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I said I’d do some Chrimbo threads.
This first one is on guns. In particular it is on the decision by Edward Stanhope, Secretary of State for War to adopt the Lee-Metford in 1888.
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This first one is on guns. In particular it is on the decision by Edward Stanhope, Secretary of State for War to adopt the Lee-Metford in 1888.
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My aim is to link several threads together so as to get a sense as to how relationship between users, engineers, commanders and bureaucrats has changed over time.
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I especially want to get past the idea that weapon systems necessarily lead to improvements in "lethality".
Instead I'm interested in how even low tech systems like the rifle are deeply contested & highly political.
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Instead I'm interested in how even low tech systems like the rifle are deeply contested & highly political.
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So, for example, the adoption of the magazine rifle did not necessarily imply a revolution in firepower.
As if the magazine rifle was a step in the evolution of weapons from Crossbow to H-Bomb.
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As if the magazine rifle was a step in the evolution of weapons from Crossbow to H-Bomb.
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My goal will be to explain how I read military innovation in the context of the 4th industrial revolution.
And to do so without indulging in some kind of whiggish Moore's Law appreciation for socio-technical change.
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And to do so without indulging in some kind of whiggish Moore's Law appreciation for socio-technical change.
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But let's start with how to think about military-technical change in the Victorian era.
My focus will be to explain the adoption of the Lee-Metford through the lens four groups that I call the Traditionalists, the Imperialists, the Royal Navy and the Radicals.
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My focus will be to explain the adoption of the Lee-Metford through the lens four groups that I call the Traditionalists, the Imperialists, the Royal Navy and the Radicals.
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From top right, that's the Duke of Cambridge (old whiskers, in Whitehall).
Sir Garnet Wolesley, after Tel-el-Kabir ©NAM
The RN & their well maintained machine guns. They could look after these things better than the Army.
& The Rifle Brigade courtesy of https://www.britishbattles.com/second-afghan-war/battle-of-ahmed-khel/
Sir Garnet Wolesley, after Tel-el-Kabir ©NAM
The RN & their well maintained machine guns. They could look after these things better than the Army.
& The Rifle Brigade courtesy of https://www.britishbattles.com/second-afghan-war/battle-of-ahmed-khel/
Each of these groups had a different perspective on the small arms.
Cambridge had fought in the Crimean War. He viewed Wellington's Army as the Army to be emulated.
As Brian Bond put it, he displayed 'personal courage but only mediocre talent'.
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Cambridge had fought in the Crimean War. He viewed Wellington's Army as the Army to be emulated.
As Brian Bond put it, he displayed 'personal courage but only mediocre talent'.
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For the Traditionalists, the rank & file were "helpless and careless... to be treated like children" as David French describes it.
Officers were then essential for directing fire. Keeping order. Linking Generals to the Infantry Company.
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Officers were then essential for directing fire. Keeping order. Linking Generals to the Infantry Company.
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The Traditionalists were worried about a war in Europe but the last 'big' war was against Napoleon.
By contrast the Imperialists were all over the world fighting to protect & advance Imperial interests.
They were at the end of a supply chain that could start in Woolwich.
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By contrast the Imperialists were all over the world fighting to protect & advance Imperial interests.
They were at the end of a supply chain that could start in Woolwich.
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Fire control was important in these contexts.
But the Imperialists were great reformers & paid attention to war in Europe & war in the Empire.
The Franco-Prussian War had shown how breech-loading rifles & modern artillery forced dispersion onto the battlefield.
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But the Imperialists were great reformers & paid attention to war in Europe & war in the Empire.
The Franco-Prussian War had shown how breech-loading rifles & modern artillery forced dispersion onto the battlefield.
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But the Royal Navy also had an interest in the selection of small arms.
They invariably adopted technology that the Army produced en masse but were more willing to experiment because they could maintain weapons with on ship engineers.
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They invariably adopted technology that the Army produced en masse but were more willing to experiment because they could maintain weapons with on ship engineers.
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And of course the last thing you want to do is give weapons with more firepower to soldiers who might use them against the powers that be.
The RN was then an important actor, willing to try new systems that the Army might not.
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The RN was then an important actor, willing to try new systems that the Army might not.
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But it is the Rifle Brigade that really pushed the arguments along in the War Office & in particular we can thank Lieutenant Colonel Charles George Slade.
His decorations were sold at auction in 2005 for £470 (bargain).
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https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/past-catalogues/lot.php?auction_id=71&lot_uid=111799
His decorations were sold at auction in 2005 for £470 (bargain).
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https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/past-catalogues/lot.php?auction_id=71&lot_uid=111799
Slade fought in the Ashantee campaign in 1873-74 & not only was instrumental in the story of the LEME but also part developed the Slade Wallace equipment - a system for allowing soldiers to quickly switch from marching to battle order.
More here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071848809416474
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More here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071848809416474
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These actors did not agree on what should replace the venerable .450 Martini-Henry.
The Martini had famously been used at Rorke's Drift.
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The Martini had famously been used at Rorke's Drift.
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But alongside the Royal Navy's machine guns at the Battle of Abu Klea in 1884 (as part of the attempt to relieve Gordon in Khartoum), the Martini had failed, the square had been breached and soldiers were left with the bayonet.
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The reason was the rolled brass cartridge case, heat from use of the rifle and desert dust.
For all you SAA nerds out there, make sure you visit this excellent site on the Martini-Henry!
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http://www.martinihenry.org/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_65&product_id=93
For all you SAA nerds out there, make sure you visit this excellent site on the Martini-Henry!
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http://www.martinihenry.org/index.php?route=product/product&path=61_65&product_id=93
Wolesley had led the operation to relieve Gordon and he had come back to Britain having lost and his reputation was somewhat tarnished.
What better then to find that equipment failures had contributed to the overall failure of the campaign.
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What better then to find that equipment failures had contributed to the overall failure of the campaign.
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Inevitably it meant a Royal Commission, see
"Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the System under which Patterns of Warlike Stores are Adopted and the Stores Obtained and Passed for Her Majesty’s Service, C 5062 (1887)"
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"Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the System under which Patterns of Warlike Stores are Adopted and the Stores Obtained and Passed for Her Majesty’s Service, C 5062 (1887)"
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In the circumstances, the demand to change from the Martini-Henry was high. But the Traditionalists, the Imperialists, the Royal Navy and the Radicals did not agree on what they should change to.
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The Traditionalists rejected the idea that the rank and file could be trusted to independently use their weapon and still realise a commander's intent.
They advocated an evolution of the Martini system and pushed for the adoption of the Enfield-Martini with a .402 round.
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They advocated an evolution of the Martini system and pushed for the adoption of the Enfield-Martini with a .402 round.
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The Royal Navy wanted a magazine rifle. It would provide firepower & offer greater flexibility for repelling borders.
Consequently they examined several weapon including the M1874 Kropatschek while they investigated machine guns.
Image courtesy of
http://www.nazarian.no/wep.asp?id=1170&group_id=3&country_id=98&lang=0
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Consequently they examined several weapon including the M1874 Kropatschek while they investigated machine guns.
Image courtesy of
http://www.nazarian.no/wep.asp?id=1170&group_id=3&country_id=98&lang=0
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The Radicals believed the future rifle would be,
"a small bore, probably .300”, the bullet steel-cased, and the charge compressed powder, or a smokeless chemical compound.
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"a small bore, probably .300”, the bullet steel-cased, and the charge compressed powder, or a smokeless chemical compound.
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Cont/
"The soldier will carry on his person from 120 to 150 rounds, the magazine will be detachable, and the soldier will carry two or three, ready loaded, each holding from 10 to 15 cartridges."
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"The soldier will carry on his person from 120 to 150 rounds, the magazine will be detachable, and the soldier will carry two or three, ready loaded, each holding from 10 to 15 cartridges."
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This is a Slade quote and was made in 1886, just under three decades before the FWW!
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Finally (& well done for sticking this far!), the Imperialists understood that battlefield dispersal demands independent action by soldiers. That implied new training & small arms.
But how to develop trust between officers and men?
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But how to develop trust between officers and men?
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Initially the Imperialists backed the Martini action with a magazine.
This led to the development of the .402 Owen Jones.
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This led to the development of the .402 Owen Jones.
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But the Owen Jones retained an action that had failed in Sudan.
The Radical by contrast were pushing for the Lee action.
So the Radicals & Imperialists could agree on what was known as the .402" Lee-Burton.
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The Radical by contrast were pushing for the Lee action.
So the Radicals & Imperialists could agree on what was known as the .402" Lee-Burton.
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But the real breakthrough came when the Small Arms Committee discovered the Swiss Army had adopted the .298 Rubini rifle.
At this point Slade's vision of a future rifle, the logistics challenges faced by the Imperialists and the ambitions of the Royal Navy could coalesce on a magazine fed rifle with a smaller form factor that allowed the magazine to be moved to under the breech...
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The question was, how to win over the Traditionalists worried about officer-man relations & Imperialists worried about SAA use.
The answer?
Stop soldiers accessing the magazine with a cut-off. A slide that cut off the magazine.
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Image from: https://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/42349300827/smle-magazine-cut-off-the-receiver-and-action
The answer?
Stop soldiers accessing the magazine with a cut-off. A slide that cut off the magazine.
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Image from: https://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/42349300827/smle-magazine-cut-off-the-receiver-and-action
So there you go. Victorian small arms innovation in 31 tweets. The article version of this can be found here: https://www.academia.edu/43367337/Towards_a_Revolution_in_Firepower_Logistics_Lethality_and_the_Lee_Metford
I've tried to note where I got the images from. Apols to anyone I've missed.
Addendum.
Jonathan asked a great question. & I realise that I need to spell out why the cut-off was so important and drew the Traditionalists, Imperialists, Royal Navy and the Radicals together
31+1/ https://twitter.com/Muinchille/status/1340747637486743553?s=20
Jonathan asked a great question. & I realise that I need to spell out why the cut-off was so important and drew the Traditionalists, Imperialists, Royal Navy and the Radicals together
31+1/ https://twitter.com/Muinchille/status/1340747637486743553?s=20
When the cut-off was engaged soldiers couldn't fire off all their rounds from the magazine. It meant loading 1 round at a time. The cut-off could be disengaged on being issued the appropriate orders allowing rapid fire.
That kept the Traditionalists & Imperialists happy.
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That kept the Traditionalists & Imperialists happy.
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For the Radical and the RN, however, the cut-off could be left in the disengaged position. On top of that the original magazine wasn't screwed into the rifle. That meant an empty magazine could be replaced with a full magazine & firepower could be maintained.
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The important thing for the Radicals, the Imperialists & the Traditionalists concerned lethality. The issue was whether a .303 round could take down a cavalry horse. That was as important for the Rifle Brigade (because they were dispersed) as it was for the line army.
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The cut-off, a tiny bit of metal that slide across the magazine represented the technical contrivance that could give everyone what they wanted.
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