Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-03-11
BY v. J. OLDSHUE.

M ARCH % brings with It the
nU tenth anniversary OF the be-
V ginning OF the lombard
/ ment OF Paris by Big Bertha"
the famous long-range Ger
man gun. Since the armistice. 10 years
ago, practically all the secrets OF the
Great War have been solved. hut as far
as the gun Itself or the plans from
| which It was made are concerned. Big
| Bertha" seems to be as mysterious now
as she was that bright March morning
OF 1918 when she first went into &C
| ton.
Artillery officers. however. have the
CRITICALLY pierced the veil OF mystery
with which Germany has apparently so
successfully surrounded this monster
gun. have compiled their own plans and
| specifications, and have evolved from
them what must be an accurate tech
nical picture OF the famous cannon.
| The men who served these guns. for
| there were more than one. appear TO
| have hidden themselves as eifectual!y
as their superiors did the plans and
the remaining guns themselves. A true
description seems 10 be as impossible
now as 1t was during the days OF the
bombardment.
| Germans who asserted that they
worked on the plans have provided some
partial bits OF information regarding
considered as coming from an unre-
liable source. BY a strange irony, France
| had plans for Just such gun as that
which Germany turned loose on the
| capital as a hitting companion piece 10
the great drive which she launched on
March 81.
With the collapse o: the German
army the armistice. and finally the
signing Of the peace treaty. the oppor-
tunity To examine and study Big
Bertha" was the natural expectation OF
allied officers. but when German war
stores were turned over. the gun was
among the missing.
Ludendorff, In his memoirs. places It's
FIRST position AZ having been near faon.
and credits IL with having a range Of rs
miles. There Us no doubt that the
0obain Forest, west Of LaOn, sheltered
II and another position has been placed
a. being near the town OF Ham. On the
heels OF the German retreat numerous
projectie crates were found near Fere-
en-Tarden6is. The numbers OH these
crates corresponded 10 the numbers on
certain shells which fell In Paris.
The shells fired by this great piece OF
artillery weighed IN the neighb0rhood
OF 264 pounds. Their length was l91
inches and d testimonial To the accu.
racy and care with which they were
made Is shown IN the statement that
OF the 1873 proleetiles which fell In
Paris between March 70 aud August D.
the latter the date when the big gun
became silent not one failed 10 operate
Little seems 10 be- known In regard IL
The guns mounting, though some In
cline ~ the theory that IL probably was
mounted on modified railway carriage
With the distance To Paris aud the
direction known, IL was just case Oi
blaze away and trust 10 luck that the
pfojectile would reach It's destination
Inability ~ know Whsthef or not thei,
pTojectiles were arriving IN the capital
seems 10 have given German Officers
some worry before the initial lombard
msnt until IT. vas suggested that ths
French themselves would let them know
II they were successful
The snTmise was correct. for, before
The end Of the ascend day, the news
had found It's way from Paris into ths
German lines that The projeotlles had
arrived.
The bombardment was divided Int
three phases, the first from March III
10 May ! the second May ~ Ia june
II. and the third July 10 Ia August o
April 10. the day b0mhardment wal
varied by D night performance. and 0I
Akuz4tk4Aen%& tNnese lkazE - IN r. H1Hrtsaz&