 The combatants scrambled to find anything that could fire a heavy shell and that meant emptying the fortresses and scouring the depots for guns held in reserve.It also meant converting coastal artillery and naval guns to siege guns by either giving them simple field carriages or mounting the larger pieces on rail carriages.It was in these conditions that the 210/8 was deployed to give the army high-angle heavy firepower they needed to deal with Austro-Hungarian troops who occupied fortified positions in the mountains.