In line with this mission, the carriage was tall because it was expected that its barrel would project out over a forts parapet and use its range to provide counter-battery fire against enemy artillery.

[2] An early drawback of the gun was that it involved considerable time to prepare a firing platform made of timbers before use.

In order to traverse the carriage had to be levered into position and due to its lack of recoil mechanism, it had to be re-aimed after every shot, which limited its rate of fire.

An added bonus was they slowed recoil and didn't require extensive site preparation to bring the guns into action.

Motorization promised speeds of 8–10 km/h (5.0–6.2 mph) and although mobile, the carriage was lightly built which negatively affected its durability when used as a field piece.

During the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, 60% of the pieces never reached the front due to being damaged during transport and afterwards towing speed was restricted to 6 km/h (3.7 mph).