Alice Weapons

Question 1

French wars Brown Bess infantry Rifle

Answer 1

• Standard issue infantry weapon, almost 2m long.
• Muzzle loading – loaded from the front therefore gun power and bullet had to be loaded manually, this was time consuming and affected the rate of fire and left infantry vulnerable, volley fire formations invented to combat this.
• Smoothbore – the bullet does NOT come out spinning therefore making it less aerodynamic.
• If it got wet, it wouldn’t fire therefore meaning it wasn’t very reliable.
• Accuracy rate of only 100 yards, due to the lack of training men had with weaponry this meant many shots did not reach targets.

Question 2

French wars Baker Carbine Cavalry Rifle

Answer 2

• Much shorter than the body of a Brown Bess, used mostly as an assistive weapon as cavalry preferred the sabre.
• Much more accurate and well-made but this came with a price hence why infantry were given the Brown Bess.
• Slower, only 2 rounds a minute in trained hands.

Question 3

French wars artillery Muzzle Loading Cannons

Answer 3

• Loaded from the front, cleaned, and filled with gun powder and then a cannon ball loaded in.
• Slow and dangerous process that would take 40/50 seconds, but men regularly underwent training and pressure to do this quicker.
• Not very a very accurate shot but army formations during this period were dense therefore did still incur a lot of damage. Wellington developed the reverse slope to combat the threat of artillery.

Question 4

French wars artillery cannon balls

Answer 4

• Not all were solid cannon balls, some contained shrapnel/metal to do more damage, chosen dependent upon which area was being assaulted.
• Grape/Canister shot – cannister filled with metal balls, anti-personnel.
• Round shot – Simply just a cannon ball shot.
• Chain shot – Two cannon balls chained together, only affective at short range.
• Heated/Hot shot – A cannon ball is heated up and then fired while still red hot, used with the intention of starting a fire or exploding flammable targets.

Question 5

French wars congreve rockets

Answer 5

• Not used widely by the British in battle but was used to hit buildings or groups of men.
• Wildly inaccurate hence not being used, would have to fire hundreds for them to be effective.
• Some benefits included distracting the enemy and psychological affect but were outweighed by problems with accuracy.
• Couldn’t be used in bad weather either.

Question 6

cavalry french wars

Answer 6

• Carried Baker Carbine riffles and sabres.
• Used to end battles/chase off the enemy.
• Also used for recon purposed as it was faster than on foot.
• However, horses are easier targets for the enemy than men and demand more upkeep.

Question 7

navy small arms

Answer 7

The navy did carry some riffles for men during the French/Napoleonic era to fire at the enemy however with the advance in weaponry naval combat became distanced and therefore riffles became obsolete.

Question 8

carronade

Answer 8

• Short cannon
• Fired grape shot
• Best in short range, wider muzzle gave it a broader angle of fire.
• Quick to reload and used very little gun powder.
• Devastating when fired at the deck of a ship.

Question 9

coppering

Answer 9

Nailing copper sheets to the hulls of ships to protect them from attack from ship worm and to slow down the growth of marine weeds that would make the ship less manoeuvrable.

Question 10

HMS Excellent

Answer 10

Developed into a gunnery training school under Graham reforms.

Question 11

flintlock/ gunlock

Answer 11

A piece of flint or cord that is attached to a piece of weaponry that when ignited/pulled, fires a firearm independently, without the need of a man.

Question 12

turret

Answer 12

Turrets were weapon mounts designed to protect the crew and mechanism of the artillery piece and with the capability of being aimed and fired in many directions as a rotating weapon platform. (Graham reforms)

Question 13

Armstrong’s breech loading cannons

Answer 13

• Introduced mid-1850s
• Fired exploding shells, coated in lead that expanded slightly when the gun was fired, the shell gripped the rifling inside the barrel, creating more spin
• were turret mounted and could be manoeuvred 360 degrees.
• Made broadside fighting obsolete, also changed fighting to something of distance, ships no longer needed to be ‘up close’ to score a hit on their enemy.
• Much more rapid and safer process

Question 14

Crimea - Pattern Enfield Rifle

Answer 14

• Still muzzle loading BUT riffled muzzle (it had grooves) and fired conical bullets meaning it shot faster and more accurate, the bullet spun.
• Bigger range than Brown Bess (600/700 yards)
• Vital at the battle of Alma and Balaclava – 93rds used them.
• BIG reason for British success.

Question 15

what rifle did the Russians use at Crimea

Answer 15

Russians used Minié rifle brought off the French, it was a replica/equivalent of the Pattern Enfield but was still smooth bore therefore Britain had the upper hand!

Question 16

what was interesting about artillery situation of Crimea

Answer 16

• they used the same as pen/French wars
• but they could have taken the Armstrong breech loading cannon
• Invented in early 1850s
• Loads from the back NOT the muzzle therefore is faster, safer, and capable of more damage.
• Shot out exploding shells that will destroy anything in the vicinity.
• These were then placed on turrets (both on land and sea), that allowed them a 360 – degree range of fire.

Question 17

cavalry in the Crimean war

Answer 17

• Cavalry still used, an example of the British traditionalism.
• This would have been okay if they were used correctly BUT they were not, the charge of the light brigade and Alma being an example of this.
• Still used sabres.

Significant reforms were needed e.g., Cardwell and Haldane.

Question 18

Lee Metford rifle used at Boer war

Answer 18

• Bolt action firing mechanism introduced, monumentally better as loading was finally from the back!
• Magazines were also introduced, instead of having to reload following every bullet it was automatic for the magazine.
• The introduction of magazines changed the conduct of warfare; death tolls significantly increased, positions had to adapt (traditionalism forced to adapt, could not have dense or line positions), more shots were being fired at a much more rapid rate (20/25 shots a minute), trenches were introduced.

Question 19

Long tom armstrong artillery used in Boer

Answer 19

• British finally invested in the Breach loading cannon in the form of the Long Tom.
• Immensely long range, 6/7 miles, this transformed the conduct of warfare and artillery strategy as the enemy could be a threat miles out of sight!
• Less cannons were needed as the cannons they had caused more damage.
• Significantly increased rate of fire, being able to load from the breach meant it could be pretty much continuous.

Question 20

hiram maxim machine gun boer war

Answer 20

• The first European machine gun (America had a prototype)
• Automatic weapon loads the next shot for you.
• If trigger is held, will continue to fire until all ammunition is run out.
• NOT water cooled so not very reliable and prone to overheating/failing.
• Britain still quite conservative in terms of technology so did not use it much in the Boer war BUT Boer’s used it against us lots esp phase 3
• Forced a big change in warfare, the sustained rapid fire of a machine gun means the enemy WILL hit you.
• The goal now became avoiding the machine gun, this later developed into the defensive warfare seen in the FWW (trenches, tanks etc).
• Cavalry now useless against the machine gun but, Britain continue to use them into FWW.

Question 21

SMLE FWW

Answer 21

• Standard issue riffle for the ‘Tommies’.
• Fire up to 15 rounds a minute in trained hands.
• Could hit a target from 800m away.
• Used the cordite (smokeless powder) meaning the enemy had no idea of your location.
• Strategy FINALLY changed, no longer did they fire volleys and in lines, firing was now done independently and from trenches or shell holes.

Question 22

artillery in FWW

Answer 22

• Vital in FWW 1.2 Billion shells fired in the war.
• Two main types, light (18 pounder) and heavy (12-inch Howitzer, heavy guns, 12-inch railway guns)
• Gun accuracy improved with the technique ‘flash spotting’ in which the distance away from targets was judged by the flash of an exploding shell aimed at it.
• Fuse 106 invented and introduced 1916/17 – sensitive percussion fuse that caused shells to explode sideways rather than bury themselves in mud (explode on impact).
• Creeping barrage technique used frequently in FWW, artillery fire moving forward in stages just ahead of the advancing infantry.
• Barrages used before battles to destroy enemy defences and weaken their position for infantry.
• Aircraft were used to spot artillery targets

Question 23

machine guns in FWW

Answer 23

• 4 main machine guns used by the British were the Maxim, Vickers, Lewis, and Hotchkiss.
• Britain improved upon the design original maxim design and developed a water-cooling gun.
• Used to fire over trenches and did immense damage to enemy personnel.
• One of the main reasons for the stale mate as neither side wanted to send their men over the top against their fire.
• Many required a 6–8-man team to operate, one to fire, one to feed the ammunition and the rest to carry the weapon, ammunition, and spare parts as they were very heavy.

Question 24

tank

Answer 24

• Developed in 1915
• Became a vital weapon in the FWW, particularly at Cambrai and the later battles.
• ‘Male’ tanks (Mark II) had 6 pounder artillery guns, ‘Female tanks (Mark IV) had machine guns and ‘Hermaphrodites’ possessed both.
• Tanks could traverse all land including no man’s land, railway, and could drive through barbed wire.

Question 25

gas

Answer 25

• Used first in the 1st Battle Ypres by the Germans but quickly developed for use on all sides.
• Deaths from chemical warfare was limited but severe and life changes injuries were common from blindness to burns and lung damage.
• All soldiers had to be issues gas masks and had regular gas attack drills.
• People lived in fear of gas attack, it was a psychological weapon as much as physical.
• Main agents used were phosgene, chlorine, and mustard gas.

Question 26

aircraft

Answer 26

• Used initially as a reconnaissance vessel but later as an offensive weapon during Haig’s 100-day assaults.
• Strafing runs were undertaken Sopwith camel/triplane, this included flying down low above the trenches and firing a machine gun at the personnel inside.
• Bombing runs were undertaken the Bristol Braemer or the Handley Page and included dropping bombs on enemy trenches/fortifications.

Question 27

barbed wire

Answer 27

• Used in no mans land and to defend trenches, usually to guide the enemy into a prepared ‘kill zone’ where artillery will be ready to fire at them.
• Britain had lots of problems with barbed wire, especially during the early battles such as Loos and the Somme as their artillery failed to penetrate it.
• Many men got trapped in, and ultimately shot at, as a result of barbed wire defences.