chassepot
/ˈSHaspō
/noun
A type of bolt-action breech-loading rifle used by the French army between 1866 and 1874.The French had a good breech-loading rifle, the chassepot, also the mitrailleuse, a primitive machine gun, but their muzzle-loading artillery was outclassed by Prussian breech-loaders....
- Two thousand chassepots fell into the hands of the people.
- The Prussians suffered over 4,400 casualties, which, allowing for their superiority in artillery, still demonstrates the effectiveness of the French chassepot.
Origin
Named for Antoine A. Chassepot (1833–1905), its French designer.