NEW VANGUARD No 66 NAPOLEON'S GUNS (1)

Volume 1 discusses French Field Artillery. As a young gunner, Napoleon Bonaparte was trained in one of Europe’s finest artillery arms. Both the technological sophistication of their weaponry and the skill of their gunners was largely the result of the adoption of the system devised by one man, Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. Gribeauval’s standardised system of parts and calibres allowed a degree of uniformity and sophistication in the French artillery that was unmatched throughout Europe, and allowed Napoleon to inherit and develop an arm that could dominate the battlefield. This volume covers the field artillery pieces of the system: the 4-, 8- and 12-pdr guns; light 1-pdr guns and mountain guns; and later innovations such as the 6-pdr gun. Contents: French Artillery in the 18th Century * Gribeauval and the Gribeauval System * Field Ordnance * Standard Manufacture and Expert Service * Valliere Counter-attacks * Artillery Units * The Year XI System * Regimental Guns * Mountain Artillery * Paint and Trim * Setting up the Guns * Ammunition * Imperial Campaigns * Colour plates by Ray Hutchins.