GRIBEAUVAL EPOCH 17651.
Gribeauval, sometimes called the 'father of mod ern artillery,' was ordered to reconstruct the French system of artillery in 1765. lle sepa rated the artillery into the four classes now gen erally recognized by artillerists—namely, field, siege, garrison, and sea-coast, and provided for each a distinct 'materiel. He at once recognized the advantage of decreasing the number of cali bres for each kind of service. The guns for field batteries were limited to 3 calibr(;s (4-, 8-, and 12 pounders) and 6-inch howitzers. By decreasing the length and weight of the pieces, omitting ornamentation and strengthening the carriage, decreasing the windage and the charge, he great ly improved the mobility of the systefu. Uni formity, lightness, and strength were the ends aimed at. Improvements in sights and elevating apparatus greatly increased the accuracy and rapidity of fire. The organization was also im proved. Two field-guns were assigned to each battalion of infantry. and the men for the service of these pieces were drawn from the company of artillery assigned to each infantry brigade. In
addition to this there were eight pieces assigned to the centre and each wing of the army. Each eight pieces constituted a 'division,' manned by a company of artillery assigned to each. Gribeau val was the first to develop the use of the pro longe, the rope used to unite the trail with the limber, when retiring firing. Horses were hitched in pairs instead of in file. A new ammunition wagon was provided. In Gribeauvars system, how ever, drivers were still hired, as formerly, and the dispersion of the guns among battalions was a serious defect. Horse artillery was established in the French Army in 1791, and in the British Army in 1793. Griheauval's improvements in garrison and sea-coast carriages resulted in a type, similar in essential principles, to those used in England and America up to the middle of the Nineteenth Century.