Toussaint-Henry-Joseph Fafchamps
Joseph Montigny further improved the weapon, completing the transportable 37-barrels Montigny mitrailleuse (also known as the "Fafschamps-Montigny mitrailleuse") in 1863. From 1859, Joseph Montigny proposed his design to Napoleon III, which led to the development of the French Reffye mitrailleuse, designed by Jean-Baptiste Verchère de Reffye with the collaboration of Montigny, and which was adopted by the French Army in 1865. The invention of Fafschamps thus became the basis of the "mitrailleuse", which was used by the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Initially kept under wraps as a secret weapon, it became widely used in battle by French artillery during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71).
History of weapons
The invention of gunpowder weapons revolutionized siege warfare, Gunpowder is said to have been conceived in China. It was when the Mongols, after invading China, went on to subdue Japan. Their ships sunk from being hit by a typhoon, resulting in half of their army drowning at sea. Marine archaeology has revealed that the Mongols were carrying gunpowder in ceramic pots, similar pots with ignited fuses had been shot from mechanical artillery against the Japanese defenders. Even the old Japanese paintings show the Japanese samurai defending themselves against bombs and rockets hurled by the invaders.
Some historians have observed that only 14 percent men in Europe owned guns,
over half of those guns were unusable during the later Middle Ages. The invention of gunpowder weapons replaced only catapults and onagers, the change was slow. Buying guns in those days was a costly affair, the cost of one gun was the equivalent of two months pay for a skilled artisan. By 1450, inventors improved the make of the gun and introduced the matchlock gun. Though inventors came with new technology, the process of reloading after every shot was very time consuming, by the time they were reloading the gun, the cavalry would charge and annihilate the entire unit of shooters.