Le réseau territorial militaire sous le Consulat : une structure permanente de surveillance des départements réunis et territoires annexés

The observation balloons branch is a little-known specialty of the French army. However, it plays an important role during World War One in intelligence gathering and directing artillery fire. But sterling service does not prevent it to undergo a crisis during the interwar period, mainly for lack of...

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Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autore principale: Roucaud, Michel
Natura: Article ou chapitre numérique
Lingua:Français
Pubblicazione: 2018
Accesso online:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Descrizione
Riassunto:The observation balloons branch is a little-known specialty of the French army. However, it plays an important role during World War One in intelligence gathering and directing artillery fire. But sterling service does not prevent it to undergo a crisis during the interwar period, mainly for lack of sufficient funds. The ballooning observation, a part first of the Engineer corps then of the Air Force, has an organization, staffing, hardware, employment doctrine of its own. General Paul Bienvenue, one of the first balloonists, keeps alerting his superiors on the poor state of the branch in the years 1920-1940, without success. Lacking modernization, it is debilitated when embarking on the 1940 campaign, before collapsing under the blows of the Luftwaffe.