Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1919-02-14
BIG GUNS BROKE
GERMANS HEART
Capture of Great Fortress Of
Laon Due to fank Navy
Cannon.
Only Five Of the Monster Guns Were
In Action, but Enemy "heard
Thirty"-WouId Have Blasted
Frontier to Pieces.

the great fortress of Laon was
due to American naval guns mount
ed on fiat cars and manned by
naval gunners and that the navy
men would have blasted the Ger
man frontier to pieces IL the war had
continued. was the assertion of naval
railway battery men who arrived here
recently on the transport Henderson.
The appearance of the big naval
guns of the 14-inch type on the west
front was one of the most unpleasant
surprises the Germans got throughout
the whole war. they declared. There
were only five of them In action, but
they were handled with such rapidity
that the bewildered Teutons believed
there were 30 of them in France.
Mangin Gives U. S. Credit.
General Mangin. the famous French
commander in that sector, himself
credits Rear Admiral Plunkett and his
naval gunners with the taking OF Laon.
The big 14-inch guns pounded the for
tress to pieces and hurled giant shells
on railroad lines communicating with
the city. When the guns got into &C
ton they were fired every three min
utes, a speed which the Germans con-
sidered impossible In handling such
monsters. 1t was this which gave rise
to the belief Of the Germans that there
were 80 instead Of five Of the guns in
action.
| There were six more of the giant
cannon on the way to France when
| the fighting ended. They were Of the
same bore, but were far more mobile,
as the five in action could only be
| used from q pit when they had to be
fred at an angle Of more than is de-
| grees.
l See, II the war hadn't quit we
| would have shown those Germans
something about handling big guns"
\ sighed John Mason of 1884 Mason ave-
! nue.. Chicago. but we showed them
plenty as it was"
R Three of the Ave guns, the naval
gunners said. were in the American
sector in the Argonne and the other
i two were with the French. One was
Mt scissors. They had a range slightly
II in excess of 35 miles. Each shell fired
u weighed 1.400 pounds and It took 40
II pounds of T. N. T. to send 1t on its
H path kpf destruction back of the Ger
Il man lines. When the shell hit and ex-
Il ploded it opened a crater in the earth
il in which large-sized American rail-
II way box car could be comfortably In
II tered.
II Amazed the PoiIu.
III On the American sector the three
H big guns were mounted within 200
II yards of one another and were always
II fred in rapid succession. The concus-
II sion was terrific.
III The gunners told story Of French
II soldier who happened to be standing
II too near the giant cannon when they
Il were fired. When the first one was
H fred the conclusion hurled him vio-
II lently to the earth. He staggered to
n his feet just as the second one Let go.
HI and down he went again. Up he
II climbed again. only to be dashed to the
III ground for the third time as the third
II gun reared
II He got up. pale but excited. crying
II In French what in American would
Imean:
Il .sThis win end the war. This win
| finish the Germans"
II The last shell fred by the navy men
left the American lines ct exactly
81O % O'Clock on the morning Of No
/ yember II. II was so timed that Il
4 would explode back Of the German
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