On this day 107 years ago, on June 26, 1918 (May 18, 1918), the Germans bombarded Paris with the Berta cannon. On June 26, 1918, after a brief respite, Paris was again enveloped in bullet comments from the "Berta cannon". This was the massive 420mm howitzer that had killed more than 800 Parisians. The cannon first bombed the city on March 24, shortly after the Second Battle of the Somme. It was soon spotted by aircraft and photographed in its position. This was no easy task. The gun was movable, mounted on trains or hidden in dirt pits on hillsides. Once its location was identified, it was not indestructible. The "Behrta", which now threatens Paris, was the last of these guns, and the other three have been destroyed. One was blown up by aircraft, one was mute by ground fire on the Somme, and the other probably exploded on its own the day after use. The Allies did not produce a weapon that could rival the "Behrta". The French relied on the 75mm field gun made in 1897 to resist enemy fire. The British Mark IV tanks could easily destroy machine gun installations, but could not withstand heavy artillery fire. The "Behrta Cannon" is named after the wife of its manufacturer, Gustav Krupp. The 1,764-pound howitzer had a guaranteed range (it could be fired 65 miles), but it could not be directed. The gun was extremely inaccurate. If you range by an inch on the frame, you could actually miss the target by miles. Some Parisians believe that a church was shelled on Good Friday, not out of intention, but out of stupidity.