Gribeauval system
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The Gribeauval system (French: ''système Gribeauval'') was an artillery system introduced by
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval (15 September 1715 – 9 May 1789) was a French artillery officer and engineer who revolutionised the French cannon, creating a new production system that allowed for lighter, more uniform g ...
during the 18th century. This system revolutionized French
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s, with a new production system that allowed lighter, more uniform guns without sacrificing range. The Gribeauval system superseded the Vallière system beginning in 1765. The new guns contributed to French military victories during the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
and
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. The system included improvements to
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s,
howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
s, and
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
. The
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 to ...
partly replaced the
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
s in 1803 and the
Valée system 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 ...
completely superseded the Gribeauval system in 1829.


Development

The mid-18th Century saw the development of mobile field artillery. Ballistics engineers and metallurgy technicians introduced reforms that lowered the weight of gun tubes while other experts built lighter gun carriages. Gun calibers were standardized, easing the logistical headache caused by a multitude of calibers. Gribeauval was a veteran combat officer and an able artillery theoretician. With the advent of the Gribeauval system, the French enjoyed the best artillery in Europe. One historian called it "arguably the best artillery system in Europe at that time".
Benjamin Robins Benjamin Robins (170729 July 1751) was a pioneering British scientist, Newtonian mathematician, and military engineer. He wrote an influential treatise on gunnery, for the first time introducing Newtonian science to military men, was an early en ...
put artillery on a scientific basis in 1742.
Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
– an alloy of 10 parts
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
to one part
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
– was preferred for cannons because it was lighter than
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
and more durable. At that time, cannons were cast hollow around a core and the core often moved within the mold, producing an imperfect bore. This problem was solved at
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
foundry in 1747.
Jean Maritz Jean Maritz (1680–1743), also Johan Maritz, was a Swiss inventor, born in Burgdorf, Canton of Bern, who moved to France, becoming "Commissaire des Fontes" at Strasbourg (Commissioner of the King's Foundry),''A Dictionary of Military History a ...
began casting guns as a single, solid block, and then drilling the bore on a large machine. The Dutch tried to maintain the secret, but the new process soon became widely known in Europe. After Maritz's invention, a cannon could be manufactured with a better-aligned bore and tighter tolerances. This resulted in less windage – the gap between the cannonball and the bore – which meant less gas pressure escaped, so that smaller
gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
charges could hurl the projectile farther and more accurately. When less gunpowder could be used to achieve the same power and range, the ballistics experts found that cannon barrels could be made thinner, shorter, and lighter. The army of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
discovered that its artillery was outmatched by Prussian cannons during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
. In 1744, the new Director General
Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein Josef Wenzel I (Josef Wenzel Lorenz; 9 August 1696 – 10 February 1772), often referred to as just Wenzel, was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1712 and 1718, and 1748 and 1772, as well as regent of Liechtenstein between 1732 and 1745. He fir ...
began a series of reforms to improve the design of Austria's field artillery and provide training to its gunners. By the start of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
the Austrians upgraded their artillery with lighter cannons and introduced a very good howitzer. These were so successful that other nations rushed to manufacture similar weapons. Gribeauval, who served in the Austrian artillery in 1756–1762, got a first-hand look at the new field guns. Upon his return to France, Gribeauval was requested to reorganize the artillery. France already possessed the only unified range of artillery in Europe. Earlier, Florent-Jean de Valliere standardized guns from 4-pounders through 24-pounders, though they were all very heavy. The Gribeauval system was introduced through royal order on 15 October 1765. The new system was strenuously resisted by Vallière's son, Joseph Florent de Vallière and other officers. Because of their opposition, the Gribeauval system was not completely implemented until 1776. The 1-pounder Rostaing gun and the Swedish 4-pounder
battalion gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typical ...
s were retained from the previous system. Gribeauval's reforms encompassed not only the cannons, but the gun carriages, limbers, ammunition chests, and the accompanying tools. The system's field guns included 4-, 8-, and 12-pounder cannons and 6- and 8-inch howitzers. The gun barrels were cast shorter and thinner, while gun carriages were built lighter and narrower. These improvements dramatically reduced the weight of an artillery piece. The carriages were standardized and built with interchangeable parts. The carriages had two positions for the
trunnion A trunnion (from Old French "''trognon''", trunk) is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development. Alternatively, a trunnion is a shaft that positions a ...
s, a forward position for firing and a rear position for traveling. The draft horses were harnessed in pairs, rather than single file. The guns were fitted with a rear calibrated gunsight and an elevating screw. The last two improvements allowed gunners to more easily aim the cannons. The new system incorporated other innovations that were widely shared in Europe. One was the quick-match tube which generated a better ignition of the gunpowder charge. Other general improvements were the adoption of gunpowder charges in pre-packaged flannel bags, a more effective gunpowder mixture, and the use of a vent-pricker – a special tool to make a hole in the gunpowder bags. Around 1791, French chemist Nicholas Leblanc invented a process to manufacture
saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...
, a necessary ingredient of gunpowder. Finally, since better gunners were needed to operate the new field pieces, France set up artillery schools to train its soldiers.


Gun types


Field guns

The Gribeauval field artillery pieces were approximately half the weight of the Vallière guns of the same caliber, without sacrificing range. * Canon de 12 Gribeauval – 12-pounder cannon *
Canon de 8 Gribeauval The Canon de 8 Gribeauval or 8-pounder was a French cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. The Old French pound (french: livre) was 1.07916 English pounds, making the weight of shot about 8.633 E ...
– 8-pounder cannon *
Canon de 4 Gribeauval The Canon de 4 Gribeauval or 4-pounder was a French cannon and part of the artillery system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. The Old French pound (French: livre) was 1.079 English pounds, making the weight of shot about 4.3 Engli ...
– 4-pounder cannon * Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval – 6-inch howitzer No Gribeauval guns were shipped to the American forces during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. However, it is probable that the French forces employed Gribeauval siege cannons during that conflict. Note that the Old French pound (''livre'') was approximately one-tenth heavier than the English pound. Also, the Old French inch (''pouce'') was slightly longer than the English inch. Therefore, the French guns threw somewhat heavier shot and shell than the same-rated English and American guns, so that a French 8-pounder was similar in power to a British 9-pounder. Historian Gunther E. Rothenberg published a table giving similar numbers, except that it listed 30 caisson-carried canister rounds for the 8-pounder and three rounds of canister for the 6-inch howitzer. Scotty Bowden and Charlie Tarbox gave
canister shot Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. Canister shot has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies. However, canister shot saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various ...
ranges in meters as 600 for the 12-pounder, 550 for the 8-pounder, 400 for the 4-pounder, and 250 for the 6-inch howitzer. Other ranges were in agreement with the table above. They also listed a Gribeauval 24-pounder howitzer that had a canister range of 300 meters and a maximum range of 1,500 meters. The canister varied in size according to the caliber of the gun. Also, there were two different sizes of balls in the small canister round. The 12-pounder employed 6 ounce balls in large canister rounds and 2 and 3 oz. balls in small canister rounds. The 8-pounder used 4 oz. balls in large canister rounds and 1 and 2 oz. balls in small canister rounds. The 4-pounder had ¾ and 2 oz. balls in small canister rounds. An 8-inch howitzer had a barrel weight of and required a gunpowder charge weighing . File:NOLA 4-pounder Gribeauval.JPG, A 4-pounder Gribeauval cannon is sited in Battery 5 at Chalmette National Battlefield in New Orleans, La. File:NOLA French medium cannon.jpg, An 8-pounder Gribeauval cannon is sited in Battery 6 at Chalmette National Battlefield in New Orleans, La. File:Gribeauval cannon de 12 An 2 de la Republique.jpg, A 12-pounder Gribeauval cannon is located in Les Invalides in Paris, France. File:Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval.jpg, A 6-inch Gribeauval howitzer is located in Les Invalides in Paris, France.


Siege and garrison guns

For siege and garrison artillery he retained the same proportions as the earlier Vallière System of 1732 but with the removal of the decoration and simplification of the dolphins. *
Canon de 24 Gribeauval The Canon de 24 Gribeauval was a French 24-pounder cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. It was part of the siege artillery. The canon de 24 Gribeauval was used extensively during the wars foll ...
– 24-pounder siege cannon * Canon de 16 Gribeauval – 16-pounder siege cannon *
Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval The Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval (Gribeauval heavy 12-pounder cannon) was a French cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. It was part of the siege artillery. The canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval wa ...
– 12-pounder siege cannon * Canon lourd de 8 Gribeauval – 8-pounder siege cannon According to one author, only the Gribeauval siege guns were first used for major operations in the American Revolutionary War. They were employed by
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
's French expeditionary corps, from 1780 to late 1782, and especially at the
Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
in 1781. A second source believed that the Yorktown siege guns were Gribeauval pieces. Rochambeau's siege train included 12 24-pounders, 8 16-pounders, and 16 mortars. A third author stated that it is debatable whether Gribeauval guns were used at Yorktown, though he pointed out that one French source insisted the siege guns were, in fact, Gribeauval guns. File:Canon lourd de 8 Gribeauval breech.jpg, 8-pounder heavy Gribeauval cannon File:Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval Le Sarasin.JPG, 12-pounder heavy Gribeauval cannon File:Canon de 16 Gribeauval An 3 de la Republique 1794 1795 side view.jpg, 16-pounder Gribeauval cannon File:Gribeauval 1772 with dolphin handles.jpg, 24-pounder Gribeauval cannon


Mortars

Gribeauval also designed a range of mortars, as follows. *
Mortier de 12 Gribeauval The Mortier de 12 pouces Gribeauval (Gribeauval 12-inch mortar) was a French mortar and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. It was part of the siege artillery. The measurement of the mortar is expresse ...
– 12-inch mortar * Mortier court de 10 Gribeauval – Short 10-inch mortar * Mortier long de 10 Gribeauval – Long 10-inch mortar * Mortier de 8 Gribeauval – 8-inch mortar Gribeauval also incorporated in his system an anti-personnel 15-inch stone mortar from the de Vallière system. Mortars and the barrels of 24-pounder siege guns were moved from place to place on special "saddle wagons".


History

In the early years of the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
, the artillery arm lost the fewest officers by emigration. That was because many of its officers came from middle-class instead of aristocratic families. Thanks to the Gribeauval system, the French field artillery was Europe's finest. The artillerists had to rely on hired civilian drivers and horses to carry their guns into battle. This problem was not rectified until shortly after 1800, when the drivers became soldiers. At the
Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...
in 1792, the French superiority in artillery contributed to the victory. The commanding general
Charles Fran̤ois Dumouriez Charles-Fran̤ois du P̩rier Dumouriez (, 26 January 1739 Р14 March 1823) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. He shared the victory at Valmy with General Fran̤ois Christophe Kellermann, but later deserted the Revo ...
remarked that French soldiers were more impetuous when their guns dominated the enemy, and that when the artillery was not successful, the infantry hung back. Historian
Ramsay Weston Phipps Ramsay Weston Phipps (10 April 1838 – 24 June 1923) was an Irish-born military historian and officer in Queen Victoria's Royal Artillery. The son of Pownoll Phipps, an officer of the British East India Company's army, he was descended from the ...
noted that the French artillery in the
War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...
was "excellent" and helped overcome some of the failings of the new armies. After the
Battle of Wattignies The Battle of Wattignies (15–16 October 1793) saw a French army commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan attack a Coalition army directed by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After two days of combat Jourdan's troops compelled the Habsburg co ...
in 1793, one Allied observer wrote that the French victory was due to "their immense artillery". For his expert handling of the artillery at the
Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...
in 1793,
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
was promoted to
general of brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
and began his climb to fame and political power. When Napoleon became
First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...
and later
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, he appointed
Auguste de Marmont Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont (20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire and was awarded the title (french: duc de Raguse). In the Peninsular War Marmont succeede ...
to carry out most of his artillery improvements. Already in 1800, there were eight foot and six horse artillery regiments, two
sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
battalions, and eight battalions of artillery train soldiers, for a total of 28,000 gunners, sappers, and drivers. At first, each infantry unit was allocated some 4-pounders, the so-called regimental artillery. These were suppressed in 1800 but reinstated in 1809 as the infantry declined in quality. Napoleon decided to replace the 4-pounders with 6-pounders in order to increase his artillery's hitting power. This would utilize the large number of 6-pounders captured from Austria and Prussia in 1794–1800. From 1805, the Year XI system started to replace the captured ordnance. Gradually, the Gribeauval 4- and 8-pounders began to be replaced by the Year XI 6-pounder and the Gribeauval 6-pouce (6.4-inch) howitzer was replaced by the Year XI 24-pounder howitzer. In 1808, due to financial considerations, the old Gribeauval carriages were cannibalised to create new carriages for the Year XI gun tubes. During this period, many Gribeauval 4- and 8-pounders were withdrawn into arsenals. However, the 8-pounder continued to be used in Spain since the terrain was not suitable for the heavier 12-pounder. The new Year XI 6-pounder was rushed into production, but it ultimately proved to be too fragile. In 1810 a commission headed by
Nicolas-Marie Songis des Courbons Nicolas-Marie Songis des Courbons, Count of the Empire, (23 April 1761 – 27 December 1810), was a French artillery commander during the French Revolutionary Wars, who rose to the rank of General of Division in 1800 and served as commander of ...
determined that the Year XI system should be discontinued and the Gribeauval system retained, but that a new 6-pounder should be introduced. Under the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, the 4- and 8-pounders were brought back into service and the new 6-pounders withdrawn based on a survey carried out by Charles-Étienne-François Ruty. In 1829, the Gribeauval system was replaced by the
Valée system 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 ...
which was developed by
Sylvain Charles Val̩e Sylvain-Charles, comte Val̩e (17 December 1773 Р16 August 1846), born in Brienne-le-Ch̢teau, was a Marshal of France. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Val̩e enlisted in the French revolutionary army and was sent to serve in ...
. The new system reduced the calibers of field artillery to 8- and 12-pound cannons and 24-pound and 6-inch howitzers. Mobility was increased by standardizing limbers so that 8-pounders and 24-pound howitzers used the smaller size while 12-pounders and 6-inch howitzers used the larger size. Gunners rode into action while sitting on the limbers rather than walking beside the guns. All batteries were armed with four cannons and two howitzers.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


See also

* * * * (See pp. 687–688.)


Conversions

''This website is useful for converting Old French pounds (livres) into English pounds and Old French inches (pouces) into English inches.'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gribeauval system Artillery of France Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars