German railway guns were massive artillery pieces mounted on specially designed railway carriages, primarily used for siege warfare and bombarding heavily fortified positions during World War II. They offered unparalleled firepower and range, compensating for their limited mobility (restricted to rail lines) by being able to transport immense weight relatively quickly. The most infamous examples were the colossal 80 cm Schwerer Gustav and Dora guns, the largest-caliber rifled weapons ever used in combat. Weighing around 1,350 tons, they could fire 7-ton shells over 40 kilometers, designed originally to breach the Maginot Line. While technologically impressive, requiring thousands of men and weeks to set up and operate, their immense size, logistical demands, and vulnerability to air attack limited their practical combat use. Other, more numerous, railway guns like the Krupp K5 (E) „Leopold” (28 cm) were more successful, offering long-range bombardment with greater operational flexibility, notably used in Italy and on the Western Front. Despite their imposing presence, the age of railway guns largely ended with WWII, superseded by advancements in aerial bombardment and missile technology.