This Project is an investigation to determine the position that a 17th Century musket ball was fired from a musket, when given the position it was found on the battlefield. Prior to this research the main concerns with making predictions were considered to be associated with the deformed shape of the musket balls affecting their drag coefficient and therefore, their distance to ground impact. The distance they would continue after impact due to bounce and roll was unknown. Previous research has been used and built upon to recreate the conditions of the English Civil War as accurately as possible. It was found that the average distance to ground impacts were in good agreement with predictions using the drag coefficient for a sphere showing that the distorted shape resulting from the firing process of the musket ball made little difference to its drag coefficient in the majority of cases. However, the distance travelled after the first ground impact greatly exceeded expectations, with the musket balls almost doubling the total average distance to their final resting positions - an increase of 81%. From these findings the initial factors thought to have had high relevance to the final resting position of the musket ball (velocity variation and drag co-efficient) become less significant and factors such as ground hardness become more prominent. The knowledge gained during this investigation will re-establish more accurate information to be obtained on the firing positions of opposing forces during conflicts in the English Civil War.

This essay brings new knowledge about the terms and conditions for the artisans in the swedish armament industry in Sweden during the 1800th-century. It was a time of opportunity for entrepreneurs and a time when the social and economic standing for the artistans where under pressure. This led to conflicts, and this study shows that the artisans did use multiple strategies in order to maintain their social and economic position in a changing world. The purpose of this essay is to examine conflicts regarding the social organization of the work at the gun manufactory in Söderhamn between 1749 and 1796. During this period the ownership of the facility shifted from state owned to private and back. The main sources examined in this essay are documents regarding the Söderhamns gun manufactory, found in the archive of the artilleridepartement at krigskollegium. Other sources are protocols from the the local council, the magistrat, and church records. A marxist method of analyzing the social organization of work is used. By using a model of the whole of the production process the areas of conflicts are analysed. The theoretical approach is influenced by Marx and Foucault's theories of power. The essay shows that the governmental objectives in mid 1800-th century was to rationalize the production and privatize the swedish arm manufactories in order to gain a lower prize for muskets used by the armed forces. The new organization of the production led to resistance among the artisans. The guild was the organizer of the protests, and the artisans acted strategic. They cooperated with different parties to put pressure behind their demands. Several times this was a fruitful strategy. In spite of the mercantilistic visions of their superiors, the majority of the artisans had their own workshops and where able to maintain a substantial production for the private market during the whole time. During the Seven year war the production of the infantry musket where stopped at the same time as the workers in Jönköping where stiking for better payment. Four of five facilities had problems delivering armament in 1761. When krigskollegium regained the ownership of the manufactory in 1778 the artisans lost influence. The division of labour progressed during the crown´s management.

La présente thèse de doctorat analyse l’influence du fusil à baïonnette sur la tactique de l’infanterie française au XVIIIe siècle. Les travaux concernant cette arme ont, jusqu’ici, surtout traité des modèles produits, des méthodes de fabrication et de l’approvisionnement des régiments. Notre approche est celle d’un historien au contact des collections d’un grand musée militaire. Elle consiste à étudier le fusil du point de vue du maniement et, plus généralement, de sa mise en œuvre contre l’ennemi. L’objectif est de comprendre comment l’armée royale s’est adaptée à une arme aux faibles capacités techniques et balistiques. Les sources exploitées sont nombreuses et variées : archives techniques et tactiques de l’armée de Terre, ouvrages imprimés relatifs à l’art de la guerre, objets des collections du musée de l’Armée, à Paris.La première partie est consacrée aux origines, au développement et à la description matérielle du fusil. La deuxième partie examine ses usages tactiques. Le grand débat qui en résulte, opposant les partisans de l’ordre profond aux défenseurs de l’ordre mince, fait l’objet d’une relecture documentée. L’entraînement des soldats, les conditions du combat de ligne et l’émergence de l’infanterie légère sont également étudiés. La troisième partie tente de mesurer l’efficacité du fusil : à l’observation de son rôle au cours des batailles de Höchstädt (1704), de Dettingen (1743), de Fontenoy (1745) et des Plaines d’Abraham (1759), succède l’analyse des blessures causées par les balles et les baïonnettes. Après un siècle d’emploi du fusil par l’armée de l’Ancien Régime, les bases tactiques des guerres de la Révolution et de l’Empire sont posées. / This PhD dissertation analyses the influence of the flintlock musket upon the French infantry in the 18th century. Until now, studies of this weapon have particularly focused on the manufactured types, the manufacturing methods and regiment supplies. Our approach is one of a historian’s, working in a major military museum. It consists of studying the handling of the flintlock and more broadly speaking, how it was used against the enemy. The objective is to understand how the royal army managed to adapt to a weapon with little technical and ballistic capacity. We used various source materials: the technical and tactical archives of the French Army, numerous printed works on the art of warfare and objects from various collections of the Army museum in Paris.The first part of this dissertation is devoted to the origins, the development and the technical description of the musket. The second part examines its tactical uses. The main ensuing debate opposing supporters of the deep order against those of the thin line order has been re-examined in the light of new documents. The soldiers’ training, the conditions of line warfare and the emergence of the light infantry are also studied. The third part tries to assess the efficiency of the musket: the part it played during the battles of Blenheim (1704), Dettingen (1743), Fontenoy (1745) and the Plains of Abraham (1759) is carefully studied, then an analysis of the wounds caused by its bullets and bayonets logically follows. After a century of the Old Regime Army's use of the musket, the tactical basis of the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars are set down.