Railway gun

The idea dated from the nineteenth century but flourished in trench warfare, when guns heavier than the roads could carry were needed. Above all surplus naval and coast-defence guns were mounted on wagons. The barrel was aimed by moving the wagon along a curved track or by turning the mounting, while on the largest calibres the recoil was taken by anchors and struts or by the whole wagon rolling back along the rails. France had the most types and calibres, followed by Germany and Britain; in 1918 American 14-inch naval guns also reached France.

In October 1916 two French 400 mm railway howitzers pierced the roofs of Fort Douaumont, which helped retake it on 24 October. In summer 1918 the Germans shelled Amiens from about 25 km with a 28 cm gun converted from a naval gun of 1904. On 8 August 1918 this train was captured near Harbonnières, and its barrel is now at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The Paris Gun, too, was brought to its prepared positions by rail.