British Matilda II tanks knocked out at Halfaya Pass examined by Rommel and Bastico in 1941

[Admiral Beez]

The Matilda II Mk IV mounted a 3-inch howitzer in the turret for close support and was used by Australian forces in SEA, here is a preserved example at Kubinka:

View attachment 832675

That's what I'm looking for in Malaya! I assume a howitzer is capable of accurate direct fire at short range?

 

[Shortround6]

That's what I'm looking for in Malaya! I assume a howitzer is capable of accurate direct fire at short range?

Define short range?

The 3in Howitzer had MV of between 600-700fps (sources vary, but there were several projectiles).
This means a rather curved trajectory. A 2pdr will have about 4 times the practical range.
That is the projectile will not rise above or drop below a certain distance from the line of sight.
see

Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

However take certain things with a large helping of salt. Note that the two data tables do not agree with each other.