The Great Krupp Guns of the 19th Century,In 1866 shocking news spread all over Europe, the small kin

The Great Krupp Guns of the 19th Century,In 1866 shocking news spread all over Europe, the small kingdom of Prussia had defeated the mighty Austrian Empire and had unified much of Germany.  At the time Europe was dominated by ancient empires.  A wave of fear passed over the continent with the rise of a new and heavily militarized empire within Europe.After the Prussian victory over Austria in 1866, Prussia sought to consolidate their territory and possessions.  The Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, new very well that it was only a matter of time before the powers that be in Europe sought to undermine the new nation.  Bismarck instituted a vast program of armament and expansion of the military.  As part of this expansion, a number of monstrous siege guns were constructed by the Krupp works in Essen.  At the time state of the art guns, the Krupp guns were breachloaders, at a time when most artillery were muzzleloaders.  More importantly they were huge, and could lob a huge shell over many miles.  These guns were manned at fortifications and coastal defense fortifications all over Northern Germany.One of the largest was a gun produced in 1867.  Weighing in at 264,000 pounds, it used a charge of 148 pounds of gunpowder to lob a 15 inch shell between 1,400 and 1,700 pounds in weight.  The new gun was immediately displayed at the Paris Exhibition of 1867 as the new pride of Germany.  While to the Germans the gun was a symbol of national pride, to the French the gun was as terrifying as a Death Star.  The next year the Prussians commisioned another gun, this one over 300,000 pounds in weight, which could fire a shell in excess of 2,000 pounds.   In the mid 19th century, the Prussian big guns drove Europe closer and closer to war.  The French, who feared the rise of a Prussian Empire to begin with, used the Krupp guns as an example of why Prussia needed to be crushed.  To the French, they were 19th century weapons of mass destruction.  France declared war on Prussia in 1870.  For France the war was a disaster, as the Prussians dealt defeat after defeat to the French Army.  The Third French Empire collapsed, and the worst fear of the French occurred.  After the Franco Prussian War Germany was united under one empire.  The production of Krupp big guns solidified the German fascination with monstrous land artillery.  During World War I and World War II the Germans used various mortars and railguns that were of frightening proportions.  -- source link

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