Ron Bleac Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 Since we do musket battles:What is musket warfare?Napoleonic warfare is a time period between the years 1803 - 1815, named after famed French commander and Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoleon and his military pioneered the advance of warfare across the entire world by forcing the rest of the globe to catch up with their immense military prowess. Whilst firearms had been around for a couple of hundred years by this point, their use in battle was limited by practical problems such as acquisition of ammunition and firearm grade powder. This is where the modern media association of muskets and formations come from, even though such combat had already existed for several hundred years. Large, pike and musket armed forces appeared towards the later years of the 1700's, however, firearms on battalion or company grade had been implemented much earlier. The Napoleonic period of warfare is best known for its use of massed infantry and artillery strategy on an empire-scale, with many nations harnessing their entire infrastructure and industry into the production of weapons. Stamped steel wasn't around, and weapons were mostly manufactured by hand. There was no such thing as conveyor production or stamped steel, so immense effort went into making a properly functioning firearm. But why did the Napoleonic period, and the pike and musket period before that utilize massed infantry tactics and artillery?How is an early firearm operated?The process is relatively simple compared to manufacture of modern day firearms, but with the tools and tricks around at that time it was a labor intense job. Depending on the type of firearm (in this case, a "smooth bore musket" independent of type and model name) they were produced out of anything available to a country's industry, or that lone weapons hovel in the woods away from authorities. First of all, there are several types of firing actions for muskets: A matchlock system, wheellock fired, or loose powder fired muskets. Later on towards the beginning of the Napoleonic era, systems such as the snapchance, flintlock and percussion action began to appear. All of them are relatively simple.The matchlock gun:[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KTS8PQ06QoA matchlock system is operated by something that is called a serpentine. A serpentine is a small curved piece of metal (generally, iron) that holds a lit match. A match could be anything from a lit piece of wood to a slow burning strand of rope. On the pull of a trigger, the match would be lowered into something called a 'flash pan' that held a small amount of powder that would ignite the main charge inside the chamber. The matchlock system did not rely on a spring, but gravity. This compressed charge of powder would then explode and hurl the actual projectile out of the barrel and into the enemy. The matchlock system came along relatively early in the development of firearms, and thus, the accuracy of the weapon wasn't the greatest. A trained marksman could expect to hit his target at a distance of 60 yards, no less. To give you an idea as to why use of such an early firearm was unreliable, most bullets at the time were carved and polished out of solid stone, or created out of anything that could withstand the shock of the igniting charge. On impact, these bullets could penetrate chainmail and even plated armor. Their lethality did not come from penetration, but eventual onset of shock and infection as the bullet shattered into the flesh. The matchlock system is extremely unreliable, as in combat, a musketeer would have to ignite the flame on his match shortly before the fire order. He could not maintain the musket in a charged position for example, whilst on march between targets. This is pretty fucking ancient.The wheellock gun:Similarly to its younger brother, the matchlock, the wheellock gun uses spark as a source of ignition. The steel end of the wheellock's serpentine would strike against a pyrite stone held above the flashchamber of the weapon, creating intense sparks and thus ignition of the charge. The wheellock is the first self-igniting firearm. What makes the wheellock different from the matchlock (in mechanical aspect) is that it's based on a rotating system with a spring, rather than being gravity powered as the matchlock. This way, a musketeer or musketman (depending on the country of origin) could maintain a charged musket until given the order to fire. This system is still famously unreliable, as it did not contain a safety cache. Once charged, the only way to release the wheellock was to pull the trigger, or clear the powder and charge before discharging the spring. Poor accuracy, as before. The wheellock was developed around the year 1530.Loose powder:The simplest of them all:Loose powder lowered into the flashchamber with a compacted charge in the chamber, with a manual ignition source. Thus, a soldier operating a loose powder firearm would have to keep one eye on his right hand, lower it into the chamber along with an ignition source, and hope that he hits his target. The disadvantages of the system should be obvious. The loose powdered musket was the first firearm utilized in the world, around the year 1480.I'm skipping the snapchance because I'm a bum.The flintlock gun:[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho-QCmnNMl8&feature=relatedNow we're fucking talking.The flintlock gun works akin to a wheellock in the manner that the system is essentially identical with a few mechanical aspects changed for practicality. For one, the 'serpentine' no longer existed but was replaced by a pair of minute iron graspers that could be tightened around a piece of flint. Thus, the word flintlock. The flint would strike a piece of steel held above the flashchamber of the weapon, and ignite the main charge and hurl the bullet out of the barrel. Bullets, by this time had developed into iconical round balls. Thus, musketballs. Loose powder was still the primary operating system of every firearm, but sophistication, development and training had brought the firearm into a new age. An age of accuracy.. for about.. 100 yards. The flintlock gun would be in use for most of the Napoleonic era, until replaced by the inexpensive and less complicated percussion cap system.What does any of this bullshit have to do with massed infantry tactics?Well, my wee lad. A musket, being an inaccurate piece of shit, had to be fired en masse to ensure that anything was hit. Thus, you'd expect to see line formations of about 180 to 600 people marching on the battlefield in a three ranked or two ranked formation (depending on the amount of firepower and maneuverability desired) towards the enemy, gradually closing the range and then presenting their muskets for fire. Keep in mind, a three ranked or four ranked formation could only present fire with the first and second ranks of the formation. Thus, the amount of firepower is still extremely limited but the destruction is still absolutely terrifying.When marching in formation and fighting in it, one must keep in mind the following: Control of fire is an absolute requirement for a succesful offensive or defensive action with muskets. Why? Consider the following scenario: Musketeer Bob is given 12 rounds and 12 charges of powder for his weapon. Musketeer Bob is marching in a group of 600 other musketeers, who are then organised into a fighting formation in battle, by companies. Musketeer Bob can load, charge and fire his musket twice or three times in the span of 60 seconds, depending on the pace of battle. Thus, Musketeer Bob can expend his entire reserve of ammunition and powder in less than 6 minutes if desired. Multiply that by 600, and your entire reserve of ammunition is essentially fucked. Musketeer Bob and his entire company are annihilated by artillery, bayonet and cavalry sabres as they can do fuck all to protect themselves.Drilling:Drilling is synonymous with the word training, however, Drilling specifically is the repeated exercise of an infantry unit to perform by reflex in battle. We will be examining the firing, maneuver and operation principles of a standard infantry unit in the year 1803.COMPANY! Fall in three ranks! - Upon this order, an infantry unit (in this case, a group of 180 armed men) will fall into three ranked line shoulder to shoulder. Each "rank" contains 60 men.COMPANY! Shoulder arms! - Upon this order, the infantry company will shoulder arms.COMPANY! Forward, march! - Upon this order, the infantry company will march forward at a standard marching pace (depending on nationality.)COMPANY! Halt! - This should be obvious.COMPANY! CHARGE! Arms! - The infantry company would fetch their ammunition and powder from their belt and start preparing their weaponry to present fire against the enemy.COMPANY! First rank, present arms! - The first rank of the company would present arms and bring their weapons to firing positions (point their blaster towards the bad guys in anticipation of a royal smacking) in anticipation of the command 'Fire.'COMPANY! First rank, kneel! - The first rank of the company kneels down, with weapons stowed on their thighs.COMPANY! Second rank, present arms! - The second rank of the company would present arms. The firing command is then given.RELOADING PROCEDURE:Prime and load!Handle cartridge!Prime!'Bout!Draw ramrods!Insert ramrods!Withdraw ramrods!Return ramrods!Make ready!Now count all of the steps and realize how immensely complicated this entire procedure was, simply to conserve and hold back the potential firepower of an infantry unit running amock, due to concerns about ammunition.How do infantry units fight?Infantry units would fight by placing themselves in a position where the entire formation could present fire against the enemy, who would presently be doing the same. The attacking side would aim to present more fire than the defending enemy, whilst the enemy would be attempting to minimize loss of life whilst maximizing whatever firepower was available. The attacking side would be more concerned about destroying the enemy, whilst the defender would be aiming at maintaining that position whilst inflicting hazing casualties on opposition. The defenders, would, possibly minimize their profile by either laying down, or kneeling the two front ranks to present a devastating volley to break up the attack.Let us examine a presented scenario between a force of 800 Englishmen and a force of 300 French, after the year 1803. We will be concentrating on pure maths, rather than a strategic or tactical approach to the scenario.The 300 French are entrenched (in hardened positions, i.e a stone wall) in a defensive position, whilst the Englishmen are marching across an open field in front of the hardened position. At the range of 130 yards, the French are ordered to fire at the force of Englishmen approaching in a three ranked line. The first shots ring out, and the front rank of the French expends their first round. The second rank fires by standing over the first one and too empties its muskets into the enemy. The English front line staggers and a number of men fall, but continues on. Groups of wounded are left wailing in the grass as their comrades carry on through a billowing haze of powder smoke. At the range of 100 yards, the French first rank fires again. More englishmen fall, and the force of 800 has already taken around 100 casualties in wounded and dead. At the range of 80 yards, the second rank of the French presents their fire again. In a single volley, the English take a staggering 40 casualties. Their first rank begins to falter, but is rallied by the Sergeants amidst the ranks. At this range, the French can already hear the English battlecries despite the pop and crack of musket and gun. The French commmandant orders his formation to fire at will. The third rank of the French formation concentrates on reloading, and passes loaded firearms to the front ranks for fire.The English commandant gives an order to fill in the gaps in the line. Troops from the third rank flood into the gaps in the second and first ranks. By this time, with a distance of 60 yards to go, the English first rank presents what is called 'withering fire', which is accurate shots placed in the general direction of the French with the aim of reducing their volume of fire. The French counter-act this by upping their volume and releasing their final ammunition reserves into the line. The English force, reduced to around 600 men, are ordered to double quick march. A double quick march does not equal to running in warfare terms, but a light jog in formation. 50 yards, 40 yards, 30 yards. The pile of English dead behind the formation is ever increasing, but at 25 yards the English commandant orders a full halt."Front ranks! Present arms! Fire!"A thunderous volley of gunfire rips appart the French front ranks. The force of 300 Frenchmen takes intense fire and suffers horrendous casualties (-120) from this point blank gunfire and begins to falter. However, the efforts of French NCOs are awarded and the formation stays in place. The English on the other hand don't have the time to reload, as gunfire from this range is absolutely lethal. With an order to fix bayonet, the English charge into the French line and rout them.800 / 300 + X amount of time in march -> TargetCasualties determined by:X amount of time in march -> Target + Hardened positions800 - 300*2per 60 secTime in march determined by 120 BPM by 100 yards but restricted by formation. Time to distance 3 minutes per 50 yards.[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfvCjLgbpy0&feature=relatedA scene of late 17th century combat portrayed in Barry Lyndon, a film by Stanley Kubrick.It's essentially a real life RPG with lots of blood and guts. When in a gunfight, a formations fate can be determined by simple maths. A rule of thumb is that an attacking force should at least have 3 to 1 odds when attempting to defeat a defender in a solid position. Another rule of thumb is that bayonet always defeats gunfire. Thus, a formation should always strive to get itself into bayonet combat to defeat the enemy, especially when numerically superior.The reason infantry troops were confined to massed movement was the inability of the modern (at that time) military system to supply them with a steady flow of ammunition, the inability of the musket to provide accurate fire, and the inability of warfare itself to become more mobile. Until infantry fighting begins a shift from me-lee heavy to ranged combat, formations will remain a solid basis for land warfare. A shift from muskets will be seen later when the world begins producing combustion engines and other forms of propulsion drives. Before that, the world will see the invention of the rifled barrel along with bolt and lever charged weapons. After that will come breech loaded artillery, with shell and cartridge. A drastic upping in killing power and rate of fire will drive our existence towards the mechanised slaughter house of World War I and II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agares Tretiak Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 An informative, well thought out and easily read presentation, as always! I enjoyed it greatly. ( I want musket drills ;_;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Vinciolo Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 (edited) Arrfff, the art of war under the Emperor Napoleon />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMVGkAsHVFM Edited December 26, 2010 by Pat Vinciolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Vinciolo Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 (edited) For the record, military tactics presented by Sir Ron, ended at the famous Battle of Sedan (Napoleon 3). This is thanks in French rifle "Chassepot" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chassepot). S 'is at this time that we see the first battles in cities and the tactics of ambushes. Similarly s is also the first time that we hear about the "maverick" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franc_tireur) />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sedan_%281870%29/>http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9mk2u_1870-la-bataille-decisive-de-sedan_webcam Edited December 26, 2010 by Pat Vinciolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
