Hello,
I just purchased this Austrian 1915 New Years Postcard depicting their 305mm Skoda siege mortar with its crew. Now I understand the Germans used this gun against Liege in 1914. Was the 305mm Skoda gun in German service, or was the weapon still owned by the Austrian-Hungarian military with Austrian artillerymen operating the weapon, during the Battle of Liege on the Western Front?
James
305mm Skoda Siege Mortar at Liege
305mm Skoda Siege Mortar at Liege
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bob lembke
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James;
Both.
At the beggining of the war the Austrians sent some of these guns; guessing, about two batteries of two guns each, to the West Front. They were the famous Moto=Mörsern, that could be broken down and transported in pieces, along with a crane, quite quickly on internal combustion / wheeled carriers designed by one Dr. Ferdinand Posche.
While the Austrians publicised these guns widely, with AK PCs and photo PCs with detailed images, the Germans also had 30.5 cm mortars, built by Krupp, about which they were very secretive. Additionally, they gave their batteries a cover name that indicated that they were coast defense mortars, a form of artillery briefly popular in the late 19th Century, to throw off enemy MI. They were, as well, secretive about their 42 cm howitzers; German PCs on these, always drawings, were extremely and deceptively inaccurate, unlike your PC. This is why you hear a lot about the Austrian 30.5 cm guns, and little about the German guns.
My grand-father was the "Id" of the Oberkommando, III. Reservekorps, and was deeply involved with the use of these guns at the siege of Antwerp. He was very interested in them, having once been a Prussian NCO and then a Feuerwerker and Oberfeuerwerker in two regiments of heavy artillery, and I have letters he wrote my father from the battery positions of these guns as they fired on the Belgian forts. He was always vague about them, calling them "heavy artillery" and 'heaviest artillery", rather than mention their caliber, and only mentioning their throw weight in round terms in Centners, although he was shockingly candid about other military matters.
Bob Lembke
Both.
At the beggining of the war the Austrians sent some of these guns; guessing, about two batteries of two guns each, to the West Front. They were the famous Moto=Mörsern, that could be broken down and transported in pieces, along with a crane, quite quickly on internal combustion / wheeled carriers designed by one Dr. Ferdinand Posche.
While the Austrians publicised these guns widely, with AK PCs and photo PCs with detailed images, the Germans also had 30.5 cm mortars, built by Krupp, about which they were very secretive. Additionally, they gave their batteries a cover name that indicated that they were coast defense mortars, a form of artillery briefly popular in the late 19th Century, to throw off enemy MI. They were, as well, secretive about their 42 cm howitzers; German PCs on these, always drawings, were extremely and deceptively inaccurate, unlike your PC. This is why you hear a lot about the Austrian 30.5 cm guns, and little about the German guns.
My grand-father was the "Id" of the Oberkommando, III. Reservekorps, and was deeply involved with the use of these guns at the siege of Antwerp. He was very interested in them, having once been a Prussian NCO and then a Feuerwerker and Oberfeuerwerker in two regiments of heavy artillery, and I have letters he wrote my father from the battery positions of these guns as they fired on the Belgian forts. He was always vague about them, calling them "heavy artillery" and 'heaviest artillery", rather than mention their caliber, and only mentioning their throw weight in round terms in Centners, although he was shockingly candid about other military matters.
Bob Lembke
305mm Skoda siege mortar
Bob,
Thanks for the great information about these guns. I did not know that the Germans also has the same size of mortar guns. But, do you know if the 305mm Skoda siege mortars at Liege were manned by German crews, or were they still in the Austrian Army and manned by Austrian artilleryman?
James
Thanks for the great information about these guns. I did not know that the Germans also has the same size of mortar guns. But, do you know if the 305mm Skoda siege mortars at Liege were manned by German crews, or were they still in the Austrian Army and manned by Austrian artilleryman?
James
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bob lembke
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- Location: Philadelphia, PA
30.5 cm Moto=Moersern
James;
They had the Austrian crews, of course. There was a tremendous rush to knock out the border forts and allow the right wing to advance. It would have taken months to get German crews up to speed on these very complicated and novel weapons. In addition, it is unimaginable that the Austrians would have handled their most remarkable weapons over to German crews. Quite insulting.
I think that the next time Austrian artillery showed up on the West Front was in mid-1918. For most of the war these weapons were ideal for the Isonzo Front, although they also were used on the Eastern Front. My grand-father had some in Russian Poland, but I do not know if they were German or Austrian, but I imagine the former.
I will post a passage out of a letter he wrote on Jan. 3, 1915, from memory: "Well, I finally have a billet. But it is as cold as Hell; it does not have a piece of glass. When we took this town I had to use my big guns, and we broke every window in town. And I left my cute little stove in Belgium." He often referred to the "big guns" as "my guns", although they were not really his, of course, He was very possessive of them. The big guns were very useful when the Germans took some of the giant Russian forts in Russian Poland in 1915.
Bob Lembke
They had the Austrian crews, of course. There was a tremendous rush to knock out the border forts and allow the right wing to advance. It would have taken months to get German crews up to speed on these very complicated and novel weapons. In addition, it is unimaginable that the Austrians would have handled their most remarkable weapons over to German crews. Quite insulting.
I think that the next time Austrian artillery showed up on the West Front was in mid-1918. For most of the war these weapons were ideal for the Isonzo Front, although they also were used on the Eastern Front. My grand-father had some in Russian Poland, but I do not know if they were German or Austrian, but I imagine the former.
I will post a passage out of a letter he wrote on Jan. 3, 1915, from memory: "Well, I finally have a billet. But it is as cold as Hell; it does not have a piece of glass. When we took this town I had to use my big guns, and we broke every window in town. And I left my cute little stove in Belgium." He often referred to the "big guns" as "my guns", although they were not really his, of course, He was very possessive of them. The big guns were very useful when the Germans took some of the giant Russian forts in Russian Poland in 1915.
Bob Lembke
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bob lembke
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- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Survivors
James;
I do not think that the Germans had any (42 cm) after the war; they had to be destroyed or turned over to the Allies. I think the French got at least one. Of the German 30.5 cm guns I know nothing.
There was a very accurate, full-sized wooden model of the 42 cm gun in Germany, a tourist exhibit, in the between-war years; there were photo PCs taken of it (I have one somewhere) that have fooled a lot of people. I have corresponded with a German museum director that has been looking for it, or at least trying to find out what happened to it, for years.
There are, and photos have been recently posted of same, several such guns, at least the 30.5 cm guns, and possibly the largely unknown Austrian 42 cm gun, at a museum somewhere in the east, in excellent condition, perhaps in the Czech Republic, or Slovakia.
Some decades ago there was a 30.5 cm Austrian mortar at the Beograd fortress Kalamagden at the conflux of the Sava and Danube Rivers at Belgrade. I have photos somewhere. It probably still is there.
Bob Lembke
I do not think that the Germans had any (42 cm) after the war; they had to be destroyed or turned over to the Allies. I think the French got at least one. Of the German 30.5 cm guns I know nothing.
There was a very accurate, full-sized wooden model of the 42 cm gun in Germany, a tourist exhibit, in the between-war years; there were photo PCs taken of it (I have one somewhere) that have fooled a lot of people. I have corresponded with a German museum director that has been looking for it, or at least trying to find out what happened to it, for years.
There are, and photos have been recently posted of same, several such guns, at least the 30.5 cm guns, and possibly the largely unknown Austrian 42 cm gun, at a museum somewhere in the east, in excellent condition, perhaps in the Czech Republic, or Slovakia.
Some decades ago there was a 30.5 cm Austrian mortar at the Beograd fortress Kalamagden at the conflux of the Sava and Danube Rivers at Belgrade. I have photos somewhere. It probably still is there.
Bob Lembke
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bob lembke
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- Joined: 31 Oct 2004, 19:53
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Siege Guns
James;
On a different sub-fora on this Forum there is a guy (Edward Morretti? Name similar to that.) who often posts on these guns, and who, I think, posted excellent photos of these guns at the eastern museum I mentioned. Poke about, so you know the city to go to. I just saw some of his posts while looking for this thread. I will only get to my research on these guns in 3-4 years, I think.
Bob Lembke
On a different sub-fora on this Forum there is a guy (Edward Morretti? Name similar to that.) who often posts on these guns, and who, I think, posted excellent photos of these guns at the eastern museum I mentioned. Poke about, so you know the city to go to. I just saw some of his posts while looking for this thread. I will only get to my research on these guns in 3-4 years, I think.
Bob Lembke
Hi James,
You might enjoy this page!
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/30 ... er_m11.htm
Best,
Chris
You might enjoy this page!
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/30 ... er_m11.htm
Best,
Chris
The Skodas were first used at Namur,not Liege,see here
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=52253
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=52253
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bob lembke
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- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Porsche
James;
Yes, that Dr. Porsche. My father's best friend worked closely with him, and in fact his Volkswagen employee number was 1. (When he died the local Wolfsburg paper's headline simply said "Number 1 Is Dead".) I interviewed him with a tape recorder before he died, a fascinating man; he knew, well, among others, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Professor Porsche, and the Little Corporal, Adolph Hitler.
Unfortunately, I do not think that I ever asked him about this aspect of Dr. Porsche in my 1 1/4 hour taped interview. Some day I have to dust it off and transcribe it; fortunately it is in English (he worked with Ford at Ford for several years; my German was a train wreck at that time); several scholars have asked me to do this.
Sorry for the digression. It is 6 AM and I have been up for hours.
Bob Lembke
Yes, that Dr. Porsche. My father's best friend worked closely with him, and in fact his Volkswagen employee number was 1. (When he died the local Wolfsburg paper's headline simply said "Number 1 Is Dead".) I interviewed him with a tape recorder before he died, a fascinating man; he knew, well, among others, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Professor Porsche, and the Little Corporal, Adolph Hitler.
Unfortunately, I do not think that I ever asked him about this aspect of Dr. Porsche in my 1 1/4 hour taped interview. Some day I have to dust it off and transcribe it; fortunately it is in English (he worked with Ford at Ford for several years; my German was a train wreck at that time); several scholars have asked me to do this.
Sorry for the digression. It is 6 AM and I have been up for hours.
Bob Lembke
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Chris Dale
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Is this the Skoda gun in the Eastern museum you're referring to, Bob?
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=100982
Great photos.
Cheers
Chris
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=100982
Great photos.
Cheers
Chris