The emperor began switching calibers to the handier 6-pounder piece, utilizing captured guns as well as newly designed French cannons.

The Gribeauval system was formally adopted by the French army on 15 October 1765 after being approved by the king in August.

It was discreetly introduced to keep it secret from foreign powers and to avoid an adverse reaction from conservative officers in the French Royal Army.

The system included 4-, 8- and 12-pounder field pieces, the Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval (6-inch howitzer) and the 1-pounder light cannon.

Despite this, the ranking artillery officer Joseph Florent Vallière stoutly opposed innovations to his father's system.

Gribeauval made both the barrels and the carriages lighter, so that his cannons were about half the weight of the Vallière guns.

Other improvements were a screw to elevate the barrel, a calibrated rear gunsight and interchangeable parts for gun carriages.

[5] Napoleon determined to replace the 4-pounder with the heavier 6-pounder by using the large number of Austrian and Prussian cannons captured in 1794–1800.

[9] Any cannon could be served by as few as six gunners, but to achieve high rates of fire more men were required.

[10] One source asserted that the Canon de 8 Gribeauval was served by 13 gunners and drawn by four horses.

The third gunner took position to the right, ready to mop out the barrel after firing and ram home the cartridge and shot.

[14] The Canon de 8 Gribeauval fired a round shot that weighed 8 French pounds.

[16] One source stated that the barrel of the 8-pounder weighed 1,200 pounds (544 kg) or 150 times the projectile weight.

[18] A second authority held that the width of the bore was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) and the barrel length was 6 feet 7 inches (2.0 m).

[20] French 8- and 12-pounders had a special system where the barrel of the cannon was shifted backward about four calibers so as to better distribute the weight while the gun was being hauled.

[7] During the Napoleonic Wars, artillery became one of the three chief combat arms, alongside the infantry and cavalry.

As the quality of foot soldiers diminished, the ratio increased to three guns per 1,000 at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.

Soldiers were frightened of long range artillery fire because their short-ranged muskets could not retaliate against the gunners.

[25] If supporting an attack, the cannons kept 100 paces ahead of the advancing infantry until within close range.

[7] At the Battle of Marengo in 1800, Jean Boudet's division had four 8-pounders and four 4-pounders manned by the 3rd and 4th Companies of the 2nd Horse Artillery Regiment.

[31] During the Battle of Talavera in 1809, the British and Spanish captured 17 French guns from Jean François Leval's division.

At the Battle of Montereau on 17–18 February, Michel Marie Pacthod's National Guard division was supported by two 8-pounders and four 4-pounders.

[34] On 15 March in the French Army of the Rhône, the artillery companies of Louis François Félix Musnier's 1st and Alexandre, vicomte Digeon's Cavalry Divisions were each armed with two 8-pounders, two 4-pounders and two 6-inch howitzers.