"L'artillerie légère en campagne au long du XVIIIe siècle : nouvelles réflexions", in: Technology and Warfare (Sofia, 2013), p. 83-93
ABSTRACT in English (résumé en français plus bas):
"Light artillery in the field during the 18th century: new reflections". This article describes in depth the place of light artillery in military thinking and in military campaigns throughout the 18th century; it widens the question dealt with another article of ours (in the Journal: ‘Carnet de la Sabretache’, June 2001) by extending it to the battle, and by studying the Prussian example besides the French one. Light artillery in the 18th century is indeed an important topic, since what then left a mark in Europe regarding artillery was, on one hand, the search for weight reduction of artillery systems in general; and on the other hand, the appearance in several European countries of very light artillery pieces, not only due to their calibre (ie the weight of the cannonball), but with the mass of the pieces themselves. After having defined what was understood at that time with the expression "light artillery", the article develops the reasons and the conditions of the use of light artillery: an increase of manoeuvre capabilities for regular warfare, and a preservation of the surprise effect in the "petite guerre". While France was pioneer in Europe for the theoretical reflection about the use of light artillery, especially for the "petite guerre", other nations like Austria, Prussia and Saxony did use this artillery in the field earlier than France. The operational use of light artillery in battle is described through the examples of Fontenoy and the thought of King Frederick II of Prussia. The article reminds also about the other circumstances for the use of light artillery during a military campaign.
In the same conference proceedings p. 131.
Professor Allon Klebanoff (Israel) Balloons, Rockets and Conserves Technology and warfare during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars
The French Revolution of 1789 spawned one of the most important conflicts in world history – the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, a multi-staged pro- longed war, which lasted over 23 years in total, from 1792 to 1815. The historical, political and cultural aspects of this long war are outside the scope of this paper. The question is whether this central war in world history is also important in the history of military technology. The answer is complex and far from simple.