Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans (French pronunciation: [pɛksɑ̃]; January 22, 1783, Metz – August 22, 1854, Jouy-aux-Arches) was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century.

Henri-Joseph Paixhans graduated from the École Polytechnique. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars, was the representative (Député) for the Moselle department between 1830 and 1848, and became "General de Division" in 1848.

In 1823, he invented the first shell guns, which came to be called Paixhans guns (or "canon-obusiers" in the French Navy). Paixhans guns became the first naval guns to combine explosive shells and a flat trajectory, thereby triggering the demise of wooden ships, and the iron hull revolution in shipbuilding. Paixhans also invented a "Mortier monstre" ("Monster Mortar"), using 500 kg bombs, which was used to terrible effect in the Siege of Antwerp in 1832. He was also a naval theorist claiming that a few aggressively armed small units could destroy the largest naval units of the time, making him a precursor of the French "Jeune École" school of thought.

The poet Victor Hugo wrote:

"Terre! l'obus est Dieu, Paixhans est son prophète."

("Earth! the shell is God, Paixhans is his Prophet.")