The Canon de 65 M modele 1906 where M stands for "montagne", or briefly 65 mm Mle 1906 where "mle" stands for "modèle", was a French mountain gun which entered service with the ''régiments d'artillerie de montagne'' in 1906 and was one of the first soft-

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...

guns in service. The carriage of the Mle 1906 was hinged and could be broken down into four mule loads for transport. By 1939, the weapon was generally used as an

infantry support gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typicall ...

. After 1940, the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

would use these as 6,5 cm GebK 221(f). The gun was also used by Israel (in 1948 Arab–Israeli War as ''Napoleonchik''),

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, Poland and Greece.

Combat history

France

During World War I the French Armée d’Orient used the Mle 1906 against the forces of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

in the mountains of Macedonia. There were 72 Mle 1906 guns in service in the

Balkans theatre The Balkans theatre, or Balkan campaign was a theatre of World War I fought between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allies (Serbia, Montenegro, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy an ...

during the allied breakout from the

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

bridgehead on September 15–29, 1918. The initial success of this allied offensive led

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

to capitulate on October 9, 1918, later in October 1918

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

was liberated and lastly

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

capitulated in November 1918 when faced with invasion from Italian forces from the south. Still in service with the French Army in 1939-1940, a few were taken over by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

, as ''6,5 cm Gebirgskanone 221 (f)''.

Israel

The Canon de 65 M (Montagne) Modèle 1906 was used by the

Israel Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and was nicknamed ''Napoleonchik'' by the Israelis due to its old look. The first use of two of these cannons, lacking sights, was made in the Battle of Degania in northern Israel, which was also the first time the Israeli side employed field artillery. Subsequent uses were made in numerous major operations in the war, including Operation Bin Nun and

Operation Pleshet Operation Pleshet ( he, מִבְצָע פְּלֶשֶׁת, ''Mivtza Pleshet'', lit. "Operation Philistia"), named after the geographical region where it took place, was an Israeli military operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was car ...

Gallery

Napoleonchik.jpg HN-Canon-de-65-M-M1906-2.jpg Napoleonchik-batey-haosef-2.jpg Napoleonchik-batey-haosef-1.jpg Napofrontview.jpg

Notes

External links

Canon de montagne de 65 mm Mle 1906

{{WWIIFrenchGuns Mountain artillery World War I mountain artillery of France World War II artillery World War II weapons of France Artillery of France World War II weapons of Greece 65 mm artillery World War I artillery of Greece