The Canon-obusier was a type of cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 developed by France in the 1850s. The canon-obusier was a smoothbore cannon using either shells, balls or canisters, and was therefore a vast improvement over previous cannon firing metal balls, such as the Gribeauval system

Gribeauval system

The Gribeauval system was an artillery system introduced by Lieutenant General Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval during the 18th century. This system revolutionized French cannon, with a new production system that allowed lighter, more uniform guns without sacrificing range. The Gribeauval...

.

The very first canon-obusiers were naval shell guns, invented in 1823 by Paixhans and introduced in the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

 in 1842. This invention was at the origin of the development of the Dahlgren gun

Dahlgren gun

Dahlgren guns were muzzle loading naval artillery designed by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren USN, mostly used in the period of the American Civil War. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental explosion in 1849 of a 32-pounder being tested for accuracy, killing a gunner...

 in the United States in 1849.

The French Army

French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

 introduced the canon-obusier de 12 in 1853. This type of the canon-obusier, commonly called the "12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857", was the primary cannon used in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Over 1,100 such Napoleons were manufactured by the North, and 600 by the South.

The canon-obusier de 12 was following rifled cannons which had been introduced by Treuille de Beaulieu system

Antoine Treuille de Beaulieu

Antoine Hector Thésée Treuille de Beaulieu was a French General of the 19th century, who developed the concept of rifled guns in the French Army. He studied the subject of rifling between 1840 and 1852. Following a request by Napoleon III in 1854 to develop such a weapon, the de Beaulieu system...

 in 1858.

The term "Canon-obusier" remained in use beyond World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 to designate various gun howitzer

Howitzer

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

s of the French Army.