| “Mammoth 274 millimeter railroad gun captured in the United Sates Seventh Army advance near Rentwertshausen easily holds these twenty-two men lined up on the barrel. Although of an 1887 French design, the gun packs a powerful wallop.” A captured Canon De 274 Modèle 1917 À Glissement (“274 millimeter [10.8 inch] Model 1917 Sliding Carriage”) impressed into Nazi German service as 27,4 cm K(E) 592(f) after the Fall of France in 1940. The Heer (“Nazi German Army”) operated 6 of these guns. The gun’s crew nicknamed it “Breslau.” This gun is baaed on a French naval gun of 1887 design. During World War I, 4 of these guns were put in action; additional guns were made in 1919-1920 and put in storage and brought into service in 1939. Contrary to the date in the National Archives, this was 1 of 3 27,4 cm K(E) 592(f) cannon in Eisenbahn-Artillerie-Abteilung 692 that was emplaced at Châteauneuf, between Martigues and Marseille, in 1943. This was 1 of 3 batteries of coastal guns to defend Fos-sur-Mer from amphibious landings. This gun was painted in overall Dunkelgelb (dark yellow) with bands of dark gray-brown. After the landings in Southern France, all of the batteries were withdrawn to the interior. As they climbed the Rhône Valley with 19.Armee to escape the advancing Allies, “jabos” – Jagdbombers (“Fighter-Bombers”) of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) attacked the trains. On August 24, 1944, a key rail bridge was destroyed, and the rail gun could not proceed. The crews abandoned the guns at La Coucourde near Montélimar. It is unclear why the photo was held by the censors for 6 months. Photo by Technician 5th Class Pat W. Kohl (August 9, 1911 – November 23, 1995), of New York City; he enlisted on September 23, 1943. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0850.jpg |
| Image Size | 754.02 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2928 x 2176 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | La Coucourde |
| State or Province | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-111-SC-203308 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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