"French howitzers." Topic

Hello,

I'm confused about the caliber of French field howitzers.
Is it 6pdr and 24pdr – or – 5.6inch and 6inch ?

The lighter howitzer required 3 ammunition wagons.
But what about the heavier one ? 6 ammo wagons ??

At the start of our period the French artillery were using the 'classic' Gribeauval system with 4pdr, 8pdr and 12pdr guns and the 6ins (33pdr) howitzer. (There was no 6pdr howitzer.) During the Revolutionary Wars, the An XI System was introduced consisting of 6pdr and 12pdr guns and a 24pdr (5 ins) howitzer with new limbers and caissons in support. The idea was total replacement and thus a rationalisation of types. However the old served along side the new for quite some time with 8pdrs still taking the field in 1809 and perhaps later.

The old caisson for the older howitzer carried 52 rounds. The An XI caisson for the 24pdr held 72 rounds. However, both weapons were allocated 3 caissons each so though the weight of the round reduced, the An XI 24pdr howitzer had more ammunition immediately available.

I think that sums up the situation but I am sure that there is more information out there.

The situation is extremely confusing, and not helped by modern authors who use a nomenclature based on English inches. Best to avoid all reference to inches to avoid ambiguity

Three types of howitzer can be described as "six inch" by various authorities.

These are:
1. The "Gribeauval" howitzer (though not actually one of the great man's designs, I understand). Calibre 160mm (6 French inches). This is the one you most often see illustrated (and often the standard French howitzer modelled in miniature), though it was obsolete and largely phased out by the time the Empire period got going.
2. The An XI 24pdr, calibre 152mm (or so the captured examples from Waterloo in the Royal Armouries; 148mm is also a quoted figure). This is the most widespread howitzer in use by Napoleonic French armies, often described as 5.6in, based on French inches.
3. The heavy howitzer based on the Prussian 10pdr, calibre 167mm. These equipped heavy batteries right up to Waterloo, from which battle two examples survive in the Royal Armouries.

The ANXI howitzer was descriped as a 24-pdr as it has the same bore as a 24-pdr. It was also given as a 5.5 pouce, 5.7-in etc… All giving about 152mm. The 148mm comes from the diameter of the shell. Also referred to as 6-in as it rounds to 6-in.

The Gribeauval Howitzer was 6-pouce as well as the Long Howizter that were introduced in the 1790s and a copy of the Prussian 10-pdr howitzer. The French used iron weights for definition (hence 24-pdr). The German States used stone weights hence 7-pdr = AnXI 24-pdr and 10-pdr = Gribeauval Howitzer.

Stephen

Gribeauval's reforms began the practice of measuring caliber by inches, hence the new 5.5-inch howitzer used with the Systeme AN XI. It took awhile for it to be generally accepted by the French artillery arm, though it was used for howitzers and mortars.

Stone weight was an older practice that was on its way out during the period.

And the French measured caliber by the round, not by the bore as the other nations did.

Apparently, a new 6-inch howitzer was introduced for the Guard artillery after the 5.5-inch howitzer was introduced.

The caisson load for the Gribeauval 6-inch howitzer was sixty rounds-49 shell and 11 canister-with four more in the coffret.

The usual caisson allocation for howitzers was five per piece, with one being with the gun company and four with the parc which would rotate with the empty caisson with the gun company when needed. The French pushed ammunition resupply forward to keep the gun companies on the firing line.