This post begins with the historical solution to a problem posed in the following article. So, if you haven’t already read it (or, better yet, worked out a solution of your own), please do so.
On 11 November 1898, you submit a memorandum to your superiors.
You begin by pointing out that, while the new 75mm field gun gives the French Army a huge advantage over its potential adversaries, other armies will soon adopt quick-firing field guns of their own.
You add that, on a battlefield well supplied with weapons of this sort, infantry will make good use of their spades. Thus, the French Army will need a quick-firing howitzer that can drop large shells on top of trenches and other field works.
You estimate that the shells needed to do the right sort of damage to trenches should weigh forty kilograms or so. Thus, howitzer will have to have a caliber of 155mm or so.
This new howitzer, you explain, should be as mobile as a field gun. This means that it will have to be transported in two wagons, each of which weighs no more than 2,010 kilograms. (That is the weight ‘behind the team’ of the field gun being replaced by the new 75mm piece.)
While you wait for a reply, you design a weapon that meets your criteria. To your delight, you discover that the use of a new alloy of steel and nickel will allow you to build a quick-firing 155mm howitzer that can be divided into two 2,000 kilogram loads.
In March of 1899, the Artillery Technical Committee approves your plan. However, it requires that the howitzer make use of barrels taken from an obsolete weapon, a light siege howitzer adopted in 1881. Made of an older kind of steel, these barrels weigh much more than the barrels you designed for your howitzer. Indeed, incorporating them into your design adds 400 kilograms (880 pounds) to the overall weight of the weapon. This, in turn, increases the weight of each wagon load from 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) to 2,200 kilograms (4,840 pounds.)
So, Captain Rimailho, what do you do?
Please use the comments section to propose solutions to the conundrum faced by Captain Rimailho. I will post the historical solution on Wednesday, 25 June 2025.
Argue for a completely new weapon given the disparities in weight and mobility unless someone wants to go to eight horse teams instead of six. This is a case of false economies if I ever saw one.