Grand cannon

"The French Grand Cannon is the ultimate defensive gun, firing at long range for massive damage."

- Red Alert 2 France multiplayer loading screen

Grand cannons are special Allied defensive structures designed by France during the Third World War and the Psychic Dominator Disaster.

Background
The Grand cannon is basically a large turret capable of firing very powerful shells to an extreme range. The cannons are effective against both infantry and tanks, and would cause considerable collateral damage in the area around the target. Any lightly armoured unit that was unlucky enough to get within its range of fire could be destroyed in a single shot, which includes some infantry as well. They also do splash damage, so even when playing against an easy enemy in skirmish, a Grand cannon can kill AI basic infantry battalions with three shots at most. Their range is comparable to that of most siege units, and only air units can safely dispatch these gargantuan turrets.

Deployment history
A few Grand cannons, presumably French-built, were also found in use in the United States, namely in San Francisco and Chicago. In Chicago, the Cannons guarding the way into the city were acquired by the Soviet forces upon the city's capture and had to be destroyed by the Allies.

In San Francisco, four cannons guarded the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay against the initial Soviet invasion. During the Psychic Dominator Disaster, France authorized their design and knowledge to be shared in an effort against Yuri. Their design somehow spread beyond their intentions as such designs can be obtained by the Soviets via a secret Tech Secret Lab in their final battle in Transylvania.

Game building
Though Grand Cannons are very powerful, they also have many drawbacks:


 * The shells fired from its cannon are rather inaccurate, and will likely miss moving targets, but a direct hit may not be required, given the powerful blast the projectile has.
 * No defense against aircraft and incoming missiles.
 * Expensive at 2000 credits.
 * It is the only defensive structure to have a 2x2 foundation.
 * The structure has a minimum range of 3 cells and is affected by differences in elevation.
 * Causes friendly fire.
 * Requires a lot of power to operate.

Trivia

 * One of the Russian localizations erroneously translated Grand Cannon as "Grand Canyon".
 * A possible historic inspiration for the idea of French grand cannon fortification was the Maginot Line.

Cameos
In order: English, French, German (nearly identical to English), Korean, Chinese.