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Origin and history

Semide's artillery platform is a German military structure built in 1916 during the First World War. Located in the Ardennes department, near the village of Semide, this reinforced concrete installation covered approximately 2,000 m2. It was designed to accommodate a 380 mm SKL/45 marine gun, suitable for land use and nicknamed "Max". This type of artillery, originally intended for the German navy, was ceded to the army for very long range fire, with a maximum range of 38.7 km. The platform, facing south, allowed a shooting setting of 180° in azimuth and 45° in height.

The construction of the platform was carried out in just over a month by German troops, in an ultra-secret area and prohibited to the inhabitants of Semide. A standard gauge railway was specially built from the train station in Contreuve to carry the cannon and its ammunition. The villagers only had a fleeting glimpse of the weapon, carried by night on two cars. In November 1916, after only a few days of use — during which 24 or 25 shells were fired at the stations of Saint-Hilaire-au-Temple and Sainte-Menehould — the cannon was dismantled and evacuated, leaving the concrete structure abandoned.

The site includes a 24-metre-diameter semicircular platform equipped with a pitch for the pivot of the gun, as well as two loading ramps (one for the shells, one for the gargous), both equipped with rails and winches. Six stairs lead to underground, partially concreted galleries and shelters for ammunition storage and protection for servants. The latter belonged to a special unit of the German navy, the Marine-Sonderkommando Schulte, led by the Kapitänleutnant Hans Walther Schulte. The site, hidden under a thick forest to escape aerial reconnaissance, was classified as a historical monument in 1922.

The strategic location of Semide, near Reims and Châlons-sur-Marne (now Châlons-en-Champagne), made it a key position for long-range fire. Despite its brief and mysterious use, the platform remains an exceptional testimony to German military innovations during the Great War, as well as to the adaptation of naval technologies for terrestrial purposes. Today, the site is accessible and offers an overview of the construction and camouflage techniques used at the time.

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