| Show G GUNS BROKE GERMANS HEART isea YorK That the capture 0 the great fortress of laon was due to american naval runs mounted on flat cars and manned by nail gunners and that the avy men would have blasted the german frontier to pieces it the war had continued was the assertion of naval railway battery men who arrived here recently on the transport II enderson the appearance of the big naval guns 0 the 14 inch type on the wes fiant was one of the most unpleasant surprises the germans got throughout the whole war they declared there were only five of them in action but they were handled with such rapidity tint alie bewildered believed there were 30 of them in france mangan gives U S credit general mangan the famous french commander in that sector himself credits near admiral and his gunners with the taking of anon the big 14 inch guns pounded the for tress to pieces and hurled giant shells on railroad alnes communicating with the city when the guns got into action they were fired empry three minutes a speed which the germans considered impossible in handling such monsters it was this which gave rise to the belief of the germans that there were 30 instead of five of the guns in action there were six more of the giant cannon on the way to france when the fighting ended they were of the same bore but were far pore mobile as the five in action could only be used from a pit when they had to be alred at an angle of more than 15 de grees in long range bombardments gee it the war t quit we would haie shown those germans something about handling big guns sighed john mason of 1034 mason anve nue chicago but w 0 showed them plenty as it was three of the fic guns the mal gunners said were in the sector in the argonne and the other tao were with the french or atas at soissons Sols sons they had a rana slightly in excess of 35 miles rich shell fired weighed 1400 pounds and it took pounds of T y T to send it on iti path of destruction back of alo ger man lines when the shell ht and cx plodded it opened a craer 1 the earth in which n large clyed american nl wa box car could be burled amazed the gollu on the american sector the three big guns were mounted within yards of one another and were always fired in rapid succession the concus slon was terrific the gunners told n story of a french soldier who happened to be standing too near the giant cannon when they were fired when the first one waa fired the concussion hurled him violently to the earth he staggered to his feet just as the second one let go and down he went again up he climbed again only to be dallied to the ground for the third time as the third gun roared lie got up pale but excited crying in trench what in american would mean this will wd the war this will finish the germans |
