[Tell It Right]

I thought a “short round” was friendly fire that failed to make it out of camp.

[Rockingham]

The more common reference is to a short pistol or rifle cartridge, such as in .22 or .38 calibers. In such cases, the difference is easily recognized because the round is physically shorter, just like the kid "Short Round."

Short artillery rounds mean that due to an error in aiming or lack of sufficient propellant, one or more indirect fire rounds have fallen on friendly troops instead of passing over their heads to hit an enemy position as called for. In such instances, the artillery rounds though look physically the same as those that hit the enemy.