Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/823

 ARTILLERY Howitzers were soon adopted and improved upon by the English ; like the early mortars, they were at first discharged by applying fire both to shell and charge. Light pieces called pierrttres, firing stone balls weighing from 12 to 48 Ibs., were still used in some of the Euro- pean services. In France, toward the end of this century, artillery materiel was modified and improved, much attention being paid to the character of the gun metal, to the form of the chamber, and to the proper length and weight of the piece. The calibres were restricted to 33, 24, 16, 12, 8, and 4-pdrs., most of which have been retained to this day among their smooth-bore guns; the ammunition consisted of grape and canister as well as of solid shot. Gun carriages were also changed for the bet- ter and provided with limbers, while trains of wagons or carts were organized for carrying ammunition ; some of the field carriages were made of wrought iron. Louis XIV. was the first sovereign to create a special artillery force ; he raised in 1671 a regiment for artillery duty only, and. in 1690 founded the first artillery schools. To his age belong also the important inventions of the elevating screw, the prolonge, and the priming tube filled with powder, the old method being to work powder into the vent. During the first part of the 18th century artillery was generally recognized as an arm, had its reg- ularly incorporated troops, and in consequence made very marked progress. In the campaigns of Marlborough large numbers of guns were used on both sides, and sometimes handled with judgment and skill ; at Blenheim artillery, massed on the right so as to enfilade the French position, contributed materially to the victory ; and at Malplaquet the English put forward 40 pieces in the centre, while the French guns did not cease firing until the intrenchments were assaulted ; only eight or ten were taken not- withstanding this persistence, showing that greater mobility had been attained. In 1732 Valliere made important changes in the French artillery, doing away with the 33-pdr. as too heavy, and giving uniformity to the five remain- ing calibres as well as to the mortars. In 1747 the French began to fire howitzers in siege ope- rations without first igniting the shell, it hav- ing been found that the flash from the charge would light the fuse if there was no tamping. The gun carriages and ammunition wagons were still of various patterns, each arsenal having its own way of constructing them ; the axletrees were of wood, and the limbers very low, with horses attached in single file. After the seven years' war position guns began to be permanently assigned to brigades in 5 or 10-gun batteries. In Prussia, Frederick the Great in- troduced short, light regimental guns, 12, 6, and 3-pdrs., whose weight was but from 80 to 150 times that of the shot ; his example was fol- lowed by Austria and other countries. He also made extensive use of howitzers firing 15, 20, and 50-lb. shell, which were afterward united in separate batteries. At the end of the seven years' war the Prussian artillery was in a state of great confusion, there being 12 and 6-pdrs. of no less than three different kinds and weights ; this was mainly due to the want of a proper chief of artillery, and to the fact that Frede- rick had looked upon the arm with disfavor. After Rossbach, where it did excellent service, he seems to have gotten over his prejudice, and we are indebted to him for the first formation of horse artillery in 1759 : it consisted of a bat- tery of 10 light 6-pdrs., and, though long in a very inefficient condition, and destroyed at Ku- nersdorf and again at Maxen, was always reor- ganized. The seven years' war opened the eyes of the Austrians to the importance of the artillery arm, which was carefully reorganized and improved under the direction of Prince Liechtenstein, who was created chief of artil- lery, with rank and authority in proportion to the importance of his position ; this gave their artillery an immense advantage, and assured its constant superiority to that of most of the con- temporary powers. The Russians always at- tached great importance to their artillery. When they entered Germany in 1758 they had 425 guns to 104,000 men, three licornes or howitzers, with mounted gunners, being at- tached to each of their dragoon regiments. Artillery in this century consisted of regimen- tal guns attached in pairs to each infantry bat- i talion, of guns of position organized into large number of guns was usually 4 or 5 to 1,000 men. The regimental guns advanced with their battalions, unlimbering at 500 paces from the enemy and being thence moved forward by hand. The position guns were posted at the most favorable points along the line ; occasion- ally they were able to take a second position, but it was usually impossible to move them in time to decide the result of a battle. The bronze cannon of this age were elaborately i ornamented with carvings and with the ciphers I and coats of arms of the reigning monarchs, I the early custom of giving a special name to ! to one of the foremost names in modern artillery annals, Gribeauval. This celebrated French- man, having served in the Austrian artillery under Prince Liechtenstein during the seven years' war, returned to France with a thorough knowledge of all the improvements suggested by the experiences of that struggle, and was intrusted in 1765 with the reorganization of the French artillery, then in very poor con- dition. He began by creating a distinct ma- teriel for each service, field, siege, garrison, and seacoast. His field guns, 12, 8, and 4-pdrs., were 18 calibres long and about 150 times heavier than their projectiles. The charges were reduced from one half to one third the weight of the shot; but, as the windage was also diminished, he was able to make the guns shorter and lighter without sen- sibly affecting the range. To these were added a 6-inch howitzer, still retaining a small charge,
 * batteries, and of siege or garrison guns. The
 * each piece being also retained. We now come