The Valée system (French:"Système Valée") was an artillery system developed between 1825 and 1831 by the French artillery officer
Sylvain Charles Valée,
[''Elements of Military Art and History'' by Nicolas Édouard Delabarre-Duparcq, p.146-14]
/ref> and officially adopted by the French Army from 1828.
Specifications
The Valée system consisted in various technical improvements to the Gribeauval system
The Gribeauval system (, ) was an artillery system introduced by Lieutenant General Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval during the 18th century. This system revolutionized French cannons, with a new production system that allowed lighter, more u ...
and Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's Year XI system
The Year XI system (French:"Système An XI", after of the 11th year of the French Republic, i.e. 1803) was a French artillery system developed during the rule of Napoleon. The Year XI system was original in that it brought various improvements t ...
. The system mainly improved the mobility of the artillery train, and simplified maintenance by standardizing limber usage and wheel size, and reducing the number of carriage types to two.howitzers
The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
of 24 pounds and 6 inches ( Obusier de 15 cm), and a siege howitzer of 8 inches. Mountain artillery pieces were of 12 pound caliber. Mortars were of 12, 10 and 8 inches, with a 15 inches stone mortar.
Deployment
French artillery would be reorganized along the Valée system in 1827. It would be used at the Capture of Alger (1830) and the Fall of Constantine (1837), as well as during the Crimea War (1853–1856).
An American version of the Valee system was also developed. Some pieces are visible at the Concord Battery, Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...
.[''US Field Gun Carriages—Their History and Evolution'' by Matthew C. Switli]
A new generation of weapons would emerge in Shotgun shell, shell-firing canon obusiers, with the invention of the naval shell-gun by Paixhans
Henri-Joseph Paixhans (; January 22, 1783, Metz – August 22, 1854, Jouy-aux-Arches) was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century.
Henri-Joseph Paixhans graduated from the École Polytechnique. He fought in the Napoleoni ...
in 1823, and the introduction of the canon obusier de 12
The Canon obusier de 12 (officially the "Canon obusier de campagne de 12 livres, modèle 1853"), also known as the "Canon de l’Empereur" ("emperor's cannon"), was a type of canon-obusier (literally "shell-gun cannon", "gun-howitzer") developed b ...
in 1853 by the French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
, which would render the Valée system obsolete.
See also
Notes
Image:Canon_de_16_cm_Valee.jpg, Canon de campagne de 16 cm Valée, ''Le Fléau'', field artillery, modèle 1828, bronze, founded in Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
in 1845. Caliber: 165.5 mm. Length: 1.88 m. Weight: 885 kg. Ammunition: 11.3 kg shell with sabot.
Image:Obusier_de_12_cm_Valee.jpg, Obusier de 12 cm Valée, ''Le Bélier'', mountain artillery, modèle 1828, bronze, founded in Douai
Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...
in 1844. Caliber: 120 mm. Length: 0.86 m. Weight: 101 kg. Ammunition: 4 kg shell.
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Artillery of France