People hyperfocus on the distance numbers these howitzers are capable of, but to be honest given all the other long range strike capabilities Ukraine has, I am not convinced this is the most relevant use of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M110_howitzer

Where 203mm artillery comes in handy is when you need to make defensive fortifications obsolete categorically, such as in counteroffensive clearing operations. Good thing for russia this is something Ukraine DEFINITELY isn’t doing RIGHT NOW… /s

I don’t think there is much advantage to mounting a massive howitizer on a tank chassis vs building something like PZH2000, Krab or RCH 155, even if the range of a smaller artillery shell theoretically makes the artillery more vulnerable to drones or counterattack, in practice the wholistic protection of a vehicle like a PZH2000, Krab or RCH 155 far outweighs that and on the otherhand in my opinion the mechanical and logistical ease of maintaining a fleet of 6x6 trucks or 8x8 trucks mounting Bohdanas makes far more sense if you aren’t going to protect the crew with the tank armor when they are actually utilizing the howitzer.

That doesn’t mean these howitzers are useless, it means in modern combat they are combat engineering tools rather than traditional artillery pieces. I am sure they will be used for long range artillery barrages as Ukraine isn’t going to be choosey about stuff, if a thing can do it, it is likely used to do it by Ukraine (and besides they have crews experienced on the Pion which uses shells with the same diameter), but ultimately the capacity of these cannons to make the idea that a russian can keep hiding in their concrete pillbox or remains of a basement clearly absurd to the russian inside is FAR more strategically valuable.

Compare this artillery system to the Soviet M1931 which uses the same diameter shells, and note how people talk about how decisive its destructive power was.

It was nicknamed “Stalin’s sledgehammer” by German soldiers. These guns were used with success against Finnish pillboxes at the Mannerheim Line, heavy German fortifications and in urban combat for destroying protected buildings and bunkers. These guns were used until the end of the war in the Battle of Berlin, during which the Red Army used them to smash German fortifications at point blank range with their heavy 203mm shells.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/203_mm_howitzer_M1931_(B-4)

Expecting Ukraine to be able to decisively and without atrocious attrition of friendly troops clear areas of russians without tools like this is to ignore the entire history of modern combat, so it is very good that Ukraine is fielding these even if their innovation in drones and also domestic artillery production has made up in many ways for a lack of artillery given to them by foreign partners.

It ain’t a museum piece if it can make the idea of a heavily fortified position a cute little lie you tell yourself for comfort right up until you are inevitably flattened by a 203mm shell…

Note Another major use of artillery this large that is easy to miss (and still could be argued is in some way “combat engineering”) is that it creates holes so large in the ground that a barrage of 203mm shells before a ground assault can tip the scales in favor of your troops and forces by creating cover in the open area leading up to the enemies trenches with 203mm shell craters.

Every time a 203mm shell lands a new foxhole is born basically.