"Number of caissons on campaign" Topic

Good evening gentlemen.
Does anyone happen to know how many caissons a french 12 pounder would usually have on campaign?

I did read/hear 5.
If so, would that mean each 12 pounder had 5 caisson waggons with 4 horses each for just the ammunition?

Oh and while you're here, what was that artillery forge waggon used for, to repair artillery tools?
Or was that for just about anything in the army including horseshoes, nails and the like?

tnx!

This article from the Napoleonic Series ( link .) says that the French Guard had 3 caissons per 8 pounder and 5 per each 12 pounder. The Guard carried twice the amount of ammunition of the line units; it seems likely that there would be 12 caissons in a line battery. Also, each caisson would not be with their gun. Maybe a few would be in the vicinity of battery during battle and the others would be shuttling between the battle line and resupply points farther back. Its still a lot of wheeled vehicles and horses behind each battery.
As for the forge wagon, it was probably not near the gun line and may be located in the artillery park farther to the rear. I could not find anything about its role other than it was there to conduct repairs. It seems logical that would include horseshoes and the like.

En effet, si les pièces de 4, 6 et 8 livres sont accompagnées de deux caissons à munition chacune, les pièces de 12 et les obusiers disposent quant à eux de 3 caissons chacun.

. Immédiatement derrière les pièces, on trouve les avants trains (car l'artillerie française combat « attelée " contrairement à l'artillerie britannique qui combat « dételée » et renvoie ses avant-trains en arrière une fois les pièces déposées).
- Une première ligne de caissons (1 par pièce) est alignée 50 mètres en arrière de la ligne de batterie
- Une seconde ligne de caissons 50 mètres plus loin
- Une troisième ligne (pour les pièces de 12 livres et les obusiers) 50 mètres plus loin
- Une dernière ligne regroupe le reste du charroi* 100 mètres plus loin

* j'entends par charroi, les deux affûts de rechange, les deux forges, les caissons d'outils et de munitions d'infanterie qui dans le cas de pièces de 4, 6 et 8 livres sont alors rejoint par les troisièmes caissons des obusiers.

Weapons & equipement of the napoleonic wars de Philip Haythornthwaite Blandford press p.78
Officiers et soldats de l'artillerie et le système Gribeauval tome 2 de Ludivic Letrun et Jean-Marie Mongin chez Histoire & Collections P. 80

@Bernard1809. That is fascinating. It is so basic, but something I had not read anywhere. The British fought "unhitched" and I can well imagine the limbers and caissons left there, perfectly accessible to the gun crews. Not sure I have ever seen that portrayed in miniature, but it does sound right(and apologies that my French is not up to the standard needed and Google is awful, where a tank becomes a reservoir and a cuirassier is a leatherworker).

As for the French, we think we are so clever when we show one limber and one caisson per gun and then marvel at the "footprint". The reality must have been incredible with each pulled by six horses all sitting around being shot at.

Just to add that the allocation theory didn't always apply in practice for example in 1812 (info extracted from Otto von Pivka's "Armies of 1812":
Davout's I Corps had 12 x 12pdrs with 36 caissons and another 18 caissons in the Corps' artillery park.
Eugene's IV Corps had 24 x 12pdrs with 72 caissons and another 42 caissons in the Corps' artillery park (of which about 24 were in Glogau).