The mle 1881 used a distinctive looking gooseneck shaped box trail, was a breech loaded howitzer with a steel barrel and a de Bange obturator which used separate loading bagged charges and projectiles.

The mle 1881 was originally built without a recoil mechanism and in order to traverse the carriage needed to be levered into position before and after each shot limiting the rate of fire.

For transport, the mle 1881 could be fitted with a set of removable wooden spoked wheels with steel rims at the front of the carriage.

Site preparation included creating a 5.3 m (17 ft) firing platform made of wooden beams which took 2.5 hours to build.

Fortresses, armories, coastal fortifications, and museums were scoured for heavy artillery and sent to the front.