Did Artillery or Small Arms (rifles, machine guns) cause the most casualties in WW2?

(000228.79-:E-000157.73:N-:R-SU:C-30:V)   

[This is an important topic of research for me, because this also relates to my thoughts on ideas for future wars against our racial enemies. I had heard a long time ago, that mortars were amongst the deadliest weapons of WW2 in terms of kills. 

<

div>I read many discussions of which weapons caused the most kills and which should be regarded as the deadliest weapon, but this analysis by the Office of Medical History, is the most important objective assessment of which weapons caused the most kills…. Artillery & Mortars! A very important fact for the guys to remember! Jan]

Artillery.

Reference:Office of Medical History

Quote:

A report on the causative agents of battle casualties in World War II showed the comparative incidence of casualties from different types of weapons for several theaters. Compilers of the report believed that, while the more detailed subdivisions within their three major classes were open to question, their findings on the percent of total casualties due to small arms, artillery and mortars, and "miscellaneous" were reasonably accurate.

From these they drew the following conclusions:

1. Small arms fire accounted for between 14 and 31 percent of the total casualties, depending upon the theater of action:

The Mediterranean theater, 14.0 percent

The European theater, 23.4 percent

The Pacific theaters, 30.7 percent.

2. Artillery and mortar fire together accounted for 65 percent of the total casualties in the European and Mediterranean theaters, 64.0 and 69.1, respectively. In the Pacific, they accounted for 47.0 percent.

Source: https://www.quora.com/What-caused-more-deaths-in-WW2-artillery-or-small-arms