203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4) was a 203 mm (8 inch) Soviet high-power heavy howitzer under the command of the Stavka*s strategic reserve. It was nicknamed “Stalin*s sledgehammer” by German soldiers. These guns were used with success against Finnish pillboxes at the Mannerheim Line, heavy German fortifications and in urban combat for destroying protected buildings and bunkers. These guns were used until the end of the war in the Battle of Berlin, during which the Red Army used them to smash German fortifications at point blank range with their heavy 203mm shells.