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Big Bertha (howitzer)
The 42 centimeter 14 L/12 (short naval cannon), or ''Minenwerfer-Gerät'' (M-Gerät), popularly known by the name of Big Bertha, was a German Empire, German List of siege artillery, siege howitzer built by Krupp AG in Essen, Germany and fielded by the Imperial German Army from 1914 to 1918. The had a Caliber (artillery), calibre barrel, making it one of the List of the largest cannon by caliber, largest artillery pieces ever fielded. The designed in 1911 as an iteration of earlier super-heavy German siege guns intended to break modern fortresses in France and Belgium and entered production in 1912. Test firing began in early 1914 and the gun was estimated to be finished by October 1914. When the First World War broke out, the two guns, still prototypes, were sent to Liège, Belgium, and destroyed Forts Fort de Pontisse, Pontisse and Fort de Loncin, Loncin. German soldiers bestowed the gun with the nickname "Big Bertha", which then spread through German newspapers to the Alli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musée De L'Armée
The Musée de l'Armée (; "Army Museum") is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides (Paris Métro and RER), Invalides, Varenne (Paris Métro), Varenne and La Tour-Maubourg (Paris Métro), La Tour-Maubourg The Musée de l'Armée was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée. The museum's seven main spaces and departments contain collections that span the period from antiquity through the 20th century. History The Musée de l'Armée was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée. The ''Musée de l'artillerie'' (Museum of Artillery – "''artillerie''" meaning all things related to weapons) was founded in 1795 in the aftermath of the French Revolution, and expanded under Napoleon. It was moved into the Hôtel des Invalides in 1871, immediately following the Franco-Prussia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Pontisse
The Fort de Pontisse () is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Pontisse was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Attacked in both World War I and World War II, the fort has been preserved as a refuge for bats, which may be visited during summer months. Description The Fort de Pontisse is located about northeast of the center of Liège. Flémalle overlooks the Meuse valley and the Albert Canal downstream from Liège. The fort was built as an irregular trapezoid. A deep by ditch encircles the fort. The principal armament w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to reassert its dominant position in continental Europe, which appeared in question following the decisive Austro-Prussian War, Prussian victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to induce four independent southern German states—Grand Duchy of Baden, Baden, Kingdom of Württemberg, Württemberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria and Grand Duchy of Hesse, Hesse-Darmstadt—to join the North German Confederation. Other historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. All agree that Bismarck recognized the potential for new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmuth Von Moltke The Elder
Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (; 26 October 180024 April 1891) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field and one of the finest military minds of his generation. He commanded troops in Europe and the Middle East, in the Second Schleswig War, Austro-Prussian War, and Franco-Prussian War. He is described as embodying "Prussian military organization and tactical genius". He was fascinated with railways and pioneered their military use. He is often referred to as Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Helmuth von Moltke the Younger (Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke), who commanded the Imperial German Army, German army at the outbreak of the First World War. He is notably the earliest-born human whose recorded voice is preserved, being born in the last year of the 18th century (1800). He m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German General Staff
The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the Imperial German Army, German Army, responsible for the continuous study of all aspects of war, and for drawing up and reviewing plans for mobilization or campaign. It existed unofficially from 1806, and was formally established by law in 1814. The first Staff (military), general staff in existence, it was distinguished by the formal selection of its officers by intelligence and Merit system, proven merit rather than patronage or wealth, and by the exhaustive and rigorously structured training which its staff officers undertook. The Prussian General Staff also enjoyed greater freedom from political control than its contemporaries, and this autonomy was enshrined in law on the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. It came to be regarded as the home of Militarism#Germany, G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Redoubt (Belgium)
The National Redoubt (, ) was a strategic defensive belt of fortifications built in Belgium. The National redoubt was the infrastructural cornerstone of Belgian defensive strategy from 1890–1940. The following fortifications and defensive constructions were an integral part of the National Redoubt at different times: * the Fortified Position of Liège (Luik) with a number of forts * the Fortified Position of Namur (Namen) with a number of forts * Fort Eben-Emael * the K-W line: a "canal" from Koningshooikt to Wavre, to defend against tank incursions * another anti-tank canal in the Kempen, roughly aligned with the outer ring of fortifications around Antwerpen * the coastal defenses as a retreat position against invasion troops The most important part of the national redoubt was a double ring of defensive forts around the city and port of Antwerp. The National Redoubt was a -long belt of fortifications built from 1859 to 1914, as the strongest defensive position of Belgiu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casemates
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" means a double city wall with the space between the walls separated into chambers, which could be filled up to better withstand battering rams in case of siege (see .) In its original early modern meaning, the term referred to a vaulted chamber in a fort, which may have been used for storage, accommodation, or artillery which could fire through an opening or embrasure. Although the outward faces of brick or masonry casemates proved vulnerable to advances in artillery performance, the invention of reinforced concrete allowed newer designs to be produced well into the 20th century. With the introduction of ironclad warships, the definition was widened to include a protected space for guns in a ship, either within the hull or in the lower part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polygonal Fort
A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerable. As part of ring fortresses, polygonal forts were generally arranged in a ring around the place they were intended to protect, so that each fort could support its neighbours. The concept of the polygonal fort proved to be adaptable to improvements in the artillery which might be used against them, and they continued to be built and rebuilt well into the 20th century. Bastion system deficiencies The bastion system of fortification had dominated military thinking since its introduction in 16th century Italy, until the first decades of the 19th century. The French engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban also devised an effective method to defeat them. Before Vauban, besiegers had driven a sap towards the fort until they reached the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Forts
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, meaning 'Italian outline') is a fortification in a style developed during the early modern period in response to the ascendancy of gunpowder weapons such as cannon, which rendered earlier medieval approaches to fortification obsolete. It appeared in the mid-fifteenth century in Italy. Some types, especially when combined with ravelins and other outworks, resembled the related star fort of the same era. The design of the fort is normally a polygon with bastions at the corners of the walls. These outcroppings eliminated protected blind spots, called "dead zones", and allowed fire along the curtain wall from positions protected from direct fire. Many bastion forts also feature cavaliers, which are raised secondary structures based entirely inside the primary structure. Origins Their predecessors, medieval fortresses, were usually placed on high hills. From there, arrows were shot at the ene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rifled
Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such grooves. The opposite of rifling is smoothbore. Rifling is measured in ''twist rate'', the distance the rifling takes to complete one full revolution, expressed as a ratio with 1 as its base (e.g., 1:). A shorter distance/lower ratio indicates a faster twist, generating a higher spin rate (and greater projectile stability). The combination of length, weight, and shape of a projectile determines the twist rate needed to gyroscopically stabilize it: barrels intended for short, large-diameter projectiles such as spherical lead balls require a very low twist rate, such as 1 turn in 48 inches (122 cm). Barrels intended for long, small-diameter projectiles, such as the ultra-low-drag 80-grain 0.223 inch bullets (5.2 g, 5.56 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counter-battery Artillery
Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements (multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their command and control components. Counter-battery arrangements and responsibilities vary between nations but involve target acquisition, planning and control, and counter-fire. Counter-battery fire rose to prominence in World War I. Counter-battery radar detects incoming indirect fire and calculates its point of origin. That location data can be sent by a communications link to friendly forces, who can then fire on the enemy positions, hopefully before they can reposition (the "scoot" part of shoot-and-scoot tactics). Counter-RAM systems track incoming rocket, artillery, and mortar fire and attempt to intercept and destroy the projectiles or provide early warning to the target area. Background Indirect fire was introduced so that artillery could f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Gun
A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railroad car, railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by German Reich, Germany in World War I and World War II. Smaller guns were often part of an armoured train. They were only able to be moved where there were good tracks, which could be destroyed by artillery bombardment or airstrike. Railway guns were phased out after World War II. Design considerations The design of a railway gun has three firing issues over and above those of an ordinary artillery piece to consider. Namely how the gun is going to be traversed – i.e. moved from side to side to aim; how the horizontal component of the recoil force will be absorbed by the gun's carriage and how the vertical recoil force will be absorbed by the ground. Methods of traverse The first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
