prevent an ugly situation the Australians were compelled to allow their prisoners to retain their weapons. Then was witnessed the extraordinary spectacle of Australian troops standing to arms side by side with their former enemy against their recent allies.

At least one Austrian unit, the Mountain Division No 36, was sent to fight alongside the Turks in Palestine. This gun would have mounted an M8 Geschutzfernrohr (sight), and fired M99 field howitzer ammunition. Although the gun was considered to be modern, this ammunition was widely considered to be less than effective, and prevented the Austro Hungarian army from utilising the weapon to its fullest.