Hat 8159 WWI French Artillery Crew

At the outbreak of World War I, the French artillery consisted of 62 field artillery regiments, equipped with great Cannon de 75 mle 1897 75 mm cannons, and which were divided into infantry and cavalry units. Moreover, the French artillery consisted of 2 mountain artillery regiments armed with cannons transported on mules, 5 heavy artillery regiments equipped with 120 and 155 mm guns, 9 regiments of the so-called siege artillery and about 30-40 artillery batteries stationed in the colonies. Even this cursory glance at the French artillery from 1914 shows the dominance of light, highly mobile artillery, which was to provide direct support to own infantry. Such a structure of the French artillery resulted, of course, from the assumptions of the French doctrine, which prior to 1914 strongly focused on "offensive at any cost" (French offensive outrance). The experiences of the trench warfare of the western front led, however, not only to the quantitative but also qualitative development of the French artillery. The emphasis was placed on the development of heavy artillery (with calibers from 120 mm up) and the creation of guns and mortars adapted to trench fights. It resulted, inter alia, in the development or expansion of the production of weapons such as: Cannon de 155 C mle 1917 or Cannon de Infanterie de 37 Mle 1916. There were also efforts to put into practice the principle that "artillery obtains and infantry occupies". At the end of World War I, French artillery was undoubtedly one of the best and most modern in the world.