Much talk is dedicated to various armour piercing munitions, but high explosive shells are no less important for cannons. Let's take a look at the data sheet for high explosive ammunition of a 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43 gun.
"Spreng-Granate 34. Vo = 550 m/s
Without delay (o.V.): use against strongpoints, AT guns and riflemen, masses of targets, against tanks use only with impact fuse.
With delay: (m.V.): use against targets behind cover, or, as an exception, against live targets with ricochet.
Shrapnel effectiveness area:
"Spreng-Granate 34. Vo = 550 m/s
Without delay (o.V.): use against strongpoints, AT guns and riflemen, masses of targets, against tanks use only with impact fuse.
With delay: (m.V.): use against targets behind cover, or, as an exception, against live targets with ricochet.
Shrapnel effectiveness area:
- At an impact angle of less than 45°:
- Each side: 15 m
- Forward: 7 m
- At an impact angle of over 45°:
- Each side: 18 m
- Forward: 10 m
- From a ricochet, at a height of 10 meters:
- Each side: 10 m
- Forward: 8 m"
While standards of "shrapnel effectiveness" vary between nations, a quick comparison with Soviet 76 mm HE demonstrates the superior effectiveness of the latter (assuming the PzIV isn't firing from a ramp to make its shells land at a sharp angle).