The large 10.5 Cm K14 German Cannon that sits in the square in Hopewell Cape, was captured at Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917, and was won by the Citizens of Albert County during the Victory Loans Campaign of 1919 for raising the greatest percentage of monies over their set goal. They raised $317,000.00 almost tripling their goal of $110,000.00. Now that is a pretty impressive resume for a gun, but the story gets better.
One of the consequences of the massive artillery bombardment during the attack on Vimy Ridge, was the absolute destruction of the terrain, and this coupled with the rain and snow made the ground almost impassable with mud. Once the Canadians gained control of their objectives they tried to move their artillery forward but found the ground just swallowed up the massive artillery pieces. At the end of day two of the battle (April 10), only a few pieces had been moved forward enough to be of any service.
The Canadians then seized some of the captured German guns and put them into action. The 6th Canadian Artillery Brigade records sending up a heavy artillery crew to put the K14 in action. In the War Diaries of the 27th Battalion it records several thousand rounds being sent back to the Germans on the guns they captured. It is also recorded in the War Trophies Allocation Report of 1920 that the cannon was used by the RGA.
So not only was the gun used by the Germans against the Canadians, but the Canadians turned the gun around and used it against the Germans. There are not many guns in existence who fought on both sides during the war.
Now that's a story worth saving!
The Victory Cannon Campaign is raising funds to restore the two captured World War One cannons situated in the square in Hopewell Cape. These cannons were captured by Canadians during the Great War, and were awarded to the people of Albert County. You can donate online to the Victory Cannon Campaign here, and best of all you'll be sent a tax receipt! Click Here to Donate!
