c1700–c1900: Warfare and British society in 18th and 19th centuries Flashcards
Continuity of weapons in 1700-1850
Brown bess used for 130 years
-muzzle loaded
-can be fit with bayonet
-effective for 100m
Continuity of artillery 1700-1850
Cannons
500m range
grape shot or canisters
What allowed light field artillery to be created?
Industrial revolution
1720: Britain produced 25 tonnes of iron
1790: Britain produced 70,000 tonnes
Iron was more plentiful and cheaper
John Wilkinson
Who was John Wilkinson?
pioneer of British iron industry who patented method to create perfect barrel out of single piece of iron in 1774
-allowed lighter, more powerful, more accurate cannon
-allowed horses to carry artillery around (INDUSTRIAL CAUSE OF CHANGE)
Changes to infantry tactics
-From four-deep musketeer lines in 1700 to two-deep lines in 1760 due to faster reloading time
-Rhythmic marching in 1760 meant infantry could move quickly and precisely around the battlefield. They could also change formation for specific purpose (eg form columns to push through enemy lines or squares in defence to cavalry)
Changes to artillery tactics (now that they were lighter)
Now used to
-sit infront of infantry to defend lines
-move to high-ground to bombard enemy
Wellington had 216 guns at Waterloo 1815
Changes to cavalry tactics
-Used as shock troops because they were too weak to muskets
-Scouting enemy/skirmishing with enemy cavalry
Factors affecting change 1700-1850
Social attitudes: kept army sizes the same as larger armies would mean more tax. Also a large army would be a threat to political freedom
Political attitudes: Ruling classes scared of change after they saw effect of change to France powers after French Revolution 1789
Individuals: Wellington refused to modernise army
Industrialisation
How were officers and other ranks recruited from 1700-1850?
Officers: wealthy youth whose family bought commissions
-Higher the rank, higher the price
Other ranks: problems with recruiting enough people
-Short enlistment for 8-12 years or life for 21 years
-8d a day till 1792, less than labourer + soldiers had to pay for food,
equipment, lodgings in peacetime
-bounties (£3 worth £250 today), crimps (recruiting under the influence),
criminals released from prison to serve (7000 raised this way in War of
American independence (1776)
Meant high desertion, harsh discipline, weak troops
What were Colonel’s Regiments?
Government faced backlash when they created new regiments so they paid large sums to senior officers to create and recruit for regiments instead. Officers usually made these armies as cheap as possible to maximise profit. Similar to Captain’s indentures 1400
When was the Militia Act
1757
What was the Militia Act 1757
Ballots to pick random men from those aged 18-50 who must serve 5 years.
1789:militia grew to 120,000 men
overhaul of assize of arms
What is militia
Militia: protected country from invasion and boosted numbers during war
Attempts to improve training during this period
FAILURES
1708 “New exercise of Firelocks and Bayonets” by Duke of Marlborough. (Not used)
George II “Regulations” for whole army (ignored)
SUCCESSES
1741 Royal Military Academy
Drills for manoeuvring troops introduced in 1790s
1800 Sandhurst RMC to improve training of officers. 1802 Junior academy added for cadets training to become officers
What prevented changes to training in 1700-1850?
Social attitudes
It was believed officers can arrange their troops
Impact of war on civilians
No significant civilian deaths as Navy prevented invasion
Recruitment: Militia Act disliked, caused riots as people believed they would be forced to serve abroad
Requisitioning of animals and wagons as the army had not transport of its own
Army accommodation: large numbers of rowdy soldiers couldn’t find lodgings so disrupted businesses and upset townspeople. Solved in 1800 as Barracks created
Tax during peace time: Cost from larger army made very little difference: Though it rose by £ 6 million from 1700 to 1836, country and people were more prosperous and population increase of 20 million meant that cost was shared.
Tax during wartime: wartime with France 1793-1815 spiked army cost to 25million/yr . Total cost of army £500mil 1805-15 alone
How was the cannon improved 1850-1900
Cannons made of steel, more durable and less likely to explode like iron/bronze
Breech-loading (loaded from back): quicker to reload than muzzle-loaded. Fired 10 rounds per min vs muzzle-loaded’s 2rpm
Rifled (spiral grooves making shot spin) barrels: fire up to 5km (vs smooth barrel 500m) , and more accurate
Recoiling barrels by 1890 means cannon doesn’t have to be repositioned after every shot
Percussion shells by 1900: filled with chemicals that exploded shell into deadly fragments on impact
Smokeless powder by 1890s: smoke did not impair aim or give away position
How were rifles improved 1850-1900
1847 Minie bullets: bullets dropped into barrel and expanded when shot. Used with minie rifle meant bullets effective for 300m
Conical bullets: long and torpedo shaped, flew further
Percussion bullets: percussion cap at base of bullet propels it and so ended reliance on sparks or powder for firing. Much more reliable in damp weather and loading became easier
Breech-loading: bullets put in from back side of gun.1866 Chassepot made breech loaded rifle effective 1500m
Magazines: several bullets could be loaded at once
What gun were British infantry given 1888?
Lee-Metford. Effective 1.5km
Maxim Machine guns
replaced heavy gattling gun (200rpm)
Adopted by British army in 1886
20kg, can be manoeuvred around battlefield
500rpm
Factors affecting change 1850-1900
INDUSTRIAL
1855: Bessemer introduces cheap way of mass producing steel, from £60 a ton to £7.
1856 The Royal Small Arms Factory made 1750 rifles/week. By 1900 mass producing Lee-Enfield (25rpm) rifle
SCIENCE:
Alfred Nobel’s nitroglycerine for smokeless powder for rifles and cannons
fulminate of mercury for percussion bullets
INDIVIDUALS
1861 Armstrong Cannon, firing 70kg shell 10km, breechloaded &rifled
Maxim gun: using recoil of each bullet to load the next one, 500rpm. By 1890, 6 Euro countries using this
Change in tactics due to advances in weaponry 1850-1900
Defence became very easy, using powerful stationary guns.
1854 Battle of Inkerman: Russians lose 11,000 troops in one day when advancing British who had Minie rifles
(russians had smooth rifles)
Decline of cavalry in 1850
Remained in British army to lesser extent
1) used for scouting
2) attitudes in society: tradition
Government advancements in strategy 1850-1900
-Government realises that largest army with most modern weapons wins. Size and cost of armies rose rapidly
-Armies could now operate further from home due to advancements in transport and communication
Advancements to transport from 1850
Troops moved 15x faster by rail than foot
Battle of Balaclava: track can deliver 240tons of food a day
Steamships sent British soldiers to Crimea in less than 3 weeks
Advancements to communication from 1850
Electronic Telegraph
Ministers could discuss strategy with generals at war
Advancements to news reporting from 1850
1815: The Times sold 5k copies a day vs 40k in 1850
Crimean war coverage: William Russel and Roger Fenton
William Russel sent daily telegraphs for 2 years detailing triumphs and failures in Crimea. Only took 5 hours for messaged to send. Read by public
Newspapers were illustrated eg by Goodall to make it more exciting
Fenton took pictures of horrible condition soldiers lived in and were in
Boer war press coverage
500,000 copies of daily mail sold per day
300 correspondents at the war in South Africa
Films of warfare
Cardwell’s reforms
1870 Army act:
Lower ranks 6yr in service and 6 in reserve (4d daily and did annual retraining)
After 12yrs, soldier could resign or repeat for a pension
-constant source of extra well trained soldiers
1871 Regularisation of the Forces act
-All regiments had one group abroad and one at home
-Militia made up each regiment’s third battalion
Meant service was more acceptable to recruits and supply of troops in Britain in case of emergency
OTHER REFORMS:
1871: rations improved, branding (and flogging in peacetime) abolished. Sale of commissions ended and ranks were earnt by merit
Cardwell’s reforms pros + cons
PROS
reserve of 80,000 by 1900
CONS
Low officer pay meant most officers were still upper class
Low ranks had low pay so not enough soldiers. This meant anyone regardless of age or physicality was accepted. Eg Boer war 1899, many were undernourished
Initial training of officers before and after 1850
Before 1850 most officers entered their position with no training.
From 1860: officers trained as cadets in RMC Sandhurst
artillery & engineering officers at Woolwich Military Academy
Training for officers after 1850
Senior department in RMC. Capacity for training doubled in 1857 (Camberley)
What did training include by 1900
Maths, science, English and practical courses
How did newspapers during Crimean war affect requisitioning and provisions
Dreadful arrangement exposed so the British improved, eg by giving duty of transport and supplies to the War Office (Also cut back on requisitioning)
How did requisitioning change after 1850
Requisitioning from civilians proved unreliable
1855: War office creates Land Transport corps with its own wagons and animals
1888: Army service corps specialise in provision and movement of supplies
Public opinion in action after 1850s
(Attitudes in society)
-people wrote letters of criticism about Crimea war and led to government resigning
-Public raised money for good causes eg £5,000 for sick and wounded soldiers after the times fundraiser
3 Attitudes in society from 1850
Imperialism - spread British values through all means possible
Jingoism - Patriotic people for aggressive foreign policies
Pacifism - Belief that war is wrong eg Quakers
Battle of Waterloo 1815
composition of armies
British: 50k infantry, 12k cavalry, 5k gunners
Napoleon: 70k men remaining
Battle of Waterloo 1815
Wellingtons defensive positioning
Troops at reverse side of ridge so French artillery was less impactful. Flanks protected by house and town
Battle of Waterloo 1815
Napoleons problems
Napoleon had piles so was bad tempered with his generals and couldn’t survey the battle on his horse
Napoleon sent 33,000 of his troops to pursue Prussians who didnt tie down Blucher or help at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo 1815
start events
Napoleon 84-gun artillery bombardment to little effect due to soft ground preventing richochet or shrapnel and shots went over the heads of Wellington’s troops as they were at reverse of ridge
2000 Coldstream guards in defensive squares tie up a quarter of Napoleon’s infantry
Battle of Waterloo 1815
Napoleon main assault
Infantry sent in in wide columns, so were easily shot but coudlnt shoot themselves
3000 British infantry shot successive volleys and sucess
Battle of Waterloo 1815
end
France gains better position over Wellington and sends in 25,000 Imperial guards belatedly. Prussian troops arrive and 70,000 French killed and battle won
Infantry squares
20ish squares of infantry surrounded by muskets and bayonets to prevent cavalry attack and hollow centre for artillery and wounded troops
Battle of Balaclava 1854
army composition
Raglan sets up
2000 infantry: mostly poorly trained
1500 cavalry
26 guns overlooking port
vs
25,000 Russian infantry
3500 cavalry
78 guns
Battle of Balaclava 1854
thin red line
550 British infantry ordered to stand and fire at 2000 charging Russian cavalry
Infantry armed with minie rifles fire 3 rounds leading to Russian retreat.
Power of defence typical in warfare from 1855-1900
Battle of Balaclava 1854
Charge of the Heavy Brigade
British charged and despite being outnumbered, the Russian cavalry fled
Battle of Balaclava 1854
Charge of the Light Brigade cause
Series of miscommunications between Raglan, Nolan, Lucan and Lord Cardigan
Battle of Balaclava 1854
Charge of the Light Brigade events
673 men lead by Cardigan into valley and they were fired upon by 30 Russian cannons and 113 killed for no reason (nothing gained). Lord Cardigan retreated leaving his men behind
