8 pound gun. French artillery at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries (Historical and technical essay)

Since this question, to be honest, is simply SICK of me, and there are a bunch of “experts” who very often poke me into land instructions on the firing range of guns and other similar issues, I decided to make a post to solve this problem once and for all.
First of all, a little theory - if you do not take fortress artillery, then a land cannon in battle encounters rather flimsy protection. These can be earthen fortifications, lunettes, barriers using wood or stone, but the distinctive property of these fortifications will be their relative low strength. That is, if these are wooden spears, then they are dug into the ground. If the stones are piled up, but not cemented, etc.
At sea, in linear battles (or in battles between fortresses and ships), cannon cores had to overcome quite serious protection in the form of the “armor” (hull) of the ship, and often this protection was multi-layered, as for example is clearly visible here:

This protection had a total thickness of 60 to 100 centimeters (that is, up to a meter). Most often, even the most powerful guns could not penetrate it, and shooting at ships essentially came down to maximum hits in the hull (if we are talking specifically about causing critical damage/sinking the ship). This maximum of hits gradually undermined the protection, potholes appeared somewhere, chips appeared somewhere, connections were broken somewhere, the wood gradually sagged and broke, most often in the area of ​​the upper deck or gun ports, and finally the critical moment came when " the armor" stopped holding.
If we talk about analogies, then perhaps the most accurate imitation of this explanation I came across in the film “Death Race” with Statham:

In the film, the role of armor is played by a 6-inch armor plate at the back of Statham’s car, which competitors shoot at with all types of weapons. Sooner or later, this plate receives critical damage and can no longer withstand hits. The meaning is absolutely the same.

Now let's move on to the numbers. First of all, we note that the Gribovalevsky land cannons could fire as much as 2-2.5 km, but absolutely no one used such a range. Why? Yes, for two simple things - there were no sights for such distances yet, and the dispersion of fire was very high. Therefore, in the Gribovalevsky instructions for ground artillery we see the following figures

Effective fire distances for guns of various calibers

If we open the English naval shooting manuals (for example, from 1832), we will see the following figures:
For long guns:
The maximum sighting range is 500-400 meters (sorry, here and below I am simplifying the English yard to an ordinary meter; for those who need it, they will convert it into exact values)
Effective target firing range - 200 meters
Pistol range - 50 meters.
For carronades:
maximum sighting range - 200 meters
effective sighting range - 50 meters
pistol distance - 10 meters.
Why do the values ​​of land and sea systems differ so much? Really naval guns were they worse?
No, they were no worse, and sometimes even better. It’s just that the admirals laid down such values ​​because it was not about maximum, A sighting range, and secondly, from these ranges could cause damage to enemy ships. That is, in reality, naval guns could fire much further, but the accuracy of the fire and the damage from it were very bad at distances above the recommended ones. The question is - was it possible to use guns beyond the maximum effective range? The answer is why not? For example, the accuracy of a carronade over 200 meters is non-existent. But who prevents, for example, from conducting unaimed fire with carronades not on the sides, but on the sails of ships? Nobody! The area of ​​the sails is much larger than the part of the side being hit, therefore, according to the theory of probability, such fire may well be effective. Yes, the speed of the cannonball at this distance is not enough to break through a bulwark or something wooden, but tearing a sail or knocking down a yard is quite enough.
One more thing should not be forgotten - ground artillery fires from a fixed platform (ground, fortress wall, etc.) at a target that is stationary or slowly moving relative to the gun/battery. Even the galloping speed of a horse is 15-18 km/h, in sea terms - 8-8.5 knots, that is, the speed of an ordinary frigate. But most often the cavalry goes to the battery(speaking nautical term- into "longitudinal fire"), and does not jump along the battery(the meaning of the cavalry attack is clear - to suppress this very battery, and not to run away from its fire). The walking speed of infantry (110 steps per minute at a step of 70 cm) is significantly lower - approximately 4.6 km/h or 2.5 knots, but again - infantry goes towards the battery, not along it.
Naval artillery has a completely different task - there the enemy moves precisely along the battery, since the movement is most often parallel relative to each other, and this leaves an additional imprint on the accuracy (or, if you like, inaccuracy) of shooting and on the effective combat distance.
Oddly enough, but land artillery, operations against ships, most often used naval instructions. This is understandable - ships, especially battleships, are a very specific enemy. And here it is necessary to introduce such a concept as the probability of hitting the target, which directly depended on the number of guns firing at the target. It is clear that an airborne salvo creates a kind of “cloud” of nuclei, which covers the target. As far as I understand, in the case of long distances this probability distribution of hits is akin to Gaussian, at short distances it is linear and uniform. That is, as is the case in the movie with Statham decisive role What matters is the number of hits per unit of time.
Now let's move from theory to practice.
The first debate on this topic arose for me a long time ago, regarding Toulon of the 1793 model. Let me remind you that Bonaparte then captured the forts of Eguiet and Balaguier, located on one side of the exit to Toulon harbor. The width of the passage from the harbor itself is 1200 meters. The question is: could the guns of these forts clearly block the exit of ships from Toulon?
The answer is obvious - no, they couldn’t. And this is even though (according to Nilus) "A 12-pound core with a charge of 4 pounds at a distance of about 300 fathoms goes deep: into the ground by 7-9 feet, into a tree by 2.5 feet, into a stone by 4 inches. 300 fathoms is about 650 m; 2.5 ft. = 0.75 m." Still, the sides of the ships are clearly not land, and we will leave what kind of tree Nilus had in mind - to the author’s conscience.
The next issue of our program was my supposedly delusional ideas of shelling the brig "Mercury" with grapeshot. And again, the author of the opus about my nonsense gave a breakdown for land buckshot (the weight of one bullet is 23 grams). Well, how many times have I said - such buckshot was never used at sea!
In the same Russian fleet there were the following types of buckshot: short-range and long-range buckshot. The charge for both buckshots is 1.64 kg. The weight of the long-range buckshot was 10.9 kg, it had 48 bullets (each weighing 227 grams). The weight of the short-range buckshot is 11.2 kg, it contains 94 bullets (each weighing 119 grams). Maximum range shooting short-range buckshot - up to 400 meters, long-range up to 700. The British and French used bullets weighing 384 and 452 grams in buckshot on 32-pound and 24-pound guns! So it’s one thing to have buckshot in a hunting rifle for birds, and another thing to have buckshot for battleship. She is also on board any small ship (for example, brig) can cause quite a lot of damage, tearing sails, breaking yards, etc.

Caliber of rifled small arms

The most popular pistol calibers:

577 (14.7 mm) - the largest of the serial ones, the Eley revolver (Great Britain);

45 (11.4 mm) - the "national" caliber of the United States, most common in the Wild West. In 1911, the Colt M1911 automatic pistol of this caliber entered service with the Army and Navy and, having been modernized several times, served until 1985, when the US Armed Forces switched to 9mm for the Beretta_92.

38; .357(9mm) - currently considered optimal for hand weapons(less - the bullet is too “weak”, more - the gun is too heavy).

25 (6.35 mm) - TOZ-8.

2.7 mm - the smallest of the serial ones, had a “Hummingbird” pistol of the Pieper system (Belgium).

Caliber of smoothbore hunting weapons

For smoothbore hunting rifles, calibers are measured differently: caliber number means number of bullets, which can be cast from 1 English pound of lead (453.6 g). The bullets must be spherical, identical in mass and diameter, which is equal to the internal diameter of the barrel in its middle part. The smaller the trunk diameter, the more quantity bullets Thus twenty gauge is less than sixteen, A sixteenth less than twelfth.

Caliber designation	Designation option	Barrel diameter, mm	Varieties
36	.410	10.4	-
32	.50	12.5	-
28	-	13.8	-
24	-	14.7	-
20	-	15.6 (15.5 magnum)	-
16	-	16.8	-
12	-	18.5 (18.2 magnum)	-
10	-	19.7	-
4	-	26.5	-

In the designation of cartridges for smoothbore weapons, as when designating cartridges for rifled weapons, it is customary to indicate the length of the sleeve, for example: 12/70 - a 12-gauge cartridge with a sleeve 70 mm long. The most common case lengths: 65, 70, 76 (magnum). Along with them there are: 60 and 89 (super magnum). The most common hunting rifles in Russia are 12 gauge. There are (in descending order of prevalence) 16, 20, 36 (.410), 32, 28, and the spread of caliber 36 (.410) is due solely to the release of Saiga carbines of the corresponding caliber.

The actual bore diameter of a given caliber in each country may differ from those indicated within certain limits. In addition, we should not forget that the barrel of a shotgun weapon usually has various types of constrictions (chokes), through which not any bullet of its caliber can pass through without damaging the barrel, so in many cases bullets are made according to the diameter of the choke and are equipped with easily cut sealing bands , which are cut down when passing the choke. It should be noted that the common caliber of signal pistols - 26.5 mm - is nothing more than the 4th hunting caliber.

Caliber of Russian artillery, aerial bombs, torpedoes and rockets

In Europe the term artillery caliber appeared in 1546, when Hartmann of Nuremberg developed a device called the Hartmann scale. It was a prismatic tetrahedral ruler. On one side the units of measurement (inches) were marked, on the other three the actual dimensions, depending on the weight in pounds, of the iron, lead and stone cores respectively.

Example(approximately):

1 face - mark lead kernels weighing 1 lb - corresponds to 1.5 inches

2nd face - iron cores 1 lb. - from 2.5

3rd side - stone cores 1 lb. - from 3

Thus, knowing either the size or weight of the projectile, it was possible to easily assemble, and most importantly, manufacture ammunition. A similar system existed in the world for about 300 years.

In Russia before Peter 1, no standards existed. At the beginning of the 18th century, on behalf of Peter 1, Feldzeichmeister General Count Bruce, based on the Hartmann scale, developed domestic system calibers She divided the tools according to artillery weight projectile (cast iron core). The unit of measurement was the artillery pound - a cast iron ball with a diameter of 2 inches and a weight of 115 spools (about 490 grams). A scale was also created that correlated artillery weight with the diameter of the bore, that is, with what we now call caliber. It did not matter what types of projectiles the gun fired - buckshot, bombs or anything else. Only the theoretical artillery weight that a gun could fire given its size was taken into account. This system was introduced by royal decree in the city and lasted for a century and a half.

Example:

3-pounder gun, 3-pounder gun- official name;

artillery weight 3 pounds- the main characteristics of the weapon.

scale size 2.8 inches- bore diameter, an auxiliary characteristic of the gun.

In practice, it was a small cannon that fired cannonballs weighing about 1.5 kg and had a caliber (in our understanding) of about 70 mm.

D. E. Kozlovsky in his book translates Russian artillery weights into metric calibers:

3 lbs - 76 mm.

Explosive shells (bombs) occupied a special place in this system. Their weight was measured in pounds (1 pood = 40 trade pounds = approx. 16.3 kg). This is due to the fact that the bombs were hollow, with explosives inside, that is, made of materials of different densities. During their production, it was much more convenient to operate with generally accepted weight units.

D. Kozlovsky gives the following. ratios:

1/4 pood - 120 mm

A special weapon was intended for bombs - a bombard, or mortar. Its tactical and technical characteristics, combat missions and calibration system allow us to talk about special form artillery. In practice, small bombards often fired ordinary cannonballs, and then the same gun had different calibers- general at 12 pounds and special at 10 pounds.

The introduction of calibers, among other things, became a good financial incentive for soldiers and officers. Thus, in the “Book of Marine Charter”, printed in St. Petersburg in 1720, in the chapter “On rewarding” the amounts of reward payments for guns taken from the enemy are given:

30 pound - 300 rubles

In the second half of the 19th century, with the introduction of rifled artillery, the scale was adjusted due to changes in the characteristics of the projectile, but the principle remained the same.

Interesting fact: in our time, artillery pieces calibrated by weight are still in service. This is due to the fact that in Great Britain a similar system was maintained until the end of the Second World War. Upon its completion, a large number of guns were sold and transferred to countries like this. called Third world. In the WB itself, 25-pound (87.6 mm) guns were in service until the end of the 70s. last century, and now remain in fireworks units.

In 1877, the inch system was introduced. At the same time, the previous sizes on the “bruce” scale to new system had nothing to do with it. True, the “Bryusov” scale and artillery weight remained for some time after 1877 due to the fact that many obsolete guns remained in the army.

Example:

The “six-inch” of the cruiser “Aurora”, from which the October Revolution began, had a caliber of 6 inches or 152 mm.

From 1917 to the present. time caliber is measured in millimeters. In the USSR and Russia it is measured by the rifling fields (the smallest bore diameter). In the USA, UK and others. other countries according to their bottoms ( largest diameter), but also in millimeters.

Sometimes the caliber of a gun is used to measure the length of the barrel.

Examples:

153 mm howitzer, 20 calibers (or 153-20). Finding out the barrel length is quite simple.

24-pounder gun, 10 calibers. Here you first need to find out in which system the gun is calibrated.

The caliber of aircraft bombs adopted in Russia is measured by mass, that is, in kilograms and tons.

The caliber of torpedoes is measured in mm. by their diameter.

Caliber of rockets (unguided

An important advantage of the Russian cavalry was its excellent cavalry, which, if inferior to anyone, was only inferior to the cavalry of the English army. At the same time, both the horses themselves and their dressage were at their best.

Artillery

And finally, the Russian artillery was most decisively transformed. As a study by the commission of General A. A. Arakcheev showed, artillery had previously been underestimated, and actual artillery fire was 6–10 times superior to small arms fire. And this meant that it was the fire of field artillery that ensured the success of the army that had it in sufficient quantities. But at the same time, major shortcomings in the composition and organization of Russian artillery were revealed. The artillery was extremely varied in caliber, which made it difficult to control fire and supply ammunition. In addition, there were no horses in the permanent batteries. Usually mobilized horses were used, often of questionable condition, which had a bad effect on mobility. In addition, this did not provide sufficient speed for deploying guns into position and removing them from position.

Russian foot artillery

To solve these problems, Arakcheev introduced “artillery” horses, which should “never be separated from the company.” In 1803, following the example of the French artillery, standard charging boxes were introduced on the limbers, which made it possible to sharply reduce the time it took to prepare batteries for firing, since the ammunition necessary for battle moved along with the gun and ended up directly in position and in a convenient container. In 1805, artillery was unified with a sharp reduction in the number of artillery systems and calibers used. The carriages, limbers, harness and charging boxes were also unified. The low-powered regimental artillery was effectively eliminated, and its role was now to be filled by light artillery companies of 6-pounders and 1/4-pound unicorns.

Charging box

Old style 6-pounder gun

Organizationally, the artillery was consolidated into artillery brigades within infantry divisions. Such brigades consisted of battery and light companies. In addition, there were horse artillery companies as part of the cavalry corps and separate companies that were not part of the divisions.
In general, Russian artillery took first place in the world in terms of specific power (weight of a salvo per number of barrels). At the same time, it was distinguished by its harmonious organization and, thanks to the constant high-quality horse composition and the reduction in the weight of the guns, excellent mobility on the battlefield and on the march.

Field artillery charging box

Field artillery charging box

French army

The French army improved throughout the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. And very often she was an innovator in military affairs. For example, precisely in French army first moved to wide application shock column tactics. After clashes with the Russian army in 1805–1807, it underwent a smaller scale of reform than the Russian army, as it demonstrated its superiority. Basically, the reform of this period was expressed in the abandonment of semi-brigades and the restoration of the regimental level.

Infantry

The French infantry corps, which was the main strategic and operational unit of the French army, did not have such a clear and fixed structure as the Russian one. In addition, unlike the Russian corps, it was the highest organizational unit (for the Russians it was an army that included several corps) and, including all three types of troops, could conduct completely independent actions in the strategic direction without additional reinforcement. It consisted of 2–5 infantry divisions and 1–2 cavalry brigades or divisions, as well as corps artillery, which partly compensated for the French divisional artillery, which was weaker than in the Russian army.

The infantry division consisted of 3 brigades of 2 regiments each and usually 2 artillery batteries. The regiment consisted of 4 line and one reserve battalion. True, this division was not rigid. For example, in Davout’s 1st Infantry Corps, the regiments consisted of 5 line battalions and 1 reserve, but the brigade consisted of one regiment, that is, in fact, there was no regimental link. The battalion consisted of 6 companies, 1 grenadier, 4 fusiliers and one voltigeur.
Voltigeurs were an analogue of Russian rangers, but, unlike the latter, most often they did not stand out in separate brigades, regiments and battalions, but were dispersed as part of line battalions. This did not make it possible to use them separately as fighting forces on the battlefield. But this order made it possible to better organize the interaction of battalion columns and rifle chains in the division’s battle formations. This also allowed the French to use more complex ones than in the Russian army, battle formations divisions.
Voltigeurs were considered light infantry. They were armed with both smooth-bore guns and rifled carbines, as well as cutlasses. Voltigeurs, unlike Russian rangers, did not seriously rely on single actions away from their troops and were mainly trained to act in loose formation in the battle formations of divisions and regiments - therefore they were better prepared for such actions.
Their percentage in French units was somewhat lower than the percentage of rangers in the Russian army, which was compensated by a large percentage in allied units, for example in the Westphalian Corps of Marshal Davout.

French line infantry

Fusilier companies were the line infantry of the French army. Linear infantry, as in the Russian army, was intended for a bayonet attack in battalion columns or for salvo fire combat in a deployed linear formation. But unlike the Russian infantry, the French fusiliers deployed not in a 4-rank, but in a 3-rank formation. This difference was due to the better characteristics of the French gun and the level of training of the infantry. In practice, this meant that the French battalion, firing in deployed formation, had approximately a 25% advantage in fire performance. The line infantry were armed with smoothbore rifles with a bayonet. In the training of fusiliers, much more time was devoted to drill training and actions in close formation, mainly with an attack orientation.

French voltigeurs

The French grenadiers were noticeably different from the Russians. Grenadier companies were also elite, but differed in the principle of formation - to be enrolled there, a soldier had to have 4 years of service or 2 campaigns behind him. Four privates and one corporal in the grenadier company were sappers. Their distinctive feature traditionally had a leather apron and a large beard (a tradition that continues today in the French army) - they had to be strong and tall, since they walked in front of the assault columns and had to open doors, windows, gates and walls with their large axes populated areas where the enemy was holed up. However, in practice, those with the thickest beards were often hired as sappers.
In general, the French infantry, in its organization and composition, was maximally adapted to achieve success in active, attacking operations in field battle.

Cavalry

The French cavalry, in contrast to the Russian, was considered primarily as impact force on the battlefield, so its basis was made up of cuirassier and carabinieri units and also horse-jaeger units intended for the battlefield. In addition, there were hussar, dragoon and uhlan regiments. The last ones were mostly Polish.
Because of this composition, the French cavalry was used to a limited extent as an independent force. operational force, but had greater significance on the battlefield than the Russian one. Napoleon again began to use cavalry as a battering ram when breaking through the enemy front, although this was considered unprofitable in the era of the widespread arming of armies with small arms and the high saturation of armies with field artillery. Heavy cavalry made it possible to quickly break the distance and overthrow the enemy. The main thing was to introduce it into battle at the right moment.

"Old Guard", grenadiers

Cuirassiers were practically no different from Russians and also represented men-at-arms, perfectly suited for breaking infantry squares. The weapons were similar, only instead of cuirassier carbines, blunderbusses were used, adapted for firing at infantry at point-blank range at full gallop. The carabinieri of the French army differed from the cuirassiers essentially only in their uniforms and in the same way could successfully attack infantry.
The hussars, whose weapons and uniforms were modeled on the Hungarian cavalrymen, acted as light cavalry capable of pursuing the enemy, engaging with enemy cavalry and performing rapid maneuvers. Actually, the name “hussars” was borrowed from the Hungarian “huzzar”.
The lancers, another part of the light cavalry, were Polish cavalry with their traditional weapons, including the pike. Expectations that the pike would significantly increase the capabilities of cavalry in the fight against infantry did not materialize. But the pike turned out to be useful in battles with cavalry.

Saxon cuirassiers

An important innovation in Napoleon's army was the mounted chasseurs. They were light cavalry, but, like cuirassiers, they were used for action in the thick of battle. Mounted rangers were intended mainly for conducting fire combat both from horseback and on foot.
Napoleon's cavalry demonstrated its capabilities by overthrowing the enemy at Austerlitz and breaking through his front at Wagram.
Cuirassiers and carabiniers were consolidated into heavy cavalry divisions, lancers, hussars and horse huntsmen into light ones. The division included 2–3 brigades of two regiments and sometimes an artillery regiment. But in heavy divisions there were often brigades of the same regiment. Each regiment consisted of 4 squadrons.
The French cavalry corps consisted of 1–2 heavy, 1 light cavalry divisions and sometimes corps artillery. These corps were an important component of attack tactics and were used primarily for rapid frontal attacks and development of success on the battlefield. It was the French who were the first in Europe of that period to use large masses of cavalry in battle.
Despite having excellent training and weapons, the French cavalry had one big disadvantage. Due to the limited capabilities of the stud farms of Napoleon's empire and heavy losses, the French cavalry had, on average, a worse cavalry composition than the Russian cavalry. This limited the mobility of the French cavalry and prevented them from being used to great depth. Although with a frontal attack on the battlefield special significance it didn't.

Artillery

French artillery was at the forefront of its park and organization even before the French Revolution. Faced in mid-18th century century with the superiority of the enemy’s artillery, the French were the first to undertake a radical and strictly thought-out reorganization. The great engineer and artilleryman General Gribeauval introduced such generally accepted innovations as limbers with standardized charging boxes, new frame sights, vertical aiming screw mechanisms, “long-range” buckshot in tin caps, and returned to cap loading.
In 1803, Napoleon carried out another reform that affected the number of calibers. For example, 8-pounder and 4-pounder guns were replaced with 6-pounder ones, since, according to Napoleon's observations, in battle the guns of both old calibers were used in the same way and the differences between them were not taken into account. A longer howitzer of a slightly reduced caliber was introduced to achieve greater range, which made it possible to unify the ammunition with 24-pounder siege guns.
By the time of the invasion of Russia, French artillery was reduced to 8-gun companies with 6 guns and 2 howitzers, which made it possible to use the battery for a wide variety of purposes, although it complicated fire control and supplying the battery with ammunition. Reserve (or corps) artillery had batteries of 12-pounder and 8-pounder guns and howitzers large caliber and was intended for combat over long distances and the destruction of fortifications and suppression of enemy artillery. Divisional artillery was represented mainly by 6-pound and 4-pound cannons and medium-caliber howitzers (24 pounds) and was used in the division's combat formations at the starting positions for direct fire support. The regimental artillery had a different organization of batteries - 4-guns and was equipped with 3-pounder and 4-pounder cannons. She was supposed to accompany the attacking infantry with fire and wheels.
In terms of mobility and firepower per number of guns, French field artillery was somewhat weaker than Russian due to the large number of light 3-pound and 4-pound guns. But it included both heavy long-range guns and regimental artillery, intended for operations in infantry combat formations not only in defense, but also in the offensive (which allowed it to be used more flexibly), and had more powerful artillery systems in heavy artillery.

Armament of armies

Russian army

IN early XIX century, the Russian army was faced with the enemy's superiority in small arms. This fact was all the more unpleasant because since the time of Peter the Russian small arms was at the proper global level. But the very first clashes between the Russian army and the French showed the superiority of the French gun of the 1777 model over Russian guns. But not only did French weapons provide a tactical advantage, they were also more monotonous. And in the Russian army by 1808 the situation was such that 28-caliber guns were in service. At the same time, the guns were both domestically produced and foreign.
In 1805, a new, very reliable gun was adopted. But due to the unification of the cartridge with the old one, it turned out to be heavy and with powerful recoil with a modest range and accuracy of fire.

Infantry pistol model 1809

In 1808, relying on captured French guns of the 1777 model and purchased English guns of the 1794 model, Tula gunsmiths managed to develop a model that was not inferior to them. The new gun had, following the example of foreign prototypes, a caliber reduced from 19 mm to 17.8 mm and a reduced weight from 5.16 kg to 4.46 kg. It was possible to increase the initial bullet speed and accuracy of fire. They were also able to increase the number of hits on a standard 1.8 to 1.22 arshin target from 100 steps to more than half the bullets, while when shooting from the old gun the norm was a quarter of the bullets hit. The maximum firing range reached 300 steps. To speed up loading, all types of guns used paper cartridges containing a bullet and a powder charge.

Gun flintlocks

In 1805, new models of screw guns were created for non-commissioned officers and huntsman rifles. These were rifled weapons that provided the ability to fire at a distance of up to 1 thousand steps, and at 500 steps they showed the same accuracy as a gun of the 1808 model at 100. Also, based on the gun of the 1808 model, cavalry guns were developed.
But, despite the successes in rearming the army, only half of the army managed to rearm with the new model guns. Another disadvantage was the use of an old bayonet - shorter than the French ones, and designed for older, longer guns, which was especially noticeable when repelling cavalry attacks. True, the percentage of rangers armed with rifle weapons has increased noticeably. Now screw guns and fittings were available in the Jaeger regiments at the rate of 12 per company and in the cavalry units, except for the hussars, at the rate of 16 per squadron.

6-inch long (left) and 24-pounder (right) French howitzers

In general, the small arms of the Russian army in 1812 can be assessed as somewhat worse than the French, but at the level of the general armament of the “Great Army”, taking into account the armament of the troops of the allied and subject states.
The characteristics of the main guns in service with the Russian army were as follows.
Model 1805 infantry rifle. Its weight (without bayonet) is 5.16 kg, length 145.8 cm (with bayonet 183 cm). Caliber – 19 mm, bullet weight – 30 g, gunpowder weight – 10.7 g. Maximum firing range 250–300 steps, effective aimed shooting range (probability of hitting a standard target more than 1/2) – 75 steps.
Infantry rifle model 1808. Its weight (without bayonet) is 4.47 kg, length 145.8 cm (with bayonet 183 cm). Caliber - 17.8 mm, bullet weight - 23.8 g, gunpowder weight - 9.9 g. Maximum firing range is 300 steps, effective aimed shooting range (probability of hitting a standard target is more than 1/2) - 100 steps.

Model 1808 infantry rifle

Dragoon rifle model 1809. Its weight (without bayonet) is 3.73 kg. Caliber - 17.8 mm, bullet weight - 23.8 g, gunpowder weight - 9.6 g. Maximum firing range is 200 steps, effective aimed shooting range (probability of hitting a standard target is more than 1/2) - 75 steps.

Dragoon rifle model 1809

Model 1805 rifle. Weight 4.26 kg. Caliber - 16.5 mm, bullet weight - 23.8 g. Maximum firing range is 1 thousand steps, effective aimed shooting range (the probability of hitting a standard target is more than 1/2) - 500 steps.
Cavalry fitting of the 1803 model. Weight 2.65 kg. Caliber – 16.5 mm, bullet weight – 23.8 g, gunpowder weight – 7 g. Maximum firing range is 900 steps, effective aimed shooting range (probability of hitting a standard target is more than 1/2) – 300 steps.

Cavalry fitting, model 1803

However, due to the lower rate of fire of small arms (compared to artillery) and the shorter range of smoothbore rifles (compared to buckshot), the role of small arms fire in relation to artillery was small, which smoothed out the effect of the difference in small arms.

Jaeger fitting

In the field of artillery, the picture was more favorable for the Russian army. Thanks to the reform, the most used calibers remained in service. These are respectively 12-pounder and 6-pounder guns and 1/2- and 1/4-pound unicorns. The remaining artillery systems were lightened and standardized across carriages. Maintenance of the guns has been simplified. Artillery companies received a mixed composition of guns and howitzers, selected according to the weight of the artillery system - and this allowed flexible use firepower and at the same time equal mobility of all guns in the artillery company. The mobility and weight of a volley of artillery companies were considered more important than range. Therefore, from the 12-pounder guns, medium and small-proportion guns were left; 12-pounder large-proportion guns, not suitable for rapid transportation and deployment, remained only for fortress and siege artillery. The same fate befell the 1-pound unicorn.

1/4 – pound unicorn in section

Sectional view of a 12-pounder small-proportion gun

In addition, much attention was paid to maximizing the rate of fire and ease of loading. For this reason, the gap between the core and the walls of the bore was made larger than that of French guns. Also, for guns of small proportions, the barrel was made shorter. This simplified loading the cannon with a cap, which contained a projectile, wad and gunpowder. But at the same time, such measures reduced the accuracy and range of fire due to the worse obturation of the projectile core in the barrel bore.

Lighting shells

Unitary loading shots

Quite a specific weapon of the Russian army were unicorns. The field artillery of other countries included howitzers, which differed from cannons in having a much shorter and thin-walled barrel. They were intended to fire mainly grenades and bombs and had a lower muzzle velocity and a steeper trajectory. In the Russian army, instead of field howitzers, unicorns were used, which, in fact, occupied an intermediate position between a cannon and a howitzer.
The characteristics of the guns in service with the Russian army were as follows.

12-pounder medium proportion gun

12-pounder model 1805 gun

Gun weight - 800 kg (50 pounds), system weight - 1624 kg (101.5 pounds), caliber - 4.76 inches (121 mm), barrel length - 16.5 caliber, harness - 6 horses.
Firing range: cannonball - 2.8 km (1300 fathoms), grenade - 1.1 km (500 fathoms), buckshot - more than 300 meters (150 fathoms).

12-pounder gun of smaller proportion:

12-pounder small proportion gun

Gun weight - 480 kg (30 pounds), system weight - 1210 kg (75.6 pounds), caliber - 4.76 inches (121 mm), barrel length - 13 calibers, harness - 6 horses.
Firing range: cannonball - 2.6 km (1300 fathoms), grenade - 1.1 km (500 fathoms), buckshot - more than 300 meters (150 fathoms).

6-pounder gun

Model 1805 6-pounder gun

Gun weight - 355 kg (22.2 pounds), system weight - 980 kg (61 pounds), caliber - 3.76 inches (95 mm), barrel length - 17 calibers, harness - 6 horses for cavalry and 4 for foot artillery .
Firing range: cannonball - 2.2 km (1 thousand fathoms), grenade - about 900 m (400 fathoms), buckshot - more than 300 meters (150 fathoms).

1/2 pound unicorn
Gun weight - 680 kg (42.5 pounds), system weight - 1810 kg (113 pounds), caliber - 6.1 inches (155 mm), barrel length - 10.5 caliber, harness - 6 horses.
Firing range: cannonball - 2.2 km (1 thousand fathoms), grenade - 1.3 km (600 fathoms), buckshot - 550 meters (250 fathoms).

1/4 pound unicorn:

Gun weight - 345 kg (21.6 pounds), system weight - 950 kg (59.3 pounds), caliber - 4.84 inches (123 mm), barrel length - 10.5 caliber, harness - 4 horses (6 - equestrian).
Firing range: cannonball - 1.3 km (600 fathoms), grenade - about 900 m (400 fathoms).
If we take into account the number of guns in the army and their superiority in rate of fire over small arms (up to 9 rounds/min. versus 4 rounds/min. for smoothbore guns and 1–2 rounds/min. for rifled guns), then it becomes clear that It was the artillery pieces that determined the firepower of the army.

Markevich quadrant

Sight (diopter) of the Markevich system

Kabanov's sight

1/4 – pound unicorn model 1805

Unicorn breech with wingguard and scope mount

As the main tactical code, Russian artillery used the “General Rules for Artillery in a Field Battle” developed by Count Kutaisov, approved by Emperor Alexander I and sent to the troops as instructions. Here is the content of these “Rules”.
"1. In a field battle, shots at 500 fathoms are doubtful, at 300 fathoms they are quite accurate, and at 200 and 100 fathoms they are fatal; for the last three distances our new buckshots can also be used. Consequently, when the enemy is still at first range, you should shoot at him rarely, in order to have time to aim your gun more accurately and make it difficult for him to move with your shots; at the second distance, shoot more often in order to stop or at least prolong his approach, and finally strike with all possible speed in order to knock him over and destroy him.
2. From the beginning of the battle, hide the number of your artillery, but increase it as the case continues, so that your point of attack will be hidden from the enemy, and if he were attacking, he would meet artillery where he might not have expected it.
3. When the real intention of the enemy has not yet been noticed, the batteries should consist of a small number of guns and be scattered in different places. In this situation, you are a small target, and you yourself have more means of harming him with indirect and cross shots and complicating his enterprises.
4. Batteries of a large number of guns should be placed in such cases when it is necessary to make a breach in the enemy’s line or to stop his strong desire to reach some point, or when it is necessary to knock him out of some position.
5. Avoid placing batteries on very elevated, steep places; on the contrary, batteries of unicorns can be placed with great benefit behind small elevations, which would only cover them, for almost all of their shots, except grapeshot, are mounted.

French artillery at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries
(Historical and technical essay)

Part 1
Guns and ammunition for them.

Preface.
Russian artillery regular army, created by the genius of Emperor Peter I, developed under a clear and strong European influence. It is believed that the king was a great admirer of Holland and perceived a lot from there.

However, Surrey de Saint-Rémy's book on artillery, first published in France in 1697, republished in 1706, was translated into Russian in 1732. In the preface to this book, the author indicates that his work is original and that the book was then translated into a number of languages, including Dutch.

It can be assumed that the basis for regulating Russian artillery imperial army However, French developments served. This does not mean at all that before Peter I there was no artillery in Russia, or that it was something vague and amorphous, that guns were poured out as needed and as needed. Peter I simply brought order to this matter, gave the artillery harmony and clear regulations, not far behind Europe in this regard.

It seems that the description of the artillery of France at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries is of some interest in this regard. So to speak, in order to understand “where the ears grow from” and be able to compare. And this, in turn, makes it clear that in building the Army, Emperor Peter did not blindly copy the experience of Europeans, but only used it to create Russian artillery that met the conditions of Russia.

Note that I am not using the original French book, but its translation into Russian, made by Field Marshal Count Munnich in 1732. Hence I am not able to indicate the names in the original language. The names are given as Minich translated them.

The book contains quite a lot of figures indicating the sizes and weights of products. However, it is unclear from the book exactly which units of measurement are used in the text. Either Minich changed French measures to Russian ones, or he made a translation without changing anything.
On top of that, right up to the introduction in France of a single metric system measures, which happened only at the end of the 18th century, there was complete discrepancy in this matter. Although the names of the units of measurement were generally the same, literally every province had its own pounds, feet, and inches. Worse, in the same area they could change over time.

The difference is not particularly big, but it still exists. I think that Minich did not bother with recalculations, but gives the data in French measures, leaving the reader to figure out exactly what pounds and feet the French author had in mind.

For the convenience of readers, I give sizes both in French and in our usual units, recalculating from French.

For reference:
*1 Russian inch = 2.54 cm (divided into 10 lines),
*1 French inch = 2.71 cm (divided into 12 lines),
*1 Russian foot = 0.3048 m.,
*1 French foot = 0.3001 m.,
*1 French royal foot = 0.3248 m.

*1 Russian pound = 409.51 grams,
*1 French pound = 489.502 grams,
*1 French artillery pound = 491.4144 gr.
*1 French ounce = 30.588 gr.

In addition, it is advisable to indicate the names of the elements of gun barrels:

A - the bottom or treasury with its own nail.
B - flat frieze and bottom decoration.
C - ignition field.
D- astragalus or friezes fuse.
E-first ledge.
F-flat hoop and decoration, or frieze of the first ledge.
G - second ledge.
H - dolphins or ears.
I- trunnions.
K-flat hoop and decoration, or frieze of the second ledge.
L - belt or decoration, or frieze near the muzzle end.
M-banded astragalus or frieze.
N-izlet sound.
O- islet astragalus or frieze.
P-neck.
Q - burleite or muzzle decoration, or frieze.
R-barrel.
S-shell in which the fuse.

The gun barrel is divided into three main parts, called ledges:
-the “first ledge” is highlighted in brown,
-green color"second ledge" highlighted
-blue color“Izlet yadrovoy” is highlighted.

The difference between these parts is mainly in the outer diameter, and accordingly, in the wall thickness. The greatest pressure of powder gases is in the first ledge, and therefore this part of the table should be the most durable.
The second ledge experiences, in addition to the internal pressure of powder gases (which is already less than in the first ledge), also external forces, since this is where the trunnions are located, with the help of which the barrel is secured to the carriage.
This structure of the gun barrel ensures its lighter weight with the same strength in comparison with more ancient guns that had a barrel of the same diameter along the entire length.

From the author. I give these difficult-to-remember names of the elements of gun barrels so as not to obscure the text below, explaining each time what, say, “frieze”, “trunnions” or “astragalus” are. The reader himself will have to take the trouble to either remember these terms or refer to this picture every time.
And at the same time, from here the reader can learn and understand some of the terms found in military historical literature.

And further. From the book it follows that at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries in France, guns were either copper, or cast iron. There were no bronze cannons. There were attempts to make cannons from wrought iron and there were quite a lot of enthusiasts of such guns, but the first experiments were unsuccessful and at the beginning XVIII centuries, the attitude towards them was generally negative.

Attention! The text of the book is not perfect and there are mathematical errors in it. Some of them are awkward and very obvious. I have corrected them whenever possible, but the reader should take into account that the data presented in the book may differ from other sources. This is the result of either errors by the author of the book, or the result of different readings of units of measurement. In addition, the low quality of printing in some cases makes it difficult to read the numbers and you have to guess based on logic and similar data from different places in the book.

End of the preface.

Comment.
In artillery there is a term “caliber”, which indicates the characteristics of the projectile being sent, i.e. gun power. Today, caliber is usually determined by the internal diameter of the gun barrel and the outer diameter of the projectile used, and it is measured in millimeters. However, until the advent of rifled guns and oblong shells (and in England even during the Second World War), the caliber of guns was determined by the weight of the cannonball, which was placed in the barrel of the gun. It was measured in pounds.
But the caliber of mortars was measured in inches and lines, i.e. along the diameter of the bore.

From the author. A very, very inconvenient way to calibrate guns. First of all, pounds were different in different countries. Secondly, kernels of the same weight could have different diameters depending on the material from which they were made. For example, the density of the same cast iron today ranges from 6.8 to 7.3 tons/cub.m.
Hence, weighing captured, and even our own, cannonballs did not give anything in terms of answering the question - will these cannonballs fit our guns?
The solution to the problem is very simple - you need to measure the diameter of the core and compare it with the inner diameter of the trunk. This is what was done in practice. For this purpose, the artillerymen had special tools. In particular, artillery compasses and templates. In the artillery arsenals, or magazines, as they were called then, and in the shelves there were templates, i.e. wooden, copper or iron rings with handles, which were called “kugellers”. The hole of the kugeller was of the exact size, and the caliber to which it corresponded was stamped on the frame. These simple measuring instruments were used to control the size of nuclei.
I use one of the tables (page 61 of Memoria), which gives the diameters of barrels in inches and lines depending on the caliber defined in pounds, to convert the calibers indicated in pounds into millimeters that are more familiar and understandable to us.
Please keep in mind that the pounds used here are French artillery pounds (different from regular French pounds). The caliber listed in inches and lines in millimeters is only approximate and indicative.

Guns produced in the 16th-17th centuries and out of use by the end of the 17th century

De Saint-Rémy points out that at the beginning of the 18th century these cannons could still be found in fortresses, in particular in Brest and Strasbourg, as well as in the French colonies. I took the liberty of giving double numbers in the table (converting pounds and feet into our usual kilograms and meters) in order to make it easier to imagine the weight and size of the guns.

Gun name	Caliber		Weight lbs/tons	Length feet/meters
	pounds/kilogram	millimeters
Basilisk (Basilisk)	48 / 23.59	192.5	7200 / 3.54	10 / 3.25
Dragon (Snake)	40 / 19.66	181.3	7000 / 3.44	16.5 / 5.36
Dragon Shuttlecock (Flying Serpent)	32 / 15.73	168.8	7200 / 3.54	22 / 7.15
Serpentina (Zmeeevka)	24 / 11.79	153.0	4300 / 2.13	13 / 4.22
Culverina (Hose)	20 / 9.83	143.6	7000 / 3.54	16 / 5.2
Pasmur	16 / 7.86	133.2	4200 / 2.06	18 / 5.91
Aspid	12 / 5.9	121.3	4250 / 2.09	11 / 3.61
Half-culverine (Half-hose)	10 / 4.9	114.1	3850 / 1.89	13 / 4.27
Passando	8 /3.93	106.0	3500 / 1.72	15 / 4.93
Pelican	6 / 2.95	96.2	2400 / 1.18	9 / 2.96
Sakr	5 / 2.46	90.6	2850 / 1.4	13 / 4.27
Secret	4 / 1.97	84.2	2550 / 1.25	12.5 / 4.11
Fokon (Falcon)	3 / 1.47	76.3	2300 / 1.13	8 / 2.63
Fokono (Sokolets)	2 / 0.98	66.8	1350 / 0.663	10.5 / 3.45
Ribadekin big	1 / 0.49	53.0	750 / 0.387	8 / 2.63
Ribadekin small	0.5 / 0.246	42.0	450 / 0.221	6 / 1.97
Emirlon	0.25 /0.123	33.3	400 /0.197	4 or 5 / 1.31 or 1.64

There is no information in the book about the metal from which the old type guns were made. Based on their weight, we can assume that these guns were cast iron.
The transition to a new scale of artillery calibers at the end of the 17th century was accompanied by the fact that artillery pieces have lost the proper name for each caliber.

Guns produced since the end of the 17th century

In this scale, 48 and 40 pound guns were excluded as too heavy, but having no special advantage over 33 pounders. The length of the trunks was sharply reduced. If previously the longest trunk was more than 7 meters, now maximum length was 3.32 meters. In turn, this led to a significant reduction in the mass of the guns and an increase in their mobility while reducing the number of horses in the team.

In addition, the number of gun models was reduced from 17 to 14, and the number of calibers from 17 to 10. The latter greatly facilitated the work of ammunition supply services.

Classic copper cannons

Cannon sample	Caliber		Weight lbs/tons	Length feet/meters
	pounds/kilogram	millimeters
French 33-pounder	33 / 16.22	170.0	6200 / 3.05	11 / 3.32
Half-cartown Spanish 24-pounder	24 / 11 .79	153.0	5100 / 2.51	11/ 3.32
Half Cart French (Hose) 16-lb.	16 / 7.86	133.2	4100 / 2.02	10.8 / 3.31
Quarter cart Spanish 12 pounder	12 / 5 .9	121.3	3400 / 1.67	10.8 / 3.31
Quarter Frenchman. (Batard) 8-lb.	8 / 3.93	106.0	1950/0.958	10 / 3.28
Short 8lb	8 / 3.93	106.0	?	8.5 / 2.65
Medium 4 lb.	4 / 1.97	84.2	1300 / 0.639	10.8 / 3.31
Short 4lb	4 / 1.97	84.2	?	8.5 / 2.65
Fokon (Falcon) 2-pounder	2 / 0.98	66.8	800 / 0.393	7 / 2.3
Other Fokon (Other Falcon) 2-pounder	2 / 0.98	66.8	700 / 0.344	7 / 2.3
Faucon (Falcon) 1 1/2-pound	1.5 / 0.74	?	500 / 0.245	7 / 2.3
Fokonets (Sokolets) 1-pound	1 / 0.491	53.0	400 / 0.197	7 / 2.3
Other fokonets (Other Sokolets) 1-pound	1 / 0.491	53.0	200 / 0.098	7 / 2.3
Fokonets (Sokolets) 1/2 - pound	0.5 / 0.245	42.0	150 /0.074	7 / 2.3

The bore of all guns is strictly cylindrical along its entire length, with the exception that in the breech of 33, 24 and 16 pound caliber guns the bore narrows somewhat and takes on the appearance of a truncated cone. This is done to better compact the powder charge and increase the gas pressure in First stage shot.

The firing range of copper classical cannons, according to de Saint-Rémy, was:
*33-pounder gun: sighting range 600 steps, maximum range 6000 steps,
*24-pounder gun: sighting range 800 steps, maximum range 6000 steps,
*16-pounder gun: sighting range 800 steps, maximum range 8000 steps,
*12-pounder gun: sighting range 450 steps, maximum range 5000 steps,
*8-pounder gun: sighting range 400 steps, maximum range 4500 steps,
*4-pounder gun: sighting range 300 steps, maximum range 3000 steps,
*2-pounder gun: sighting range 150 steps, maximum range 1500 steps.

Copper new invention guns

As of 1706, in addition to the cannons described above, cannons were already cast the latest model, called in the book “guns of a new invention (new invention).” These newly invented guns differed from the classic ones in that an oval-shaped chamber for gunpowder was made in the breech of the barrel, which ensured an increase in the powder charge in comparison with classic guns, and hence an increased firing range.

This also made it possible to make the barrel shorter and significantly reduce the weight of the gun. For example, the weight of a 24-pound gun decreased from 2.5 tons to 1.5, and the length from 3.3 to 2 meters.

The new guns were distinguished by an increased outer diameter of the first ledge because increased strength was required.

From the author. It seems that new-invention guns required a more durable metal, since the problem of increasing the powder charge cannot be solved by thickening the walls of the breech alone. It was also necessary new technology drilling barrels, as well as higher quality gunpowder, which has more complete combustion, because It is quite difficult to remove unburned powder particles from the charging chamber.
Obviously, these moments predetermined that with the start of production of new innovation guns, the production of old ones was not curtailed.

Copper cannons of a new invention.

Cannon sample	Caliber		Weight lb/ton	Length feet/meters
	pounds/kilogram	millimeters
24 lb.	24 / 11.79	153.0	3000 / 1.47	6.6 / 2.01
16 lb.	16 / 7.86	133.2	2200 / 1.08	6.2 / 1.98
12 lb.	12 / 5.9	121.3	2000 / 0.98	6 /1.97
8 lb.	8 / 3.93	106.0	1000 / 0.49	4.9 / 1.37
4 lb.	4 / 1.97	84.2	600 / 0.295	4.8 / 1.34

According to tests carried out by Lieutenant General Mense in Flanders, the maximum firing range from cannons of the new invention with a powder charge of 1/3 of the weight of the cannonball and a barrel elevation angle of 45 degrees) was:
*24-pounder gun - 2250 toise (4386 m.),
*16-pounder gun - 2020 toise (3937 m.),
*12-pounder gun -1870 toise (3645 m.),
*8-pounder gun - 1660 toise (3235 m.),
*4-pounder gun -1520 toise (2963 m.).

At the same time, de Saint-Rémy writes that the standard powder charge of the guns was half of the maximum and the aimed firing range did not exceed 300 toises (585 meters). As the guns wore out, the powder charge had to be reduced to a quarter of the maximum and the firing range was reduced to 102 toises (200 meters). The same had to be done when reaching half the daily norm of shots, i.e. after 40-50 shots.

From the author. This generally reminds huge difference between the technically possible maximum speed of modern cool foreign cars of 250-300 km/h and the realistically possible driving speed in the city of 60-100 km/h. Of course, there are reckless drivers who accelerate to these maximum speeds, but final result always extremely sad - the car is a pile of twisted iron, and the driver is in a cemetery. Same with guns.

De Saint-Rémy notes that in addition to standardized calibers, it is possible to find guns of more large calibers. (one of the cannons of the Strasbourg fortress has a caliber of 96 pounds), as well as cannons of intermediate calibers. These are mainly captured guns or guns cast privately.

Cast iron cannons.

It was believed that their use was no longer practical due to the poor quality of the metal, which rusted too quickly, especially from inside the barrel, thereby increasing the actual caliber of the gun. Or fistulas form in the metal, which makes shooting from cast iron guns dangerous.
Of all the cast iron cannons during this period, only cannons cast at the Se-Gervais foundry were allowed for use in French artillery, since the cast iron was very soft and viscous there. And even then, only a few coastal cities and towns in the mountains were supposed to be equipped with cast-iron cannons.

From the author. I believe that the French returned to the production of cast iron cannons for reasons of economy. Copper was very expensive in those days. It is no coincidence that small denomination coins were stamped from copper and their denomination was determined by their weight.

Cast iron cannons are noticeably heavier than copper ones. If the classic 24-pound copper cannon weighed 2.5 tons, the new invention 1.5 tons, then the cast iron one weighed 2.7 tons.

The book gives the characteristics of the following cast iron cannons:

Cannon sample	Caliber		Weight lb/ton	Length feet/meters
	pounds/kilogram	millimeters
24 lb.	24 / 11.79	153.0	5550 / 2.73	?
16 lb.	16 / 7.86	133.2	4500 / 2.21	?
8 lb.	8 / 3.93	106.0	2250 / 1.1	?
4 lb.	4 / 1.97	84.2	1300 / 0.64	?

In addition, in January 1693, 90 cast iron cannons cast in private forges were purchased in the cities of Angoumoa and Perigio:

Cannon sample	Purchased guns	Caliber		Weight lb/ton	Length feet/meters
		pounds/kilogram	millimeters
36 lb.	3	36 / 17.69	174.9	7100 /3.49	?
24 lb.	25	24 /11.79	153.0	5730 / 2.82	?
18 lb.	14	18 / 8.85	138.9	4370/ 2.15	?
12 lb.	23	12 / 5.9	121.3	3610 /1.78	?
8 lb.	25	8 /3.93	106.0	2310 / 1.14	?

The cost of the purchased guns was 710 livres for 36-pound guns, 573 livres for 24-pound guns, and for smaller calibers from 354 to 185 livres apiece.

From the author. So, for a general idea, so that you can understand the scale of prices in France at that time and to understand that war is a very expensive business:
The Livre was the monetary unit of France until 1795. There are 20 soldi in 1 livre (sous, salt), in 1 soldo there are 12 deniers.
Prices - pound of bread - 2-3 sous; a pound of beef or a liter of wine - 2-3 sous, chicken - 15 sous; a pound of butter - 5-8 sous, a pair of men's shoes - 3 livres, children's shoes - 14 sous; a dozen wooden clogs - 25 sous.
A worker who received a livre per day was considered a wealthy person.

One 36-pound cast iron cannon thus cost 246 pairs of boots or two years' salary of a skilled worker. But copper cannons, which were the majority, were much more expensive.

Successful tests of the purchased cast iron cannons and the depletion of the royal treasury prompted the government to order the production of another 300 cast iron cannons of some calibers for the field troops. Their characteristics are as follows:

Cannon sample	Guns manufactured	Caliber		Weight lb/ton	Length feet/meters
		pounds/kilogram	millimeters
12 lb.	?	12 / 5.9	121.3	3600 / 1.77	8.5 / 2.79
12 lb.	?	12 / 5.9	121.3	3700 / 1/82	9 / 2.96
8 lb.	?	8 /3.93	106.0	2400 / 1/18	8 / 2/63
8 lb.	?	8 /3.93	106.0	2600 /1.28	8.5 / 2/79
4 lb.	?	4 / 1.97	84.2	1400 / 0/689	6.5 / 2/14

On turn of the XVIII-XVIII there are quite exotic guns. For example, a twin 4-pounder gun. It consisted of two barrels cast together, 5 feet 4 inches (1.65 m) long, with a common ignition channel. The cannon could fire both regular cannonballs and interconnected rods (the rods were each inserted into its own barrel, and the connecting jumper remained outside). The length of this twin ammunition is 12 feet (3.95 m) and weighs 65 pounds (32 kg).

From the author. The book does not provide other data (firing range, damaging capabilities, etc.). Obviously, this invention remains exotic, since there are few places where you can find information about such guns. I dare to suggest that one of the reasons was that it is difficult to achieve synchronization of shots from both barrels. Apparently, the paired rods flew away aimlessly or even separated from each other during the flight, or worse, damaged the barrels when fired.

There was an option in which a third barrel was located slightly higher in the hollow between the two trunks, and also an option in which the barrel was cast in an oval shape and two channels were drilled into it A. Such guns had a common charging chamber.

De Saint-Rémy writes that cast-iron semi-cartan cannons (24- and 16-pounders) can fire from 90 to 100 shots per day in the summer, and 65-75 shots in the winter. However, according to information from artillery officers, they sometimes fired up to 150 rounds per day. But this is fraught with damage to the machine and swelling of the ignition channel.
16- and 12-pounder copper cannons can fire up to 200 shots in 9 hours or 138 shots in 5 hours. But these are technical capabilities since such shooting does not leave time for proper aiming of the gun.

Ammunition

The main type of ammunition for all guns was spherical all-metal cannonballs.

The translator of de Saint-Rémy's book calls them simply nuclei.

Core. They were usually cast from cast iron. The diameter of the core should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the barrel so that the core can freely roll into the barrel without delay. For example, with a bore diameter of an 8-pound gun of 106.026 mm. the core diameter for it should be 102.36 mm according to the table.

The core hits targets only due to its kinetic energy, i.e. mass and speed.

The cost of a thousand cast iron cannonballs at the turn of the century was about 3 livres.

Hard core. It is a regular core, which is heated to a red glow over a fire before loading. Designed to create fires in a besieged city or fortress. In order to be able to use a hardened cannonball in a cannon, a castle made of crumpled clay is placed between it and the powder charge. This lock also plays the role of a wad.
The use of hardened balls is permitted only in 8-pounder and 4-pounder guns. Cannonballs of smaller calibers cool down too quickly on the trajectory and cannot ignite anything. Larger caliber kernels (12-pounds or larger) are too heavy, difficult to heat to the desired temperature, and are prone to cracking and destruction due to uneven heating.

Empty core. It is a metal cylinder with a diameter of the caliber of a gun and a length of 2.5 calibers. Part of the internal space (one and a half caliber) was filled with lead, and the rest contained a powder charge. At the end of the cylinder, which, when loading the gun, looked towards the powder charge of the gun, a hole was drilled into which a copper ignition tube filled with slowly burning gunpowder was screwed. The outer end of the ignition tube was covered with turpentine (a mixture of pine resin and essential oil).

When fired from a flash cannon powder charge the pyrotechnic composition in the ignition tube caught fire, the cylinder flew out of the cannon, and after this composition burned out, an explosion occurred.

For example, a 24-pound empty cannonball had a total weight of 79 pounds (38.32 kg), i.e. more than three times the weight of a typical 24-pound round ball. In the total weight of this projectile, gunpowder was 6 pounds (2.95 kg), metal body 60 pounds (29.5 kg), 19 pounds (9.34 kg). The projectile diameter is 153 mm, length is about 382.5 mm, wall thickness is 27 mm.

From the author. From de Saint-Rémy’s book it turns out that oblong, and even explosive shells with remote fuse existed at the end of the 17th century. Of course, this cylinder tumbled along its trajectory and flew at a distance three times less than an ordinary cannonball. The accuracy was very unsatisfactory. But such shells existed.
Along the way, de Saint-Rémy briefly mentions (p. 105) that in design these “empty cannonballs” are very similar to some land mines or “undermines” installed on the ground. Unfortunately, he does not develop this thesis and does not describe it in detail. But the conclusion suggests itself that anti-personnel mines and minefields, precisely in the sense in which we understand them today, were used in the 18th century.
But just as today they write very little and in passing about mines, so it was with them in those distant times.

Core messenger. Basically it is a means of delivering written documents to and from a besieged fortress.
This is a hollow screwed spherical core coated with lead or made of lead.

Chain core (nipple). There were several types of knipples. The simplest is two cores connected by a rigid jumper (similar in shape to modern sports dumbbells). The nipple could be immediately cast in this mold. There were options when two half-nuclei were connected by a chain. Or the half-cores were hollow, and the chain was laid in the cavities of the half-cores before firing.
In de Saint-Rémy's book, only one option is given - simply two cores connected by a chain.

Nipples are effective at relatively short distances and mainly on ships, where they are good at destroying spars and rigging. On land they were sometimes used to fire at fortified camps or approaching infantry.
The accuracy of shooting with nipples (apparently consisting of two cores with a chain) on land is unsatisfactory, and the firing range half as much as with regular cores.

De Saint-Rémy gives in his book a variant of a nipple consisting of two half-cores connected by a rigid jumper. However, he points out that this type of pin is intended for use as an incendiary projectile.

A cannonball filled with an incendiary composition (incendiary nipple). It is a nipple on rigid jumper (shown just above), The gap between the half-cores is filled with a solid rosin-based incendiary composition and wrapped in several layers of canvas impregnated with resin. When fired, the canvas ignites from the gunpowder charge, and falling near the target creates a fire.

There is an option in which an ignition tube similar to the tube of the empty core is screwed into one of the two semi-cores through a drilled hole. In this case, the nipple shell is made of lead.

From the author. De Saint-Rémy does not provide descriptions of incendiary compositions. One of the books describes that powder balls could be placed inside the train, which, when fire reached them, exploded and scattered the burning composition, thereby increasing the source of the fire.

Interesting feature. The diameter of the cylindrical part of the nipple was slightly larger than the diameter of the half-cores, due to which the nipple was inserted into the gun barrel with force. This made it possible not to use a wad, since the canvas of the nipple performed its role.

De Saint-Rémy points out that incendiary nipples and “empty cannonballs” generally did not live up to the hopes placed on them due to the low reliability of the ignition system (ignition tubes). When fired, they either did not light up at all, or, on the contrary, ignited the filling prematurely. Their use was more of a one-time or test nature.

From the author. From these lines from the author of the book (p. 106) it becomes clear why incendiary nipples and cylindrical explosive shells, although they existed at the turn of the century, are little known and are not mentioned at all in most historical literature. Large weight, short firing range, unreliable operation, and difficulty in manufacturing did not contribute to their introduction into artillery practice.
The use of empty cannonballs generally posed a danger to the guns. Often, the pressure of the powder gases during a shot squeezed the ignition composition inside the projectile, which led to the rupture of the projectile in the barrel.
These shortcomings will be eliminated much later.

Modern military historical literature often mentions hollow cores filled with gunpowder that explode at the target. They are usually called bombs and grenades. However, if we rely on de Saint-Rémy’s book, then in France at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries the guns did not have such ammunition.
Bombs were used only in mortars, and the bomb's fuse tube was ignited separately before firing. And the core was inserted so that the ignition tube looked not in the direction of the powder charge, but in the opposite direction,
De Saint-Rémy calls grenades similar products, but which were used in fortresses for throwing them into the ditch by hand in order to destroy enemy soldiers who had penetrated the ditch and which could no longer be removed from cannons and rifles.

"MEMORIES OR ARTILLERY NOTES which describe MORTARS, PETARDS, DOPPEL jacks, muskets, fuses, and everything that belongs to all these weapons. bombs, frames and grenades, and other castings of cannons, saltpeter and gunpowder, bridges, mines, carries, carts and horses, and in general everything that concerns artillery both at sea and on the land route: disposing of stores, creating charges and stations in armies and in warehouses, marching order, and their disposition in all battles way to defend the fortress and the position of Officer, etc. THROUGH MR. SUREREY DE SEINT REMI VOLUME ONE. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH LANGUAGE PRINTED IN ST. PETERSBURG in the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1732."
Page 137-142.

Kartuz, Its varieties are called - cartouche, garguzh, gargush, garguss, buckshot.
Garguzh (gargush, garguss) is a cap made of canvas. It is a fabric shell inside which a sample of gunpowder is placed and a core or lead bullets can be placed.

Kartuz (cartouche) differs from garguzh in that it is made of parchment or multi-layer paper. It can also contain only gunpowder or, in addition to gunpowder, also a core or lead bullets.

Cartuses made of tin and wood are called, respectively, “tin buckshot” and, respectively, “wooden buckshot.” They are necessarily equipped with a cannonball or lead bullets.

From the author. From here the origin and essence of the term “buckshot” (in modern spelling - buckshot) becomes clear. Buckshot is an artillery shot (that is, a set) which necessarily includes a certain number of ready-made destructive elements (lead, cast iron bullets, nails, metal fragments, etc.). When fired, the destructive elements fly out of the barrel in a diverging beam and hit enemy personnel.
We are used to calling only the round bullets themselves buckshot, but it turns out that this is not so. Bullets are just an element of a grape shot.

Along the way. Gunners call a shot both the very phenomenon of the ejection of a certain projectile from a gun, and the set of products for producing this ejection.

Caps made of parchment are considered the best because, unlike canvas and paper, parchment only curls when there is a flash of gunpowder, but does not catch fire and does not leave smoldering scraps stuck to the barrel walls and does not require cleaning the barrel (boiling) before each new loading. When using parchment caps, it is quite enough to clean the barrel (ban) only after three shots.

Reference. Parchment - thoroughly cleaned and degreased thin leather. It was used before the invention of paper, and partly later for writing (documents, books, etc.).
End of help.

The advantage of a parchment cap over a tin and wooden one is that there is no problem of removing a spent cap from a cannon and, moreover, it does not require skilled labor for its production.

The diameter of the cap is equal to the caliber of the gun.

The length of a cap made of parchment, paper or canvas, depending on the mass of the gunpowder charge, reaches six calibers if the cap contains a cannonball or bullets, or four calibers if the cap contains only gunpowder.
The length of a cap made of tin or wood is up to three calibers, of which one caliber is reserved for gunpowder, and two calibers for buckshot.

Cartridge loading is used in cases where hasty shooting is required and it is not possible, for this reason or due to weather conditions, to carry out the usual standard loading of guns (filling gunpowder into the barrel using a shotgun (schaufell), compacting using a hammer, inserting a wad and a cannonball or buckshot).

From the author. Please note - at the beginning of the 18th century, the main method of loading cannons was still pouring gunpowder into the barrel using a special spoon (shuffle).
Cartuz loading, according to the author of the book, is a necessary measure when shooting hastily or shooting at bad weather conditions(strong wind, rain, snowfall). Obviously due to the fact that after a shot, smoldering remains of a textile or paper shell may remain in the barrel bore.

Various sources provide drawings of caps that differ from those shown by me. I don't dare argue about this. I am making reconstructions of caps based on the drawings given in de Saint-Rémy’s book. It is very possible, and most likely, he will not The goal was to show in the book all the possible options for caps that could exist in different countries.

Unfortunately, de Saint-Rémy does not explain how, when fired, the fire from the ignition channel of the gun reached the powder charge in a wooden or tin cap. It is not advisable to make a hole in the cap in advance, since when loading it is almost impossible to align the channel with the hole. Obviously, the hole was made with a wire seeder.
Also, the author does not explain how, after firing, the empty wooden, and especially tin, cap was removed from the cannon barrel. The latter is especially difficult, because... when fired, it resounds and is pressed tightly against the walls of the barrel.

Buckshot.

From the author. Although wooden and tin caps are called buckshot above, there are Also, buckshots are, so to speak, “capless”. Such buckshot is placed in a cannon instead of a cannonball when it is necessary to hit a mass of infantry at a relatively short distance (up to 100-200m). I found it more convenient to separate these products into a separate type of cannon ammunition.

The buckshot is round and oblong.
Designed to defeat enemy soldiers at close ranges. It is a kind of projectile that has a wooden pallet as a base with a diameter equal to the caliber of the gun. A cannonball with a caliber smaller than the caliber of a cannon is placed on it. The core is lined with lead bullets. To hold the core and bullets on the pallet, they are filled with pine resin or tar (tar with resin, resin with lard, tar with lard and soap).
The projectile is given the appearance of a truncated cone one and a half caliber long
To strengthen the projectile and maintain its shape at high air temperatures, the so-called. shirt, in other words, a canvas shell is glued on.
Caps of this type are preferable for ship guns, since they have a double effect - destruction of ship sides and damage to personnel.

De Saint-Rémy describes a simplified method for preparing such buckshot. A cannonball with a caliber smaller than the caliber of the cannon is taken, dipped in melted resin, after which the cannonball is rolled over a layer of lead bullets. After the bullets stick to the core from all sides, all this is placed together on a wooden pallet with the diameter of the gun's caliber, the bullets and resin that exceed the caliber are removed, and the resulting projectile is inserted into the gun.

Buckshot grazdovik (buckshot in the form of a grape brush).
Designed to defeat enemy soldiers at close ranges. It is a kind of projectile that has a wooden pallet as a base with a diameter equal to the caliber of the gun. A wooden rod the length of the projectile is embedded in the pallet. Lead bullets are placed around the rod. To hold the bullets on the pallet, they are filled with pine resin or tar (tar with resin, resin with lard, tar with lard and soap).
The projectile is given the appearance of a truncated cone one and a half to two calibers long.
To strengthen the projectile and maintain its shape at high air temperatures The resin projectile is wrapped with twine, from which a mesh is formed. The outside of the mesh can be covered with glued canvas.
As soon as this projectile leaves the bore, the bullets fly forward in an expanding beam.

The book also states that for shooting at close ranges, lead bullets, nails, broken chains, and various metal fragments can be placed in the barrel instead of a cannonball.

From the author. The literature describes many variants of buckshot. However, some of them refer either to other times or to other countries. I limit myself to the types of buckshot described in de Saint-Rémy's book. I’m not sure that he described all the types available at that time in the French artillery, but I do not think it is possible to expand this list, since it is easy to mislead the reader as to where and when certain types of buckshot were used.

At the same time, I would like to describe one more ammunition, which does not relate to cannon ammunition, but is described in the book. It is called "musketeer buckshot" or "musketeer buckshot". It is a musket bullet, which is tied to a paper bag with gunpowder by its sprue. The length of the pouch is determined to be 4 musket calibers. De Saint-Rémy emphasizes that after the bullet is cast, its sprue is not removed, but is used to connect it to the musket's powder charge.

From the author. De Saint-Rémy speaks of Musketeer's buckshot as a recent invention and notes that when loading the gun, the far end of the casing is bitten off, gunpowder is poured into the barrel, and the bullet and paper are sent after. The paper shell plays the role of a wad. In the text, he calls this product a cartridge and notes that this significantly speeds up the loading of the gun. Obviously this product was improved later. They began to use the bullet without a sprue and placed it in the bag itself.

Thus, the introduction of a paper rifle cartridge into practice should be dated back to the end of the 17th century. At least in France.

Thus, at the turn of the century, French guns were used:
* ordinary all-metal spherical cannonballs, which were fired both cold and hot,
* explosive cylindrical shells ("empty cannonballs"),
*messenger kernels,
* chain cannonballs (nipples), which could be equipped with incendiary compounds,
*various types of grapeshot shells.

Ball-shaped explosive cores were not used in cannons.

Note. All books on the history of artillery say that initially artillery used gunpowder pulp, and then they learned to granulate gunpowder. And they say fine-grained gunpowder was better suited for guns, and coarse-grained gunpowder was better suited for cannons and mortars. So, they say, since then only coarse-grained gunpowder has been used in artillery.
I don’t presume to argue on this score, but in de Saint-Rémy’s book we find that in 1685, Marc de la Fresiliere conducted a series of experiments with various gunpowders and discovered that a significant part of the large powder grains flew out of the cannon barrel without even igniting, then how small grains burn completely. A charge made from fine-grained powder provides a greater firing range than one from coarse-grained powder.
Based on the results of the experiments, it was decided to produce medium-grain gunpowder, which is equally suitable for muskets and cannons.
End note.

Production of cannon firing.

The gun crew (in modern terms) of 12-24 pound guns consists of two gunners and six gundlangers.

The first gunner (on the command post diagram) is located to the right of the cannon. He carries a natruka (vessel) with seed powder and two pickles (knitting needles for cleaning the gun's ignition channel). His main responsibilities include filling the gun with a powder charge using a shuffle and filling the seed powder into the gun's ignition channel.

The second gunner (in the CL diagram) is located to the left of the cannon. He carries with him a stick (a pole with a burning wick at the end) and a leather bag for gunpowder (the bag is called the captain's armus). His main responsibilities are delivering a powder charge from a small powder magazine, pouring it into the chuffle held by the first gunner, and firing a shot on the orders of the commissar.

Gundlangers are positioned in threes on the left and right sides of the cannon.

The order of loading the gun calibers 12 - 24 pounds:
1. The first gundlangers (1p and 1l) ban the cannon with a bannik, after which the third left gundlanger (3 l) inserts the primer into the ignition channel of the gun and takes the shuffle.
2. At this time, the second gunner (KL), accompanied by the third right gunner (3p), brings a bag of gunpowder from a small magazine, which he pours into the shuffle held by the first gunner (KP).
3. The first gunner (KP) pours gunpowder into the cannon.
4. At this time, the second gunner (KL) puts the leather bag in a safe place and prepares the coat.
5. The second right handlanger (2p) puts a powder wad into the cannon.
6. The first gandlangers (1p and 1l) put the hammer into the barrel together and strike them 8-10 times on the wad.
7. The second left handlanger (2 l) rolls a cannonball into the cannon.
8. The first gundlangers (1p and 1l), together with a hammer, push the cannonball deep into the trunk.
9. The second right handlanger (2p) puts a wad of cannonballs into the cannon.
10. The first gandlangers (1p and 1l) together insert a hammer into the barrel and apply 4 blows to the wad of the cannonball.
11. The first ganglangers (1p and 1l) take the levers in readiness to insert them between the spokes in front of the wheels to turn the gun left or right in the direction of the target.
12. The second ganglangers (2p and 2l) take the levers and stand behind the wheels in readiness to move the cannon forward to the loophole.
13. The third gunlangers (3 l and 3 p) with levers are located at the rear of the machine, ready to turn the gun to the left or right.
14. The first gunner (KP) removes the priming agent from the ignition channel and pours seed powder into it from the powder. He also uses a lever placed along the rear wheel to fix the position of the gun.
15. The second gunner (KL) holds his pistol with a burning fuse in readiness to fire a shot on the order of the commissar.

The order of firing a shot.

After loading the gun and installing it in place, it is aimed at the target. To do this, according to the commands of the commissar, who places a quadrant on the barrel, the second gunlangers (2p and 2l), acting with levers and wedges, give the barrel the desired elevation angle. At the same time, the third ganglangers (3p and 3l), again at the commands of the commissar, standing at the trunk of the machine and using levers, aim the cannon horizontally.

At the command of the commissar, the second gunner (KL) touches the burning fuse of the gun to the fuse of the cannon and fires a shot. The process of loading the gun is repeated.

From the author. The staff of officers on the battery is very unclear. From the book it follows that the battery is commanded by a commissar (Komi sar - in the spelling of 1732). He is assisted by two provincial commissioners, one ordinary and one extraordinary commissioner. There are a total of five officers on the battery. And there are six guns on a standard battery. It follows from this that when firing, the commissars move from gun to gun, and do not each command one gun, as is done in mortar batteries.

August 2016

Sources and literature

1.U. fon Cranachs. Deliciae Cranachianae oder rare und kunstreiche Fried-und Krieges-Inventiones, bestehende in XI Kupfferstiche. Hamburg.1672
2.J.J. fon Wallhausen.Manuale Militare oder Kriegs Manual. Auctorius.Frankfurt. 1616
3. Website "StandingWellBack" (www.standingwellback.com/home/2014/9/11)
4.P.S.de Saint-Rémy. Memories or artillery notes. Volume one Academy of Sciences St. Petersburg. 1732

Shotgun AN-IX

French 6-pounder gun and 6-inch howitzers

However, even such a magnificent gun had drawbacks, such as insufficient reliability and a tendency to corrosion of some components. But the main thing was some difference in caliber of the guns produced and the need for individual fitting of parts. This created certain difficulties in creating and arming a mass army. Therefore, in 1801 the French adopted the AN-IX gun, which became the main one by the time of the invasion of Russia. This gun was almost identical to the gun of the 1777 model and differed from the old one by greater unification of parts and the replacement of corroded, but not load-bearing, iron parts with copper ones. In addition, it was possible to slightly reduce the weight of the gun.

Perhaps the excellent capabilities of the 1777 model gun had an effect, but less attention was paid to rifled weapons in France. The main type of rifled weapon was the "Carbine de Versailles" model 1793 in infantry and cavalry versions. It was only in 1804 that a slightly improved AN-XII carbine was developed, which differed only slightly from the Carbine de Versailles. The saturation of the French army with rifled weapons was somewhat lower than the Russian one. Non-commissioned officers, sergeants and sappers from light infantry and 6 riflemen in a voltigeur company were mainly armed with rifled carbines.

The characteristics of the main guns in service with the French army were as follows.

Shotgun AN-IX. Its weight (without bayonet) is 4.375 kg, length 151.5 cm (bayonet length 46.5 cm). Caliber - 17.5 mm, bullet weight - 27.2 g, gunpowder weight - 12.24 g. Maximum firing range is 300-400 steps, effective aimed shooting range (the probability of hitting a standard target is more than 1/2) - more than 100 steps.

Rifled carbine "Carbine de Versailles": Its weight (without bayonet) is 3.45 kg, length is 102.5 cm. Caliber is 13.5 mm, bullet weight is 17.5 g, gunpowder weight is 4 g. Maximum range is approximately 1 thousand steps, effective aimed shooting range (probability of hitting a standard target is more than 1/2) - more than 500 steps.

In the field of artillery, the French army held a leading position for a long time, which was not lost in the quarter century that passed after Gribeauval's reform. But Napoleon, himself an excellent artilleryman, noted the presence of excessive calibers in the Gribeauval system. For example, Napoleon pointed out that in most cases, when firing, commanders do not make a difference between 8-pounder and 4-pounder guns. At the same time, the 8-pounders are too heavy, and the 4-pounders have weak ammunition. As a result, it was decided to settle on a 6-pound gun, which should replace both calibers.

It was also decided to switch to a new howitzer with a longer barrel length and a smaller caliber. This made it possible to increase the flatness of the trajectory and more effectively use these weapons in maneuverable field combat. In addition, this made it possible to unify the ammunition with the 24-pound siege gun.

Finally, Colonel Villentroy created heavy long-range howitzers with an increased powder charge and barrel length. These howitzers had calibers of 8, 9 and 11 inches. At the same time, the most powerful 11-inch howitzer could fire at a distance of up to 5.8 versts. The 8-inch howitzer was also used in field battles. In addition to changes in the calibers used and barrel lengths, the guns of the new models were lightweight and simplified in design.

The reform was supposed to bring French artillery to a new qualitative level. In fact, it was not carried out as decisively and effectively as in Russia. The reason was the slight superiority of French artillery over the artillery of most opponents, which already existed at the time the reform began. The “patchwork” nature of Napoleon’s empire and the lack of clear management of military production also had a negative impact. Many factories of Napoleon's empire, especially in conquered territories such as the Confederation of the Rhine, produced according to old models and in the old caliber system. So, in the end, the reform not only did not reduce, as required, the number of calibers in the army, but, on the contrary, increased it. Of the new guns, only the 6-pounder gun and the 24-pounder howitzer were fired in significant quantities. The “Grand Army” entered the war with more than two dozen artillery systems.

The characteristics of the main guns in service with the French army were as follows.

12-pounder gun of the Gribeauval system:

Gun weight - 860 kg (54 pounds), system weight - 2160 kg (135 pounds), caliber - 4.76 inches (121 mm), barrel length - 16.5 calibers.

Firing range: cannonball – 2.7–3 km, grenade – about 1.2 km, buckshot – up to 600 meters.

8-pounder Gribeauval gun

Gun weight - 580 kg (36 pounds), system weight - 1760 kg (110 pounds), caliber - 4.1 inches (104 mm), barrel length - 16.5 calibers.

Firing range: cannonball – 2.7 km, grenade – about 1 km, buckshot – up to 500 meters.

4-pounder Gribeauval gun

Gun weight - 280 kg (18 pounds), system weight - 1120 kg (70 pounds), caliber - 4.76 inches (121 mm), barrel length - 16.5 calibers.

Firing range: cannonball – 2.6 km, grenade – about 1.1 km, buckshot – up to 400 meters.

6-pounder gun of the new system

Gun weight - 400 kg (25 pounds), system weight - 1440 kg (90 pounds), caliber - 3.9 inches (96 mm), barrel length - 16.5 calibers.

Firing range: cannonball – 2.3 km, grenade – about 1 km, buckshot – up to 400 meters.

6-inch extended howitzer

Gun weight - 320 kg (20 pounds), caliber - 6 inches (164 mm), barrel length - 4 1/3 calibers.

Firing range: cannonball – 3 km, grenade – about 3 km, buckshot – up to 400 meters.

24-pound howitzer of the new system

Gun weight – 320 kg (20 pounds), caliber – 6 inches (155 mm), barrel length – 5 calibers.

Firing range: cannonball – 3 km, grenade – about 3 km, buckshot – up to 500 meters.

Although in general French artillery looked inferior to Russian due to the wide variety of calibers and the large number of low-power regimental guns, it had an advantage when fighting fortifications and manpower at long distances due to the presence of large-caliber howitzers and with a steep trajectory that made it possible to hit the enemy behind fortifications .

When comparing the characteristics of Russian and French weapons, several need to be taken into account general points related to its use.

During the Napoleonic Wars, volley rifle and artillery fire dominated. Only rangers and voltigeurs in loose formation could fire differently. This was caused, among other things, by the black powder used. When there was a discrepancy in the salvo, the latecomers fired into the smoky cloud, which after each salvo clouded the battle formations.

The maximum rate of fire largely depended not on the characteristics of the weapon, but on the training of the soldiers. A well-trained soldier, as practical shooting has shown even today, could easily ensure a rate of fire of 3-4 rounds per minute from a smoothbore gun using a cartridge. This pace could not be maintained for long, but allowed 10–12 salvoes to be fired at a battalion column attacking briskly, 7–9 for attacking running and 2–3 for attacking cavalry at a gallop. Given the low accuracy of fire even against close battle formations, rifle fire alone was usually not able to stop the attack of battalion columns or cuirassiers.

Field artillery had a longer firing range than smooth-bore shotguns. At the same time, the field gun had a maximum rate of fire thanks to cap loading of 7–9 rounds per minute. At the same time, the accuracy of artillery fire at equal distances was also higher. Here, too, the high tempo could not be maintained for long, but it made it possible to fire 25–35 volleys of grapeshot at a battalion column attacking at a fast pace, 15–20 against an attacking run and 7–10 against a cavalry attacking at a gallop. This rate of fire was a powerful stopping force against both infantry and cavalry, provided there were a sufficient number of guns along the length of the attacked front. Such superiority of artillery usually made it possible to win a firefight with infantry even at short distances. The power of artillery on the battlefield in relation to other types of troops was, perhaps, greatest precisely at the beginning of the 19th century.