Section B: Warfare and British Society C1250 - Present Flashcards
Reasons for decline of calvary in Medieval warfare
Battle of Agincourt:
British longbow men destroyed the French calvary, even when outnumbered
Expensive
limited amount capable of owning and riding a horse
Beginning of the shiltron age
Changes in weaponry in the Medieval era
Longbowmen :
Better rate of fire, accurate, long range
Some archers Rode horses so they could move with the calvary
Change in formation: archers at flanks
Pikes:
Large pike
Can be used in squares (shiltrons) to defend against calvary
Mainly descended into melee
Changes in training and composition (medieval time)
Training:
1363, longbow training a law
Composition: More infantry, less calvary Much not change Armies became bigger More archers
What was made by King Edward III in 1363?
The law stating all able-bodied men should practise firing a longbow every Sunday
What was artillery like at the beginning of the Industrial age
Slow Heavy Ruined by rain E.g Battle of Waterloo - artillery barely utilised 5% of army composition
What was changed in the new Field Artillery
More accurate
Faster to move
Better long range
Better rate of fire
What did the new field artillery lead to in tactics
Can be placed at the front of the army, then pulled back
Cannons can be placed nearer the front
Less men per cannon
Cannons could be placed on the flanks
Cannons could be used to help choose a useful position on the battle field
More light - could even be used on ships
What is BRASS
Pace of change in technologies accelerated between 1850 - 1900
B - breech loading guns R - rifling A - ammunition S - steel casting S - smokeless powder
What parts of BRASS were important to artillery
Rifling:
Had been used since 1830 in rifles, but became available in artillery in 1860 due to more steel
Rifling is where the barrel had groves in so the bullet’s spin is controlled
Steel casting:
Steel was made cheaper and quicker, leading to artillery mass production
Steel was stronger than its predecesor, iron
Allowed rifling to happen
What were rifles like early on in the 1700’s
Brown bess musket used from 1715 - 1845
Muskets only
Brown Bess:
Un effective at its range of 50m
Could only fire 2 - 3 shots a minute
Did not have a percussion cap, and was unreliable in wet conditions
What were rifles like late on in the 1900’s
Rifles were used
(No more muskets)
Smokeless powder
Brass bullets
The enfield rifle:
Effective and reasonably accurate over 500m
Could fire 3 - 4 shots a minute
Had a percussion cap so effective in wet conditions
Other developments in weapons (1700 - 1900)
Artillery (already covered)
Rifles (already covered)
Machine guns:
Helped by development of the ammunition - brass cartages
Change in tactics (1700 - 1900)
Changes in use of artillery (already covered)
Still limited warfare
Removal of line formations and shock calvary
Defensive positions much more common e.g trenches
Changes in levels of interest in newspapers
Waterloo 1815: 5000 a day
1850: 40,000 sold a day by 50 provisional newspapers
Boer war (1899 - 1902): 300 correspondents sent by newspapers. Daily mail sold 500,000 a day
Where was photography first used
Crimean war
