Warfare 1700-1900 Flashcards
Weapon continuity
- artillery key during Crimean war
- cavalry had pistols
- ‘brown bess’ flintlock with bayonets
- cannonballs
Tactics/ strategy continuity
- infantry dominant, cavalry honourable (dragoons)
- limited warfare (musket/artillery deaths, communication slow)
- raids/seiges
Composition continuity
- Crimean War 5 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry
- officer class dominated by upper class
- 50,000 troops
Recruitment continuity
- pay low, standard poor
- Militia act forced people join
Training continuity
- attitudes prevented change, still thought no training needed for weapons
Provisions continuity
- requisitioning
- ships for transport
- London service corps
Experience for Civilians continuity
- militia act
- tax
War reporting (new)
- increased Times circulation
- more papers
- William Russel during Crimean war
- press coverage Boar War (Daily Mail), more public awareness
Weapons change (up to 1850 + after)
Up to 1850- industrial revolution meant lighter artillery, minie bullets/ rifles
After 1850- cannons improved (percussion shells), breach loading, gatling/ maxim gun, rifles had magazines
Tactics/ strategy change (after 1850)
- marching, quicker manoeuvres
- power of defence
- cavalry charges not as common
- armies operated far from home
Composition change (after 1850)
- Standing army grew to 500,000 with 20% cavalry
- empire needed more tropps
- cardwell’s reforms more officers, promoted on merit
Recruitment Change
- cardwell’s reforms = pro army, shorted length more attractive
- rations improved
- localisation scheme
Training change
- cadets, Royal Military academy
- officer training
- training trainers
Provision changes
- army service corps (pro troops)
- better supplying
- steam powered transport, electrical communications
Experience of Warfare change
- less impact, less war
- letters against war
- jingoism (aggressive foreign policy) , imperialism (spreading British value)
Waterloo 1815, key facts
- last battle Napoleonic wars v France
- Britain had Dutch, Belgium, Prussian support
Waterloo 1815, Wellington’s key decisions
- formation, battlefield to his advantage
- used ridge
- infantry lines/ squares
- effective artillery
Waterloo 1815, what does it tell us about nature of warfare?
- high casualties from close range cannons
- basic weapons (bayonets) still used
- scale of death toll
Battle of Balaclava 1854, Thin Red Line
- 93rd highlander regiment bravely saved British base in Balaclava despite being poorly prepared
Battle of Balaclava 1854, Problems with the Crimean War (Charge of the Light Brigade)
- leadership: charge uphill, communication poor, attack guns with cavalry
- poor organisation
- supplies poor, limited men, defeat inevitable
