Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-20

"ARLY March, 1918, was period or
IL intense activity in the German
~ Army. The very air was charged
with expectancy of the big things.
The war would end during the
Summer in a glorious and complete victory
for the German armies. Hindenburg and
Ludendorff had assured the Reichstag of that
in February, The French and British armies
were low in morale. They were low in man
power, no longer able to man all their bat
teries and accessory services fully. 1t was alb
solutey necessary for them to keep the trenches
filled and certain number of divisions of in
fantry in reserve for emergencies. During the
Winter, the French had broken up nearly a
hundred battalions. They had demanded that
the British take over additional frontage, and
with nearly 100000 fewer men in his army
than year before, Haig had taken over 40
miles more of the line. Gen. Coughs 5th
Army had taken that additional section, and
stretched they were, to the point of ragged
ness, to cover it. All of this was known in the
German armies.
Nowhere there more intense and en-
thusiastc activity than down in that corner
left in the line after the retirement of early
1917 on the Somme, the corner about the City
of Laon the Laon Corner.
THE real surprise was coming, and the
laboring the slopes of the little Mont
de Pole along the Rheims Laon-La Fere-
Amiens Railway just north of the village Of
Creepy en-LaonnoiS, were spurred to greater
activity to finish all their preparations before
the orders could be given for the first of a
series of war-ending offensives The German
Army was going to give the world its biggest
surprise In the Smelling of the City of Paris
from this point.
This was made possible by the combined
efforts of DR.. Won Eberhardt and Director
Rausenberger, who, after months of weary eff
fort, had finally evolved and perfected gun
that would shoot rs miles Ludendorf was
enthusiastic about the plan had, in fact, or
dered the range increased from 60 to IS miles
after the Somne retreat had been decided upon
late in 1916 In January, 1918, after years
continuous experiments at Meppen a gum and
what was even more difficult to produce, a
projectile, were made which would fire the
requisite rs miles.
There actually was no choice of positions.
The eastern slope of Mont de Joie, in the st.
Gobain Wood, was the only possible place. This
was dangerously close to the lines and easily
within the range of French railway guns that
could be emplaced to the SOUTH the Sois-
Sons-RheimS Railway line, to the west,
the Noyon- Chauny line, or the Chauny-Anizy-
scissors line passing through the Basse Forest
de Coucy, which would afford fine concealment
for such guns. Cannon of such value as these
new long-range rifles should never be placed
within SO short a distance as seven miles of
the lines as they would be here, but the COM
bination of circumstances demanded the risk.
Three separate positions were prepared and
numbered l, and 3. Installation begun in
September, 1917, In the rather sparse and
young growth wood known locally as ia
Sapinlers" The installation track branched
from the main Laon-La Fere line, at the Creepy
station, crossed the Creepy Couvron road; and
led along the northern edge of the wood or
southern edge of partial clearing along the
main railway line Here branch was led off
to the northwest into the clearing This was
to mislead air observers. The ties for this were
laid on top of the soft ground. The main
branch passed on through to a point where
the wood was dense and the trees highest
The other two positions were nearby had
branch lines built to service them, and were
carefully camouf1aged. The concrete work was
particularly arduous to construct
All this work, which represented no small
achievement of laboring, had been under way
all Winter, and by March completed,
nearly Even before the beginning of March
the work of installing the gun carriages, am
munition and the guns themselves was buSily
under way. Men arrived daily, highly skilled
men from Krupps, battery artihcers and navy
personnel, to operate the guns All of the
work had been under the supervision of the
navy.
THE final item for assembly the gun, the
great achievement. No such gun had ever
been seen before. It had been made from one
of the navy's newest 15-inch .45-caliber rifles
but now it was almost double the original gun
in length. 1t had been tubed down to 1926
inches and the extension Of the tube beyond
the 15-inch gun made the new gun strange
looking device. This, transported on its spe-
cial car was run up to the emplacement, care
fully raised by crane, slipped through the cradle
and its great breech lug bolted to the recoil
and recuperator pstons.
Work was finished at emplacement No.