His opponents learned from Napoleon's innovations. The increased importance of <answer>artillery</answer> after 1807 stemmed from his creation of a highly mobile <answer>artillery</answer> force, the growth in <answer>artillery</answer> numbers, and changes in <answer>artillery</answer> practices. As a result of these factors, Napoleon, rather than relying on infantry to wear away the enemy's defenses, now could use massed <answer>artillery</answer> as a spearhead to pound a break in the enemy's line that was then exploited by supporting infantry and cavalry. McConachy rejects the alternative theory that growing reliance on <answer>artillery</answer> by the French army beginning in 1807 was an outgrowth of the declining quality of the French infantry and, later, France's inferiority in cavalry numbers. Weapons and other kinds of military technology remained largely static through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, but 18th-century operational mobility underwent significant change.
What did Napoleon use as the initial means of breaking down enemy defenses, rather than the traditional reliance on infantry?
artillery