Vanguard Austrian Napoleonic Artillery 1792-1815 Osprey Books

The Austrian artillery of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars was a creation of the Lichtenstein system of the early 1750s. This produced a series of weapons of 3, 6 and 12 pdr. calibre along with 7 and 10 pdr. Howitzers. In the 1780s they were joined by cavalry artillery guns with their 'Wurst' seats. In 1811 Austria also began the establishment of rocket troops based upon the British invention, whilst their heavy and siege pieces throughout the period remained the 12 18 and 24 pdrs. Initially, the artillery was a single force within the army. Its crews were allocated to the infantry who possessed their own light guns. However, in 1772 the artillery was organised into three regiments and in 1807 regimental guns were removed and the artillery was organised into a formal battery structure. This title will also cover the tactics of the artillery of the period and the vexed question of the massed batteries. Historically, the creation of massed batteries of guns to disrupt enemy troop build up and movement has been credited to Napoleon himself, however, it now appear that the Austrians used this tactic considerably before the Emperor, particularly at Neerwinden in 1793.