Amiens Gun
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The Amiens Gun is a German
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 ...
(originally mounted in the battleship ) that was captured by the Australian Imperial Force during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and returned to Australia as a
war trophy __NOTOC__ A war trophy is an item taken during warfare by an invading force. Common war trophies include flags, weapons, vehicles, and art. History In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, military victories were commemorated with a display of capt ...
. The 28 cm SK L/40 "Bruno" (SK – ''Schnelladekanone'' (quick-loading cannon) L – ''Länge'' (with a 40-calibre barrel)) gun was placed on public display on 26 March 1920 adjacent to
Central railway station, Sydney Central is a heritage-listed railway station located in the centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The station is Australia's largest and busiest railway station, and is a major transport interchange for NSW TrainLink inter-city rail s ...
. While the gun's carriage was scrapped during the 1960s, the gun barrel remains on display at the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
.


Unveiling ceremony

The ceremony of unveiling was performed before cheering thousands by Major-General Lee, State Commandant. Also present was Major-General Sir
Charles Rosenthal Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal (12 February 1875 – 11 May 1954) was an Australian architect, soldier, musician and politician. He commanded units of infantry in the First Australian Imperial Force, Australian ...
; Brigadier-General Cox, C.B.;
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Kingdon; Colonel Brughe, Q.M.G.;
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Soane, A.D.C; Mr. Richard Thomas Ball, Minister for Works; Chief Railway Commissioner James Fraser, C.M.G.; and many Railway officers. Major-General Lee, in addressing the gathering, complimented all concerned in the unloading and reassembling of the gun. General Sir C. Rosenthal, speaking of the capture of the gun by the 31st Battalion of the eighth Brigade of the fifth Division, jocularly remarked that as it was a
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
n Brigade, they would no doubt have kept the great trophy for Victoria, but for the fact that they did not have the proper railway gauge there for it, and General. C. Cox added: "Thanks to our 4ft. 8½in. gauge we have this trophy permanently." The Chief Commissioner of Railways (Mr. James Fraser) remarked that he had been authoritatively informed that Great Britain had built the biggest gun on earth as an answer to the German " Big Bertha." It never fired a shot—there was no occasion for it—but it had a length of 83 ft. (25.3m), being 11 ft. (3.35m) longer than the gun at Central, and a range of 87 miles (140 km). It was intended as our answer to
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
's if the war had lasted any longer. Lieutenant George Burrows, M.C. ( and Bar) was decorated for his gallantry in connection with the capture of the gun.


The capture

The following account of the capture was given by Lieutenant Burrows. On the morning of 8 August 1918, the
Australian Corps The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 1 ...
, with two Divisions of
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on their left, attacked the German position in front of
Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borde ...
, the Australian portion of the line extending from the
Somme River The Somme ( , ; ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geologica ...
to a point some hundreds of yards south of Villers-Bretonneux. Preparations for the attack were carried out secretly along the front for several weeks before the attack. A heavy concentration of artillery was brought on to the front, and every wood for some distance behind the line concealed
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
s, ready to move forward into position, during the night prior to the attack. The
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
and tanks got into position under cover of the noise created by aeroplanes flying overhead for that purpose. A dense fog came over at about 2 am, and did not clear until about 9 am. Following a terrific bombardment, the infantry supported by tanks, attacked at 5 am, and after passing the German
front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ...
and support lines very little opposition was met with until reaching the final objective, which was the old
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
defence line in front of Harbonnieres. The attack was well organised, and came as a complete surprise to the enemy. Referring to the particular part of the front where the gun was captured, in the fifth Division sector, a section of
sappers A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, ...
from the eighth Field Company Engineers was detailed to go over with the 31st Battalion. Their work on arrival at final objective was to put out wire entanglements in front of the front line, and dig a series of strong points about 200 yards (180 m) behind the front line for the reserve companies. On arrival at final objective, east of Harbonnieres, about 200 yards in front of the front line, there was a train consisting of an 11.5in. naval gun on railway mounting, a locomotive, two ammunition trucks, and about twenty other trucks. The rear portion of the train was on fire. An Engineer officer went forward, examined the train, and found it to be in working order, and with the assistance of two sappers raised steam. Whilst this was being done the water feed-pipe from the injector to the tank was perforated by a machine-gun bullet. This was bound round with tracing tape. The burning portion of the train was detached, shunted into a siding, and the engine, gun, and ammunition trucks were brought back about 600 yards (550 m) behind the lines, to where the rails had been blown out by shell-fire. A message was sent back to the Field Company Headquarters for a party to repair the track. This was done during the night. The message also asked for more water to be sent forward. Steam was again raised the following morning and, in trying to move the gun back, the gun slipped the rear bogie wheels off the rails. There were nine lifting jacks on the train. With the aid of these the gun was got on to the track again and brought back to Bayonvillers the following morning at 2 o'clock, and a receipt obtained from the officer sent up from Army Headquarters to take over the gun. The gun was complete in every detail, ready for firing, with 37 rounds of ammunition in the trucks. Each shell weighed over 320 kg (704 lbs).


Firing sequence

The sequence of firing a round was as follows:- Load – the gun was run back on its mountings with the breech in under the shelter. In here was the ready-for-use ammunition – shell and cartridge case (German guns had the Krupp breech and used brass cartridge cases for all calibres) and the hydraulic rammer which rammed the shell and cartridge into the gun. Loaded – ready – the loaded gun was run back on its mounting with the breech end over the well between the two side frames of the carriage. Aim – the piece was raised to the required elevation which, for the heavy siege guns, was a relatively high angle. Fire – the gun fired and the recoiling barrel went down into the well between the frames with the thrust of the recoil being transmitted to the ground via the recoil pad. The barrel then dropped to the "load" position and the sequence repeated.


Subsequent events

The Capture paragraph is a first-hand account by the man who captured the gun. This account is of subsequent events. An Engineer and two sappers were on the train. The Engineer obtained a receipt for the gun from an
Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
Major sent up from the Australian Corps Headquarters. This receipt in the ordinary course of events was filed with the Field Company records. When he returned to the Field Company's headquarters two days later, he was paraded before the
Divisional General Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...
, Sir
Talbot Hobbs Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, (24 August 1864 – 21 April 1938) was an Australian architect and First World War general. Early life Hobbs was born in London, the son of Joseph and his wife Frances Ann Hobbs (née Wilson). E ...
, and was asked what had happened and how the gun was captured. He told the General, and also put in a full report. From the time he handed over the gun he did not see it again, but later on heard it had been exhibited in Paris. There was one amusing incident. He was an officer of the 14th Field Company (fifth Division), Engineers, and was on loan to the eighth Field Company only for the attack and was on loan to them when the gun was captured. After the gun had been taken behind Australian lines the O.C. of the eighth Field Company sent a man up with a pot of white paint, and he painted on the side of the gun in large letters:— Naturally the seizure of such a 'big gun' – with the bogies it weighed 185 tons (168t) – excited some interest. Besides, it was the gun that the Germans had brought up specially to shell Amiens. Well, when the announcement of the eighth Field Company appeared on it the C.O. of the 31st Battalion was not satisfied. As soon as he spotted it he sent along a man with another pot of paint, and the first announcement was painted out, and the new words painted on:— It was interesting, as well as amusing; but the fact is it was not under the orders of the C.O. of the 31st Battalion, but was under the orders of the O.C. of the eighth Field Company, although really an officer of the 14th Field Company. He added that the train consisted of engine, gun, two ammunition trucks containing 37 rounds of ammunition, two officers' carriages, and about 25 other vehicles loaded with
cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
charges, ammunition, and other war paraphernalia. The fire at the rear part of the train was caused by shellfire from a British tank, and a number of Germans were burnt to death.
Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
rounded up about 800 of the enemy in the vicinity. It was a bit exciting while they were trying to get the gun away. He was all prepared to destroy her if they failed; but all's well that ends well.


General Birdwood's congratulations


After capture

After capture, the gun was exhibited in Paris before being removed to England, via an
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
ferry. It was later taken by rail to Woolwich Arsenal for examination and finally to
Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
for transport to Australia. Transport of this weapon was a formidable task. Finally, arrangements were made to load the trophy on board the SS ''Dongarra'' at Chatham dockyard which was achieved without mishap. The ''Dongarra'', on which the gun was shipped to Sydney, was itself a war prize, being the former German liner ''Stetsenfels''. Mr. G.D. Delprat, the then general manager of
BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the worldâ ...
, who happened to be in
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at the time, offered to place the company's facilities and skilled personnel at
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
at the Government's disposal, but on the advice of Mr Shellshear, consulting engineer for the
New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...
in London, that the gun's axle loading would exceed the safe load on the original Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge, unless the gun's barrel was removed. This was agreed to. However, it was subsequently decided that, as the naval floating crane ''Titan'' was available in Sydney and was capable of lifting weights up to 200 tons, the problem was solved. So the bogies, central pivot, undercarriage and gun were unloaded in the Port of Sydney direct on the rails, at
Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
. From there, the gun was hauled to the New South Wales Government Railways'
Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops (also known as is a heritage-listed former railway workshop and yard for the New South Wales Government Railways, located in Redfern in Sydney's Inner West. It was designed by George Cowdery and built from 18 ...
, where with the assistance of Lieut. George Norman Pockett, Australian Army Engineer Ordnance Corps, all fittings and parts were reassembled. From Eveleigh the gun was hauled to Station East Box by a superheated T-class locomotive and from there pushed forward to a specially prepared track at
Eddy Avenue Eddy Avenue is a street in the Sydney central business district of New South Wales, Australia. It runs west from Elizabeth Street to Pitt Street outside Central station. History Eddy Avenue was built in 1905, during the construction of Centra ...
, via a ramp, the rails of which sank under the weight (approximately 18½ tons per axle). After strengthening, another attempt was more successful, although one bogie ran off the end and remained suspended in mid-air until powerful jacks were used to re-rail the trophy, which was floodlit at night by special arrangement with the Australian General Electric Co. for some weeks during the 1920 visit of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) who inspected it. Thousands of Sydneysiders passing the site saw the gun until its eventual movement to Canberra in 1923.


Move to Canberra

Details of this movement by rail are unknown, but must have involved partial dismantlement, if only to negotiate the various tunnels en route, especially those on the Pine Range Bank between
Bungendore Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway, Australia, Kings Highway near Lake George, New South Wales, Lake George, the Molonglo River Valle ...
and
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. In 1927, prior to the visit to Canberra of the Duke and Duchess of York (later
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and
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) to open the Federal Parliament, which had sat hitherto in
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, the Amiens gun was moved from a siding near the former power station at
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and set in position on a set of rails embedded in a concrete base, near the
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
. This task was carried out under the direction of the then District Superintendent (Mr. Reid) and involved building a spur line 100 yards long employing 40 men who were engaged by the Federal Capital Commission. The cost of the removal was said to be £500. From 1923 until 1942, one of the first things seen by the train traveller arriving in Canberra, was the enormous railway gun captured by Australian troops, the so-called Amiens Gun.


Use during World War II

The gun remained outside the station, resplendent in its camouflage paint and target for the climbing ambitions of numerous small boys until the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when in 1942 the Australian Army began to express interest in the gun. The Inspector-General of Munitions, in a request for the transfer to the
Department of Munitions The Department of Munitions was an Australian government department that existed between 11 June 1940 and April 1948. Reporting to it was the Factory Board, which was in charge of the six Small Arms Ammunition Factories, along with a ...
'for the duration' pointed out that a mounting of this type in which heavy British guns and ammunition could be test-fired was badly needed, as the stresses involved in such firings made our own coastal defence gun mountings unsuitable. It was planned to install the mounting at the
Artillery Proof Range Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, ...
at
Port Wakefield, South Australia Port Wakefield (formerly Port Henry) is a town at the mouth of the River Wakefield, at the head of the Gulf St Vincent in South Australia. It was the first government town to be established north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Wakefield ...
. The Army gave an undertaking to restore the gun and its mounting to its former condition and to meet all expenditure involved, and claimed that because the mounting was indispensable to the war effort, the Chairman of the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
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had given approval for its removal. A party of engineer troops from Kapooka Camp,
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, under command of Lieut. Colonel Warren McDonald were given the task of dismantling the gun under supervision of Mr. Rettinger of the
Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...
. Thus, the mounting was sent to Port Wakefield, presumably by rail and the bogies were sent to No. 1 Central Ordnance Depot, at
Bandiana Bandiana is a Suburb of the City of Wodonga local government area in northeast Victoria, Australia. History Bandiana takes its name from the early name for the area, probably from a First Nations toponym. The hill now known as Bears Hill appea ...
, for storage. They remained there until after the war. The gun barrel remained in Canberra.


Final resting place

After the conclusion of hostilities in 1945, the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
(in Campbell, near
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
) made inquiries with a view to having the mountings and bogies returned. The Inspector-General of Munitions in 1948 requested approval for the retention of the mounting, on loan, for an indefinite period, to which the Board acceded. In 1954, the Memorial was advised by the Department of Supply and Development that the mounting was no longer required at Port Wakefield and discussions began as to the ultimate fate of the gun barrel, mountings and bogies. These extended over some years and involved both the ACT Tourist Bureau and the Returned Servicemen's League. At one stage, consideration was given to assembling the complete gun on Mount Pleasant, overlooking the
Royal Military College, Duntroon The Royal Military College, Duntroon, also known simply as Duntroon, is the Australian Army's Officer (armed forces), officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Duntroon in Canberra, Australian Capi ...
. In 1964, the Director of the Memorial advised that the Board of Management had decided to exhibit only the barrel. This is on the lawn adjacent to the Memorial building. In reaching this decision the Board had taken into consideration the anticipated enormous cost involved in the removal of the component parts of the gun, while there was some doubt, because of its immense size and weight, as to the suitability of the gun as a whole as an exhibit in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial. Thus it was that in 1961 the bogies were sold for scrap, while the gun mountings were similarly disposed of two years later.


Two guns

Mr. Bill Crooks, M.B.E., E.D.. of
Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is ...
is clear that there were, in fact, not one, but two 'Amiens Guns' captured by Australian forces operating in France in August 1918. 1. The 28 cm railway gun, the subject of these pages, which weighed 149 tons and was subsequently shipped to Australia; and 2. A concrete-emplaced siege gun with a 38 cm (14.96") calibre 72' long barrel, one of a number disposed by the German forces for the bombardment of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and other targets. This latter was presented to the City of
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
by General
John Monash General (Australia), General Sir John Monash (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the World War I, First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade befor ...
. Both guns were products of the
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
works which specialised in super-heavy artillery for land use.


See also

* 28 cm SK L/40 "Bruno" main article for this type of railway gun


References


External links

{{commons category-inline, Amiens Gun Military history of Australia during World War I World War I railway artillery of Germany 280 mm artillery Individual cannons Collection of the Australian War Memorial