The Crapouillots and the French Trench Weapons of the Great War

In the autumn of 1914, the French army was brutally confronted with a new form of combat: trench warfare. In order to counter the fire of the Minenwerfer and strike the enemy sheltering at the bottom of his trenches, it was necessary to create a new curved-fire artillery piece capable of launching heavy explosive-laden projectiles. Improvised in a matter of weeks in 1914, trench artillery would number more than 3,000 pieces by early 1918, at the height of its power.

The author retraces here the evolution of curved-fire artillery from the 16th century to the eve of 1914, and sets out in detail the advent of mortars and trench weapons during the Great War. The study of projectiles and the organisation of the Crapouillot units completes this exhaustive examination of French trench artillery.

This book, illustrated with more than 450 photographs and period documents, constitutes a magnificent tribute to the Crapouillots — often regarded as gunners apart, with a strong identity, who shared in the front line the suffering and heavy losses of the infantry throughout the Great War.

General Guy François, born in 1946, has spent many years researching the history of French artillery in all its components. He is the author of Les Canons de la victoire, volumes 2 and 3 (2008 and 2010 respectively, Histoire & Collections), L'Artillerie lourde sur voie ferrée française and L'Artillerie automobile française des origines à 1919 (2022 and 2023, Histoire & Collections).