The Cannon’s Breath
Bibliography and Footnotes
by Kevin Kiley, USA
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Bibliography Adye, Ralph Willett The Bombardier and Pocket Gunner, London, 1813
FootNotes[1] Taken from the poem The Siege of Corinth by Lord Byron. [2] Michel de Lombares, Histoire de l’Artillerie Francaise, page 120. [3] Don Graves, editor, DeScheel’s Treatise on Artillery, page vii. [4] John R. Elting, Swords Around A Throne, page 65. [5] An officier pointeur was an officer gunner. [6] G. Couttreau, Gribeauval: Lieutenant General, 1er Inspecteur de l’Artillerie (1715-1789), Carnet de la Sabretache, 1911, page 251. This article gives an excellent, brief survey of Gribeauval’s service record, including promotions, and the actions in which he served in the Seven Years War. [7] David Chandler, The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough, page 223. [8] Engineer development as a combat arm went through hard times in France, In Vauban’s time, engineer officers were usually infantrymen who were apprenticed to a senior engineer officer to learn their trade, as Vauban himself had been. The military term ‘genie’ wasn’t even used until 1715. There were four companies of miners by 1705, but the practice of them belonging to the artillery and being commanded by artillery officers, unless that officer was exceptional, eroded their traditions and expertise as engineers. The engineers became a separate branch in 1758 and the Engineer School was opened at Mezieres in 1749, but it was a select organisation of officers only until 23 September 1793 when a decree of the French government, authored by Lazare Carnot (himself an engineer officer), that made them a combat arm. There were three types of engineer troops: sapeurs du genie, who were the equivalent of modern combat engineers; miners, who engaged in the hazardous duty of digging mines and countermines during sieges and were experts in demolition; and pionniers, who did the necessary spade work. [9] See Christopher Duffy, The Army of Frederick the Great, Second Edition, page 175. The innovative von Holtzman invented the screw quion with which the Prussian artillery was equipped and which Lichtenstein later copied for his new artillery system in the 1740s. The Russians also later adopted it for their new system in 1805. A great advance over the older, simpler wooden quoin that had to be hammered into place to elevate the gun tube, it was not as efficient as the elevating screw introduced by Gribeauval. [10] Duffy, page 190. [11] G. Roquerol, L’Artillerie au debut des Guerres de la Revolution, pages 15 and 17. [12] Ken Alder, Engineering the Revolution, page 57. [13] The information in this paragraph is taken from John Lynn’s excellent study of Louis XIV’s army, Giant of the Grand Siecle, Chapter 14. [14] Lynn, Chapter 14. [15] A light Swedish 4-pounder and the Rostaing light gun were introduced as battalion artillery, and de Broglie had some of the Valliere pieces rebored in an attempt to improve mobility, but the overall performance of French artillery during the period was dismal. [16] Graves, ed., DeScheel, page vi. [17] Graves, ed, DeScheel, page 4 [18] Graves, ed., DeScheel, page vi. [19] The names of the two artillery factions was derived from the colour of their breeches. Valliere’s wanted to keep the traditional red colour, and the supporters of Gribeauval, who were generally younger and reform minded, wanted the new blue colour. [20] The tests are summarised quite well in both Tousard (pages 14-32 in Volume II) and DeScheel (pages 4-9). [21] These are continually referred to in French artillery manuals of the period as the ‘three calibre’s’ and refers to them as field artillery. The Austrians and Prussians both employed 3-, 6-, and 12- pounders in the same capacity. A few things should be noted. The French measured calibre (the diameter of the bore-usually) by the diameter of the roundshot, while everyone else used the bore’s diameter. Pounds are not equal, either. A French pound was heavier than an English pound which was heavier than the pound used by the Austrians (who had two-the Nuremberg and Vienna pounds; the Nuremberg pound being used to measure an Austrian roundshot). Hence, a French 8-pounder would be almost an English 9-pounder, and so on. It can get confusing. It did matter in throw weight, especially when artillery concentrations during the period (1807 and after) became larger. [22] This information is contained in both Tousard and DeScheel. [23] Gribeauval considered the Prussian and Austrian tubes too light, and hence not sturdy enough. Giving more pounds of metal per pound of roundshot would lengthen the lifetime of the new gun tubes which would save money and have them last longer. Apparently, the Austrian tubes would only be good for three or four campaigns and then have to be replaced. The Austrian practice of casting with scrap metal in the alloy undoubtedly was a factor in this problem. Every gun tube has a service life expectancy, even today. It is usually computed by how many rounds at full charge can be fired from it. [24] Alder, page 40. [25] Both Tousard and DeScheel contain numerous illustrations (plates) of the Gribeauval gun tubes, carriages, and ancillary equipment, including the bricole, prolonge, testing equipment (including the ingenious etoile mobile), and DeScheel has the data tables for the tolerances and construction of the artillery vehicles. There are also drawings in d’Urturbie’s artillery manual. All accurately depict the Gribeauval System and its components. [26] Alder, page 160. [27] His actual name was Heinrich Otto von Scheel, but it was ‘modified’ by the French publisher. [28] Alder, pages 153-161. [29] Louis de Tousard, American Artillerists Companion, page 98. [30] Alder, page 151. [31] Matti Lauerma, L’Artillerie de Campagne Francaise Pendant les Guerres de la Revolution: Evolution de l’Organization et de la Tactique, page 17. [32] By 1770 there were 1,200 field pieces, 1,300 gun carriages, and 2,000 caissons of the new Gribeauval System in the French inventory. See Alder, page 45. [33] Alder, pages 62-75. [34] Alder, page 79. [35] The data in the tables included in the article are in the author’s Artillery of the Napoleonic War 1792-1815 and are drawn from Adye, The Bombardier and Pocket Gunner; General Ruty’s report, graciously furnished the author by Scott Bowden; Gribeauval’s table on the gun tube data of his system as contained in Roquerol, and Frederic Naulet’s L’Artillerie Francaise (1665-1765) Naissance d’Une Arme. [36] Cottreau, page 352. The Cannon’s Breath Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval and the Development of the French Artillery Arm: 1763-1789 Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire # 81 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2005 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |