Chapter 154: The Super Cannon

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In reality, Germany’s Siegfried Line did not exist entirely on paper. A part of it did indeed exist—although this part was very, very small.

But it did exist, and it looked magnificent. On a mountaintop near the Franco-German border, Germany had indeed built a high-standard fortress. The reinforced concrete was five meters thick, with machine gun firing positions and bunkers, emplacements for cannons, and an endless expanse of barbed wire.

What was even more terrifying was that this fortress was connected by railway tracks on the high ground, where two rotatable fortress cannons were deployed. These two fearsome cannons were protected by 350 millimeters of armored steel plates, and their caliber was a frightening 381 millimeters.

The reason this almost useless section of the defensive line was built here was not because it was easy to defend and hard to attack or guarded a key point, but because of its unique geographical conditions. One side was adjacent to a vast, misty forest, making it impossible to see how long the defensive line continued, while the other side was a higher mountain peak, so rugged and rocky that another position on top of it could not be seen.

At this point, I think everyone understands. This place was basically the same as the set of the August First Film Studio—a prop used to make a play look real. But when Akado accompanied Smith and the French military attaché in Germany to visit this place, the setup was still shocking.

When Smith saw a yellow warning sign with a skull and the words “Minefield” not far from where they got out of the car, they truly felt a hint of the atmosphere of war. The group followed the German officer and several civilian personnel cautiously forward, listening to the German officer boast to the Führer about the impregnability of this fortification.

“My Führer,” Colonel Friederici was the commander of the Wehrmacht’s 7th Infantry Division. His troops were responsible for the defense of this section of the border, so he naturally became the actor here. “If the enemy attacks, the defensive line before us can deploy 400 fully armed soldiers. They can repel any enemy offensive.”

He pointed to the trench at Akado’s feet, which was made entirely of reinforced concrete, and to the concealed machine gun emplacements, then to the welded triangular anti-tank obstacles not far away. “The anti-tank guns deployed in the fortress’s anti-tank gun positions can easily repel enemy tanks. The infantry will be taken care of by the machine guns.”

This was all small stuff. What really caught the attention of the French officers were the two imposing 381mm fortress cannons on top of the fortress. With two such super cannons, what a terrible price the French would have to pay for an attack? It was easy to imagine.

Smith sidled up to Akado. “Respected Führer, the Siegfried Line has always been a source of pride for Germany. You’re showing it off today for more than just intimidating the French, I assume?”

“The Siegfried Line is merely Germany’s shield. There is nothing worth showing off!” Akado said quietly with a smile, his voice low but just loud enough for the French officer behind him to hear. “In fact, it is only because we have new weapons that can destroy a fortress even stronger than France’s Maginot Line that we dare to show off our own defensive line so blatantly.”

The French officer snorted and interrupted Akado’s boasting. “That’s impossible, Mr. Führer! Our country’s Maginot Line cannot be conquered! It is the most solid super-defensive line in the world!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Friederici looked extremely disdainful, a sneer on his face.

Seeing Friederici’s disdain, the French officers became even more angry. Akado glanced at Colonel Smith beside him and pointed ahead. “Let’s go. Let’s see what kind of weapon we have prepared!”

The group hastily concluded their tour of the fortress and rushed to the railway line behind it. As soon as they got out of the car, everyone was stunned by the scene before them. They swore it was the first time in their lives they had ever seen such a massive land-based war machine. On a super-large railcar as tall as a three-story building, a cannon barrel like a giant chimney pointed to the sky. An entire battalion of soldiers was bustling about at various posts.

Friederici turned his head and secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His troops were a real infantry division. Forget about operating such a fake giant cannon; if they were given a real one, it would be a blessing from God if they could even fire it.

Akado didn’t think so. He had confirmed with Krupp over and over again before drawing up this deception plan. In fact, the entire cannon was just a removable shell. Inside was a Krupp factory 1919 collector’s edition Paris Gun, with a protective ring added to its barrel.

This cannon was indeed a weapon that Krupp had privately hidden for future counter-offensives, but it was not as powerful as the legends claimed. He hadn’t bricked it up vertically to disguise it as a chimney; he had just left it there, painted it a layer of earth-yellow paint, and bribed the inspectors, telling them it was a scrapped cannon barrel.

Since there was a real cannon hidden inside, this super-powerful-looking cannon could actually be fired. And Akado and Krupp had no intention of actually firing a shell from it, but merely to use a propellant charge to make the fake cannon roar and spit out the propellant from its muzzle. As for the sound of the firing being recognized by experts as that of the Paris Gun, there was no need to worry. The outer shell of the cannon was like a large hollow bell, so the sound would certainly be louder and more pleasing.

“My God! What is the caliber of this cannon?” Smith was stunned by the scene before him. Even for a chimney, the length seemed a bit too exaggerated. It was several meters longer than the barrel of the Paris Gun he had seen at the Krupp factory years ago, and the caliber… the caliber was something he had never even heard of.

“This weapon has just been produced and is still in the experimental stage, but it can destroy fortifications more than ten meters underground,” Akado said, pointing to the railway gun in the distance. Only he and Krupp knew that half of the levers on it couldn’t be moved, and the other half of the levers and the knobs that the soldiers were frantically turning were simply screwed onto iron pipes.

“Today, we will witness the test firing of the most powerful cannon in human history. I hope the weapons of our Krupp factory can bring peace to the world and contribute to the defense of Europe against the invasion of communism,” Akado continued with a smile.

“I’d say it has a caliber of at least 600 millimeters,” a French officer behind him exclaimed.

Friederici stepped forward at the right moment and introduced proudly, “The King of Cannons, Dora, is a giant 800-millimeter cannon that can fire a shell of over one ton dozens of kilometers.”

At this time, a Wehrmacht artillery soldier came over from behind with a tray of earplugs. Akado smiled and picked up a pair, then turned to Smith and said, “This weapon has many drawbacks. For example, the sound is too loud. So we have to take some special precautions, otherwise you’ll be in pain for weeks.”

Smith certainly wasn’t going to make his ears suffer. He graciously took the earplugs and put them in, then smiled at Akado to indicate he could no longer hear. Akado also put in his earplugs. This cannon was not just loud. Four professional special effects artists had been brought in from the Berlin film studio. It would definitely be a very realistic super-experience.

Such a grand scene was certainly not wasted. Four cameras were recording this precious firing footage, to be used in the military propaganda film The Empire’s Giant Cannon. This was a big-budget war blockbuster, starring popular male and female actors. The female lead was the popular movie star Ingrid Bergman, personally appointed by the Führer. Akado himself was shocked at the military’s arrangement to recycle costs to such an extent.

In fact, the Wehrmacht, having mobilized so many different departments, was not worried about these people leaking secrets, because the cannon did exist, and the photographers and special effects team were told that the effects were to enhance the momentum and impact of the firing. So even if someone were to claim that the cannon was fake, it would be impossible to convince anyone.

After everyone was ready, with a series of commands, the busy “gunners” began to assemble and run from the firing position. A siren echoed in the sky. Everything was set for the firing of this giant cannon.

After a short wait, the cannon finally fired with a boom. Black smoke spewed from the barrel. The entire firing position was shaken, and even the dust and gravel were vibrated off the ground. The Führer and the others in the viewing area, originally set two hundred meters away, were blown by the massive blast wave and had to hold onto their hats.

The largest cannon developed since the dawn of human civilization had let out its roar. The black smoke from the muzzle lingered for a long time. Everyone was stunned by the sheer power of this weapon. For a long time, no one in the viewing area spoke.

I really want to build a real one of these! As expected, no matter who you are, watching it fire once, you would immediately be conquered by its sheer dominance. Akado thought, watching the railway gun in the distance and starting to applaud. This was a kind of memorial, a memorial to the fact that this weapon would not appear again in this timeline, a memorial to the demise of this ultimate pursuit of the human spirit. Akado was very glad that his soul resisted this kind of weapon, otherwise, just watching this one roar would have immediately turned him into a die-hard fan of it. Once you’ve seen this thing fire, you get an urge to believe the enemy will immediately surrender.

Friederici followed suit and began to applaud. He was in charge of this mission, and now that everything had gone smoothly, he finally relaxed his tense nerves and gave a slight nod to his adjutant.

The adjutant immediately understood and waved to the distance. A command was heard, and soldiers in gas masks ran in formation toward the cannon and began to “clean up” the firing position.

Akado took out his earplugs and turned around to ask Smith loudly, “What do you think?”

Smith, who had already taken out his earplugs and was holding them in his hand, nodded and replied loudly, “A truly fine weapon.”