Paris under long-range artillery fire

During the spring and summer of 1918, Parisians lived in fear as shells from the Paris Gun, a German weapon, reached an altitude of 40 kilometers, nearly grazing the stratosphere, before falling back on the city within four minutes.

The Paris Gun's range and impact

The Paris Gun, designed by Krupp, could fire shells from a distance of 130 kilometers, bombarding Paris from March to August 1918 and causing approximately 250 deaths. Between March and August 1918, 367 shells fell on Paris, with 256 deaths reported, including 92 during the bombing of the Saint-Gervais church on March 29.

Engineering the Paris Gun

The Paris Gun, nicknamed Pariser Kanonen, was capable of targeting at a distance of 128 to 130 kilometers, more than twice the range previously considered possible for artillery at the time. To achieve this, a firing angle of about 50 to 52 degrees was needed, sending the shell into the sky rather than directly toward its target.

Construction and deployment

The cannon tube itself weighed 175 tons, and the entire piece, mounted on its firing platform, reached 750 tons. Seven copies of this weapon were built and used during the conflict, making them the longest artillery pieces ever deployed during World War I. The firing positions, set up at the foot of the Mont de Joie in the Aisne, were prepared in the greatest secrecy, with work beginning as early as December 1917 and completed before March 21, 1918.

The first attacks and confusion

Between March 23 and August 9, 1918, the German cannons fired 367 shells on Paris and its surrounding communes. The first shell fell on the Seine quay in the 19th arrondissement of Paris on March 23, 1918. For the inhabitants, it was complete confusion, as no aircraft had flown over the city, and no alarm had sounded.

The Saint-Gervais church bombing

The most significant tragedy of this bombardment occurred on March 29, 1918, when a shell fell on the Saint-Gervais church near the City Hall during a religious service on Good Friday. The toll was terrible, with 92 deaths and 68 injuries according to the highest estimates, though some sources mention 88 victims. This event is considered the most deadly civilian bombing in France during the entire First World War.

Legacy and historical preservation

Across the entire region, the German cannons caused the death of 256 people. However, after the war, no examples of this weapon ever fell into the hands of the Allies. The German troops, as they withdrew, took care to destroy technical documents and equipment, leaving uncertainty over the exact characteristics and precise location of these firing positions.

Historical site and engineering marvel

The artillery platform of Crépy in the Aisne, classified as a Historic Monument, is a material witness to this logistics, with an octagonal chamber measuring 5.40 meters in diameter and preserving two blockhouses in good condition on either side. More than a century after these events, the Paris Gun remains a fascinating case of military engineering pushed to its extreme.