1.
French Third Republic
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It came to an end on 10 July 1940. Harsh reparations exacted by the Prussians after the war resulted in the loss of the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine, social upheaval, and the establishment of the Paris Commune. The early governments of the Third Republic considered re-establishing the monarchy, but confusion as to the nature of that monarchy, thus, the Third Republic, which was originally intended as a provisional government, instead became the permanent government of France. The French Constitutional Laws of 1875 defined the composition of the Third Republic and it consisted of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate to form the legislative branch of government and a president to serve as head of state. The period from the start of World War I to the late 1930s featured sharply polarized politics, Adolphe Thiers called republicanism in the 1870s the form of government that divides France least, however, politics under the Third Republic were sharply polarized. On the left stood Reformist France, heir to the French Revolution, on the right stood conservative France, rooted in the peasantry, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 resulted in the defeat of France, after Napoleons capture by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan, Parisian deputies led by Léon Gambetta established the Government of National Defence as a provisional government on 4 September 1870. The deputies then selected General Louis-Jules Trochu to serve as its president and this first government of the Third Republic ruled during the Siege of Paris. After the French surrender in January 1871, the provisional Government of National Defence disbanded, French territories occupied by Prussia at this time did not participate. The resulting conservative National Assembly elected Adolphe Thiers as head of a provisional government, due to the revolutionary and left-wing political climate that prevailed in the Parisian population, the right-wing government chose the royal palace of Versailles as its headquarters. The new government negotiated a settlement with the newly proclaimed German Empire. To prompt the Prussians to leave France, the government passed a variety of laws, such as the controversial Law of Maturities. The following repression of the communards would have consequences for the labor movement. The Orléanists supported a descendant of King Louis Philippe I, the cousin of Charles X who replaced him as the French monarch in 1830, his grandson Louis-Philippe, Comte de Paris. The Bonapartists were marginalized due to the defeat of Napoléon III and were unable to advance the candidacy of any member of his family, the Bonaparte family. Legitimists and Orléanists came to a compromise, eventually, whereby the childless Comte de Chambord would be recognised as king, consequently, in 1871 the throne was offered to the Comte de Chambord. Chambord believed the monarchy had to eliminate all traces of the Revolution in order to restore the unity between the monarchy and the nation, which the revolution had sundered apart. Compromise on this was if the nation were to be made whole again
2.
French Army
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The French Army, officially the Land Army is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. Along with the French Air Force, the French Navy and the National Gendarmerie, the current Chief of Staff of the French Army is General Jean-Pierre Bosser, a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff. All soldiers are considered professionals following the suspension of conscription, voted in parliament in 1997, as of 2014, the French Army employed 111,628 personnel. In addition, the element of the French Army consisted of 15,453 personnel of the Operational Reserve. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the Hundred Years War and these units of troops were raised by issuing ordonnances to govern their length of service, composition and payment. These Compagnies dordonnance formed the core of the Gendarme Cavalry into the sixteenth century, stationed throughout France and summoned into larger armies as needed. There was also made for Francs-archers units of bowmen and foot soldiers raised from the non-noble classes. The bulk of the infantry for warfare was still provided by urban or provincial militias, raised from an area or city to fight locally and named for their recruiting grounds. Gradually these units became more permanent, and in 1480s Swiss instructors were recruited and these men would be paid and contracted and receive training. Henry II further regularised the French army by forming standing Infantry regiments to replace the Militia structure, the first of these the Régiments de Picardie, Piémont, Navarre and Champagne were called the Les Vieux Corps. It was normal policy to disband regiments after a war was over as a cost saving measure with the Vieux Corps and the Kings own Household Troops the Maison du Roi being the only survivors. Regiments could be raised directly by the King and so called after the region in which they were raised, or by the nobility and so called after the noble or his appointed colonel. In 1684 there was a reorganisation of the French infantry and again in 1701 to fit in with Louis XIVs plans. This reshuffle created many of the regiments of the French Army and standardised their equipment. The army of the Sun King tended to wear coats with coloured linings. There were exceptions and the troops, recruited from outside France. In addition to these regiments of the line the Maison du Roi provided several elite units, the Swiss Guards, French Guards, the revolution split the army with the main mass losing most of its officers to aristocratic flight or guillotine and becoming demoralised and ineffective. The French Guard joined the revolt and the Swiss Guards were massacred during the storming of the Tuileries palace, under Napoleon I, the French Army conquered most of Europe during the Napoleonic Wars
3.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
4.
Breech-loading weapon
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A breech-loading gun is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel. Modern mass production firearms are breech-loading, early firearms, on the other hand, were almost entirely muzzle-loading. In field artillery, breech loading allows the crew to reload the gun without exposing themselves to fire or repositioning the piece. The main challenge for developers of breech-loading firearms was sealing the breech and this was eventually solved for smaller firearms by the development of the self-contained metallic cartridge. For firearms too large to use cartridges, the problem was solved by the development of the interrupted screw, breech-loading swivel guns were invented in the 14th century. The breech-loading swivel gun had a rate of fire, and was especially effective in anti-personnel roles. Breech-loading firearms are known from the 16th century, Henry VIII possessed one, which he apparently used as a hunting gun to shoot birds. More breech-loading firearms were made in the early 18th century, one such gun known to have belonged to Philip V of Spain, and was manufactured circa 1715, probably in Madrid. It came with a ready-to load reusable cartridge, patrick Ferguson, a British Army officer, developed in 1772 the Ferguson rifle, a breech-loading flintlock firearm. Later on into the century there were attempts in Europe at an effective breech-loader. There were concentrated attempts at improved cartridges and methods of ignition, the cartridge was loaded through the breech and fired with a needle. The needle-activated central-fire breech-loading gun would become a feature of firearms thereafter. The corresponding firearm was also developed by Pauly, Pauly made an improved version, which was protected by a patent on 29 September 1812. In 1846 another Paris Frenchman, Benjamin Houllier, patented the first fully metallic cartridge containing powder in a metallic shell, Houllier commercialised his weapons in association with the gunsmiths Blanchard or Charles Robert. In English-speaking countries the Flobert cartridge corresponds to the.22 BB, the first centrefire cartridge was introduced in 1855 by Pottet, with both Berdan and Boxer priming. The Dreyse Zündnadelgewehr or Dreyse needle gun, was a single-shot breech-loading rifle using a rotating bolt to seal the breech and it was so called because of its. 5-inch needle-like firing pin, which passed through a paper cartridge case to impact a percussion cap at the bullet base. It began development in the 1830s under von Dreyse and eventually a version of it was adopted by Prussia in the late 1840s. The paper cartridge and the gun had numerous deficiencies, specifically, however, the rifle was used to great success in the Prussian army in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866
5.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
6.
Asbestos
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They are commonly known by their colors, as blue asbestos, brown asbestos, white asbestos, and green asbestos. It was used in applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat and these desirable properties made asbestos very widely used. Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious and fatal illnesses including cancer, mesothelioma. Concern of asbestos-related illness in modern times began in the 20th century, by the 1980s and 1990s, asbestos trade and use were heavily restricted, phased out, or banned outright in an increasing number of countries. S. History and a much lesser legal issue in most other countries involved, asbestos-related liability also remains an ongoing concern for many manufacturers, insurers and reinsurers. Asbestos derives from the ancient Greek ἄσβεστος, meaning unquenchable or inextinguishable, the word is pronounced /æsˈbɛstəs/, /æzˈbɛstəs/ or /æzˈbɛstɒs/. Six mineral types are defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as asbestos including those belonging to the serpentine class, all six asbestos mineral types are known to be human carcinogens. The visible fibers are themselves composed of millions of microscopic fibrils that can be released by abrasion. Chrysotile is the member of the serpentine class. 12001-29-5, is obtained from rocks which are common throughout the world. Its idealized chemical formula is Mg34, chrysotile appears under the microscope as a white fiber. Chrysotile has been used more than any type and accounts for about 95% of the asbestos found in buildings in America. Chrysotile is more flexible than amphibole types of asbestos, and can be spun, the most common use was corrugated asbestos cement roofing primarily for outbuildings, warehouses and garages. It may also be found in sheets or panels used for ceilings and sometimes for walls, chrysotile has been a component in joint compound and some plasters. Amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite are members of the amphibole class, one formula given for amosite is Fe7Si8O222. Amosite is seen under a microscope as a grey-white vitreous fiber and it is found most frequently as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products, asbestos insulating board and ceiling tiles. 12001-28-4, is the form of the amphibole riebeckite, found primarily in southern Africa
7.
Mushroom
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A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. These gills produce microscopic spores that help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface, by extension, the term mushroom can also designate the entire fungus when in culture, the thallus of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms, or the species itself. Identifying mushrooms requires an understanding of their macroscopic structure. Their spores, called basidiospores, are produced on the gills, at the microscopic level the basidiospores are shot off basidia and then fall between the gills in the dead air space. As a result, for most mushrooms, if the cap is cut off and placed gill-side-down overnight, the color of the powdery print, called a spore print, is used to help classify mushrooms and can help to identify them. Spore print colors include white, brown, black, purple-brown, pink, yellow, and creamy, but almost never blue, green, or red. The presence of juices upon breaking, bruising reactions, odors, tastes, shades of color, habitat, habit, tasting and smelling mushrooms carries its own hazards because of poisons and allergens. Chemical tests are used for some genera. In general, identification to genus can often be accomplished in the using a local mushroom guide. However, over-mature specimens lose features and cease producing spores, many novices have mistaken humid water marks on paper for white spore prints, or discolored paper from oozing liquids on lamella edges for colored spored prints. Typical mushrooms are the bodies of members of the order Agaricales, whose type genus is Agaricus and type species is the field mushroom. Other mushrooms are not gilled, so the mushroom is loosely used. Some have pores underneath, others have spines, such as the mushroom and other tooth fungi. Mushroom has been used for polypores, puffballs, jelly fungi, coral fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, thus, the term is more one of common application to macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies than one having precise taxonomic meaning. Approximately 14,000 species of mushrooms are described, the terms mushroom and toadstool go back centuries and were never precisely defined, nor was there consensus on application. Between 1400 and 1600 AD, the terms mushrom, mushrum, muscheron, mousheroms, mussheron, the term mushroom and its variations may have been derived from the French word mousseron in reference to moss. However, delineation between edible and poisonous fungi is not clear-cut, so a mushroom may be edible, poisonous, cultural or social phobias of mushrooms and fungi may be related. The term fungophobia was coined by William Delisle Hay of England, the word toadstool has apparent analogies in Dutch paddestoel and German Krötenschwamm
8.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
9.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
10.
Welin breech block
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The Welin breech block was a revolutionary stepped, interrupted thread design for locking artillery breeches, invented by Axel Welin in 1889 or 1890. Shortly after, Vickers acquired the British patents, the breech block incorporated a screw design with multiple steps of threads of progressively increasing radius, each step occupying the same circular sector. Each step engaged with its matching thread cut in the gun breech when inserted and rotated and it was also simpler and more secure.5 inches. Rifled breech loader YouTube video showing Welin breech mechanism Royal New Zealand Artillery Association, Breech Mechanisms
11.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
12.
De Bange 90 mm cannon
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The De Bange 90 mm cannon was a type of field artillery piece developed in France by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange in 1877, and adopted by the French Army that same year. It superseded the earlier Reffye cannon and the Lahitolle 95 mm cannon, the cannon was breech loading and used the original mushroom-shaped obturator system developed by de Bange, allowing to properly seal the breech during each firing. The cannon lacked a system, meaning that the entire carriage moved backward when fired. Before firing again, the cannon had to be moved back into position and re-aimed and this would remain a problem with all artillery pieces until the development of the Canon de 75 in 1897. It was superseded by the Canon de 75 and they were replaced in these units by Ordnance BLC15 pounder guns, when second-line units were re-equipped with Ordnance QF18 pounders. France donated 100 of these cannons in 1940 during Winter War between Finland and Soviet Union, only 24 guns arrived before the end of the war and rest during the Interim Peace. When Continuation War begun 84 guns were issued to fortification and coastal units, finnish troops fired more than 174000 shots with these cannons during Continuation War and last shots in battle were fired as late as in June 1944
13.
Field artillery
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Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and this was in contrast to horse artillery, whose emphasis on speed while supporting cavalry units necessitated lighter guns and crews riding on horseback. Modern artillery has also advanced to rapidly deployable wheeled and tracked vehicles, thus, their role was limited to such functions as breaking sieges. Following the beginning of the era, the first field artillery came into being as metallurgy allowed thinner cannon barrels to withstand the explosive forces without bursting. However, there was still a risk of the constant changes of the battlefield conspiring to leave behind slow-moving artillery units - either on the advance, or more dangerously. Artillery units were particularly vulnerable to assault by light cavalry, which were used in this role. Only with a number of inventions, did the concept of field artillery really take off. One of the earliest documented uses of field artillery is found in the 14th-century Ming Dynasty treatise Huolongjing, the text describes a Chinese cannon called a thousand ball thunder cannon, manufactured of bronze and fastened with wheels. The book also describes another mobile form of artillery called a barbarian attacking cannon consisting of an attached to a two-wheel carriage. Before World War I, field artillery batteries fired directly at visible targets measured in distances of meters. Today, modern field batteries measure targets in kilometers and miles, most field artillery situations require indirect fire due to weather, terrain, night-time conditions, distance or other obstacles. Modern field artillery has three sections, All batteries have a Fire Support Man, Fire Direction Control. The FOs are forward with the infantry where they can see the targets and they call the FDC on the radio and transmit a request for fire in the format of CFF. The FDC calculates the CFF and send a deflection and elevation to the gun line, the gun line cranks the specified elevation and deflection on the howitzers, punch the artillery shell followed by the bag. Depending on the CFF, the gunline will fire the round when they are ready or when the FO calls and tells them to fire, the FO spots the round and sends a correction back to the FDC and the process starts all over again until its done. The batteries are many kilometres behind the FLOT and they plan a location where they can be Fire Capability for some certain amount of time and do multiple fire missions before needing to displace. In normal operations the FOs locate targets and transmits the CFF to the FDCs and they can also calculate defensive fire tasks. Because the calculations have already been done, the fire can be called down very quickly when it is needed, the advance party consists of the battery commander, his driver, first sergeant, gunnery sergeant, FDC guide, gun guides, and communications representatives
14.
De Bange 80 mm cannon
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The De Bange 80mm cannon was a type of field artillery piece. It developed in France by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange in 1877 and it superseded the earlier Reffye cannon and the Lahitolle 95mm cannon. De Bange also manufactured another cannon of a similar size. The cannon was breech loading and used the original mushroom-shaped obturator system developed by de Bange, the cannon still had an important recoil, meaning that it moved backward at each firing, necessitating re-aiming every time, which considerably slowed the rate of firing. This would remain a problem with all artillery pieces until the development of the recoilless Canon de 75 in 1897, media related to De Bange 80mm cannon at Wikimedia Commons
15.
Mountain gun
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Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are similar to infantry support guns, and are capable of being broken down into smaller loads. Due to their ability to be broken down into smaller packages, during the American Civil War these small portable guns were widely used and were called mountain howitzers. Mountain guns are largely outdated, their role being filled by mortars, multiple rocket launchers, recoilless rifles, most modern artillery is manufactured from light-weight materials and can be transported fully assembled by helicopters
16.
De Bange 155 mm cannon
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The de Bange 155 mm long cannon mle.1877 was the French artillery piece that debuted the 155 mm caliber in widespread use today. Although obsolete by the beginning of World War I, the 155 L was nonetheless pressed into service, drawing from the experiences of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, a French artillery committee met on 2 February 1874 to discuss new models for the French fortress and siege artillery. Among them was a piece in the 14 to 16 cm caliber range, after several meetings, on 16 April 1874 the committee settled on the 15.5 cm caliber. In the subsequent program-letter of the committee, dating from 21 April, three different 155 mm prototypes were tested in Calais in 1876. The winner was Charles de Banges model, and the French government ordered the first 300 pieces in November 1877, in common with the other de Bange cannons, the 155 L had a hooped steel construction with gain-twist rifling. In its original conception, the cannon required a platform from which to fire. Its recoil was absorbed simply by friction with the platform, in 1883, the Saint-Chamond hydraulic brake was introduced to better absorb recoil. This brake was a piece of equipment that anchored the cannons carriage to the firing platform. Approximately 1,400 pieces of 155 L were built in the 19th century, most were placed in Frances numerous fortresses of the time, most notably at Toul, Belfort, and Verdun. In 1882, about 200 pieces of 155 L were retained for operations as siege artillery. In this role, each 155 L gun was drawn by ten horses, at the turn of the century the de Bange cannons were rendered obsolete by the newer quick-firing guns using the French 75 recoil system, in which only the tube recoiled. Besides the technical issue, the French armys doctrine at the time emphasizing mobility—75 for everything had become its universal mantra for field artillery. The 155 mm de Bange was therefore retained in forts and in reserve. On 2 August 1914, the French army had 1,392 pieces of 155 L de Bange, either in depots or in fixed positions, not a single one was part of the equipment of a mobile unit. On the eve of World War I, a typical French army corps was equipped with 120 75-mm cannons, while its German counterpart had 108 77-mm,36 105-mm, and 16 150-mm pieces. The first engagement of the 155 L was probably by the 8th Foot Artillery Regiment firing from place fortifiée dÉpinal during the Battle of the Mortagne on August 27, the first artillery duels of the war quickly convinced the French of their inferiority in heavy artillery relative to the Germans. Thus it was necessary to enhance the mobility of their 155 mm guns. In October 1914, a program was started to fit the 155 L wheels with a system of metallic soles, the use of this system—known as cingoli or Bonagente wheel belts after the name of their Italian inventor—eliminated the laborious construction of wooden platforms
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
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Recoil
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Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it is discharged. To apply this counter-recoiling force, modern mounted guns may employ recoil buffering comprising springs and hydraulic recoil mechanisms, early cannons used systems of ropes along with rolling or sliding friction to provide forces to slow the recoiling cannon to a stop. Recoil buffering allows the maximum counter-recoil force to be lowered so that strength limitations of the gun mount are not exceeded, however, the same pressures acting on the base of the projectile are acting on the rear face of the gun chamber, accelerating the gun rearward during firing. This results in the required counter-recoiling force being proportionally lower, modern cannons also employ muzzle brakes very effectively to redirect some of the propellant gasses rearward after projectile exit. This provides a force to the barrel, allowing the buffering system. The same physics affecting recoil in mounted guns and cannons applies to hand-held guns, hands, arms and shoulders have considerable strength and elasticity for this purpose, up to certain practical limits. For this reason, establishing recoil safety standards for small arms remains challenging, a change in momentum of a mass requires a force, according to Newtons first law, known as the law of inertia, inertia simply being another term for mass. That force, applied to a mass, creates an acceleration, according to Newtons second law, the law of momentum -- changing the velocity of the mass changes its momentum. It is important to understand at this point that velocity is not simply speed, velocity is the speed of a mass in a particular direction. In a very technical sense, speed is a scalar, a magnitude, in summation, the total momentum of the system equals zero, surprisingly just as it did before the trigger was pulled. There are two conservation laws at work when a gun is fired, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy, recoil is explained by the law of conservation of momentum, and so it is easier to discuss it separately from energy. The nature of the process is determined by the force of the expanding gases in the barrel upon the gun. It is also determined by the force applied to the gun. The recoil force only acts during the time that the ejecta are still in the barrel of the gun, except for the case of zero-recoil, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force but lasts for a longer time. Since the recoil force and the force are not matched. In the zero-recoil case, the two forces are matched and the gun will not move when fired. In most cases, a gun is very close to a free-recoil condition, an example of near zero-recoil would be a gun securely clamped to a massive or well-anchored table, or supported from behind by a massive wall. For example, placing the butt of a large caliber gun directly against a wall, the recoil of a firearm, whether large or small, is a result of the law of conservation of momentum
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Serbia
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Relative to its territory, it is a diverse country distinguished by a transitional character, situated along cultural, geographic, climatic. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents, and its capital, Belgrade, following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Serbs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and the Byzantine Empire in 1217, in the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the regions first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro which dissolved peacefully in 2006, in 2008 the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community. Serbia is a member of organizations such as the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC. An EU membership candidate since 2012, Serbia has been negotiating its EU accession since January 2014, the country is acceding to the WTO and is a militarily neutral state. Serbia is an income economy with dominant service sector, followed by the industrial sector. The country ranks high on the Social Progress Index as well as the Global Peace Index, relatively high on the Human Development Index, located at the crossroads between Central and Southern Europe, Serbia is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of 88,361 km2, which places it at 113th place in the world, with Kosovo excluded, the area is 77,474 km2. Its total border length amounts to 2,027 km, all of Kosovos border with Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro are under control of the Kosovo border police. The Pannonian Plain covers the third of the country while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The terrain of the part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart. Mountains dominate the third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina, the Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia. Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system, elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at 2,169 metres to the lowest point of just 17 metres near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube, the climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
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Versailles, Yvelines
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According to the 2008 census, the population of the city is 88,641 inhabitants, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975. A new town, founded by the will of King Louis XIV, it was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of city, it became the préfecture of Seine-et-Oise département in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968. Versailles is historically known for numerous treaties such as the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and this word formation is similar to Latin seminare which gave French semailles. From May 1682, when Louis XIV moved the court and government permanently to Versailles, until his death in September 1715, during the various periods when government affairs were conducted from Versailles, Paris remained the official capital of France. Versailles was made the préfecture of the Seine-et-Oise département at its inception in March 1790, Versailles was made the préfecture of the Yvelines département, the largest chunk of the former Seine-et-Oise. At the 2006 census the Yvelines had 1,395,804 inhabitants, Versailles is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese which was created in 1790. The diocese of Versailles is subordinate to the archdiocese of Paris, in 1975, Versailles was made the seat of a Court of Appeal whose jurisdiction covers the western suburbs of Paris. Since 1972, Versailles has been the seat of one of Frances 30 nationwide académies of the Ministry of National Education. Versailles is also an important node for the French army, a tradition going back to the monarchy with, for instance, the palace of Versailles is in the out-skirts of the city. Versailles is located 17.1 km west-southwest from the centre of Paris, the city of Versailles has an area of 26.18 km2, which is a quarter of the area of the city of Paris. In 1989, Versailles had a density of 3, 344/km2, whereas Paris had a density of 20. Born out of the will of a king, the city has a rational and symmetrical grid of streets, by the standards of the 18th century, Versailles was a very modern European city. Versailles was used as a model for the building of Washington, the name of Versailles appears for the first time in a medieval document dated 1038. In the end of the 11th century, the village curled around a medieval castle, the 14th century brought the Black Death and the Hundred Years War, and with it death and destruction. At the end of the Hundred Years War in the 15th century, in 1561, Martial de Loménie, secretary of state for finances under King Charles IX, became lord of Versailles. He obtained permission to four annual fairs and a weekly market on Thursdays. The population of Versailles was 500 inhabitants, Martial de Loménie was murdered during the St. Bartholomews Day massacre
21.
Cannon
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A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile, which may or may not be explosive. The word cannon is derived from languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane. The Greeks invented the first type—a steam cannon—designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse, ctesibius built a steam cannon in Alexandria and in the fifteenth century Leonardo da Vinci designed another, the Architonnerre, based on Archimedes work. The earliest form of artillery was developed in Song China, over time replacing siege engines. In the Middle East, the first use of the cannon is argued to be during the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluk Sultanate and Mongol Empire. The first cannon in Europe were in use in the Iberian Peninsula by the mid-13th century and it was during this period, the Middle Ages, that cannon became standardised, and more effective in both the anti-infantry and siege roles. After the Middle Ages most large cannon were abandoned in favour of greater numbers of lighter, Cannon also transformed naval warfare in the early modern period, as European navies took advantage of their firepower. In World War I, the majority of fatalities were caused by artillery. Most modern cannon are similar to those used in the Second World War, Cannon was widely known as the earliest form of a gun and artillery, before early firearms were invented. The word has been used to refer to a gun since 1326 in Italy, both Cannons and Cannon are correct and in common usage, with one or the other having preference in different parts of the English-speaking world. Cannons is more common in North America and Australia, while cannon as plural is more common in the United Kingdom, Cannon in general have the form of a truncated cone with an internal cylindrical bore for holding an explosive charge and a projectile. The thickest, strongest, and closed part of the cone is located near the explosive charge, as any explosive charge will dissipate in all directions equally, the thickest portion of the cannon is useful for containing and directing this force. Field artillery cannon in Europe and the Americas were initially made most often of bronze, though later forms were constructed of cast iron and eventually steel. However, cast iron cannon have a tendency to burst without having any previous weakness or wear. The following terms refer to the components or aspects of a classical western cannon as illustrated here. In what follows, the words near, close, and behind will refer to those parts towards the thick, closed end of the piece, and far, front, in front of, and before to the thinner, open end. Bore, The hollow cylinder bored down the centre of the cannon, including the base of the bore or bottom of the bore, the diameter of the bore represents the cannons calibre. Chamber, The cylindrical, conical, or spherical recess at the nearest end of the bottom of the bore into which the gunpowder is packed
22.
Shell (projectile)
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A shell is a payload-carrying projectile that, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used, originally, it was called a bombshell, but shell has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages, shells are usually large-calibre projectiles fired by artillery, combat vehicles, and warships. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by a nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base. Solid cannonballs did not need a fuse, but hollow munitions filled with something such as gunpowder to fragment the ball, needed a fuse, percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism hit the target. Therefore, shells needed a fuse that was ignited before or during firing. The earliest record of shells being used in combat was by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376, shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop, as described in their book, these hollow, gunpowder-packed shells were made of cast iron. At least since the 16th Century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe, a hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt, Germany dated to the 17th Century. Lots of the grenades obtained their orignal blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. Early powder burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire put down the barrel to light the fuse, other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse. Nevertheless, shells came into use in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, it was known that the fuse towards the muzzle could be lit by the flash through the windage between the shell and the barrel, the use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in the 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder and they were usually made of cast iron, but bronze, lead, brass and even glass shell casings were experimented with. The word bomb encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter and they were about two thirds the weight of solid shot of the same calibre. To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses towards the muzzle, in 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognised that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardised sabot thickness as a half inch. The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading, despite the use of exploding shell, the use of smoothbore cannons, firing spherical projectiles of shot, remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s. By the late 18th century, artillery could use canister shot to defend itself from infantry or cavalry attack and this involved loading a tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls instead of the usual cannonball
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Canet gun
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The Canet guns were a series of weapon systems developed by the French engineer Gustave Canet, who was design engineer for Schneider et Cie of Le Creusot. Canet developed a 12.6 in 38 cal naval gun, the gun was first selected by the Spanish Navy in 1884 as part of a large naval expansion program which called for six new battleships. The Spanish armaments firm Hontoria obtained a license to produce the weapon, but due to budgetary reasons, only one vessel. The usage was consistent with the Jeune École philosophy, which advocated placing overwhelming firepower on relatively small ships and this philosophy was of great interest to the Imperial Japanese Navy, which lacked the resources at the time to purchase modern pre-dreadnought battleships. The guns supplied to Japan equipped the cruisers Matsushima, Itsukushima, each gun weighed 67 tons, and had a barrel 12 meters long, firing a 112 mm long projectile with weight of 350 kg for an effective range of 8000 meters. The guns proved only marginally successful during the First Sino-Japanese War, due to a rate of fire. The guns could not be aimed abeam, as their weight would cause the ship to roll over when fired, in combat, gunners were able to fire only around one shot per hour due to the time it took to reload. M. Canet is also known for the development of the Schneider-Canet gun system for 75 mm iron BL mountain guns, Warships for Export, Armstrong Warships 1867–1927. The Jeune École, The Strategy of the Weak
24.
Artillery of France in the Middle Ages
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At this early stage, cannon would fire either stone balls or metal pellets. The 14th century saw a development of the new weapons in France and in Western Europe in general. Cannons were soon used at sea, with ships being used as firing platform, small guns projecting quarrels or lead pellets were used at the 1340 Battle of Sluys, and in the French defense of Tournai in August 1340. Edward III used similar weapons at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, ribaldis were first mentioned in the English Privy Wardrobe accounts during preparations for the Battle of Crécy between 1345 and 1346. Cannons evolved considerably towards the end of the century with the collapse of the Treaty of Bretigny, until 1370, cannons were essentially small weapons of 10 to 20 kg, made of brass or copper. After that point, larger guns appeared, made of iron or cast iron. During the 1375 siege of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, French troops successfully breached the walls of the fortress with guns weighing over 1 ton, the English trailed behind French developments in the area and only had a few such weapons before 1400. By the end of the century, new firearm types appeared, such as a variety of guns, small mortars. These complemented, but did not replace, heavier artillery, by the early 15th century, both armies had a wide variety of gunpowder weapons. Veuglaires were developed, up to 2 meters long, and weighing from 150 kg to several tonnes, the first Western image of a battle with cannon goes back to the Siege of Orleans in 1429, in which both the English and the French side are depicted with firearms. French cannon killed the English commander Thomas Montagu in 1428, joan of Arc used cannon effectively during the Loire campaign in 1429. Portable hand cannons, the ancestors of modern firearms, continued to be used on a wide scale, small portable arms were also developed such as serpentines and couleuvrines. They were not able, however, to replace the widespread longbows or crossbows during the Hundred Years War, in contrast, cannon took on a major role in siege warfare, where they came to replace traditional wooden siege engines of the types used since antiquity. From the 1430s, the artillery of Charles VII was managed by the Master Gunner Jean Bureau, artillery was key to the French successes at Meaux, Pontoise, Caen and during the Norman Campaign. French artillery was used with great efficiency at the 1453 Battle of Castillon, in which grouped and entrenched cannons decimated the English army, artillery also started to affect military architecture, leading to the development of lower, thicker walls in order to better resist the effect of cannonballs
25.
Calibres de France
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The Calibres de France was a system of standardization of cannons in France, established by King Francis I of France from about 1525. The objective was to simplify and codify cannonry, in order to facilitate production, on 26 September 1526, Francis I wrote about the artillerye de mon calibre, and an even earlier mention is known from 1512. The Calibres de France were formalized in an ordinance of 1552, six standard sizes were defined, the cannon, the grand culverin, the bastard culverin, the middle culverin, the Falconet, and the falconeer. The system was expanded by an ordinance dated 27 November 1572, the 6-guns Calibres de France system was still in place at the time of Louis XIII, which was later developed to an 18-guns system. The system was phased out with the Keller system in 1666, and the De Vallière system on 7 October 1732
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Jean-Jacques Keller
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Jean-Jacques Keller and his brother Jean-Balthazar Keller were Swiss gunfounders from Zürich, in the service of France. Jean-Jacques was considered as one of the most skillful founders of France, in 1669, he became Master of the foundries at Douai. He also established other foundries in Besançon, Breisach and Pinerolo and his work was integral part of the plan established by Louvois in 1666 to have the army and artillery reorganized. His brother Jean-Balthasar was rather involved with the founding of statues and he famously founded the statue of Louis XIV then located in the Place Vendôme, in December 1692, in a single piece, something never achieved before. The statue was destroyed during the French Revolution on 10 August 1792, jean-Jacques met with trouble when some of his guns burst in 1694. He was then replaced by his brother Jean-Balthasar as Commissaire des Fontes at Douai, the two brothers had a great influence on cannon founding techniques in France, and made thousands of artillery pieces. The technology they employed, involving the founding of cannons around a core, was superseded by the De Vallière system in 1732. Media related to Keller cannon at Wikimedia Commons
27.
Gribeauval system
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The Gribeauval system was an artillery system introduced by Lieutenant General Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval during the 18th century. This system revolutionized French cannon, with a new system that allowed lighter. The Gribeauval system superseded the de Vallière system and these guns contributed to French military victories during the Napoleonic Wars, the Gribeauval system was arguably the best artillery system in Europe at that time. The Gribeauval system was introduced through royal order on 15 October 1765, although much of the work is not directly attributable to Gribeauval, the systems of organization and uniformity in ordnance have been called le système Gribeauval. Gribeauvals primary improvement came in the production of artillery pieces. Prior to his improvements, guns were cast in a piece by pouring molten iron or bronze around a clay cylinder core. After the metal cooled, the clay was removed, leaving the guns bore, however, the clay cores resulted in imperfect bores, which prevented the use of tight-fitting cannonballs. Because rounds did not fit tightly, much of the power of the gunpowder was lost. The resulting guns had a tighter manufacturing tolerance between the bore and ball and this allowed the gun barrels to be made thinner without sacrificing range and shorter without reducing accuracy. Both improvements reduced weight, which in combination with improved gun carriages designed by Gribeauval, for siege and garrison artillery he retained the same proportions as the earlier Valliere System of 1732 but with the removal of the decoration and simplification of the dolphins. 24-pdr Canon de 24 16-pdr Canon de 16 Long 12-pdr Canon lourd de 12 Long 8-pdr Canon lourd de 8, Gribeauval also designed a range of mortars,8 inches, short 10-inch, long 10-inch, 12-inch. He also incorporated in his system an anti-personnel stone mortar of 15-inch from the de Vallière system, rochambeaus French Infantry were equipped with Regimental Swedish 4-pdrs and not, as many think, Gribeauval 4-pdrs. From 1805, the Year XI system started to replace the captured ordnance, gradually the Gribeauval 4-pdr and 8-pdr was replaced by the Year XI 6-pdr and the Gribeauval 6-pouce Howitzer was replaced by the Year XI 24-pdr howitzer. In 1808, due to financial considerations, the obsolete Gribeauval carriages were cannibalised to create new carriages for the Year XI gun tubes, the Gribeauval system was replaced by Napoleon I in 1803 by the Year XI system. This took many years and only after the 1809 campaign was the Gribeauval system entirely superseded, only the Gribeauval 12-pdr was retained in the new system. From 1808, the metalwork, axles and wheels from the Gribeauval 8-pdr were used to make carriages for the Year XI 6-pdr, due to the abundance of Spanish Gribeauval Ordnance, artillery of the Gribeuaval System was still occasionally used by the French. In 1812, the Gribeauval 4-pdrs were used as the Regimental Artillery for the Young Guard in the Invasion of Russia, under the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, the Gribeauval System was officially reinstated but the Year XI ordnance was still in use. Between 1825 and 1831, Sylvain Charles Valée made further improvements to the Gribeauval system
28.
Year XI system
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The Year XI system was a French artillery system developed during the rule of Napoleon. The Year XI system was original in that it brought various improvements to the highly successful Gribeauval system and it especially consisted in streamlining the existing Gribeauval designs. The main proponent of the new system was General Marmont, in light of the French Revolutionary Wars it appeared especially that the Gribeauval 4-pdr was too light, and that the 8-pdr was too heavy for medium field artillery. These two guns had not appeared adequate against enemy 6-pdr guns, in order to define the new improved system, Napoleon formed a committee of Artillery on 29 December 1801, presided by general Augustin Gabriel dAboville, First Inspector of Artillery. The committee accomplished its research from 11 January 1802 to 21 July 1802, Napoleon himself participated in the proceedings, The artillery should have but 4 calibres, the 6,12,24 prs. and the 5½-in. In this way we abolish 4 calibres and we should add 3 prs. for mountain equipment. In abolishing the Rostaing guns, we get rid of stubborn beasts not worth the trouble they give,3 prs. should be a minimum caliber. The committee gave its results on 2 May 1803, one of the main findings of the committee was as follows, To recommend the introduction of a 6-pdr and the suppression of the 4-pdr and the 8-pdr. The field artillery would thus be composed of a 12-pdr cannon, a 6-pdr cannon, the Year XI system would be further improved with the Valée system in 1828. Media related to Year XI system at Wikimedia Commons Dawson, A. L. Dawson P. L. and Summerfield S
29.
Paixhans gun
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The Paixhans gun was the first naval gun designed to fire explosive shells. It was developed by the French general Henri-Joseph Paixhans in 1822-1823, the design would further the development of naval artillery evolution into the modern age. Its use presaged the end of wood as the material in naval warships. Explosive shells had long been in use in warfare, but they were fired only at high angles. However, before the advent of radar and modern optical controlled firing, Naval combat essentially required flat-trajectory guns in order to have a reasonable chance of hitting the target. Therefore, naval warfare had consisted for centuries of encounters between flat-trajectory cannons using inert cannonballs, which could inflict only local damage even on wooden hulls, Paixhans advocated using flat-trajectory shell guns against warships in 1822 in his Nouvelle force maritime et artillerie. Paixhans developed a mechanism that for the first time allowed shells to be fired safely in high-powered flat-trajectory guns. The effect of explosive shells lodging into wooden hulls, and then detonating, was potentially devastating, Henri-Joseph Paixhans first demonstrated this in trials against the two-decker Pacificateur in 1824, in which he successfully broke up the ship. Two prototype Paixhans guns had been founded in 1823 and 1824 for this test, Paixhans reported the results in Experiences faites sur une arme nouvelle. The shells were equipped with a fuse that ignited automatically when the gun was fired, the first Paixhans guns for the French Navy were made in 1841. The Paixhan guns were the work of a Colonel Bormford, the Chief of Ordnance for the United States Army and these would be introduced by Paixhans and thus given his name. Though he had nothing to do with the invention of these weapons, the barrel of the guns weighed about 10,000 lbs. and proved accurate to about two miles. In the 1840s, France, England, Russia, and the United States adopted the new naval guns, the Naval Battle of Campeche made history because it was the first time both sides used explosive shells and the only time sailing ships defeated steamers. The Paixhans-guns are especially adapted for the projection of shells and hollow shot, similar pieces of ordnance have since been introduced into the British service. They are suitable either for ships of war, or for fortresses which defend coasts, the original Paixhans-gun was 9 feet 4 inches long, and weighed nearly 74 cwts. The charge varied from 10 lbs.12 oz to 18 lbs of powder, while the idea was notable in the advance of artillery, the technology of metallurgy had yet to advance to the level needed for safe operation. The naval guns of this type were known for catastrophic failures as the chambers would burst in use, the long shells and large blackpowder charges needed to propel the shells put a stress on cast iron cannon that often could not be contained. Further work by John A. Dahlgren, and Thomas Jackson Rodman would further perfect the weapon to use solid shot, and shell, safely
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Canon obusier de 12
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The Canon obusier de 12, also known as the Canon de l’Empereur was a type of canon-obusier developed by France in 1853. Its performance and versatility allowed it to all the previous field guns, especially the Canon de 8. The cannon owes its alias to French president and emperor Napoleon III, the canon obusier was a smoothbore cannon firing either shells, balls, or canister. This was an improvement over previous cannon firing only balls, such as those of the Gribeauval system, the new weapon revolutionized field artillery. The French Army introduced the canon obusier de 12 in 1853 and this type of canon obusier, commonly called in English the 12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857, was the primary cannon used in the American Civil War. Over 1,100 such Napoleons were manufactured by the North, at Gettysburg,142 out of 360 Federal guns were Napoleons. The 12-pounder Napoleon was widely admired because of its safety, reliability and it was the last cast bronze gun used by an American army. The Federal version of the Napoleon can be recognized by the front end of the barrel. Confederate Napoleons were produced in at least six variations, most of which had straight muzzles, Napoleon III had his existing guns, such as the Canon obusier de 12, rifled to accommodate the La Hitte system. Such guns remained in use until 1870, media related to Canon obusier de 12 at Wikimedia Commons French weapons in the American Civil War Field artillery in the American Civil War licorne Twelve-pound cannon
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La Hitte system
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The La Hitte system, named after the French general Ducos, Count de La Hitte, was an artillery system designed in March 1858 to implement rifled muzzle-loading guns in the French Army. These guns were an improvement over the previous smooth-bore guns which had been in use. They were able to shoot at 3,000 meters either regular shells and they appear to have been the first case of usage of rifled cannons on a battlefield. The system was muzzle-loading, and the shells could only be exploded at two set distances, the shells, based on the 1847 invention of Captain Tamisier, were oval-shaped and had small protrusions to follow the grooves of the bore. Previous guns, such as the Canon obusier de 12, were rifled to accommodate the system, note that with the introduction of rifling and elongated shells replacing the old roundshot, guns could now fire projectiles weighing nearly twice the previous weight possible for a given bore. The rifling gave a far greater range for a propellant charge. While the La Hitte guns retained the traditional 4 designation, the number now approximated to kg rather than the livre as previously, hence the Canon de campagne de 4 La Hitte fired a shell weighing nearly 4 kg. The La Hitte system would be superseded in 1870 with the work of Jean-Baptiste Verchère de Reffye and the development of breech-loading rifled guns
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Lahitolle 95 mm cannon
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The Lahitolle 95 mm cannon was a French cannon of the 19th century, developed in 1875 by the artillery commander de Lahitolle. The Lahitolle 90 mm was the first French field cannon made of steel and it was adopted by the French Army in 1875 and superseded the Reffye cannon. The Lahitolle 95 mm was superseded by the de Bange 90 mm cannon in 1877, an improved version, the Lahitolle 95 mm, was developed in 1888. The Lahitolle 95 mm was still in use during World War I, together with the de Bange 90 mm cannon, the Lahitolle 95 mm was also used in the fortifications of the Maginot line. 1888 model at the Draguignan museum with the wheel brakes deployed
French weapons of the 19th century
