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Song Parodies -> "Prussians Shot at Balloons"

Original Song Title:

"I Put a Spell on You"

 (MP3)
Original Performer:

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Parody Song Title:

"Prussians Shot at Balloons"

Parody Written by:

Robert D. Arndt Jr.

The Lyrics

In 1870 the Franco-Prussian War broke out, changing the balance of power on the European continent. Prussia and its allied German states quickly destroyed or outmanuevered the French armies on the frontier and captured Emperor Napoleon III, ending his "imperial" rule. Under normal circumstances this would have ended the war. But a scratch force of militia called the Garde Mobile was raised to replace the defeated armies. This force retreated into Paris. The Germans placed them under siege. A means to communicate with the rest of unoccupied France was sought. Carrier pigeons were used to a small degree, but hunting birds employed by the Germans had a meal of many of them. Then the besieged Parisians hit upon using hydrogen balloons. These balloons worked most of the time (one ended up in Norway) and some government officials were even able to escape by such means, most notably Leon Gambetta who organized further resistance with the Provisional Government that initially met at Tours. Needless to say, the Prussians were not pleased by this development. They attempted to engage the balloons using small arms and conventional artillery, but rifles could not be aimed accurately at such an angle, even when the balloon was within range, and artillery pieces super-elevated so that they could be brought to bear on aerial targets were also ineffective. So another solution was sought. The solution reached was the design of a special gun, one specifically designed to shoot down balloons. This was the ballongeschutz, the balloon gun designed and manufactured by the famous arms company Krupp. The weapon was a wagon-mounted breech-loaded 20mm gun. The gun was attached to a swivel on top of a pedestal, allowing the weapon to be aimed at very high angles. The wagon could be moved rapidly to pursue airborne balloons and continue to engage them. This was the world's first anti-aerial gun. The Krupp gun was primitive and used simple sights similar to any rifle of the day, but it was the beginning of a field in which Krupp would dominate right into World War II. .
Prussians shot at balloons
unique for time

Garde Mobile were not through
Communication tryin’
Sent balloons flyin’

Prussians couldn’t stand it
Balloons flyin’ around
Guns couldn’t get elevation
Hydrogen balloons impossible to shoot down

Prussians shot at balloons
unique for time
Krupp surprise

It got you
It got you
It got you
20mm Ballongeschutz- POW!!!
No matter how high in the air
Wagon-mounted for mobility
French defeated now

Prussian technology
Prussians shot at balloons
unique for time
(Anti-aerial gunnery)
http://krisdedecker.typepad.com/.a/6a00e0099229e888330115713273a9970b-500wi

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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 5.0
How Funny: 5.0
Overall Rating: 5.0

Total Votes: 3

Voting Breakdown

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 5   3
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User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

WCJ - July 19, 2011 - Report this comment
Reminds me of a mortar cannon, ;-) Aiming for three fives and hitting all three! :-)
Rob Arndt - July 20, 2011 - Report this comment
Some sites claim that the gun never hit a single balloon but forced the French into night flights while others claim it did kill a few balloons- either way, it was the first Anti-Aerial weapon, not Anti-Aircraft b/c there were no aircraft around in 1870 (none that flew anyway)!!! Interestingly in WW1, the Imperial German Army had a mobile Flak version of the massive German A7V tank with twin AA cannons mounted!!!
Rob Arndt - July 24, 2011 - Report this comment
World's first AA Tank, the A7V Flakpanzer of WW1: http://fsimenel.free.fr/a7v-0.jpg

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