WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.370 Hi, I'm Jesse Alexander and thank you for 00:00:02.370 --> 00:00:05.790 supporting this companion episode of Glory and Defeat. 00:00:05.790 --> 00:00:09.000 Today we're going to talk about one of the most famous weapons of 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.465 the Franco-Prussian War, the French mitrailleuse. WEBVTT 00:00:12.465 --> 00:00:15.285 French artillery in 1870/71, 00:00:15.285 --> 00:00:17.625 was inferior to that of the Germans, 00:00:17.625 --> 00:00:21.780 but they did have one weapon that is far ahead of its time. WEBVTT 00:01:42.950 --> 00:01:46.160 Mitrailleuse fire could be devastating as 00:01:46.160 --> 00:01:51.120 French general Gagne reported on August 14th at Columbia in New York. WEBVTT 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.300 It was a terrifying spectacle. 00:01:54.300 --> 00:01:56.325 Whole ranks fell. 00:01:56.325 --> 00:02:01.590 One platoon after the other was literally cut down. WEBVTT 00:02:02.260 --> 00:02:05.345 After the fighting around Metz in August, 00:02:05.345 --> 00:02:08.120 French captain de Sermet even remarked that it 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:12.000 was too successful in the minds of his men. WEBVTT 00:02:12.140 --> 00:02:15.990 The canon a balles were very effective. 00:02:15.990 --> 00:02:18.360 I think they were even too effective. 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:24.440 That is to say, the infantry always complains when it is not accompanied by mitrailleuse. WEBVTT 00:02:24.440 --> 00:02:32.600 [inaudible]. WEBVTT 00:02:32.600 --> 00:02:34.700 German morale was affected as well, 00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:39.815 and the mitrailleuse earned the nickname [inaudible] machine or infernal machine. 00:02:39.815 --> 00:02:42.860 One German officer even wrote home that, WEBVTT 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:46.340 "Without these weapons, the campaign would have been 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:50.590 as short as that against Austria in 1866." WEBVTT 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:53.165 This was no doubt and exaggeration, 00:02:53.165 --> 00:02:56.240 but the fearsome symbolism of the mitrailleuse is 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:00.065 revealed by its use on German memorials after the war. WEBVTT 00:03:00.065 --> 00:03:02.555 Thanks again for supporting Glory and Defeat, 00:03:02.555 --> 00:03:05.370 I'll see you next week. WEBVTT 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:25.620 The mitrailleuse, also known as the canon a balles. 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:29.645 Today the mitrailleuse is considered a precursor to the machine gun, 00:00:29.645 --> 00:00:34.040 but in 1870, it was used in batteries as an artillery weapon. WEBVTT 00:00:34.040 --> 00:00:38.570 The 1866 [inaudible] design consisted of a main gun barrel on 00:00:38.570 --> 00:00:43.580 a wooden mount with 25 bronze barrels inside the main barrel, WEBVTT 00:00:43.580 --> 00:00:46.295 and it weighed about 900 kilograms. 00:00:46.295 --> 00:00:48.050 By turning the firing crank, 00:00:48.050 --> 00:00:54.020 a skilled operator at the rear of the gun could almost simultaneously fire all 25, WEBVTT 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:58.100 13 millimeter cartridges three times a minute. 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:02.290 Nothing in the German arsenal could match that rate of fire. WEBVTT 00:01:02.290 --> 00:01:05.630 The weapon did however, have its weaknesses. 00:01:05.630 --> 00:01:08.045 Since the barrel couldn't easily be turned, 00:01:08.045 --> 00:01:11.330 the field of fire of each salvo was quite narrow, WEBVTT 00:01:11.330 --> 00:01:14.090 so German troops could easily bypass them. 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:17.585 The crank made a very distinctive sound when it was turned, 00:01:17.585 --> 00:01:22.445 so attacking inventory could easily locate the guns even if they couldn't see them. WEBVTT 00:01:22.445 --> 00:01:25.940 Another problem was the lack of trained operators, 00:01:25.940 --> 00:01:29.810 most of whom only received hasty training in August 1870. 00:01:29.810 --> 00:01:37.080 In general, the French army's 190 mitrailleuse had no real impact on the war. WEBVTT 00:01:37.080 --> 00:01:42.950 French cruise did have some success when the weapon was used effectively, which was rare.