Industrial Warfare c.1700 to c.1900

Question 1

How did the main weapon for infantrymen change?

Answer 1

Went from flintlock musket to Brown Bess musket, both smoothbore, to Lee Enfield Rifle, rifled barrel

Question 2

What were features of the Brown Bess musket?

Answer 2

-Used from 1700s to 1840s. Flintlock firing mechanism. 2-3 shots/minute, muzzle loaded, quite inaccurate, 50m range, lead musket balls, smoothbore. Produced black smoke on firing.
-Late 1700s- bayonets attached to muzzle.

Question 3

What were features of the Lee Enfield rifle?

Answer 3

-Rifled barrel, much more accurate. 500m accuracy now, 3-4 shots/minute, faster reload, fired brass cartridges, breech loaded. Mass produced in 1850s

Question 4

What was breech loading and its effects?

Answer 4

-Faster, more efficient way to reload guns. Loaded in middle of muzzle rather than the end. Decreased reload time.

Question 5

What were brass cartridges?

Answer 5

-Brass cartridges contained gunpowder and a bullet contained within one cartridge. More efficient as gunpowder and ball didn’t have to be loaded separately.

Question 6

How did artillery change?

Answer 6

-Went from smoothbore and inaccurate to rifled, because of Bessemer process, and accurate, 10km accuracy.
-Problematic in wet weather as cannon balls not bounce on soft ground and rain put out fuse.

Question 7

What was the Bessemer Process?

Answer 7

-New method of steel casting which allowed for artillery to become rifled so they were more accurate.

Question 8

How did the size of armies change?

Answer 8

-Increased over time, 70,000 to 108,000.

Question 9

How did infantry change?

Answer 9

-Went from 75% to 15%. First used muskets, deployed in DC and SS to using rifles and forming lines to fire volleys.

Question 10

How did cavalry change?

Answer 10

-Went from 15% to 85%. Used for cavalry charges throughout, tactics changed to rely on charges. Used pistols, mainly swords as poor were inaccurate and short ranged.

Question 11

How did artillery change?

Answer 11

-Went from 10% to 1%. Placed behind infantrymen and fired over them.

Question 12

What did infantrymen wear?

Answer 12

-Wore red coats so allied infantrymen could be seen through the black smoke given off when firing BB Musket.

Question 13

What was the situation of the army?

Answer 13

-By 1700, England had paid standing army.
-In 1707, England and Scotland joined, British Army formed.

Question 14

What were the main methods of recruitment in early IP?

Answer 14

-Recruiting parties, ‘Get out of Jail free’ offers, militias, crimping

Question 15

What were recruiting parties?

Answer 15

-Group of soldiers sent to local pubs to attract recruits.
-Drunk people more likely to recruit, recruited poor quality men (alcoholics).

Question 16

What was a ‘Get out of jail free’ offer?

Answer 16

-Offered military service instead of prison time for people in debt. Good incentive as they didn’t want prison time, but recruited criminals and desperate people.

Question 17

What were militias?

Answer 17

-Local defence force recruited by ballot of lists of 18-45 yr old men. Increased size of defence but not overseas armies.
-1809- Amendment of Militia Acts- men in militia could be transferred to army. More valuable soldiers as were already trained.

Question 18

What was crimping?

Answer 18

-Crimps kidnapped drunk men and forced to swear oath of loyalty. Collected bounty for bringing them, could increase numbers.

Question 19

What were problems with recruitment at the start of the IP?

Answer 19

-Nepotism and the Purchase system, a system whereby officers bought their position.
-Leaders recruited from aristocratic families. Leaders favoured family members. Leaders not skilled as received roles because of class not experience.

Question 20

What were Cardwell’s Reforms?

Answer 20

-Series of reforms in early 1870s by War Minister aiming to encourage better professionalism, reforming recruitment and promotion procedures.
-Abolished purchase system, increase gov. control over army, reduced enlistment period, ended bounty money, abolished flogging during peacetime.

Question 21

What was the Royal Commission?

Answer 21

-Group set up by gov. to investigate mismanagement and recruitment problems in Crimean War. Found failure to give troops essential supplies in winter 1854, failure to recruit enough troops for fight.

Question 22

How did providing assistance to the military affect civilians at the start of the IP?

Answer 22

-Requisitioning and billeting still used, directly impacting civilians.

Question 23

How did requisitioning affect civilians at the start of the IP?

Answer 23

-Civilians expected to supply the army with resources but much less so than EMP.

Question 24

How did billeting affect civilians at the start of the IP?

Answer 24

-Billeting in towns and inns continued however troops increasingly stayed in purpose-built barracks.
-Civilians complained about drunk soldiers recruited and fighting.

Question 25

How did reporting of wars affect civilians at the start of the IP?

Answer 25

-Limited reporting on wars so civilians unaware of wars abroad, victories and conditions.
-Took 3 days for news from Waterloo to reach England as a messenger was sent horseback and ship.

Question 26

How did military recruitment affect civilians at the start of the IP?

Answer 26

-Civilians produced recruits. Women also recruited abroad as nurses in medical services.

Question 27

How were civilians affected financially?

Answer 27

-Taxes became increasingly regular. Particularly high in early 1800s to fund Napoleonic wars.
-Indirect taxes imposed on food, clothes, beer, etc.

Question 28

How did requisitioning affect civilians at the end of the IP?

Answer 28

-During Crimean War, had less significant impact on civilians as fighting was abroad, as opposed to ECW where both sides from England.

Question 29

How did reporting and photography affect civilians at the end of the IP?

Answer 29

-1854: electric telegrams enabled faster communication for shot messages. Long messages still via ship.
-1850s: first cameras, printed in papers in 1880s.
Focus of media was patriotic and nationalist, showed British victories and hid horrors of war.

Question 30

What did William Howard Russell do?

Answer 30

-Sent telegraph reports from Crimean to London. Showed both triumphs and reality to educate civilians. AinS started to change, support or protest against war effort as awareness increased.

Question 31

What did Roger Fenton do?

Answer 31

-Took photographs of Crimean War showing daily lives of soldiers and the poor conditions.