Название: New Vanguard 205 - 42cm 'Big Bertha' and German Siege Artillery of World War I
Автор: Marc Romanych, Martin Rupp
Издательство: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 1780960174
Год: 2014
Формат: EPUB
Страниц: 48
Для сайта: LitMy
Размер: 10,3 МБ
Язык: Английский
Big Bertha, Germany's World War I top secret mobile artillery piece, easily destroyed French and Belgian forts, helping set the stage for trench warfare.
In the first days of World War I, Germany unveiled a new weapon - the mobile 42cm (16.5 inch) M-Gerät howitzer. At the time, it was the largest artillery piece of its kind in the world and a closely guarded secret. When war broke out, two of the howitzers were rushed directly from the factory to Liege where they quickly destroyed two forts and compelled the fortress to surrender. After repeat performances at Namur, Maubeuge and Antwerp, German soldiers christened the howitzers 'Grosse' or 'Dicke Berta' (Fat or Big Bertha) after Bertha von Krupp, owner of the Krupp armament works that built the howitzers.