The Musket Problem: Technology and Military Innovation in the French Army 1700-1815

In 1700, the French army adopted the musket with attached socket bayonet, but it took over a century for it to master the new art of war that the technology brought about. Exploring why explains the challenges new technologies present to militaries and illustrates how they adapt to them.

Dr. Jonathan Abel is an Associate Professor of Military History at the US Army Command and General Staff College, where he teaches courses on French history as well as Greece and Rome, and wargaming. He received his PhD from the Military History Center at the University of North Texas in 2014, and he is the author of several works on the eighteenth-century French army.

The Ft. Leavenworth Series is an annual roster of lectures focusing on significant historical events, usually with an emphasis on military history. Each lecture is presented by faculty from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Established by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1881, the CGSC is the graduate college for U.S. Army and sister service officers. The esteemed faculty and guests of the CGSC provide unique and captivating insights into the history of military conflict from the ancient to the modern ages at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency.