Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Fortifications have historically posed immense challenges to attacking armies. Over the centuries, they often necessitated prolonged and costly sieges - draining resources, inflicting heavy casualties, and consuming valuable time. Even with advances in military technology, by the early twentieth century, fortresses remained formidable obstacles. This began to change during the early stages of the First World War, when the German military introduced super-heavy siege artillery, most notably the massive 42 cm (17 in) howitzer, famously nicknamed Big Bertha. This weapon demonstrated that even the strongest fortifications could be breached, signaling that fortifications were no longer as invincible as they once seemed.
By the time the Second World War loomed on the horizon, the Germans had not forgotten the effectiveness of large-caliber siege weapons. In 1935, they initiated the development of a new generation of super-heavy mortars, tailored specifically for cracking heavily fortified regions like the French Maginot Line. The result was the Karl-Gerät series - massive self-propelled mortars, including the 60 cm Karl-Gerät 040 and the slightly smaller 54 cm Karl-Gerät 041. Only seven of these colossal machines would be built, but they were among the largest self-propelled artillery pieces ever created, designed to deliver crushing blows to concrete bunkers and enemy morale alike.
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Sources: D. Doyle (2005). German military Vehicles, Krause Publications.
D. Nešić, (2008), Naoružanje Drugog Svetsko Rata-Nemačka, Beograd
P. Chamberlain and H. Doyle (1978) Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two – Revised Edition, Arms and Armor press.
T.L. Jentz and H.L. Doyle (2001) Panzer Tracts No. Bertha’s Big Brother Karl-Geraet (60 cm and (54 cm)
Janusz Ledwoch (2007) Gerät 040 041 Karl Mörser Tank Power Vol LIII
J. Engelmann (1991) German Heavy Mortars, Schiffer Military History
G. Taube (1981) Die Schwersten Steilfeurer-Geschutze 1914-1945, Motorbuch Verlag
Walter J. Spielberger (1993) Sturmgeschütz and its Variants, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
J. Engelmann (1991) German Heavy Mortars
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An article by Marko P
Narrated by Sosoniaru
Edited by @battlehammerwot
Sound edited by @WhiteBatAudio
Fortifications have historically posed immense challenges to attacking armies. Over the centuries, they often necessitated prolonged and costly sieges - draining resources, inflicting heavy casualties, and consuming valuable time. Even with advances in military technology, by the early twentieth century, fortresses remained formidable obstacles. This began to change during the early stages of the First World War, when the German military introduced super-heavy siege artillery, most notably the massive 42 cm (17 in) howitzer, famously nicknamed Big Bertha. This weapon demonstrated that even the strongest fortifications could be breached, signaling that fortifications were no longer as invincible as they once seemed.
By the time the Second World War loomed on the horizon, the Germans had not forgotten the effectiveness of large-caliber siege weapons. In 1935, they initiated the development of a new generation of super-heavy mortars, tailored specifically for cracking heavily fortified regions like the French Maginot Line. The result was the Karl-Gerät series - massive self-propelled mortars, including the 60 cm Karl-Gerät 040 and the slightly smaller 54 cm Karl-Gerät 041. Only seven of these colossal machines would be built, but they were among the largest self-propelled artillery pieces ever created, designed to deliver crushing blows to concrete bunkers and enemy morale alike.
Join this channel to get access to exclusive perks:
youtube.com/channel/UC2tZSN6WSAtzKLalKbflBLg/join
If you liked this video, please consider donating on Patreon or Paypal!
Patreon: patreon.com/tankartfund
Paypal: paypal.com/paypalme/tankencyclopedia
Articles:
tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/karl-gerat-040-60-cm
tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/karl-gerat-041-54-cm
Sources: D. Doyle (2005). German military Vehicles, Krause Publications.
D. Nešić, (2008), Naoružanje Drugog Svetsko Rata-Nemačka, Beograd
P. Chamberlain and H. Doyle (1978) Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two – Revised Edition, Arms and Armor press.
T.L. Jentz and H.L. Doyle (2001) Panzer Tracts No. Bertha’s Big Brother Karl-Geraet (60 cm and (54 cm)
Janusz Ledwoch (2007) Gerät 040 041 Karl Mörser Tank Power Vol LIII
J. Engelmann (1991) German Heavy Mortars, Schiffer Military History
G. Taube (1981) Die Schwersten Steilfeurer-Geschutze 1914-1945, Motorbuch Verlag
Walter J. Spielberger (1993) Sturmgeschütz and its Variants, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
J. Engelmann (1991) German Heavy Mortars
Tank Encyclopedia Magazines and Books: payhip.com/TankEncyclopedia
Reddit: reddit.com/r/TankEncyclopedia
TE Shop: tanks-encyclopedia.com/Goodies/tanks-posters.php
Our website: tanks-encyclopedia.com
Gaming News Website: tanks-encyclopedia.com/games
Facebook: facebook.com/tanksencyclopedia
Twitter: twitter.com/tanksenc
Discord: discord.gg/3VjQ8Zq
Email: tanks.encyclopedia@gmail.com
An article by Marko P
Narrated by Sosoniaru
Edited by @battlehammerwot
Sound edited by @WhiteBatAudio
