"ON THE RELIABILITY OF DATA" section is published from time to time to cover questions and problems related to the delicate subject of the reliability of data. On occasions, some questions dificult or impossible to answer.
SOME QUESTIONS ON AUSTRIAN ORDNANCE
by John E. Staufenberg
I have read that, during the Wars of the French Revolution and the Empire, the French captured a great number of Austrian guns and used them extensively. The same source mentions that the French called the Austrian 6-pounder a 5-pounder. Why is that? Could you shed some light on the Austrian artillery?
ANSWER ON THE ABOVE AND SOME COMMENTS ON THE AUSTRIAN ARTILLERY
by the EEL Staff
The Austrian ordnance used during the Wars of the French Revolution and the Empire had been designed around 1743 by Prince Wenzel von Liechtenstein and was eminently suitable. It was by far the best artillery system in service during the Seven Years War and was still in Austrian service at the Battle of Solferino in 1859. We should keep in mind that Gribeauval served in the Austrian artillery during the Seven Years War between 1756 and 1762 and was very impressed with its performance as well as the great mobility of that excellent system which greatly influenced his own artillery reforms in the famous Gribeauval system.. The Liechtenstein system was based on the Nurnberg pound which was lighter than the French pound (note 1). Hence, an Austrian 6-pdr fired a shot that weighed 6 Nürnberg pounds or 2.75 kilograms (kg hereafter) or about 6 Avoir du poids pounds but only 5.5 French pounds. The windage of the Austrian guns was higher than that of the French guns. Consequently, the Austrian guns fired a smaller shot and were of about the same caliber as the equivalent French guns.
The diameter of the bore for the Austrian and French 6-pounders and 12-pounders are given below:
| Gun | Diameter of bore | Diameter of shot | Windage | Weight of shot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austrian 6-pdr | 95.7mm (3.77in.) | 90.5mm (3.56in.) | 5.2mm (.204in.) | 2.75kg (6lbs) |
| French 6-pdr | 95.8mm (3.77in.) | 93.5mm (3.68in.) | 2.3mm (.09in.) | 3.0kg (6.6lbs) |
| British 6-pdr | 93.2mm (3.67in.) | 88.6mm (3.49in.) | 5.03mm(.198in.) | 2.72kg (6lbs) |
| Austrian 12-pdr | 119.5mm (4.7in.) | 113.5mm (4.47in.) | 6.0mm (.24in) | 5.5kg (12.1lbs) |
| French 12-pdr | 121.3mm (4.78in.) | 118.7mm (4.67in.) | 2.3mm (.09in.) | 6.0kg (13.2lbs) |
Hence, the main difference was in the weight of the shot. As seen above, the Austrian 6-pdr shot weighed 2.75kg or French pounds. The Austrian 12pdr shot weighed 5.5kg or 11 French pounds versus 6.0kg or 12 French pounds for the French12pdr. From this difference comes the French designation of 5-pounder for the Austrian 6-pounder and 11-pounder for the Austrian 12-pounder. In addition, French gun barrels are also slightly longer than their Austrian equivalents:
| Gun | Length of barrel | Weight of barrel | Weight of carriage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austrian 6-pdr | 1515mm (59.65in.) | 414kg (912lbs) | ? |
| French 6-pdr | 1663.7mm (65.5in.) | 400kg (880lbs) | 522kg (1150lbs) |
| British 6-pdr | 1372mm (54in.) | 262kg (576lbs) | 484kg (1065lbs) |
| Austrian 12-pdr | 1912mm (75.3in.) | 812kg (1789lbs) | ? |
| French 12-pdr | 2134mm (84in.) | 880kg (1880lbs) | 676kg (1490lbs) |
From the above data, it's easy to see that when the French used a French 6-pdr shot in an Austrian 6-pdr, the Austrian gun could be called a 6-pdr. However, that was unlikely because of the huge stock of captured Austrian round shots. Until 1811, when the French army in France and Germany (note 2) was completely reequipped with the Year XI system, the French extensively used captured Austrian guns. For instance, the French official returns for the French IVth Corps, dated April 17, 1809, shows a total of 48 guns and howitzers which were of the following origin:
| Gun | French | Austrian | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-pounders | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 6-pounders | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| 24-pdr howitzers | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Fully 50% of the guns of that corps consisted of captured Austrian ordnance. In 1809, the percentage was not so high for the other corps. To be complete, we should mention that some French corps were equipped exclusively with French guns. In 1809, the French Imperial Guard had been completely reequipped with the guns of the new Year XI system.
Note 1: The French pound was also heavier than the British pound. As the French pound was about the equivalent of 1.1 British pounds, the British 6-pdr was also "lighter" than the French 6-pdr and the British 9-pdr was almost as heavy as the French 8-pdr.
Note 2: The French army in Spain was not reequipped with the Year XI system and used the Gribeauval guns exclusively.
On the Reliability of Data Napoleonic Investigations
Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 2 No. 1
Back to EEL List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1993 by Emperor's Headquarters
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com