Big Bertha 350,000 Pounds, Or 175 Tons

created a weapon capable of firing shells at that distance which could Name destroy the strongest of forts. Seeing the possibilities of success that came with this weapon, Krupp decided to try for something bigger and better. In 1912, his company had built a weapon that could fire large shells over 16,000 feet. Unfortunately, the weapon weighed Big Bertha 350,000 pounds, or 175 tons. The size alone made it very hard for the army to transport it from battle site to battle site. It had to be By Jane Runyon moved by train in five different parts and then assembled by soldiers when it reached its destination. The army asked Krupp to design a If you are a general in an army, weapon with that kind of fire power that could be moved over roads you want to keep your soldiers making it more mobile in times of war. By 1914, Krupp had created alive. It is much harder to keep a forty-three ton weapon that could shoot a shell over nine miles. soldiers alive when they are The weapon could be carried in transport vehicles along any road. It fighting their enemy face to face. would take a crew of 200 men over six hours to put the pieces For hundreds of years, the answer together when they reached the battle site. Krupp was proud of its to this predicament has been to new weapon. The army was so happy they named their massive damage the enemy from a safe weapon Big Bertha after Krupp's wife. distance away. This can be accomplished by shooting a When the Germans began their monumental march across Europe, heavy shell from a cannon. Ships they had two Big Berthas in their arsenal. They began firing them were armed with cannons to fight on a ring of forts surrounding Liege, Belgium, on August 12, 1914. enemies across distances on the By August 15, none of the forts had escaped damage. Big Bertha water. Forts were armed with cannons to fight off advancing forces. had made a name for herself in the history of war. Shells shot from cannons could cover great distances and do great damage to men and supplies. Big Bertha Artillery weapons were used heavily in World War I. The British used 1,300 heavy guns. They fired a total of 1,730,000 shells Questions from these guns in just one week. If you were to do the math, that would be over 10,000 shells every hour. The shells that were fired were highly explosive. Bits of metal, called shrapnel would explode 1. Why would artillery weapons be favored over rifles? in the trenches. People and supplies would be destroyed by being A. They were more accurate. torn apart. Sometimes the only warning the soldiers had was the B. They could be moved faster. whistling the shell made as it pelted through the air at high speeds. C. They were easier to handle. Artillery guns were also used to propel canisters filled with poison D. They could be shot from great distances away from the gas. The Germans could deliver a deadly blow to the Allies by battle. loading a cannon with canisters filled with the poisonous load and then sit back at a safe distance while the gas was delivered at a great 2. Cannons were first used in World War I. distance away. A. True B. False In 1900, the Krupp family owned a factory in Germany. This factory made weapons that could be used by the army. Gustav Krupp, who ran the factory, was asked by the army if he could build an artillery weapon that could shoot a shell over 10,000 yards. Think about that a minute. You would have to line up 100 football fields in order to see how far that would be. By 1908, Krupp had 8. Where was Big Bertha first used in World War I? Name A. Great Britain B. France C. Belgium D. Italy 3. England used over one million shells against the Germans in a seven day period. A. True B. False 4. Which was not a reason the Germans used cannons? A. They could be fired from far away. B. They were lightweight. C. They could be very destructive. D. They could carry gas canisters. 5. What made the artillery shell a good choice to deliver poisonous gas to Allied trenches? 6. How far could Big Bertha shoot an artillery shell? A. 9 miles B. 10,000 feet C. 16,000 feet D. 3 miles 7. What would some of the difficulties be to using Big Bertha?.

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