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AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
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Veldriss
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- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
- Località: Sovere (BG)
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Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
These Innovations from the Napoleonic Era Changed War Forever
https://www.toptenz.net/the-ways-the-na ... orever.php
To some Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. He used the French Army (and those of allies) to spread the French revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity across Europe. His vision was of a united Europe, under the hegemony of France. To others he was a bloodthirsty tyrant, mad with conquest, who simply wanted to rule the world. From the late 1790s to 1815, with only brief periods of peace, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the waters of the Caribbean were theaters of war between his French Empire and the coalitions formed to defeat it, financially and militarily backed by Great Britain.
The combined wars against Napoleon were known in European history as the Great War until another usurped that title a century later. During those conflicts, innovations in warfare occurred within the contending armies, navies, and in the governments which sent them to the field or to sea. Some were immediately adopted, others were set aside to be further developed until they became assets in later wars. Here are 10 innovations in warfare from the wars of Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century.
10. The submarine Nautilus was offered to the French Navy
American Robert Fulton went to France in 1793, where he designed and built the first practical submarine, driven by a hand cranked propeller. Fulton created movable diving planes to control depth and dive angle, submerging his submarine using a hollow keel which served as a ballast tank. The hull was built of copper sheets. In his 1801 experiments he succeeded in diving to a depth of 25 feet, and maneuvering the vessel to place explosives – he called them carcasses – under the hull of a disused ship. A personal interview with Napoleon earlier failed to generate any interest in the vessel, which changed when the First Consul learned of the success witnessed by representatives of his Minister of Marine.
By the time Napoleon asked for another demonstration of the vessel, Fulton had already disassembled it, with plans for an improved version underway. Napoleon decided that the American had cheated his Minister of Marine out of the funds provided for the earlier experiments, and Fulton left France for England. There he found little interest in the vessel from the British Admiralty, though they did award him some funds to keep him from returning to France. By 1806 the Royal Navy controlled the waterways around Europe, and with little enthusiasm for the American’s ideas in England he returned to the United States.
9. The increase of regiments armed with rifles
The primary weapon of French infantry and most cavalry was the Charleville musket, a smoothbore muzzle loading weapon which was also used by many of the armies they fought (in variations). But rifles were deployed by several armies as well. Rifles were slower to load, but their increased range and accuracy made them excellent weapons for light troops used as skirmishers. Jagers from the German provinces often carried rifles, as did the British 95th Regiment, which also replaced the famed red coat of the British Army with one of green. They were armed with a British made weapon, the Baker Rifle.
The 95th served with distinction in several theaters from their founding in 1800 as an Experimental Corps, including as marksmen aboard ships of the British fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. They gained fame as a regiment during the Peninsular War, under Sir John Moore and later Arthur Wellesley, and served with the latter at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During the Peninsular War they served as skirmishers and as regular line troops, using their accurate weapons to destroy the command and control of their enemies by targeting officers, and drummers, who sent the signals to the troops. They also effectively targeted enemy artillery crews using their longer range.
8. Steam powered warships emerged in experimental form
During the period of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe the United States was officially neutral, though it was drawn into an early naval conflict with France (the Quasi-War, 1798-1800) and later with England in the War of 1812. The issues which caused the latter war arose directly from the Napoleonic wars, though the United States did not ally itself with France, nor did British allies against Napoleon join in the war with the Americans. It was, to the British at the time and to history, a sideshow. But it was the war which saw the birth of the steam powered warship, another innovation by Robert Fulton.
Authorized by an Act of Congress in March, 1814, Fulton built a steam powered ship which he named Demologos, though the ship was never formally christened. Fulton died in February, 1815, after which the ship was named Fulton in his honor. It was launched in October, 1815, and began sea trials that fall, which continued the following spring. Though it never served in battle, it was nonetheless the first steam powered warship ever built, meant as a defense against the British Navy in American waters. Russia, Britain, and France did not begin experimentation with steam warships for a decade after the end of the Napoleonic wars.
7. Increased use of skirmishers and patrols between combatant lines
One of the changes of tactics which Napoleon’s French armies brought to the battlefield was the increased use of light infantry as skirmishers, engaging enemy units to the extent that they were held in place. Skirmishers, and the use of patrols to pinpoint the presence of enemy units, were necessary to support his most important battlefield attribute, speed. Napoleon stressed speed in the design of his army, in the manner in which it was fed, and in its method of approaching the enemy. Napoleon was a trained artillerist, and his study of the use of cannon on the field of battle also reflected his need for speed. French artillery during the Napoleonic Wars was the lightest in the world, giving it superior mobility.
Napoleon ordered the creation of units of voltigeurs, French for vaulters, in 1804. These men, formed from within the ranks of existing line units of the French army, were those considered to be the best marksmen. The voltigeurs received what later would be called advanced infantry training, including the best use of the ground and other cover, and additional marksmanship training. Their effectiveness in battle was noted by their enemies. They were for a time also trained to ride, moving with cavalry units, an effective means of harassing a retreating enemy, but a system which proved difficult to follow when cavalry was needed elsewhere during battle.
6. Feeding the troops and the armies’ animals
Napoleon recognized that long supply trains slowed down his armies, and any loss of speed was aberrant to him. They also increased the number of horses and draft animals required of the army. Animals needed to be fed, as did the troops. Napoleon’s preferred means of feeding his armies was off the land, either through outright foraging or through purchasing supplies from friendly nations as the army marched through. Napoleon also established depots from which supplies for the armies were dispatched, chiefly hard bread, but for the most part the troops were left to their own devices.
The French military did seek ways to improve both the quantity and quality of the food available to their troops. In 1800, then First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte offered an award of 12,000 francs for a method of preserving food other than salting and smoking. The prize inspired French chef Nicolas Appert to devise a means of bottling food now known as canning. Though Appert demonstrated his invention in 1806 he did not receive the prize until 1810, and then only on the condition that he share the process openly. Unfortunately, there was no improved means of shipping to move the canned food to the troops, and the Napoleonic Wars ended before canned foods became a major part of soldiers’ rations.
5. An organized ambulance service implemented by the French
When French surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey saw the speed with which Napoleon’s artillery was drawn, the result of using lighter carriages and the extensive training of the crews which manned them, he had an inspiration. Larrey believed that fast attention to the wounded saved lives. He designed what he called ambulance volantes – flying ambulances – to transport wounded to treatment centers behind the lines. He also developed the training for their drivers, litter bearers, and the medical corpsmen who used them. Larrey also established the use of triage when evaluating the wounded, with care dispensed based on the urgency of individual cases.
Larrey proposed, and it was established, that battlefield wounded be treated regardless of whether they were hostile or friendly, an act which later saved his life. After the Battle of Dresden he personally saved the life of a wounded Prussian officer taken prisoner by the French. He was the son of Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher. When Larrey was taken prisoner by the Prussians in the aftermath of Waterloo he was threatened with execution before a Prussian surgeon recognized him and identified him to von Blucher, who ordered that he be spared and treated him as a guest at his table before releasing him.
4. Nationwide semaphore telegraphs
In 1792 Frenchman Claude Chappe and his brothers developed a system of towers, from which semaphore messages could be sent, increasing the speed of communications over distances. During the early French Revolutionary Wars, lines were built across France and the territories occupied by French armies, or aligned with the French. By the time of Chappe’s death in 1805, messages from Paris could reach the coast along the British Channel in a few hours, rather than the days previously required. Napoleon had the system expanded across France and used it to monitor his armies and the changing European situation.
Napoleon as Emperor in Paris could communicate as head of the army with generals in the field, closer to real time than any preceding military commander. To prevent spies from infiltrating the system, the operators of the towers which passed messages along were not trained in the code they transmitted. They simply copied what they saw from another tower. When Napoleon’s son was born on March 20, 1811, word that the Emperor had an heir was received in Strasbourg in one hour. In 1805 Napoleon extended the semaphore line into Milan from the Paris – Lyon line specifically to enhance communications to Italy as part of his preparations for renewed warfare there against the Austrians.
3. Vastly more powerful artillery
Napoleon was trained as an artillery officer, and his use of it as a young captain during the siege of Toulon launched him on his career with what was at the time the Republican Army during the Revolutionary Wars. His understanding of its firepower he coupled with his drive for speed when moving armies, both on the march and on the battlefield. One of his first acts as First Consul was to establish an artillery staff which he retained under his personal control. The staff established and supervised artillery schools for the army. It also supervised the manufacture of cannon and ammunition.
The ratio of cannon to men in the French Army increased each year of the Empire until 1814. Guns were distributed throughout the French Army – itself divided into self-supporting corps – with guns traveling with infantry and cavalry units, as well as artillery battalions. Napoleon’s insistence on fast-moving horse cavalry on the battlefield enabled him to bring up heavier firepower at critical moments of a battle. Napoleon’s reputation as an artillerist, of which he was quite proud, also eased recruiting for the artillery. In no other army of the day was the artillery branch so well regarded, and favored by the leader of the army.
2. Increased mobility and maneuver of armies
Napoleon divided his Grand Army into what were in effect several smaller, self-contained armies, which were called corps’ of the army. Each of these smaller armies were capable of defending themselves against larger armies while additional corps came to their aid, or of rapidly deploying to aid one of their fellow corps. On the march they usually took different routes towards their common objective, allowing them to better forage off the land. This allowed them to carry fewer supplies and thus move more rapidly. Each was commanded by either a Marshal of France or a Major General.
The size of each corps was flexible, with troops added when necessary in accordance with the importance of its assignment, with divisions, or smaller units, transferred between them. The use of the corps allowed Napoleon to rapidly move large concentrations of troops while masking to some extent his intentions. The senior regiment of Napoleon’s army were the Grenadiers of the Old Guard, infantry veterans of previous campaigns. They called themselves the grognards, a nickname which was given them by the Emperor in 1807. Grognards is French for grumblers.
1. Military use of canals and inland waterways
The Napoleonic Wars coincided with widespread development of canals. Canals were seen as a means of rapidly moving troops and supplies in times of national peril. In England, the Royal Military Canal was built between Seabrooke and Cliff End specifically as a defense measure against the possibility of French invasion. Begun in 1804, when the possibility of invasion was very real, it was completed in 1809, when the chances of a French invasion were remote.
The British Navy dominated the seas by 1806, and French shipment of goods and troops on waterways were limited to coastal vessels and barges on the coast, and similar means on inland rivers. Napoleon planned a series of canals to move goods and troops throughout his empire, and began construction of the Damme Canal to connect Bruges to the Scheldt estuary in 1810. Spanish prisoners of war and convicts sentenced to the galleys were used for labor. When Napoleon abdicated in 1814 the project was abandoned and not completed for another four decades. By then another Napoleon, nephew of the first, was on the throne of France.
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Traduzione da Google:
Per alcuni Napoleone Bonaparte fu uno dei più grandi geni militari di tutti i tempi. Ha usato l'esercito francese (e quelli degli alleati) per diffondere gli ideali rivoluzionari francesi di libertà, uguaglianza e fraternità in tutta Europa. La sua visione era di un'Europa unita, sotto l'egemonia della Francia. Per altri era un tiranno assetato di sangue, pazzo di conquista, che voleva semplicemente governare il mondo. Dalla fine degli anni 1790 al 1815, con solo brevi periodi di pace, l'Europa, il subcontinente indiano e le acque dei Caraibi furono teatro di guerra tra il suo impero francese e le coalizioni formate per sconfiggerlo, sostenute finanziariamente e militarmente dalla Gran Bretagna.
Le guerre combinate contro Napoleone erano conosciute nella storia europea come la Grande Guerra finché un altro non usurpò quel titolo un secolo dopo. Durante quei conflitti, le innovazioni nella guerra si sono verificate all'interno degli eserciti, delle marine e dei governi contendenti che li hanno inviati sul campo o per mare. Alcuni furono subito adottati, altri furono messi da parte per essere ulteriormente sviluppati fino a diventare beni nelle guerre successive. Ecco 10 innovazioni nella guerra dalle guerre di Napoleone all'inizio del XIX secolo.
10. Il sottomarino Nautilus fu offerto alla Marina francese
L'americano Robert Fulton si recò in Francia nel 1793, dove progettò e costruì il primo pratico sottomarino, azionato da un'elica a manovella. Fulton ha creato aerei da immersione mobili per controllare la profondità e l'angolo di immersione, immergendo il suo sottomarino utilizzando una chiglia cava che fungeva da serbatoio di zavorra. Lo scafo è stato costruito con lastre di rame. Nei suoi esperimenti del 1801 riuscì a immergersi a una profondità di 25 piedi e manovrare la nave per posizionare esplosivi - li chiamò carcasse - sotto lo scafo di una nave in disuso. Un colloquio personale con Napoleone in precedenza non è riuscito a generare alcun interesse per la nave, che è cambiato quando il Primo Console ha appreso del successo testimoniato dai rappresentanti del suo Ministro della Marina.
Quando Napoleone chiese un'altra dimostrazione della nave, Fulton l'aveva già smontata, con piani per una versione migliorata in corso. Napoleone decise che l'americano aveva derubato il suo ministro della Marina dei fondi forniti per i precedenti esperimenti e Fulton lasciò la Francia per l'Inghilterra. Lì trovò scarso interesse per la nave da parte dell'Ammiragliato britannico, sebbene gli assegnassero dei fondi per impedirgli di tornare in Francia. Nel 1806 la Royal Navy controllava i corsi d'acqua in tutta Europa e, con scarso entusiasmo per le idee americane in Inghilterra, tornò negli Stati Uniti.
9. L'aumento dei reggimenti armati di fucili
L'arma principale della fanteria francese e della maggior parte della cavalleria era il moschetto Charleville, un'arma ad avancarica a canna liscia che era usata anche da molti degli eserciti che combattevano (in varianti). Ma i fucili furono schierati anche da diversi eserciti. I fucili erano più lenti da caricare, ma la loro maggiore portata e precisione li rendevano armi eccellenti per le truppe leggere usate come schermagliatori. Gli Jager delle province tedesche spesso portavano fucili, così come il 95° reggimento britannico, che sostituì anche il famoso cappotto rosso dell'esercito britannico con uno verde. Erano armati con un'arma di fabbricazione britannica, il Baker Rifle.
Il 95 ° prestò servizio con distinzione in diversi teatri dalla loro fondazione nel 1800 come Corpo Sperimentale, anche come tiratori scelti a bordo delle navi della flotta britannica nella battaglia di Copenaghen. Guadagnarono fama come reggimento durante la guerra peninsulare, sotto Sir John Moore e successivamente Arthur Wellesley, e prestarono servizio con quest'ultimo nella battaglia di Waterloo nel 1815. armi per distruggere il comando e il controllo dei loro nemici prendendo di mira ufficiali e tamburini, che inviavano i segnali alle truppe. Hanno anche preso di mira efficacemente gli equipaggi di artiglieria nemica usando il loro raggio più lungo.
8. Le navi da guerra alimentate a vapore sono emerse in forma sperimentale
Durante il periodo delle guerre napoleoniche in Europa, gli Stati Uniti erano ufficialmente neutrali, sebbene fossero coinvolti in un primo conflitto navale con la Francia (la quasi guerra, 1798-1800) e successivamente con l'Inghilterra nella guerra del 1812. perché quest'ultima guerra sorse direttamente dalle guerre napoleoniche, sebbene gli Stati Uniti non si allearono con la Francia, né gli alleati britannici contro Napoleone si unirono alla guerra con gli americani. Era, per gli inglesi dell'epoca e per la storia, uno spettacolo secondario. Ma fu la guerra che vide la nascita della nave da guerra a vapore, un'altra innovazione di Robert Fulton.
Autorizzato da un atto del Congresso nel marzo 1814, Fulton costruì una nave a vapore che chiamò Demologos, sebbene la nave non fosse mai stata formalmente battezzata. Fulton morì nel febbraio 1815, dopodiché la nave fu chiamata Fulton in suo onore. Fu varato nell'ottobre 1815 e in autunno iniziarono le prove in mare, che continuarono nella primavera successiva. Sebbene non abbia mai servito in battaglia, è stata comunque la prima nave da guerra a vapore mai costruita, intesa come difesa contro la marina britannica nelle acque americane. Russia, Gran Bretagna e Francia non iniziarono a sperimentare navi da guerra a vapore per un decennio dopo la fine delle guerre napoleoniche.
7. Aumento dell'uso di schermagliatori e pattuglie tra le linee combattenti
Uno dei cambiamenti tattici che gli eserciti francesi di Napoleone portarono sul campo di battaglia fu l'aumento dell'uso della fanteria leggera come schermagliatori, ingaggiando le unità nemiche nella misura in cui erano tenute sul posto. Gli schermagliatori e l'uso di pattuglie per individuare la presenza di unità nemiche erano necessari per supportare il suo attributo più importante sul campo di battaglia, la velocità. Napoleone ha sottolineato la velocità nella progettazione del suo esercito, nel modo in cui è stato alimentato e nel suo metodo di avvicinamento al nemico. Napoleone era un artigliere addestrato e il suo studio sull'uso del cannone sul campo di battaglia rifletteva anche il suo bisogno di velocità. L'artiglieria francese durante le guerre napoleoniche era la più leggera al mondo, il che le conferiva una mobilità superiore.
Napoleone ordinò la creazione di unità di voltigeurs, francesi per volteggiatori, nel 1804. Questi uomini, formati all'interno dei ranghi delle unità di linea esistenti dell'esercito francese, erano quelli considerati i migliori tiratori. I voltigeurs ricevevano quello che in seguito sarebbe stato chiamato addestramento avanzato di fanteria, compreso il miglior uso del terreno e di altre coperture e un ulteriore addestramento al tiro. La loro efficacia in battaglia è stata notata dai loro nemici. Per un certo periodo furono anche addestrati a cavalcare, muovendosi con unità di cavalleria, un mezzo efficace per molestare un nemico in ritirata, ma un sistema che si rivelò difficile da seguire quando la cavalleria era necessaria altrove durante la battaglia.
6. Nutrire le truppe e gli animali degli eserciti
Napoleone riconobbe che i lunghi treni di rifornimenti rallentavano i suoi eserciti e qualsiasi perdita di velocità era per lui aberrante. Hanno anche aumentato il numero di cavalli e animali da tiro richiesti dall'esercito. Gli animali avevano bisogno di essere nutriti, così come le truppe. Il mezzo preferito di Napoleone per nutrire i suoi eserciti era la terraferma, sia attraverso il foraggiamento diretto sia attraverso l'acquisto di rifornimenti da nazioni amiche mentre l'esercito marciava. Napoleone stabilì anche depositi da cui venivano spediti i rifornimenti per gli eserciti, principalmente pane duro, ma per la maggior parte le truppe erano lasciate a se stesse.
L'esercito francese ha cercato modi per migliorare sia la quantità che la qualità del cibo a disposizione delle loro truppe. Nel 1800, l'allora primo console Napoleone Bonaparte offrì un premio di 12.000 franchi per un metodo di conservazione degli alimenti diverso dalla salatura e dall'affumicatura. Il premio ha ispirato lo chef francese Nicolas Appert a ideare un mezzo per imbottigliare il cibo ora noto come inscatolamento. Sebbene Appert dimostrò la sua invenzione nel 1806, non ricevette il premio fino al 1810, e solo a condizione che condividesse apertamente il processo. Sfortunatamente, non esistevano mezzi di spedizione migliorati per spostare il cibo in scatola alle truppe e le guerre napoleoniche finirono prima che i cibi in scatola diventassero una parte importante delle razioni dei soldati.
5. Un servizio di ambulanza organizzato implementato dai francesi
Quando il chirurgo francese Dominique Jean Larrey vide la velocità con cui veniva estratta l'artiglieria di Napoleone, il risultato dell'utilizzo di carrozze più leggere e del vasto addestramento degli equipaggi che le equipaggiavano, ebbe un'ispirazione. Larrey credeva che una rapida attenzione ai feriti salvasse vite. Ha progettato quelle che ha chiamato ambulance volantes - ambulanze volanti - per trasportare i feriti ai centri di cura dietro le linee. Ha anche sviluppato la formazione per i loro autisti, portatori di lettiere e gli uomini del corpo medico che li usavano. Larrey ha anche stabilito l'uso del triage nella valutazione dei feriti, con cure dispensate in base all'urgenza dei singoli casi.
Larrey propose, e fu stabilito, che i feriti sul campo di battaglia fossero curati indipendentemente dal fatto che fossero ostili o amichevoli, un atto che in seguito gli salvò la vita. Dopo la battaglia di Dresda salvò personalmente la vita di un ufficiale prussiano ferito fatto prigioniero dai francesi. Era il figlio del feldmaresciallo prussiano Gebhard von Blucher. Quando Larrey fu fatto prigioniero dai prussiani all'indomani di Waterloo, fu minacciato di esecuzione prima che un chirurgo prussiano lo riconoscesse e lo identificasse con von Blucher, che ordinò che fosse risparmiato e lo trattò come un ospite alla sua tavola prima di liberarlo.
4. Telegrafi semaforici nazionali
Nel 1792 il francese Claude Chappe ei suoi fratelli svilupparono un sistema di torri, da cui potevano essere inviati messaggi semaforici, aumentando la velocità delle comunicazioni a distanza. Durante le prime guerre rivoluzionarie francesi, furono costruite linee attraverso la Francia e i territori occupati dagli eserciti francesi, o allineati con i francesi. Al momento della morte di Chappe nel 1805, i messaggi da Parigi potevano raggiungere la costa lungo la Manica in poche ore, anziché nei giorni precedentemente richiesti. Napoleone fece espandere il sistema in tutta la Francia e lo usò per monitorare i suoi eserciti e la mutevole situazione europea.
Napoleone come imperatore a Parigi poteva comunicare cate come capo dell'esercito con i generali sul campo, più vicino al tempo reale di qualsiasi precedente comandante militare. Per evitare che le spie si infiltrassero nel sistema, gli operatori delle torri che trasmettevano i messaggi non erano addestrati al codice che trasmettevano. Hanno semplicemente copiato ciò che hanno visto da un'altra torre. Quando il figlio di Napoleone nacque il 20 marzo 1811, la notizia che l'imperatore aveva un erede fu ricevuta a Strasburgo in un'ora. Nel 1805 Napoleone estese la linea del semaforo a Milano dalla linea Parigi - Lione specificamente per migliorare le comunicazioni con l'Italia come parte dei suoi preparativi per una nuova guerra contro gli austriaci.
3. Artiglieria molto più potente
Napoleone fu addestrato come ufficiale di artiglieria e il suo uso come giovane capitano durante l'assedio di Tolone lo lanciò nella sua carriera con quello che all'epoca era l'esercito repubblicano durante le guerre rivoluzionarie. La sua comprensione della sua potenza di fuoco si univa alla sua spinta alla velocità quando muoveva gli eserciti, sia in marcia che sul campo di battaglia. Uno dei suoi primi atti come Primo Console fu quello di istituire uno stato maggiore di artiglieria che mantenne sotto il suo controllo personale. Il personale ha istituito e supervisionato scuole di artiglieria per l'esercito. Ha anche supervisionato la fabbricazione di cannoni e munizioni.
Il rapporto tra cannoni e uomini nell'esercito francese aumentò ogni anno dell'Impero fino al 1814. I cannoni furono distribuiti in tutto l'esercito francese - a sua volta diviso in corpi autoportanti - con cannoni che viaggiavano con unità di fanteria e cavalleria, nonché battaglioni di artiglieria. L'insistenza di Napoleone sulla cavalleria a cavallo in rapido movimento sul campo di battaglia gli ha permesso di aumentare la potenza di fuoco nei momenti critici di una battaglia. La reputazione di Napoleone come artigliere, di cui era piuttosto orgoglioso, facilitò anche il reclutamento per l'artiglieria. In nessun altro esercito dell'epoca il ramo dell'artiglieria era così ben considerato e favorito dal capo dell'esercito.
2. Maggiore mobilità e manovra degli eserciti
Napoleone divise il suo Grande Esercito in quelli che erano in effetti diversi eserciti più piccoli e autonomi, chiamati corpi dell'esercito. Ciascuno di questi eserciti più piccoli era in grado di difendersi da eserciti più grandi mentre altri corpi venivano in loro aiuto, o di schierarsi rapidamente per aiutare uno dei loro compagni di corpo. Durante la marcia di solito prendevano strade diverse verso il loro obiettivo comune, permettendo loro di foraggiare meglio la terra. Ciò ha permesso loro di trasportare meno rifornimenti e quindi di muoversi più rapidamente. Ciascuno era comandato da un maresciallo di Francia o da un maggiore generale.
La dimensione di ciascun corpo era flessibile, con truppe aggiunte quando necessario in base all'importanza del suo incarico, con divisioni, o unità più piccole, trasferite tra di loro. L'uso del corpo permise a Napoleone di spostare rapidamente grandi concentrazioni di truppe mascherando in una certa misura le sue intenzioni. Il reggimento più anziano dell'esercito di Napoleone erano i Granatieri della Vecchia Guardia, veterani di fanteria delle precedenti campagne. Si chiamavano i grognards, un soprannome che fu dato loro dall'imperatore nel 1807. Grognards è francese per brontoloni.
1. Uso militare di canali e vie navigabili interne
Le guerre napoleoniche coincisero con lo sviluppo diffuso dei canali. I canali erano visti come un mezzo per spostare rapidamente truppe e rifornimenti in tempi di pericolo nazionale. In Inghilterra, il Royal Military Canal fu costruito tra Seabrooke e Cliff End proprio come misura di difesa contro la possibilità di un'invasione francese. Iniziato nel 1804, quando la possibilità di un'invasione era molto reale, fu completato nel 1809, quando le possibilità di un'invasione francese erano remote.
La Marina britannica dominava i mari nel 1806 e la spedizione francese di merci e truppe sui corsi d'acqua era limitata a navi costiere e chiatte sulla costa e mezzi simili sui fiumi interni. Napoleone progettò una serie di canali per spostare merci e truppe in tutto il suo impero e iniziò la costruzione del canale Damme per collegare Bruges all'estuario della Schelda nel 1810. Prigionieri di guerra spagnoli e detenuti condannati alle galee furono usati per il lavoro. Quando Napoleone abdicò nel 1814 il progetto fu abbandonato e non fu completato per altri quattro decenni. Ormai un altro Napoleone, nipote del primo, era sul trono di Francia.
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To some Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. He used the French Army (and those of allies) to spread the French revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity across Europe. His vision was of a united Europe, under the hegemony of France. To others he was a bloodthirsty tyrant, mad with conquest, who simply wanted to rule the world. From the late 1790s to 1815, with only brief periods of peace, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the waters of the Caribbean were theaters of war between his French Empire and the coalitions formed to defeat it, financially and militarily backed by Great Britain.
The combined wars against Napoleon were known in European history as the Great War until another usurped that title a century later. During those conflicts, innovations in warfare occurred within the contending armies, navies, and in the governments which sent them to the field or to sea. Some were immediately adopted, others were set aside to be further developed until they became assets in later wars. Here are 10 innovations in warfare from the wars of Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century.
10. The submarine Nautilus was offered to the French Navy
American Robert Fulton went to France in 1793, where he designed and built the first practical submarine, driven by a hand cranked propeller. Fulton created movable diving planes to control depth and dive angle, submerging his submarine using a hollow keel which served as a ballast tank. The hull was built of copper sheets. In his 1801 experiments he succeeded in diving to a depth of 25 feet, and maneuvering the vessel to place explosives – he called them carcasses – under the hull of a disused ship. A personal interview with Napoleon earlier failed to generate any interest in the vessel, which changed when the First Consul learned of the success witnessed by representatives of his Minister of Marine.
By the time Napoleon asked for another demonstration of the vessel, Fulton had already disassembled it, with plans for an improved version underway. Napoleon decided that the American had cheated his Minister of Marine out of the funds provided for the earlier experiments, and Fulton left France for England. There he found little interest in the vessel from the British Admiralty, though they did award him some funds to keep him from returning to France. By 1806 the Royal Navy controlled the waterways around Europe, and with little enthusiasm for the American’s ideas in England he returned to the United States.
9. The increase of regiments armed with rifles
The primary weapon of French infantry and most cavalry was the Charleville musket, a smoothbore muzzle loading weapon which was also used by many of the armies they fought (in variations). But rifles were deployed by several armies as well. Rifles were slower to load, but their increased range and accuracy made them excellent weapons for light troops used as skirmishers. Jagers from the German provinces often carried rifles, as did the British 95th Regiment, which also replaced the famed red coat of the British Army with one of green. They were armed with a British made weapon, the Baker Rifle.
The 95th served with distinction in several theaters from their founding in 1800 as an Experimental Corps, including as marksmen aboard ships of the British fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. They gained fame as a regiment during the Peninsular War, under Sir John Moore and later Arthur Wellesley, and served with the latter at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During the Peninsular War they served as skirmishers and as regular line troops, using their accurate weapons to destroy the command and control of their enemies by targeting officers, and drummers, who sent the signals to the troops. They also effectively targeted enemy artillery crews using their longer range.
8. Steam powered warships emerged in experimental form
During the period of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe the United States was officially neutral, though it was drawn into an early naval conflict with France (the Quasi-War, 1798-1800) and later with England in the War of 1812. The issues which caused the latter war arose directly from the Napoleonic wars, though the United States did not ally itself with France, nor did British allies against Napoleon join in the war with the Americans. It was, to the British at the time and to history, a sideshow. But it was the war which saw the birth of the steam powered warship, another innovation by Robert Fulton.
Authorized by an Act of Congress in March, 1814, Fulton built a steam powered ship which he named Demologos, though the ship was never formally christened. Fulton died in February, 1815, after which the ship was named Fulton in his honor. It was launched in October, 1815, and began sea trials that fall, which continued the following spring. Though it never served in battle, it was nonetheless the first steam powered warship ever built, meant as a defense against the British Navy in American waters. Russia, Britain, and France did not begin experimentation with steam warships for a decade after the end of the Napoleonic wars.
7. Increased use of skirmishers and patrols between combatant lines
One of the changes of tactics which Napoleon’s French armies brought to the battlefield was the increased use of light infantry as skirmishers, engaging enemy units to the extent that they were held in place. Skirmishers, and the use of patrols to pinpoint the presence of enemy units, were necessary to support his most important battlefield attribute, speed. Napoleon stressed speed in the design of his army, in the manner in which it was fed, and in its method of approaching the enemy. Napoleon was a trained artillerist, and his study of the use of cannon on the field of battle also reflected his need for speed. French artillery during the Napoleonic Wars was the lightest in the world, giving it superior mobility.
Napoleon ordered the creation of units of voltigeurs, French for vaulters, in 1804. These men, formed from within the ranks of existing line units of the French army, were those considered to be the best marksmen. The voltigeurs received what later would be called advanced infantry training, including the best use of the ground and other cover, and additional marksmanship training. Their effectiveness in battle was noted by their enemies. They were for a time also trained to ride, moving with cavalry units, an effective means of harassing a retreating enemy, but a system which proved difficult to follow when cavalry was needed elsewhere during battle.
6. Feeding the troops and the armies’ animals
Napoleon recognized that long supply trains slowed down his armies, and any loss of speed was aberrant to him. They also increased the number of horses and draft animals required of the army. Animals needed to be fed, as did the troops. Napoleon’s preferred means of feeding his armies was off the land, either through outright foraging or through purchasing supplies from friendly nations as the army marched through. Napoleon also established depots from which supplies for the armies were dispatched, chiefly hard bread, but for the most part the troops were left to their own devices.
The French military did seek ways to improve both the quantity and quality of the food available to their troops. In 1800, then First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte offered an award of 12,000 francs for a method of preserving food other than salting and smoking. The prize inspired French chef Nicolas Appert to devise a means of bottling food now known as canning. Though Appert demonstrated his invention in 1806 he did not receive the prize until 1810, and then only on the condition that he share the process openly. Unfortunately, there was no improved means of shipping to move the canned food to the troops, and the Napoleonic Wars ended before canned foods became a major part of soldiers’ rations.
5. An organized ambulance service implemented by the French
When French surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey saw the speed with which Napoleon’s artillery was drawn, the result of using lighter carriages and the extensive training of the crews which manned them, he had an inspiration. Larrey believed that fast attention to the wounded saved lives. He designed what he called ambulance volantes – flying ambulances – to transport wounded to treatment centers behind the lines. He also developed the training for their drivers, litter bearers, and the medical corpsmen who used them. Larrey also established the use of triage when evaluating the wounded, with care dispensed based on the urgency of individual cases.
Larrey proposed, and it was established, that battlefield wounded be treated regardless of whether they were hostile or friendly, an act which later saved his life. After the Battle of Dresden he personally saved the life of a wounded Prussian officer taken prisoner by the French. He was the son of Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher. When Larrey was taken prisoner by the Prussians in the aftermath of Waterloo he was threatened with execution before a Prussian surgeon recognized him and identified him to von Blucher, who ordered that he be spared and treated him as a guest at his table before releasing him.
4. Nationwide semaphore telegraphs
In 1792 Frenchman Claude Chappe and his brothers developed a system of towers, from which semaphore messages could be sent, increasing the speed of communications over distances. During the early French Revolutionary Wars, lines were built across France and the territories occupied by French armies, or aligned with the French. By the time of Chappe’s death in 1805, messages from Paris could reach the coast along the British Channel in a few hours, rather than the days previously required. Napoleon had the system expanded across France and used it to monitor his armies and the changing European situation.
Napoleon as Emperor in Paris could communicate as head of the army with generals in the field, closer to real time than any preceding military commander. To prevent spies from infiltrating the system, the operators of the towers which passed messages along were not trained in the code they transmitted. They simply copied what they saw from another tower. When Napoleon’s son was born on March 20, 1811, word that the Emperor had an heir was received in Strasbourg in one hour. In 1805 Napoleon extended the semaphore line into Milan from the Paris – Lyon line specifically to enhance communications to Italy as part of his preparations for renewed warfare there against the Austrians.
3. Vastly more powerful artillery
Napoleon was trained as an artillery officer, and his use of it as a young captain during the siege of Toulon launched him on his career with what was at the time the Republican Army during the Revolutionary Wars. His understanding of its firepower he coupled with his drive for speed when moving armies, both on the march and on the battlefield. One of his first acts as First Consul was to establish an artillery staff which he retained under his personal control. The staff established and supervised artillery schools for the army. It also supervised the manufacture of cannon and ammunition.
The ratio of cannon to men in the French Army increased each year of the Empire until 1814. Guns were distributed throughout the French Army – itself divided into self-supporting corps – with guns traveling with infantry and cavalry units, as well as artillery battalions. Napoleon’s insistence on fast-moving horse cavalry on the battlefield enabled him to bring up heavier firepower at critical moments of a battle. Napoleon’s reputation as an artillerist, of which he was quite proud, also eased recruiting for the artillery. In no other army of the day was the artillery branch so well regarded, and favored by the leader of the army.
2. Increased mobility and maneuver of armies
Napoleon divided his Grand Army into what were in effect several smaller, self-contained armies, which were called corps’ of the army. Each of these smaller armies were capable of defending themselves against larger armies while additional corps came to their aid, or of rapidly deploying to aid one of their fellow corps. On the march they usually took different routes towards their common objective, allowing them to better forage off the land. This allowed them to carry fewer supplies and thus move more rapidly. Each was commanded by either a Marshal of France or a Major General.
The size of each corps was flexible, with troops added when necessary in accordance with the importance of its assignment, with divisions, or smaller units, transferred between them. The use of the corps allowed Napoleon to rapidly move large concentrations of troops while masking to some extent his intentions. The senior regiment of Napoleon’s army were the Grenadiers of the Old Guard, infantry veterans of previous campaigns. They called themselves the grognards, a nickname which was given them by the Emperor in 1807. Grognards is French for grumblers.
1. Military use of canals and inland waterways
The Napoleonic Wars coincided with widespread development of canals. Canals were seen as a means of rapidly moving troops and supplies in times of national peril. In England, the Royal Military Canal was built between Seabrooke and Cliff End specifically as a defense measure against the possibility of French invasion. Begun in 1804, when the possibility of invasion was very real, it was completed in 1809, when the chances of a French invasion were remote.
The British Navy dominated the seas by 1806, and French shipment of goods and troops on waterways were limited to coastal vessels and barges on the coast, and similar means on inland rivers. Napoleon planned a series of canals to move goods and troops throughout his empire, and began construction of the Damme Canal to connect Bruges to the Scheldt estuary in 1810. Spanish prisoners of war and convicts sentenced to the galleys were used for labor. When Napoleon abdicated in 1814 the project was abandoned and not completed for another four decades. By then another Napoleon, nephew of the first, was on the throne of France.
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Per alcuni Napoleone Bonaparte fu uno dei più grandi geni militari di tutti i tempi. Ha usato l'esercito francese (e quelli degli alleati) per diffondere gli ideali rivoluzionari francesi di libertà, uguaglianza e fraternità in tutta Europa. La sua visione era di un'Europa unita, sotto l'egemonia della Francia. Per altri era un tiranno assetato di sangue, pazzo di conquista, che voleva semplicemente governare il mondo. Dalla fine degli anni 1790 al 1815, con solo brevi periodi di pace, l'Europa, il subcontinente indiano e le acque dei Caraibi furono teatro di guerra tra il suo impero francese e le coalizioni formate per sconfiggerlo, sostenute finanziariamente e militarmente dalla Gran Bretagna.
Le guerre combinate contro Napoleone erano conosciute nella storia europea come la Grande Guerra finché un altro non usurpò quel titolo un secolo dopo. Durante quei conflitti, le innovazioni nella guerra si sono verificate all'interno degli eserciti, delle marine e dei governi contendenti che li hanno inviati sul campo o per mare. Alcuni furono subito adottati, altri furono messi da parte per essere ulteriormente sviluppati fino a diventare beni nelle guerre successive. Ecco 10 innovazioni nella guerra dalle guerre di Napoleone all'inizio del XIX secolo.
10. Il sottomarino Nautilus fu offerto alla Marina francese
L'americano Robert Fulton si recò in Francia nel 1793, dove progettò e costruì il primo pratico sottomarino, azionato da un'elica a manovella. Fulton ha creato aerei da immersione mobili per controllare la profondità e l'angolo di immersione, immergendo il suo sottomarino utilizzando una chiglia cava che fungeva da serbatoio di zavorra. Lo scafo è stato costruito con lastre di rame. Nei suoi esperimenti del 1801 riuscì a immergersi a una profondità di 25 piedi e manovrare la nave per posizionare esplosivi - li chiamò carcasse - sotto lo scafo di una nave in disuso. Un colloquio personale con Napoleone in precedenza non è riuscito a generare alcun interesse per la nave, che è cambiato quando il Primo Console ha appreso del successo testimoniato dai rappresentanti del suo Ministro della Marina.
Quando Napoleone chiese un'altra dimostrazione della nave, Fulton l'aveva già smontata, con piani per una versione migliorata in corso. Napoleone decise che l'americano aveva derubato il suo ministro della Marina dei fondi forniti per i precedenti esperimenti e Fulton lasciò la Francia per l'Inghilterra. Lì trovò scarso interesse per la nave da parte dell'Ammiragliato britannico, sebbene gli assegnassero dei fondi per impedirgli di tornare in Francia. Nel 1806 la Royal Navy controllava i corsi d'acqua in tutta Europa e, con scarso entusiasmo per le idee americane in Inghilterra, tornò negli Stati Uniti.
9. L'aumento dei reggimenti armati di fucili
L'arma principale della fanteria francese e della maggior parte della cavalleria era il moschetto Charleville, un'arma ad avancarica a canna liscia che era usata anche da molti degli eserciti che combattevano (in varianti). Ma i fucili furono schierati anche da diversi eserciti. I fucili erano più lenti da caricare, ma la loro maggiore portata e precisione li rendevano armi eccellenti per le truppe leggere usate come schermagliatori. Gli Jager delle province tedesche spesso portavano fucili, così come il 95° reggimento britannico, che sostituì anche il famoso cappotto rosso dell'esercito britannico con uno verde. Erano armati con un'arma di fabbricazione britannica, il Baker Rifle.
Il 95 ° prestò servizio con distinzione in diversi teatri dalla loro fondazione nel 1800 come Corpo Sperimentale, anche come tiratori scelti a bordo delle navi della flotta britannica nella battaglia di Copenaghen. Guadagnarono fama come reggimento durante la guerra peninsulare, sotto Sir John Moore e successivamente Arthur Wellesley, e prestarono servizio con quest'ultimo nella battaglia di Waterloo nel 1815. armi per distruggere il comando e il controllo dei loro nemici prendendo di mira ufficiali e tamburini, che inviavano i segnali alle truppe. Hanno anche preso di mira efficacemente gli equipaggi di artiglieria nemica usando il loro raggio più lungo.
8. Le navi da guerra alimentate a vapore sono emerse in forma sperimentale
Durante il periodo delle guerre napoleoniche in Europa, gli Stati Uniti erano ufficialmente neutrali, sebbene fossero coinvolti in un primo conflitto navale con la Francia (la quasi guerra, 1798-1800) e successivamente con l'Inghilterra nella guerra del 1812. perché quest'ultima guerra sorse direttamente dalle guerre napoleoniche, sebbene gli Stati Uniti non si allearono con la Francia, né gli alleati britannici contro Napoleone si unirono alla guerra con gli americani. Era, per gli inglesi dell'epoca e per la storia, uno spettacolo secondario. Ma fu la guerra che vide la nascita della nave da guerra a vapore, un'altra innovazione di Robert Fulton.
Autorizzato da un atto del Congresso nel marzo 1814, Fulton costruì una nave a vapore che chiamò Demologos, sebbene la nave non fosse mai stata formalmente battezzata. Fulton morì nel febbraio 1815, dopodiché la nave fu chiamata Fulton in suo onore. Fu varato nell'ottobre 1815 e in autunno iniziarono le prove in mare, che continuarono nella primavera successiva. Sebbene non abbia mai servito in battaglia, è stata comunque la prima nave da guerra a vapore mai costruita, intesa come difesa contro la marina britannica nelle acque americane. Russia, Gran Bretagna e Francia non iniziarono a sperimentare navi da guerra a vapore per un decennio dopo la fine delle guerre napoleoniche.
7. Aumento dell'uso di schermagliatori e pattuglie tra le linee combattenti
Uno dei cambiamenti tattici che gli eserciti francesi di Napoleone portarono sul campo di battaglia fu l'aumento dell'uso della fanteria leggera come schermagliatori, ingaggiando le unità nemiche nella misura in cui erano tenute sul posto. Gli schermagliatori e l'uso di pattuglie per individuare la presenza di unità nemiche erano necessari per supportare il suo attributo più importante sul campo di battaglia, la velocità. Napoleone ha sottolineato la velocità nella progettazione del suo esercito, nel modo in cui è stato alimentato e nel suo metodo di avvicinamento al nemico. Napoleone era un artigliere addestrato e il suo studio sull'uso del cannone sul campo di battaglia rifletteva anche il suo bisogno di velocità. L'artiglieria francese durante le guerre napoleoniche era la più leggera al mondo, il che le conferiva una mobilità superiore.
Napoleone ordinò la creazione di unità di voltigeurs, francesi per volteggiatori, nel 1804. Questi uomini, formati all'interno dei ranghi delle unità di linea esistenti dell'esercito francese, erano quelli considerati i migliori tiratori. I voltigeurs ricevevano quello che in seguito sarebbe stato chiamato addestramento avanzato di fanteria, compreso il miglior uso del terreno e di altre coperture e un ulteriore addestramento al tiro. La loro efficacia in battaglia è stata notata dai loro nemici. Per un certo periodo furono anche addestrati a cavalcare, muovendosi con unità di cavalleria, un mezzo efficace per molestare un nemico in ritirata, ma un sistema che si rivelò difficile da seguire quando la cavalleria era necessaria altrove durante la battaglia.
6. Nutrire le truppe e gli animali degli eserciti
Napoleone riconobbe che i lunghi treni di rifornimenti rallentavano i suoi eserciti e qualsiasi perdita di velocità era per lui aberrante. Hanno anche aumentato il numero di cavalli e animali da tiro richiesti dall'esercito. Gli animali avevano bisogno di essere nutriti, così come le truppe. Il mezzo preferito di Napoleone per nutrire i suoi eserciti era la terraferma, sia attraverso il foraggiamento diretto sia attraverso l'acquisto di rifornimenti da nazioni amiche mentre l'esercito marciava. Napoleone stabilì anche depositi da cui venivano spediti i rifornimenti per gli eserciti, principalmente pane duro, ma per la maggior parte le truppe erano lasciate a se stesse.
L'esercito francese ha cercato modi per migliorare sia la quantità che la qualità del cibo a disposizione delle loro truppe. Nel 1800, l'allora primo console Napoleone Bonaparte offrì un premio di 12.000 franchi per un metodo di conservazione degli alimenti diverso dalla salatura e dall'affumicatura. Il premio ha ispirato lo chef francese Nicolas Appert a ideare un mezzo per imbottigliare il cibo ora noto come inscatolamento. Sebbene Appert dimostrò la sua invenzione nel 1806, non ricevette il premio fino al 1810, e solo a condizione che condividesse apertamente il processo. Sfortunatamente, non esistevano mezzi di spedizione migliorati per spostare il cibo in scatola alle truppe e le guerre napoleoniche finirono prima che i cibi in scatola diventassero una parte importante delle razioni dei soldati.
5. Un servizio di ambulanza organizzato implementato dai francesi
Quando il chirurgo francese Dominique Jean Larrey vide la velocità con cui veniva estratta l'artiglieria di Napoleone, il risultato dell'utilizzo di carrozze più leggere e del vasto addestramento degli equipaggi che le equipaggiavano, ebbe un'ispirazione. Larrey credeva che una rapida attenzione ai feriti salvasse vite. Ha progettato quelle che ha chiamato ambulance volantes - ambulanze volanti - per trasportare i feriti ai centri di cura dietro le linee. Ha anche sviluppato la formazione per i loro autisti, portatori di lettiere e gli uomini del corpo medico che li usavano. Larrey ha anche stabilito l'uso del triage nella valutazione dei feriti, con cure dispensate in base all'urgenza dei singoli casi.
Larrey propose, e fu stabilito, che i feriti sul campo di battaglia fossero curati indipendentemente dal fatto che fossero ostili o amichevoli, un atto che in seguito gli salvò la vita. Dopo la battaglia di Dresda salvò personalmente la vita di un ufficiale prussiano ferito fatto prigioniero dai francesi. Era il figlio del feldmaresciallo prussiano Gebhard von Blucher. Quando Larrey fu fatto prigioniero dai prussiani all'indomani di Waterloo, fu minacciato di esecuzione prima che un chirurgo prussiano lo riconoscesse e lo identificasse con von Blucher, che ordinò che fosse risparmiato e lo trattò come un ospite alla sua tavola prima di liberarlo.
4. Telegrafi semaforici nazionali
Nel 1792 il francese Claude Chappe ei suoi fratelli svilupparono un sistema di torri, da cui potevano essere inviati messaggi semaforici, aumentando la velocità delle comunicazioni a distanza. Durante le prime guerre rivoluzionarie francesi, furono costruite linee attraverso la Francia e i territori occupati dagli eserciti francesi, o allineati con i francesi. Al momento della morte di Chappe nel 1805, i messaggi da Parigi potevano raggiungere la costa lungo la Manica in poche ore, anziché nei giorni precedentemente richiesti. Napoleone fece espandere il sistema in tutta la Francia e lo usò per monitorare i suoi eserciti e la mutevole situazione europea.
Napoleone come imperatore a Parigi poteva comunicare cate come capo dell'esercito con i generali sul campo, più vicino al tempo reale di qualsiasi precedente comandante militare. Per evitare che le spie si infiltrassero nel sistema, gli operatori delle torri che trasmettevano i messaggi non erano addestrati al codice che trasmettevano. Hanno semplicemente copiato ciò che hanno visto da un'altra torre. Quando il figlio di Napoleone nacque il 20 marzo 1811, la notizia che l'imperatore aveva un erede fu ricevuta a Strasburgo in un'ora. Nel 1805 Napoleone estese la linea del semaforo a Milano dalla linea Parigi - Lione specificamente per migliorare le comunicazioni con l'Italia come parte dei suoi preparativi per una nuova guerra contro gli austriaci.
3. Artiglieria molto più potente
Napoleone fu addestrato come ufficiale di artiglieria e il suo uso come giovane capitano durante l'assedio di Tolone lo lanciò nella sua carriera con quello che all'epoca era l'esercito repubblicano durante le guerre rivoluzionarie. La sua comprensione della sua potenza di fuoco si univa alla sua spinta alla velocità quando muoveva gli eserciti, sia in marcia che sul campo di battaglia. Uno dei suoi primi atti come Primo Console fu quello di istituire uno stato maggiore di artiglieria che mantenne sotto il suo controllo personale. Il personale ha istituito e supervisionato scuole di artiglieria per l'esercito. Ha anche supervisionato la fabbricazione di cannoni e munizioni.
Il rapporto tra cannoni e uomini nell'esercito francese aumentò ogni anno dell'Impero fino al 1814. I cannoni furono distribuiti in tutto l'esercito francese - a sua volta diviso in corpi autoportanti - con cannoni che viaggiavano con unità di fanteria e cavalleria, nonché battaglioni di artiglieria. L'insistenza di Napoleone sulla cavalleria a cavallo in rapido movimento sul campo di battaglia gli ha permesso di aumentare la potenza di fuoco nei momenti critici di una battaglia. La reputazione di Napoleone come artigliere, di cui era piuttosto orgoglioso, facilitò anche il reclutamento per l'artiglieria. In nessun altro esercito dell'epoca il ramo dell'artiglieria era così ben considerato e favorito dal capo dell'esercito.
2. Maggiore mobilità e manovra degli eserciti
Napoleone divise il suo Grande Esercito in quelli che erano in effetti diversi eserciti più piccoli e autonomi, chiamati corpi dell'esercito. Ciascuno di questi eserciti più piccoli era in grado di difendersi da eserciti più grandi mentre altri corpi venivano in loro aiuto, o di schierarsi rapidamente per aiutare uno dei loro compagni di corpo. Durante la marcia di solito prendevano strade diverse verso il loro obiettivo comune, permettendo loro di foraggiare meglio la terra. Ciò ha permesso loro di trasportare meno rifornimenti e quindi di muoversi più rapidamente. Ciascuno era comandato da un maresciallo di Francia o da un maggiore generale.
La dimensione di ciascun corpo era flessibile, con truppe aggiunte quando necessario in base all'importanza del suo incarico, con divisioni, o unità più piccole, trasferite tra di loro. L'uso del corpo permise a Napoleone di spostare rapidamente grandi concentrazioni di truppe mascherando in una certa misura le sue intenzioni. Il reggimento più anziano dell'esercito di Napoleone erano i Granatieri della Vecchia Guardia, veterani di fanteria delle precedenti campagne. Si chiamavano i grognards, un soprannome che fu dato loro dall'imperatore nel 1807. Grognards è francese per brontoloni.
1. Uso militare di canali e vie navigabili interne
Le guerre napoleoniche coincisero con lo sviluppo diffuso dei canali. I canali erano visti come un mezzo per spostare rapidamente truppe e rifornimenti in tempi di pericolo nazionale. In Inghilterra, il Royal Military Canal fu costruito tra Seabrooke e Cliff End proprio come misura di difesa contro la possibilità di un'invasione francese. Iniziato nel 1804, quando la possibilità di un'invasione era molto reale, fu completato nel 1809, quando le possibilità di un'invasione francese erano remote.
La Marina britannica dominava i mari nel 1806 e la spedizione francese di merci e truppe sui corsi d'acqua era limitata a navi costiere e chiatte sulla costa e mezzi simili sui fiumi interni. Napoleone progettò una serie di canali per spostare merci e truppe in tutto il suo impero e iniziò la costruzione del canale Damme per collegare Bruges all'estuario della Schelda nel 1810. Prigionieri di guerra spagnoli e detenuti condannati alle galee furono usati per il lavoro. Quando Napoleone abdicò nel 1814 il progetto fu abbandonato e non fu completato per altri quattro decenni. Ormai un altro Napoleone, nipote del primo, era sul trono di Francia.
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
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Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
Le carte Innovazioni di Napoleon in Europe
Innovation
#56 - Superior Light Cavalry Screen
(Player may watch the enemy player set up his pieces before battle if he has more cavalry units than his opponent (now counting heavy cavalry) - Austria 1796; France 1805; Russia 1812 -)
#59 - Light Infantry Tactics
(Light infantry units may be purchased. Maximum one unit per regular infantry unit in a nation's army. - France 1796; Great Britain 1808; Prussia 1813 -)
#62 - Nationalism
(All of the player's units get +1 on their rally rolls (Russians get +2) - France 1796; Great Britain 1800; Russia 1812; Prussia 1813 - )
#66 - Levee en Mass
(Add 10 production points to the player's production total during each production turn. - France 1796; Austria 1809; Prussia 1813)
#69 - Expert Foraging/Mobility
(Player's infantry units may move two regions per turn instead of one. - France 1800-1808)
#70 - Cavalry Divisions
(Player gets +1 on all cavalry vs. cavalry combat rolls when he has two or more cavalry units in that Battle Area. - France 1805)
#72 - Advanced Command Control
(Two leaders (from the same nation) in one battle allow that nation's artillery units to act during the cavalry phase. Three leaders allow the infantry also to act during the cavalry phase. - France 1805-1808; 1815)
#73 - Corps d'Armee System
(Units of this nation may reinforce a battle while it is in progress. 1-3 units per battle turn (4 phases) may be moved into the reserve area from regions adjacent to the battle. - France 1805)
#74 - Horse Artillery
(Horse Artillery may be purchased. Maximum one unit of horse artillery per regular artillery unit in a nation's army. - France 1805; Great Britain 1810)
#76 - Tactical Flexibility
(+1 on all infantry charges (except by militia). - France 1805; Austria 1809; Great Britain 1810; Prussia 1813)
#79 - Tactical Initiative
(All units of this nation get an extra Battle Action during their leader phase. They may not use this action to attack. - France 1805-1808; 1815)
#81 - Grand Battery
(+1 to hit with artillery units that share a battle area with at least two other artillery units. - France 1807; Russia 1807)
#83 - Uncontrolled Charge
(Player gets +2 on all cavalry charge attacks. However, the attacking cavalry unit is then placed in the retreat area with no chance of rallying. - Great Britain 1808)
#84 - Fire Discipline
(Player gets +1 on all infantry fire attacks. - Great Britain 1810)
#85 - Militia/Landwehr
(Militia units may be purchased. Maximum one militia unit per regular infantry unit in a nation's army (Prussia may build 2 for 1). - Prussia 1813)
Innovation
#56 - Superior Light Cavalry Screen
(Player may watch the enemy player set up his pieces before battle if he has more cavalry units than his opponent (now counting heavy cavalry) - Austria 1796; France 1805; Russia 1812 -)
#59 - Light Infantry Tactics
(Light infantry units may be purchased. Maximum one unit per regular infantry unit in a nation's army. - France 1796; Great Britain 1808; Prussia 1813 -)
#62 - Nationalism
(All of the player's units get +1 on their rally rolls (Russians get +2) - France 1796; Great Britain 1800; Russia 1812; Prussia 1813 - )
#66 - Levee en Mass
(Add 10 production points to the player's production total during each production turn. - France 1796; Austria 1809; Prussia 1813)
#69 - Expert Foraging/Mobility
(Player's infantry units may move two regions per turn instead of one. - France 1800-1808)
#70 - Cavalry Divisions
(Player gets +1 on all cavalry vs. cavalry combat rolls when he has two or more cavalry units in that Battle Area. - France 1805)
#72 - Advanced Command Control
(Two leaders (from the same nation) in one battle allow that nation's artillery units to act during the cavalry phase. Three leaders allow the infantry also to act during the cavalry phase. - France 1805-1808; 1815)
#73 - Corps d'Armee System
(Units of this nation may reinforce a battle while it is in progress. 1-3 units per battle turn (4 phases) may be moved into the reserve area from regions adjacent to the battle. - France 1805)
#74 - Horse Artillery
(Horse Artillery may be purchased. Maximum one unit of horse artillery per regular artillery unit in a nation's army. - France 1805; Great Britain 1810)
#76 - Tactical Flexibility
(+1 on all infantry charges (except by militia). - France 1805; Austria 1809; Great Britain 1810; Prussia 1813)
#79 - Tactical Initiative
(All units of this nation get an extra Battle Action during their leader phase. They may not use this action to attack. - France 1805-1808; 1815)
#81 - Grand Battery
(+1 to hit with artillery units that share a battle area with at least two other artillery units. - France 1807; Russia 1807)
#83 - Uncontrolled Charge
(Player gets +2 on all cavalry charge attacks. However, the attacking cavalry unit is then placed in the retreat area with no chance of rallying. - Great Britain 1808)
#84 - Fire Discipline
(Player gets +1 on all infantry fire attacks. - Great Britain 1810)
#85 - Militia/Landwehr
(Militia units may be purchased. Maximum one militia unit per regular infantry unit in a nation's army (Prussia may build 2 for 1). - Prussia 1813)
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Federaky
- ARTIGIANO
- Messaggi: 21
- Iscritto il: 15 gennaio 2013, 18:19
- Località: Genova
Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
Buon giorno Veldriss, trovo interessante poter inserire gli avanzamenti tecnologici differenziati per nazione/potenza, in modo da avere una maggiore "aderenza" storica. inoltre anche l anno di sviluppo puo essere una regola da tenere in considerazione.
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
- Località: Sovere (BG)
- Contatta:
Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
Si esatto, su internet e su vari giochi per PC ci sono abbastanza informazioni per poter differenziare ogni singola nazione, come ad esempio le navi inglesi rispetto a quelle del resto d'Europa, il morale delle truppe francesi, la guerriglia nei territori spagnoli se venissero invasi, ecc.
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
- Località: Sovere (BG)
- Contatta:
Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
Technology Tree (NTW)
1 Civil
1.1 National Debt
1.2 Classical Economics
1.3 Public Schooling
1.4 National Census
1.5 Code Napoleon
1.6 Trade Unions
1.7 Metric System
1.8 Abolition of Slavery
1.9 Dialectics
1.10 Semaphore Lines
1.11 Passports
1.12 National Propaganda
2 Military
2.1 Conscription
2.2 Diamond Formation
2.3 Fire and Advance
2.4 Improved Coppering
2.5 Carronade
2.6 Mass Mobilisation
2.7 Army Corps Organisation
2.8 Logistics
2.9 Top Gallants
2.10 Conscript Infantry Tactics
2.11 Field Ambulances
2.12 Grand Battery
2.13 Carcass Shot
2.14 General Staff
2.15 Modern Rifles
2.16 Standardised Artillery
2.17 Quicklime
2.18 Uniform Armament
2.19 Rockets
2.20 Percussion Cap
2.21 Rifled Cannons
2.22 Iron Plating
3 Industrial
3.1 Division of Labour
3.2 Poverty Control Laws
3.3 Land Drainage
3.4 Bottling and Canning
3.5 Joint Stock Company
3.6 Plateways
3.7 Steam Engine
3.8 Mass Production
3.9 Steam Ship Propulsion
3.10 Limited Liability Company
3.11 Steam Locomotive
3.12 Screw Propeller
3.13 Interchangeable Parts
1 Civil
1.1 National Debt
1.2 Classical Economics
1.3 Public Schooling
1.4 National Census
1.5 Code Napoleon
1.6 Trade Unions
1.7 Metric System
1.8 Abolition of Slavery
1.9 Dialectics
1.10 Semaphore Lines
1.11 Passports
1.12 National Propaganda
2 Military
2.1 Conscription
2.2 Diamond Formation
2.3 Fire and Advance
2.4 Improved Coppering
2.5 Carronade
2.6 Mass Mobilisation
2.7 Army Corps Organisation
2.8 Logistics
2.9 Top Gallants
2.10 Conscript Infantry Tactics
2.11 Field Ambulances
2.12 Grand Battery
2.13 Carcass Shot
2.14 General Staff
2.15 Modern Rifles
2.16 Standardised Artillery
2.17 Quicklime
2.18 Uniform Armament
2.19 Rockets
2.20 Percussion Cap
2.21 Rifled Cannons
2.22 Iron Plating
3 Industrial
3.1 Division of Labour
3.2 Poverty Control Laws
3.3 Land Drainage
3.4 Bottling and Canning
3.5 Joint Stock Company
3.6 Plateways
3.7 Steam Engine
3.8 Mass Production
3.9 Steam Ship Propulsion
3.10 Limited Liability Company
3.11 Steam Locomotive
3.12 Screw Propeller
3.13 Interchangeable Parts
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
- Località: Sovere (BG)
- Contatta:
Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
CIVIL
National Debt
-5% upkeep costs for all army units
+5 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
National debt increases wealth growth and reduces the upkeep cost of units.
Kings have always run up debts, borrowing money (sometimes at sword’s point) from subjects and great banking houses. The debt, however, was the personal responsibility of the king. The concept of national debt allows a nation to borrow to finance expansion and conquest. The nation sells bonds, and agrees to pay interest on those bonds every year. This simple idea increases the growth of national wealth and facilitates expansion by reducing upkeep costs.
Scottish economist, gambler, and rake John Law (1671-1729) made several advances in his field, the most notable being the introduction of the French national bank. He also proposed state control over national finances and trade. He manipulated the market by using money from monopoly trading companies to buy government bonds rather than investing in overseas enterprises. Eventually his schemes collapsed, and many Frenchmen were ruined. Law failed, but he gave the idea of government-backed bank notes, and the word “millionaire”, to the West.
National debt was extensively used by British governments to finance the wars against France and Napoleon. Despite the blockade of Napoleon’s Continental System, British trade was able to flourish and sustain the increasing mountain of debt that the war created.
Classical Economics
-1 happiness. Clamour for reform
+3% wealth generated by all buildings
An attempt to understand, explore and explain economic growth and development.
Classical economics seeks to change the way a nation’s wealth is considered. No longer is the amount of money in a king’s treasury the sole measurement of national wealth. The earnings of the populace are now taken into account. With this step forward people leave feudal society and step forward as individuals seeking their own gains for their own benefit.
Classical economics was eventually superseded. Its influence does still linger however, especially within the modern school of thought known as “new classical economics.”
Historically, the school of classical economics was originally created by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, but David Ricardo is leading the school forward in its beliefs and methods. His debates on such topics as the Corn Laws with Thomas Malthus are giving theorists much to consider. One of the key questions the theory seeks to answer is: how can a society be built upon a system where man seeks to further only his own interests.
Public Schooling
+10% to technology research rate
Spawns gentlemen. Maximum number: +1
Public schools allow the people to make full use of their wits by making education widely available.
Education is usually the preserve of wealthy and ambitious families: the aristocracy have little need for it, because it adds no lustre to their titles; the poor have little use for it, because it rarely puts bread in their bellies. Education must be bought, and schools are generally run as privately-owned businesses. Public schooling introduces the idea of the state paying for the education of its people, sometimes regardless of their backgrounds: a radical notion in many ways. Public schooling provides a bonus to research, and increases the spawning rate of agents.
General state-funded public education was fiercely resisted in many influential quarters across Europe, as it was feared that teaching the poor to read would only encourage them in seditious thoughts. Britain is an oddity in that its “public” schools are nothing of the sort. They are private business establishments, where money rather than ability secures a place. The name came about because “public” schools would accept anyone who could pay, as opposed to “private” schools that accepted pupils by invitation only.
National Census
Reduces administration costs
+2% bonus to global tax rate
Counting people, their property and servants allows a government to know exactly what it can tax.
By counting everyone in the population, a government can tax everyone; possibly taxation will be unfair, but it will be unfair to all. It also becomes possible for a government to monitor the movement of people from the countryside to towns, calculate how fast the population is growing, and even know if there will be enough men for an army. However, the most immediate impact is on tax: a census increases the tax yield.
Counting people and taxation have been linked since at least Biblical times. The Directory, under Napoleon’s Consulate, carried out very successful censuses in post-revolutionary France, allowing them to collect taxes effectively and, just as vitally for Napoleon’s ambitions, know how many men were available for conscription. In Britain, the National Census was the result of work by Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) on population growth. He was convinced that a crisis was looming as the number of people outstripped the available food supply. The 1800 Census Act resulted in the British government knowing that there were nine million people in the country; this probably wasn’t all that satisfactory, as it was just over a third of the number of Frenchmen in France.
Code Napoleon
+2 happiness (lower classes)
This systematic overhaul of the law aims to create a fair and equal framework for the people to live under.
The Code is a set of laws designed to protect the ideals of the Revolution, but also to protect the rights of people and property in France. Some measures are surprisingly liberal, while others give almost draconian powers to family heads over wives and children. The intention, however, is to create a legal system that everyone can understand, and one that can control the population. The Code Napoleon increases repression, but improves happiness among the lower and middle classes.
Napoleon claimed to prize his Civil Code above all his other works. In 1800 he ordered distinguished lawyers to remake French law in just five months. Although they did not meet the deadline, the code is still the basis of French law today. The clarity of the system has appealed to many other, non-French nations since, and some 70 nations now use a similar, proscriptive system of law. The Anglophone world continues to rely largely on a common law system, where precedent is used to determine legality, for much of its everyday law.
Available for: France
Trade Unions
+2 happiness (lower classes)
-5% wealth generated by mines
-5% wealth generated by industrial buildings
The working classes often have to fight for their rights, sometimes even their right to earn enough to live.
Once the ideas of revolution, liberty, and equality are mooted, the poor and downtrodden will want to know why these concepts do not apply equally to them. The growth of combinations and workers’ organisations is inevitable in societies where poverty can mean more than just low pay, but starvation. Trade unions give workers the ability to negotiate with employers from a position of strength: the individual can be dismissed, but not the whole workforce. Trade unions improve the happiness of the lower classes, and enable the construction of higher level law courts.
Historically, trade unions were declared illegal and widely feared by the landed and moneyed classes in most societies. The idea that the poor would dare to ask for more of anything, except a good horsewhipping, was only one step away from armed insurrection. The British reaction of passing the 1799 and 1825 Combination Acts was typical, as was the deportation to Australia of the “Tolpuddle Martyrs”, a group of agricultural labourers who had dared to form a society with the aim of obtaining better pay and conditions for themselves.
Metric System
+10% to technology research rate
A metric system standardises all weights and measures, and attempts to link them into a coherent whole.
Many measuring systems are age-old, and based on some aspect of human physiognomy: hands for measuring horses and the like. There are quirky relationships within measuring systems: who would set out to design a weight scale that has 16 ounces in a pound, yet 112 pounds in a hundredweight?
A metric system creates arbitrary, but scientifically derived, units for length, volume, area, weight, and so on. One unified system can measure everything, and there is no complicated mathematics required, as only multiples of ten are used. Adopting such a scheme increases research rates and allows further research in a number of areas.
Historically, the French were not the first people to attempt a codified measuring system, but the work done by the French Academy of Sciences in the 1790s was certainly the most organised approach up to that time. Although officially adopted quite quickly, the public were not required by law to use metric measures until 1840. The metric system is now the de facto standard for all national armies, although many navies still use old “imperial” units like the fathom for depth and knot for speed.
Abolition of Slavery
+1 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform
-2% recruitment cost for all land units in all your regions
The abolition of slavery removes the right of one man to own another, and outlaws any trade in human beings as property.
The slave trade is hugely profitable for those who engage in it, whether through trade such as that from Africa to the New World, or conquest such as the depredations of European shipping by the Barbary Pirates of North Africa. The morality and necessity of slave owning, however, are disputed. Abolition of the trade has its roots in religious feelings and in radical Enlightenment thought, but its effects are clear: a cessation of slave taking, transportation and exploitation.
Historically, abolition was far from universally popular. William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the MP for Kingston-upon-Hull in Yorkshire, campaigned for many years in the face of bitter opposition from mercantile interests. His eventual success only outlawed slavery in British possessions and British involvement in any foreign trade. The Royal Navy acted as a “world policeman”, attempting to stop the African trade at source. Oddly, English judges had already decided that slaves could become free by stepping onto English soil in 1772. Wilberforce’s work was the start of a process that continues even today with attempts to stop “people trafficking”.
Dialectics
+10% to technology research rate
+15 to diplomatic relations
This new philosophical method of argument and counter-argument allows the exploration of many important ideas and questions.
Dialectics attempts to resolve the conflict between two opposing arguments without proving, or disproving, either argument. As a method of debate it teaches careful and considered reasoning; the idea can be applied equally to natural philosophy, politics, law, and life generally. Dialectics provide a bonus to diplomatic relations and a bonus to research rates; scientists are armed with a new intellectual tool. It also allows the building of the best available courts and universities.
The concept, in the West, can be traced back to the Greek scholars of antiquity. However, it was during the explosion of free-thinking during the Enlightenment that the technique of thinking was revisited. Thanks to the enquiring mind of Georg Hegel (1770-1831), dialectics and many other advances in the practice of philosophy were promulgated. He built a comprehensive frame work around philosophical thought that would help others to understand the complexities of the human mind and its connection with nature.
Semaphore Lines
+10% to line of sight range
Semaphore lines are a chain of signalling stations, using elaborate codes to pass on timely information.
News can travel along a semaphore system far faster than any postal system. Chains of towers are built across the countryside, so that each is visible to its neighbours. Operators use telescopes to watch their neighbouring towers, and messages are passed by setting the position of the tower’s arms or large moveable boards. Each combination of positions carries a meaning; once copied from a tower, the semaphore operator can repeat the message, sending it further down the line. In this fashion, news, even from distant frontiers, can be sent across a country in a matter of moments. The effect is to increase the line of sight around the borders of a nation’s territory.
The bonfire or beacon is, possibly, the simplest of message systems. It can carry one pre-arranged message when fired, usually something along the lines of “The enemy are coming!” By having a system that can send multiple messages, semaphore lines reduce the response time in any situation. Napoleon saw the worth of a semaphore system for keeping in touch; the British Admiralty invested much time and effort in constructing a system between all its major operational ports.
Passports
Spawns spies. Maximum number: +1
+10 to subterfuge when counterspying
A passport allows the bearer to move freely across borders and through internal barriers.
Those without the correct documentation cannot proceed on their way, and governments are not above changing the required documents without notice as a way of controlling their people. Passports and adequate record keeping also allow governments to monitor exactly how many suspicious foreigners may be lurking on their soil at any one time. Such knowledge can be of great use in making life much harder for spies and foreign provocateurs to carry out their foul and nefarious schemes of sabotage and spreading discontent!
A “pass port” was the right to enter or leave by a gate. The invention of the modern idea of a passport is credited to the English king Henry V (1386–1422) and was called a “safe conduct”. This guaranteed that the person carrying it could travel safely to and in foreign lands. Passports have since changed to become a proof of identity and a guarantee that a person will be aided and defended from threats to his well being by his country. Many embassies spend much of their time and resources helping citizens in distress in foreign parts, and the guarantee of support to a passport holder continues to include the use of military force.
National Propaganda
+1 happiness in all your regions (all classes)
-15 to diplomatic relations
+1 to morale in battles
Telling people “the truth” unifies the nation and raises morale.
Newspapers, broadsheets, pamphlets, flyers, and posters can all be used to tell people about the glory won on the battlefield and the evil schemes of other nations. Such carefully crafted messages can also aid agents. A gentleman who is working for a noble, worthwhile cause will find it easier to persuade others to support it if he has a plausible version of the truth on his side. The morale of an army may also be increased in battle if soldiers believe in the righteousness of the national cause.
In reality, Napoleon was a master of using the press to burnish his own reputation, and to prepare the nation for changes in policy. The “Moniteur” newspaper, and other Parisian journals, harped on the perfidious intentions of Britain at every opportunity. Oddly, however, Napoleon was incensed when British newspapers returned the favour and traduced his reputation, and was considered by some to be angry enough over the matter to declare war. He didn’t seem to notice that the British press were horrid about everyone, and were as rude about “Prinny”, their own lardy, indolent, pie-guzzling, womanizing, booze-sodden, and debauched Prince Regent, as they were about a short Corsican in a funny hat. Some things never change.
National Debt
-5% upkeep costs for all army units
+5 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
National debt increases wealth growth and reduces the upkeep cost of units.
Kings have always run up debts, borrowing money (sometimes at sword’s point) from subjects and great banking houses. The debt, however, was the personal responsibility of the king. The concept of national debt allows a nation to borrow to finance expansion and conquest. The nation sells bonds, and agrees to pay interest on those bonds every year. This simple idea increases the growth of national wealth and facilitates expansion by reducing upkeep costs.
Scottish economist, gambler, and rake John Law (1671-1729) made several advances in his field, the most notable being the introduction of the French national bank. He also proposed state control over national finances and trade. He manipulated the market by using money from monopoly trading companies to buy government bonds rather than investing in overseas enterprises. Eventually his schemes collapsed, and many Frenchmen were ruined. Law failed, but he gave the idea of government-backed bank notes, and the word “millionaire”, to the West.
National debt was extensively used by British governments to finance the wars against France and Napoleon. Despite the blockade of Napoleon’s Continental System, British trade was able to flourish and sustain the increasing mountain of debt that the war created.
Classical Economics
-1 happiness. Clamour for reform
+3% wealth generated by all buildings
An attempt to understand, explore and explain economic growth and development.
Classical economics seeks to change the way a nation’s wealth is considered. No longer is the amount of money in a king’s treasury the sole measurement of national wealth. The earnings of the populace are now taken into account. With this step forward people leave feudal society and step forward as individuals seeking their own gains for their own benefit.
Classical economics was eventually superseded. Its influence does still linger however, especially within the modern school of thought known as “new classical economics.”
Historically, the school of classical economics was originally created by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, but David Ricardo is leading the school forward in its beliefs and methods. His debates on such topics as the Corn Laws with Thomas Malthus are giving theorists much to consider. One of the key questions the theory seeks to answer is: how can a society be built upon a system where man seeks to further only his own interests.
Public Schooling
+10% to technology research rate
Spawns gentlemen. Maximum number: +1
Public schools allow the people to make full use of their wits by making education widely available.
Education is usually the preserve of wealthy and ambitious families: the aristocracy have little need for it, because it adds no lustre to their titles; the poor have little use for it, because it rarely puts bread in their bellies. Education must be bought, and schools are generally run as privately-owned businesses. Public schooling introduces the idea of the state paying for the education of its people, sometimes regardless of their backgrounds: a radical notion in many ways. Public schooling provides a bonus to research, and increases the spawning rate of agents.
General state-funded public education was fiercely resisted in many influential quarters across Europe, as it was feared that teaching the poor to read would only encourage them in seditious thoughts. Britain is an oddity in that its “public” schools are nothing of the sort. They are private business establishments, where money rather than ability secures a place. The name came about because “public” schools would accept anyone who could pay, as opposed to “private” schools that accepted pupils by invitation only.
National Census
Reduces administration costs
+2% bonus to global tax rate
Counting people, their property and servants allows a government to know exactly what it can tax.
By counting everyone in the population, a government can tax everyone; possibly taxation will be unfair, but it will be unfair to all. It also becomes possible for a government to monitor the movement of people from the countryside to towns, calculate how fast the population is growing, and even know if there will be enough men for an army. However, the most immediate impact is on tax: a census increases the tax yield.
Counting people and taxation have been linked since at least Biblical times. The Directory, under Napoleon’s Consulate, carried out very successful censuses in post-revolutionary France, allowing them to collect taxes effectively and, just as vitally for Napoleon’s ambitions, know how many men were available for conscription. In Britain, the National Census was the result of work by Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) on population growth. He was convinced that a crisis was looming as the number of people outstripped the available food supply. The 1800 Census Act resulted in the British government knowing that there were nine million people in the country; this probably wasn’t all that satisfactory, as it was just over a third of the number of Frenchmen in France.
Code Napoleon
+2 happiness (lower classes)
This systematic overhaul of the law aims to create a fair and equal framework for the people to live under.
The Code is a set of laws designed to protect the ideals of the Revolution, but also to protect the rights of people and property in France. Some measures are surprisingly liberal, while others give almost draconian powers to family heads over wives and children. The intention, however, is to create a legal system that everyone can understand, and one that can control the population. The Code Napoleon increases repression, but improves happiness among the lower and middle classes.
Napoleon claimed to prize his Civil Code above all his other works. In 1800 he ordered distinguished lawyers to remake French law in just five months. Although they did not meet the deadline, the code is still the basis of French law today. The clarity of the system has appealed to many other, non-French nations since, and some 70 nations now use a similar, proscriptive system of law. The Anglophone world continues to rely largely on a common law system, where precedent is used to determine legality, for much of its everyday law.
Available for: France
Trade Unions
+2 happiness (lower classes)
-5% wealth generated by mines
-5% wealth generated by industrial buildings
The working classes often have to fight for their rights, sometimes even their right to earn enough to live.
Once the ideas of revolution, liberty, and equality are mooted, the poor and downtrodden will want to know why these concepts do not apply equally to them. The growth of combinations and workers’ organisations is inevitable in societies where poverty can mean more than just low pay, but starvation. Trade unions give workers the ability to negotiate with employers from a position of strength: the individual can be dismissed, but not the whole workforce. Trade unions improve the happiness of the lower classes, and enable the construction of higher level law courts.
Historically, trade unions were declared illegal and widely feared by the landed and moneyed classes in most societies. The idea that the poor would dare to ask for more of anything, except a good horsewhipping, was only one step away from armed insurrection. The British reaction of passing the 1799 and 1825 Combination Acts was typical, as was the deportation to Australia of the “Tolpuddle Martyrs”, a group of agricultural labourers who had dared to form a society with the aim of obtaining better pay and conditions for themselves.
Metric System
+10% to technology research rate
A metric system standardises all weights and measures, and attempts to link them into a coherent whole.
Many measuring systems are age-old, and based on some aspect of human physiognomy: hands for measuring horses and the like. There are quirky relationships within measuring systems: who would set out to design a weight scale that has 16 ounces in a pound, yet 112 pounds in a hundredweight?
A metric system creates arbitrary, but scientifically derived, units for length, volume, area, weight, and so on. One unified system can measure everything, and there is no complicated mathematics required, as only multiples of ten are used. Adopting such a scheme increases research rates and allows further research in a number of areas.
Historically, the French were not the first people to attempt a codified measuring system, but the work done by the French Academy of Sciences in the 1790s was certainly the most organised approach up to that time. Although officially adopted quite quickly, the public were not required by law to use metric measures until 1840. The metric system is now the de facto standard for all national armies, although many navies still use old “imperial” units like the fathom for depth and knot for speed.
Abolition of Slavery
+1 happiness (lower classes). Clamour for reform
-2% recruitment cost for all land units in all your regions
The abolition of slavery removes the right of one man to own another, and outlaws any trade in human beings as property.
The slave trade is hugely profitable for those who engage in it, whether through trade such as that from Africa to the New World, or conquest such as the depredations of European shipping by the Barbary Pirates of North Africa. The morality and necessity of slave owning, however, are disputed. Abolition of the trade has its roots in religious feelings and in radical Enlightenment thought, but its effects are clear: a cessation of slave taking, transportation and exploitation.
Historically, abolition was far from universally popular. William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the MP for Kingston-upon-Hull in Yorkshire, campaigned for many years in the face of bitter opposition from mercantile interests. His eventual success only outlawed slavery in British possessions and British involvement in any foreign trade. The Royal Navy acted as a “world policeman”, attempting to stop the African trade at source. Oddly, English judges had already decided that slaves could become free by stepping onto English soil in 1772. Wilberforce’s work was the start of a process that continues even today with attempts to stop “people trafficking”.
Dialectics
+10% to technology research rate
+15 to diplomatic relations
This new philosophical method of argument and counter-argument allows the exploration of many important ideas and questions.
Dialectics attempts to resolve the conflict between two opposing arguments without proving, or disproving, either argument. As a method of debate it teaches careful and considered reasoning; the idea can be applied equally to natural philosophy, politics, law, and life generally. Dialectics provide a bonus to diplomatic relations and a bonus to research rates; scientists are armed with a new intellectual tool. It also allows the building of the best available courts and universities.
The concept, in the West, can be traced back to the Greek scholars of antiquity. However, it was during the explosion of free-thinking during the Enlightenment that the technique of thinking was revisited. Thanks to the enquiring mind of Georg Hegel (1770-1831), dialectics and many other advances in the practice of philosophy were promulgated. He built a comprehensive frame work around philosophical thought that would help others to understand the complexities of the human mind and its connection with nature.
Semaphore Lines
+10% to line of sight range
Semaphore lines are a chain of signalling stations, using elaborate codes to pass on timely information.
News can travel along a semaphore system far faster than any postal system. Chains of towers are built across the countryside, so that each is visible to its neighbours. Operators use telescopes to watch their neighbouring towers, and messages are passed by setting the position of the tower’s arms or large moveable boards. Each combination of positions carries a meaning; once copied from a tower, the semaphore operator can repeat the message, sending it further down the line. In this fashion, news, even from distant frontiers, can be sent across a country in a matter of moments. The effect is to increase the line of sight around the borders of a nation’s territory.
The bonfire or beacon is, possibly, the simplest of message systems. It can carry one pre-arranged message when fired, usually something along the lines of “The enemy are coming!” By having a system that can send multiple messages, semaphore lines reduce the response time in any situation. Napoleon saw the worth of a semaphore system for keeping in touch; the British Admiralty invested much time and effort in constructing a system between all its major operational ports.
Passports
Spawns spies. Maximum number: +1
+10 to subterfuge when counterspying
A passport allows the bearer to move freely across borders and through internal barriers.
Those without the correct documentation cannot proceed on their way, and governments are not above changing the required documents without notice as a way of controlling their people. Passports and adequate record keeping also allow governments to monitor exactly how many suspicious foreigners may be lurking on their soil at any one time. Such knowledge can be of great use in making life much harder for spies and foreign provocateurs to carry out their foul and nefarious schemes of sabotage and spreading discontent!
A “pass port” was the right to enter or leave by a gate. The invention of the modern idea of a passport is credited to the English king Henry V (1386–1422) and was called a “safe conduct”. This guaranteed that the person carrying it could travel safely to and in foreign lands. Passports have since changed to become a proof of identity and a guarantee that a person will be aided and defended from threats to his well being by his country. Many embassies spend much of their time and resources helping citizens in distress in foreign parts, and the guarantee of support to a passport holder continues to include the use of military force.
National Propaganda
+1 happiness in all your regions (all classes)
-15 to diplomatic relations
+1 to morale in battles
Telling people “the truth” unifies the nation and raises morale.
Newspapers, broadsheets, pamphlets, flyers, and posters can all be used to tell people about the glory won on the battlefield and the evil schemes of other nations. Such carefully crafted messages can also aid agents. A gentleman who is working for a noble, worthwhile cause will find it easier to persuade others to support it if he has a plausible version of the truth on his side. The morale of an army may also be increased in battle if soldiers believe in the righteousness of the national cause.
In reality, Napoleon was a master of using the press to burnish his own reputation, and to prepare the nation for changes in policy. The “Moniteur” newspaper, and other Parisian journals, harped on the perfidious intentions of Britain at every opportunity. Oddly, however, Napoleon was incensed when British newspapers returned the favour and traduced his reputation, and was considered by some to be angry enough over the matter to declare war. He didn’t seem to notice that the British press were horrid about everyone, and were as rude about “Prinny”, their own lardy, indolent, pie-guzzling, womanizing, booze-sodden, and debauched Prince Regent, as they were about a short Corsican in a funny hat. Some things never change.
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
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Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
Military
Conscription
-2 happiness (lower classes)
Increases recruitment slots in your home region by +1
Conscription forces every able-bodied man to make himself available for service in the army.
This provides an enormous pool of recruits, and makes the business of building an army much simpler and cheaper: if a thousand men are needed for a regiment, they can be found instantly! The negative consequences are that conscripted soldiers are not reliable or particularly well trained: they do not want to be in the army, learn how to use a gun, or be in a battle. They want to go home in one piece. They cannot be expected to hold to the same standards of discipline as volunteers or regular soldiers.
Revolutionary France was the first nation to introduce conscription, with the "Jourdan Law" of 1798. All men aged 20-25 were liable for service, but there were many exceptions. Clergymen, some essential workers and public office holders did not have to report, and it was possible to pay someone else to go in your place. This last clause effectively made conscription fall heavily on the poor and peasant classes. Ironically, General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, the man who created the system that saved Revolutionary France, had been forced out of the army because his moderate views made the Committee of Public Safety suspicious of his loyalties.
Diamond Formation
Enables cavalry diamond formation. This replaces the wedge formation
An improved method for positioning and manoeuvring a cavalry unit, so that it may change direction with expedition.
A diamond formation, as the name suggests, is a way of employing all the men of a cavalry unit to best effect. Rather than being arranged as a simple wedge, point towards the enemy, the unit tapers off from its broadest point. Even though the riders may be knee-to-knee to maximise the shock of impact should a charge connect with a target, a diamond-formed unit can change direction quickly. This is not true with the earlier cavalry wedge, the members of which find any kind of wheeling turn difficult to execute.
Historically, the Swedes were among the leaders in European cavalry tactics at the start of the 18th Century; King Charles XII was all in favour of closely packed, large cavalry formations as he believed that these could break the enemy by fear alone. There was debate among military men in other nations too: in Britain the Duke of Marlborough favoured his cavalry charging home with cold steel, rather than relying on fear or bullets to do their terrible work.
Fire and Advance
Enables line infantry fire and advance drill
Infantry units are trained to move forwards in sections, each firing turn to cover the advance of their comrades.
When using this tactic, infantry units do not move forward as a single block. Instead, groups take it in turn to advance towards the enemy, halt, and fire. While one group is firing, others are advancing or loading for another volley. Good discipline and weapons drill are also required, so that the stationary companies will always be ready to give fire when needed. The evolution requires a great deal of coordination by officers and sergeants, and faith in their fellows by the men.
Fire and advance remains in use today as a method of advance known as “bounding overwatch”, a particularly useful technique for armoured units where tanks give each other covering fire. The first unit moves into a predetermined position and becomes the “overwatching unit”; these tend to be in cover to provide the stationary unit with protection as it covers the bounding unit. In addition, armoured vehicles being able to fire on the move with gyro-stabilised weapons has made “fire and advance” mean exactly that.
Improved Coppering
-5% upkeep costs for all naval units
Coppering protects a ship’s hull from marine worms and weeds.
By fastening thin copper sheets over the timbers below the waterline, weeds and worms are kept at bay. The ship lasts longer because its bottom is not eaten away, and is faster by not being fouled. Upkeep costs are reduced, and handling improved. Coppering is not cheap, though, as it requires substantial work in the shipyard during construction.
Historically, coppering ships was not immediately accepted by the Royal Navy. The Admiralty were put off by the high cost of the copper; a second problem was that coppering actually seemed to make the rotting of ships’ hulls worse, not better. This was the result of an unexpected reaction between seawater, the copper sheets and the iron bolts used to hold them in place. These became, in effect, a large battery, and the iron bolts were eaten away by the chemical reaction, resulting in the hull falling to bits. Once iron was no longer used, “copper bottomed” became a mark of approval: something so (financially) sound it could not possibly fail. Coppering remained in use until the development of modern anti-fouling paints.
Carronade
Enables carronades. This allows the construction of carronade frigates
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw 1deck 32 carronade.png
Carronade Frigate
This weapon is a short-barrelled, muzzle-loading cannon that can be mounted on the upper decks of a warship.
Carronade differ from the normal warship “long guns” by having a shortened barrel, relative to the weight of shot. Short barrels require reduced gunpowder charges; large charges would be wasted because they would not have time to burn properly. This gives a reduced muzzle velocity, less recoil, and a lighter weapon. As a further benefit, carronades require fewer gunners to fire them. There is, however, a tactical price to pay: carronades are short-range weapons. In close, but only in close, they can do fearful slaughter.
Historically, the carronade was developed by the Carron Company of Fife, Scotland. It was a huge success initially, as the weight of shot more than made up for its short range: 68-pounder carronades were quite easily carried aboard even small ships. HMS Victory carried 68-pounder carronades as part of her armament: one raking round shot and a load of 500 musket balls did terrible slaughter on the gun deck of the Bucentaure at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Mass Mobilisation
Requires the National Census technology.
-4% recruitment cost for line infantry across all regions
-8% recruitment cost for militia across all regions
Enables inspire unit ability
Getting the whole population to believe in the nation’s wars, and be willing to sacrifice themselves, is an enormously powerful idea.
Mass mobilisation is the social and political theory that claims that the general public can be inspired to fight for a country or for nebulous ideals such as “freedom”. When men go willingly to war they can be persuaded to suffer hardships beyond those of regular soldiering: overcoming a lack of supplies, food and arms are part of the struggle. Belief is a powerful tool in battle: men will stand for an idea, even in the face of death. Mobilisation reduces the recruitment costs for militia units.
Historically, the French Revolution was the first example of mass mobilisation, even if it was not referred to as such at the time. The people were harnessed to the ideals of the revolution, and willing to undergo hardships in its name. As these ideals were threatened by foreign monarchies, the people could be easily roused to defend them. Patriotic and revolutionary fervour was encouraged by the government to great practical effect; by 1799 more than one million men had shown themselves willing to fight for France and the Revolution.
Army Corps Organisation
-5% upkeep costs for all army units
Armies fight best when simply organised and directed in a straightforward fashion.
A corps structure introduces an extra level of command, aiding a commanding general by, counter-intuitively, giving him fewer direct subordinates. Rather than dealing with dozens of regimental commanders directly, a general issues his orders to his corps commanders. The general is then free from the burden of dealing with many people, and can concentrate on the overall situation. Each corps operates as an army in miniature, looking after its own supplies and marching routes. One immediately noticeable effect is an improvement in movement rates for armies, because individual units can now be coordinated in detail.
The corps structure, grouping together army divisions, was not new in the Napoleonic era, but again Napoleon’s genius was to take an existing concept and gain the maximum benefit. Following the Revolutionary War, divisions in the French army were organised into temporary groups known as “wings”. Command of a wing was temporary, and on top of a divisional general’s responsibilities. A sensible evolution of the idea was to make the “Corps D'Armée” a permanent formation, with its own staff and permanent commanding officer. Each corps usually had at least two infantry divisions with their own artillery, a corps artillery reserve, and at least a brigade of cavalry.
Logistics
+2% to replenishment rates in all your regions
+5% to army campaign movement range
A well-organised supply system mitigates any losses suffered by armies on campaign and in battle.
A supply system can aid in making sure that the attrition inevitably suffered by military units in hostile lands is reduced: soldiers who are properly supplied with all their necessaries are less likely to die or desert. The same system that can deliver a musket or a barrel of gunpowder to the front can also be used to send replacement soldiers forward as well.
Before gunpowder, armies could support themselves entirely by pillaging, even if this did ruin any land they crossed. This changed with the introduction of gunpowder, as it could rarely be stolen, and could not be manufactured on the march; a transportation system and supply dumps became absolutely vital.
The writings of Antoine-Henri Jomini, a Frenchman and eventually a Russian general officer, did much to advance the understanding of logistics, the art of military supply. His career included training to be a banker, and time working for an arms manufacturer, but his skills came to the fore when he was a secretary in the Swiss Ministry of War, in charge of reorganising the way the business of war was conducted. This gave him the grounding he needed for his organisational and supply work.
Top Gallants
+10% increase of speed in battle for ships with top gallants
+10% increase to movement range on campaign map for ships with top gallants
Top gallants are extra sails at the top of a mast, giving the ship more sail area and therefore a higher speed.
All sailing ships rely on the wind for motive power. The only practical way to make a better speed through the water at a particular wind velocity is to put on more sail. Each mast is designed to take a main sail and a topsail, but it is possible with top gallants to add an extra sail above the topsail. Naturally, this requires more yards, ropes and skilled sailors to set the sails. Adding a top gallant is also something of a strain on the fabric of the ship: the extra strain on a mast can, in high winds, rip it right out of a hull. This catastrophic damage to the whole ship can also cause casualties among the crew.
The speed and handling of a ship can also be improved by careening the hull: a process that takes days. This, however, is not something that will instantly give more speed, unlike setting the topgallants.
Conscript Infantry Tactics
-8% recruitment cost for militia across all regions
+1 to militia morale
Conscription and the tactics this allows on the battlefield fuel new developments in military thought.
As the recruitment process for modern armies changes, tactics need to be re-evaluated and altered. Previously, armies had been made up of sometimes-willing volunteers, who were well trained and fiercely disciplined. Conscription provides a new challenge for military tacticians: how best to deploy an army to prevent desertion and give men no choice but to fight. Once these new infantry tactics have been researched and developed, new military academies can be constructed to spread these radical ideas.
Conscript infantry tactics owe their creation, in theory at least, to the French general Count Jacques-Antonine-Hippolyte de Guibert (1743-1790). He was a controversial tactical writer who published his “Essai general de tactique” in 1770 and was notorious for his advanced social opinions. He had been discussing the finer points of mass conscription (which became known as “levee en masse”) long before it became the French military system. He briefly held the position of chief military advisor to the French government but it was soon apparent that the government was not ready for his brand of radical thinking.
Field Ambulances
+4% to replenishment rates in all your regions
Speed is all-important when treating wounded men. Any delay lessens the chances of survival, let alone recovery.
Field ambulances are fast carts that can be driven into the thick of battle. Stocked with water, bandages, and other medical supplies they allow some treatment to be given immediately. More importantly, the wounded can be carried to the rear where a surgeon can give much needed medical attention. Surgery, however, remains close to butchery. Being able to provide this swift assistance means that the replenishment rate of units is improved.
Historically, ambulances in their basic form have been around for centuries, Roman centurions were followed into battle by teams of strong men who would retrieve the wounded or dying. However, it was not until the Napoleonic Wars that the term “ambulance” was first used. The chief physician to Napoleon, Baron Jean Dominique Larrey (1766 – 1842) introduced a contraption he called the “ambulances volantes”. Outraged by the fact that the wounded and dying were not collected until after a battle, he adapted horse artillery caissons to carry the wounded for treatment at high speed. He eventually developed two varieties of carts that could be taken onto the battlefield to retrieve and treat injured soldiers.
Grand Battery
+5% bonus to artillery accuracy
Enables artillery barrage
Using the tactic of a Grand Battery increases the accuracy of artillery units.
The Grand Battery is an artillery tactic which involves amassing all available artillery into one huge battery and then concentrating its fire on a single point in the enemy line. The concentrated fire also makes for a devastating attack that can blast through enemy lines and structures. The massed nature of this fire given improves the accuracy and effectiveness of artillery units in battle.
In reality, the Grand Battery was an ingenious new tactic that, for a while, gave Napoleon the edge over his enemies. At Wagram and Borodino it was used, respectively, to break an enemy line in the centre and repel an enemy counter attack. As with all ingenious tactics, there was an ingenious counter attack: Wellington and other generals started deploying their troops well out of range of any grand battery. Wellington employed this tactic to great effect at the Battle of Waterloo, deploying his men safely out of range and just to be sure, on the reverse slope of a hill, hiding them from any direct fire.
Carcass Shot
Enables carcass shot (for experimental howitzers)
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw france art foot french experimental howitzer icon.png
Experimental Howitzer
This ammunition is a hellish incendiary, contrived from combustible substances wrapped in canvas, strengthened and supported by iron hoops.
The shells are made by pouring an unpleasant cocktail of turpentine, tallow, resin, saltpetre, and sulphur and antimony compounds into a canvas sack, which is supported by iron interlocking hoops. The mixture hardens, and the shot can then be fired from mortars and howitzers. A weapon with a low muzzle velocity is required, otherwise the canvas rips apart and the crew are showered with the burning contents of the carcass. The hoops hopefully prevent the shot from bursting as it leaves the barrel, setting the users on fire rather than the target.
In theory, the mixture should burn for a few minutes when the shot bursts on impact, and be incredibly difficult to extinguish. Certainly, dousing the flames with water will have little effect. This makes carcass shot particularly useful against defensive positions, and an extremely unpleasant weapon when used against troops in the open.
General Staff
+8% to army campaign movement range
A general staff assists commanders in the field and in a war ministry in their many and burdensome duties.
Without paperwork, clerks and administrators, armies cannot function. Field commanders also need assistance in drafting orders, collating intelligence of the enemy and in making sure that men are properly supplied and fed. A general staff is made up of relatively junior, but trusted officers who can act as the eyes and ears of their general and, when occasion calls for it, make sure his orders are delivered in a clear and prompt fashion. With a general staff to deal with administration, a force can move with more despatch and not waste valuable time.
Historically, Napoleon Bonaparte made full use of various generals, favourite officers, confidential secretaries and the like to assist him. Louis Alexandre Berthier (1753-1815) was Napoleon’s Chief of Staff, and highly favoured by the emperor because of his diligence in making sure orders were obeyed. After Napoleon’s abdication in 1814, Berthier made his peace with the new King Louis XVIII. He then refused to join Napoleon on his return to Paris in 1815, and Napoleon saw Berthier’s absence as one of the reasons for his defeat at Waterloo.
Modern Rifles
-10% upkeep costs for skirmisher units
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw britain inf skirm british rifles icon.png
Rifles Ntw prussia inf skirm prussian silesian schuetzen icon.png
Silesian Schuetzen Ntw austria inf skirm austrian windbucshe jager icon.png
Windbüchse Jägers
Rifles are deadly accurate, but require great skill from their users. They also have a slow rate of fire.
Rifles must be used by specialists to achieve effectiveness on the battlefield; this is why they are usually only issued to specially-selected and highly-trained units of skirmishers. The difference between a rifle and a smoothbore musket is in the grooves cut into the barrel: these give a spin to the ball as it is fired, making it more accurate over long ranges. However, loading a shot requires care and attention in battle, and a rifle needs care and attention to keep it clean and properly adjusted after a fight.
In 1800, the British Army established the Experimental Corps of Rifles in Horsham, Sussex. Selected men were drafted from various regiments and trained to think independently as well as fight as skirmishers. They were equipped with Ezekiel Baker’s flintlock rifle, a splendidly accurate weapon. It was not unknown for riflemen to hold targets for each other, a demonstration that would have been suicidal and stupid if the firer had been using a standard Brown Bess musket. Clad in green uniforms, Rifles, as the Baker-armed soldiers were soon called, were justly respected.
Standardised Artillery
Requires the Metric System technology.
-15% upkeep costs for all artillery units
Enables targeted fire ability for artillery
Standardisation of parts prolongs the field life of artillery by simplifying the supply of spare parts.
By using common parts to make many different cannons, such as wheels and gun carriages, it makes manufacturing easier and makes the job of an artilleryman easier too. Field repairs can be made by taking usable parts from a destroyed weapon to repair a damaged one. A single serviceable weapon may be created from the wreckage of a number of other guns.
In 1764, French artillery officer Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval created a system of standardisation of mass produced gun parts that came to be known as ‘Le systéme Gribeauval’. He improved cannon carriages, and improved the basic manufacturing of guns so that pieces became smaller and lighter for a given calibre.
It was Napoleon’s ability to use the existing systems of the French army to full effect that made it such an effective fighting force. Bonaparte was, of course, trained as an artilleryman before he was a general officer.
Quicklime
Enables quicklime shells (for experimental howitzers)
This unpleasant and ungentlemanly artillery projectile showers the target with quicklime, a compound that causes burns and blindness.
Quicklime is a dangerous, caustic product that gets very, very hot when it is slaked with water. It does have entirely innocent uses: plaster, mortar and whitewash for buildings, and in glass making; but as a weapon it is frightening indeed. The smallest amount will cause painful, even fatal, burns on exposed flesh. The eyes are especially vulnerable because they are moist with tears. Quicklime shells carry an explosive charge so as to burst above enemy lines, but they are still dangerous to the gunners using them.
Historically, quicklime had a long history of use in warfare, dating back to Classical antiquity. This did not make it an acceptable weapon in the eyes of many military gentlemen who, quite rightly, realised that what could be used against the enemy could also be used against them. Further, like all chemical weapons, it was entirely dependent on the wind to send the caustic agent in the right direction once released. It was true that, short of running away, there was no practical defence against perfidious and odious chemical weapons.
Uniform Armament
Requires the Mass Production technology.
Enables uniform armament on ships
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw 1deck38 steam.png
38-gun Steam Ship Ntw 2deck80 steam.png
80-gun Steam Ship
Equipping warships with guns of only one size simplifies crew training and ammunition supply, so increasing ship efficiency.
A warship’s effectiveness can be measured by the weight of shot it fires in its broadside, and it makes excellent sense to have the heaviest cannons possible on board. However, too many different sizes of gun can make ammunition supply in the heat of battle more complicated than it need be, and different guns have different loading speeds, ballistic characteristics and crewing needs. By settling on only one size of gun, all these issues are resolved. An added bonus is that crewmen can be reassigned as needed to man guns, without necessarily needing any new instruction in their duties.
Naval architect Sir Robert Seppings (1767-1840) introduced a remodelled and sturdier design for ships that incorporated a diagonal iron cross-bracing that greatly improved hull strength. Hulls built to his conception were stiffer, more seaworthy and able to accommodate a large number of heavy cannon on every deck. In 1826, the British Royal Navy took advantage of his new ideas and armed new ships with only one type of cannons: a formidably heavy 32-pounder!
Rockets
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw france art fix french rocket troop icon.png
Rocket Troop
Rockets are terrifying, and a method of bombardment that does not require heavy guns for its use.
A war rocket is an iron cylinder, packed with gunpowder, with a long wooden stick as a tail. It functions in much the same way as a firework, but with infinitely deadlier consequences. Launched from angled troughs or stands, rockets are not particular accurate. This does not matter when they are fired in large numbers, and their morale effect should not be underestimated. They may also have an incendiary effect on a target. Rockets are weapons for specialists, and so this technology allows the recruitment of rocket units.
Historically, rocketry had long been used in Indian and Asian warfare, as the British discovered during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. The British, ready as always to adopt foreign ideas when it suited, soon had their own version of rockets thanks to Colonel William Congreve (1722-1828). The Congreve Rocket was introduced to British artillery in 1805 and used to intimidate the enemy and spread fire and panic amongst them. A battery of Congreve Rockets was present at Waterloo in 1815, the final epic battle of the Napoleonic period.
Percussion Cap
-50% misfire chance for all gunpowder weapons
The percussion lock replaces the flintlock mechanism on firearms, and reduces the chance of misfiring in wet weather.
A flintlock makes a spark in an open pan; this then igniting the gunpowder to fire a musket. A percussion lock uses tiny amounts of chemicals called fulminates to create the spark needed. Fulminates explode when hit; there is no flint to come loose and no powder to become soaked in the rain. Instead a small copper cap is fitted onto the end of a tube that leads into the gun barrel; when struck by the lock’s hammer, the gun fires, even in damp weather.
The percussion cap was the invention of a Scottish clergyman, Alexander John Forsyth (1769-1843), who was looking for a solution to a hunting problem. The flintlock’s “flash in the pan” before the main charge fired alerted birds that they were about to be shot, causing them to fly away in a deucedly unsporting fashion. His clever idea to use a small ignition charge of fulminate of mercury gave him an invisible spark that didn’t warn his feathered targets!
Rifled Cannons
+2% recruitment cost for all naval units in all your regions
5% reduction to naval cannons' reloading time
Rifling a barrel increases the accuracy of a weapon, and this principle can be applied to large cannons as well as small arms.
Ordinary naval cannons are smoothbore weapons, meaning that the barrel is a simple tube to contain the explosion. The limitations of casting mean that cannons are quite crude and windage, the gap between barrel and shot, is always a problem. A shot often “rattles” down the barrel when fired, making it inherently inaccurate. The loss of accuracy with a smoothbore makes its maximum range of academic interest only, simply because it becomes a matter of luck rather than judgement to hit anything far away!
A rifled cannon solves these problems. By using machines to bore out the barrel from a blank casting, one inaccuracy is removed. Another machine cuts a helical pattern of grooves into the barrel wall. This imparts a spin to any shot as it travels down the barrel, and a spinning projectile flies true. This makes the effective range of a rifled cannon shot much greater than one from a smoothbore, although the maximum range for both is similar.
Historically, rifled cannons used manufacturing techniques developed for making accurate steam pistons and cylinders.
Iron Plating
+2% recruitment cost for all naval units in all your regions
5% reduction to naval cannons' reloading time
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw ironclad.png
Ironclad
Iron plating provides a skin of armour for wooden warships, making them almost invulnerable to shots from smaller cannon.
As guns have grown in calibre and fire a variety of explosive shells, wooden warships have become increasingly vulnerable. Iron plates are the response, bolted to the thick timbers of a conventional wooden warship’s hull. The timbers are still part of the defences of the ship, helping to absorb the impact of any hits. The wrought iron plating is immensely thick and heavy, with a consequent effect on the handling qualities of any “iron-clad” vessel. Cast iron, being inherently brittle, is entirely useless as a protective device.
Historically, iron-plated ships were not “ironclads” in that they did not always have the entirely iron construction, armour plating, and steam propulsion that defined those vessels. Some wooden ships-of-the-line were skinned with iron plates, but it was not an entirely successful experiment. More successful were the floating batteries that carried iron plating as armour: these were shallow draft platforms that were intended to maximise firepower. All other considerations, such as sailing characteristics, were secondary. Used for bombardments or for defence in restricted waters, such batteries were formidable; at sea they were a menace to their crews.
Conscription
-2 happiness (lower classes)
Increases recruitment slots in your home region by +1
Conscription forces every able-bodied man to make himself available for service in the army.
This provides an enormous pool of recruits, and makes the business of building an army much simpler and cheaper: if a thousand men are needed for a regiment, they can be found instantly! The negative consequences are that conscripted soldiers are not reliable or particularly well trained: they do not want to be in the army, learn how to use a gun, or be in a battle. They want to go home in one piece. They cannot be expected to hold to the same standards of discipline as volunteers or regular soldiers.
Revolutionary France was the first nation to introduce conscription, with the "Jourdan Law" of 1798. All men aged 20-25 were liable for service, but there were many exceptions. Clergymen, some essential workers and public office holders did not have to report, and it was possible to pay someone else to go in your place. This last clause effectively made conscription fall heavily on the poor and peasant classes. Ironically, General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, the man who created the system that saved Revolutionary France, had been forced out of the army because his moderate views made the Committee of Public Safety suspicious of his loyalties.
Diamond Formation
Enables cavalry diamond formation. This replaces the wedge formation
An improved method for positioning and manoeuvring a cavalry unit, so that it may change direction with expedition.
A diamond formation, as the name suggests, is a way of employing all the men of a cavalry unit to best effect. Rather than being arranged as a simple wedge, point towards the enemy, the unit tapers off from its broadest point. Even though the riders may be knee-to-knee to maximise the shock of impact should a charge connect with a target, a diamond-formed unit can change direction quickly. This is not true with the earlier cavalry wedge, the members of which find any kind of wheeling turn difficult to execute.
Historically, the Swedes were among the leaders in European cavalry tactics at the start of the 18th Century; King Charles XII was all in favour of closely packed, large cavalry formations as he believed that these could break the enemy by fear alone. There was debate among military men in other nations too: in Britain the Duke of Marlborough favoured his cavalry charging home with cold steel, rather than relying on fear or bullets to do their terrible work.
Fire and Advance
Enables line infantry fire and advance drill
Infantry units are trained to move forwards in sections, each firing turn to cover the advance of their comrades.
When using this tactic, infantry units do not move forward as a single block. Instead, groups take it in turn to advance towards the enemy, halt, and fire. While one group is firing, others are advancing or loading for another volley. Good discipline and weapons drill are also required, so that the stationary companies will always be ready to give fire when needed. The evolution requires a great deal of coordination by officers and sergeants, and faith in their fellows by the men.
Fire and advance remains in use today as a method of advance known as “bounding overwatch”, a particularly useful technique for armoured units where tanks give each other covering fire. The first unit moves into a predetermined position and becomes the “overwatching unit”; these tend to be in cover to provide the stationary unit with protection as it covers the bounding unit. In addition, armoured vehicles being able to fire on the move with gyro-stabilised weapons has made “fire and advance” mean exactly that.
Improved Coppering
-5% upkeep costs for all naval units
Coppering protects a ship’s hull from marine worms and weeds.
By fastening thin copper sheets over the timbers below the waterline, weeds and worms are kept at bay. The ship lasts longer because its bottom is not eaten away, and is faster by not being fouled. Upkeep costs are reduced, and handling improved. Coppering is not cheap, though, as it requires substantial work in the shipyard during construction.
Historically, coppering ships was not immediately accepted by the Royal Navy. The Admiralty were put off by the high cost of the copper; a second problem was that coppering actually seemed to make the rotting of ships’ hulls worse, not better. This was the result of an unexpected reaction between seawater, the copper sheets and the iron bolts used to hold them in place. These became, in effect, a large battery, and the iron bolts were eaten away by the chemical reaction, resulting in the hull falling to bits. Once iron was no longer used, “copper bottomed” became a mark of approval: something so (financially) sound it could not possibly fail. Coppering remained in use until the development of modern anti-fouling paints.
Carronade
Enables carronades. This allows the construction of carronade frigates
Enables recruitment of:
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Carronade Frigate
This weapon is a short-barrelled, muzzle-loading cannon that can be mounted on the upper decks of a warship.
Carronade differ from the normal warship “long guns” by having a shortened barrel, relative to the weight of shot. Short barrels require reduced gunpowder charges; large charges would be wasted because they would not have time to burn properly. This gives a reduced muzzle velocity, less recoil, and a lighter weapon. As a further benefit, carronades require fewer gunners to fire them. There is, however, a tactical price to pay: carronades are short-range weapons. In close, but only in close, they can do fearful slaughter.
Historically, the carronade was developed by the Carron Company of Fife, Scotland. It was a huge success initially, as the weight of shot more than made up for its short range: 68-pounder carronades were quite easily carried aboard even small ships. HMS Victory carried 68-pounder carronades as part of her armament: one raking round shot and a load of 500 musket balls did terrible slaughter on the gun deck of the Bucentaure at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Mass Mobilisation
Requires the National Census technology.
-4% recruitment cost for line infantry across all regions
-8% recruitment cost for militia across all regions
Enables inspire unit ability
Getting the whole population to believe in the nation’s wars, and be willing to sacrifice themselves, is an enormously powerful idea.
Mass mobilisation is the social and political theory that claims that the general public can be inspired to fight for a country or for nebulous ideals such as “freedom”. When men go willingly to war they can be persuaded to suffer hardships beyond those of regular soldiering: overcoming a lack of supplies, food and arms are part of the struggle. Belief is a powerful tool in battle: men will stand for an idea, even in the face of death. Mobilisation reduces the recruitment costs for militia units.
Historically, the French Revolution was the first example of mass mobilisation, even if it was not referred to as such at the time. The people were harnessed to the ideals of the revolution, and willing to undergo hardships in its name. As these ideals were threatened by foreign monarchies, the people could be easily roused to defend them. Patriotic and revolutionary fervour was encouraged by the government to great practical effect; by 1799 more than one million men had shown themselves willing to fight for France and the Revolution.
Army Corps Organisation
-5% upkeep costs for all army units
Armies fight best when simply organised and directed in a straightforward fashion.
A corps structure introduces an extra level of command, aiding a commanding general by, counter-intuitively, giving him fewer direct subordinates. Rather than dealing with dozens of regimental commanders directly, a general issues his orders to his corps commanders. The general is then free from the burden of dealing with many people, and can concentrate on the overall situation. Each corps operates as an army in miniature, looking after its own supplies and marching routes. One immediately noticeable effect is an improvement in movement rates for armies, because individual units can now be coordinated in detail.
The corps structure, grouping together army divisions, was not new in the Napoleonic era, but again Napoleon’s genius was to take an existing concept and gain the maximum benefit. Following the Revolutionary War, divisions in the French army were organised into temporary groups known as “wings”. Command of a wing was temporary, and on top of a divisional general’s responsibilities. A sensible evolution of the idea was to make the “Corps D'Armée” a permanent formation, with its own staff and permanent commanding officer. Each corps usually had at least two infantry divisions with their own artillery, a corps artillery reserve, and at least a brigade of cavalry.
Logistics
+2% to replenishment rates in all your regions
+5% to army campaign movement range
A well-organised supply system mitigates any losses suffered by armies on campaign and in battle.
A supply system can aid in making sure that the attrition inevitably suffered by military units in hostile lands is reduced: soldiers who are properly supplied with all their necessaries are less likely to die or desert. The same system that can deliver a musket or a barrel of gunpowder to the front can also be used to send replacement soldiers forward as well.
Before gunpowder, armies could support themselves entirely by pillaging, even if this did ruin any land they crossed. This changed with the introduction of gunpowder, as it could rarely be stolen, and could not be manufactured on the march; a transportation system and supply dumps became absolutely vital.
The writings of Antoine-Henri Jomini, a Frenchman and eventually a Russian general officer, did much to advance the understanding of logistics, the art of military supply. His career included training to be a banker, and time working for an arms manufacturer, but his skills came to the fore when he was a secretary in the Swiss Ministry of War, in charge of reorganising the way the business of war was conducted. This gave him the grounding he needed for his organisational and supply work.
Top Gallants
+10% increase of speed in battle for ships with top gallants
+10% increase to movement range on campaign map for ships with top gallants
Top gallants are extra sails at the top of a mast, giving the ship more sail area and therefore a higher speed.
All sailing ships rely on the wind for motive power. The only practical way to make a better speed through the water at a particular wind velocity is to put on more sail. Each mast is designed to take a main sail and a topsail, but it is possible with top gallants to add an extra sail above the topsail. Naturally, this requires more yards, ropes and skilled sailors to set the sails. Adding a top gallant is also something of a strain on the fabric of the ship: the extra strain on a mast can, in high winds, rip it right out of a hull. This catastrophic damage to the whole ship can also cause casualties among the crew.
The speed and handling of a ship can also be improved by careening the hull: a process that takes days. This, however, is not something that will instantly give more speed, unlike setting the topgallants.
Conscript Infantry Tactics
-8% recruitment cost for militia across all regions
+1 to militia morale
Conscription and the tactics this allows on the battlefield fuel new developments in military thought.
As the recruitment process for modern armies changes, tactics need to be re-evaluated and altered. Previously, armies had been made up of sometimes-willing volunteers, who were well trained and fiercely disciplined. Conscription provides a new challenge for military tacticians: how best to deploy an army to prevent desertion and give men no choice but to fight. Once these new infantry tactics have been researched and developed, new military academies can be constructed to spread these radical ideas.
Conscript infantry tactics owe their creation, in theory at least, to the French general Count Jacques-Antonine-Hippolyte de Guibert (1743-1790). He was a controversial tactical writer who published his “Essai general de tactique” in 1770 and was notorious for his advanced social opinions. He had been discussing the finer points of mass conscription (which became known as “levee en masse”) long before it became the French military system. He briefly held the position of chief military advisor to the French government but it was soon apparent that the government was not ready for his brand of radical thinking.
Field Ambulances
+4% to replenishment rates in all your regions
Speed is all-important when treating wounded men. Any delay lessens the chances of survival, let alone recovery.
Field ambulances are fast carts that can be driven into the thick of battle. Stocked with water, bandages, and other medical supplies they allow some treatment to be given immediately. More importantly, the wounded can be carried to the rear where a surgeon can give much needed medical attention. Surgery, however, remains close to butchery. Being able to provide this swift assistance means that the replenishment rate of units is improved.
Historically, ambulances in their basic form have been around for centuries, Roman centurions were followed into battle by teams of strong men who would retrieve the wounded or dying. However, it was not until the Napoleonic Wars that the term “ambulance” was first used. The chief physician to Napoleon, Baron Jean Dominique Larrey (1766 – 1842) introduced a contraption he called the “ambulances volantes”. Outraged by the fact that the wounded and dying were not collected until after a battle, he adapted horse artillery caissons to carry the wounded for treatment at high speed. He eventually developed two varieties of carts that could be taken onto the battlefield to retrieve and treat injured soldiers.
Grand Battery
+5% bonus to artillery accuracy
Enables artillery barrage
Using the tactic of a Grand Battery increases the accuracy of artillery units.
The Grand Battery is an artillery tactic which involves amassing all available artillery into one huge battery and then concentrating its fire on a single point in the enemy line. The concentrated fire also makes for a devastating attack that can blast through enemy lines and structures. The massed nature of this fire given improves the accuracy and effectiveness of artillery units in battle.
In reality, the Grand Battery was an ingenious new tactic that, for a while, gave Napoleon the edge over his enemies. At Wagram and Borodino it was used, respectively, to break an enemy line in the centre and repel an enemy counter attack. As with all ingenious tactics, there was an ingenious counter attack: Wellington and other generals started deploying their troops well out of range of any grand battery. Wellington employed this tactic to great effect at the Battle of Waterloo, deploying his men safely out of range and just to be sure, on the reverse slope of a hill, hiding them from any direct fire.
Carcass Shot
Enables carcass shot (for experimental howitzers)
Enables recruitment of:
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Experimental Howitzer
This ammunition is a hellish incendiary, contrived from combustible substances wrapped in canvas, strengthened and supported by iron hoops.
The shells are made by pouring an unpleasant cocktail of turpentine, tallow, resin, saltpetre, and sulphur and antimony compounds into a canvas sack, which is supported by iron interlocking hoops. The mixture hardens, and the shot can then be fired from mortars and howitzers. A weapon with a low muzzle velocity is required, otherwise the canvas rips apart and the crew are showered with the burning contents of the carcass. The hoops hopefully prevent the shot from bursting as it leaves the barrel, setting the users on fire rather than the target.
In theory, the mixture should burn for a few minutes when the shot bursts on impact, and be incredibly difficult to extinguish. Certainly, dousing the flames with water will have little effect. This makes carcass shot particularly useful against defensive positions, and an extremely unpleasant weapon when used against troops in the open.
General Staff
+8% to army campaign movement range
A general staff assists commanders in the field and in a war ministry in their many and burdensome duties.
Without paperwork, clerks and administrators, armies cannot function. Field commanders also need assistance in drafting orders, collating intelligence of the enemy and in making sure that men are properly supplied and fed. A general staff is made up of relatively junior, but trusted officers who can act as the eyes and ears of their general and, when occasion calls for it, make sure his orders are delivered in a clear and prompt fashion. With a general staff to deal with administration, a force can move with more despatch and not waste valuable time.
Historically, Napoleon Bonaparte made full use of various generals, favourite officers, confidential secretaries and the like to assist him. Louis Alexandre Berthier (1753-1815) was Napoleon’s Chief of Staff, and highly favoured by the emperor because of his diligence in making sure orders were obeyed. After Napoleon’s abdication in 1814, Berthier made his peace with the new King Louis XVIII. He then refused to join Napoleon on his return to Paris in 1815, and Napoleon saw Berthier’s absence as one of the reasons for his defeat at Waterloo.
Modern Rifles
-10% upkeep costs for skirmisher units
Enables recruitment of:
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Rifles Ntw prussia inf skirm prussian silesian schuetzen icon.png
Silesian Schuetzen Ntw austria inf skirm austrian windbucshe jager icon.png
Windbüchse Jägers
Rifles are deadly accurate, but require great skill from their users. They also have a slow rate of fire.
Rifles must be used by specialists to achieve effectiveness on the battlefield; this is why they are usually only issued to specially-selected and highly-trained units of skirmishers. The difference between a rifle and a smoothbore musket is in the grooves cut into the barrel: these give a spin to the ball as it is fired, making it more accurate over long ranges. However, loading a shot requires care and attention in battle, and a rifle needs care and attention to keep it clean and properly adjusted after a fight.
In 1800, the British Army established the Experimental Corps of Rifles in Horsham, Sussex. Selected men were drafted from various regiments and trained to think independently as well as fight as skirmishers. They were equipped with Ezekiel Baker’s flintlock rifle, a splendidly accurate weapon. It was not unknown for riflemen to hold targets for each other, a demonstration that would have been suicidal and stupid if the firer had been using a standard Brown Bess musket. Clad in green uniforms, Rifles, as the Baker-armed soldiers were soon called, were justly respected.
Standardised Artillery
Requires the Metric System technology.
-15% upkeep costs for all artillery units
Enables targeted fire ability for artillery
Standardisation of parts prolongs the field life of artillery by simplifying the supply of spare parts.
By using common parts to make many different cannons, such as wheels and gun carriages, it makes manufacturing easier and makes the job of an artilleryman easier too. Field repairs can be made by taking usable parts from a destroyed weapon to repair a damaged one. A single serviceable weapon may be created from the wreckage of a number of other guns.
In 1764, French artillery officer Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval created a system of standardisation of mass produced gun parts that came to be known as ‘Le systéme Gribeauval’. He improved cannon carriages, and improved the basic manufacturing of guns so that pieces became smaller and lighter for a given calibre.
It was Napoleon’s ability to use the existing systems of the French army to full effect that made it such an effective fighting force. Bonaparte was, of course, trained as an artilleryman before he was a general officer.
Quicklime
Enables quicklime shells (for experimental howitzers)
This unpleasant and ungentlemanly artillery projectile showers the target with quicklime, a compound that causes burns and blindness.
Quicklime is a dangerous, caustic product that gets very, very hot when it is slaked with water. It does have entirely innocent uses: plaster, mortar and whitewash for buildings, and in glass making; but as a weapon it is frightening indeed. The smallest amount will cause painful, even fatal, burns on exposed flesh. The eyes are especially vulnerable because they are moist with tears. Quicklime shells carry an explosive charge so as to burst above enemy lines, but they are still dangerous to the gunners using them.
Historically, quicklime had a long history of use in warfare, dating back to Classical antiquity. This did not make it an acceptable weapon in the eyes of many military gentlemen who, quite rightly, realised that what could be used against the enemy could also be used against them. Further, like all chemical weapons, it was entirely dependent on the wind to send the caustic agent in the right direction once released. It was true that, short of running away, there was no practical defence against perfidious and odious chemical weapons.
Uniform Armament
Requires the Mass Production technology.
Enables uniform armament on ships
Enables recruitment of:
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38-gun Steam Ship Ntw 2deck80 steam.png
80-gun Steam Ship
Equipping warships with guns of only one size simplifies crew training and ammunition supply, so increasing ship efficiency.
A warship’s effectiveness can be measured by the weight of shot it fires in its broadside, and it makes excellent sense to have the heaviest cannons possible on board. However, too many different sizes of gun can make ammunition supply in the heat of battle more complicated than it need be, and different guns have different loading speeds, ballistic characteristics and crewing needs. By settling on only one size of gun, all these issues are resolved. An added bonus is that crewmen can be reassigned as needed to man guns, without necessarily needing any new instruction in their duties.
Naval architect Sir Robert Seppings (1767-1840) introduced a remodelled and sturdier design for ships that incorporated a diagonal iron cross-bracing that greatly improved hull strength. Hulls built to his conception were stiffer, more seaworthy and able to accommodate a large number of heavy cannon on every deck. In 1826, the British Royal Navy took advantage of his new ideas and armed new ships with only one type of cannons: a formidably heavy 32-pounder!
Rockets
Enables recruitment of:
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Rocket Troop
Rockets are terrifying, and a method of bombardment that does not require heavy guns for its use.
A war rocket is an iron cylinder, packed with gunpowder, with a long wooden stick as a tail. It functions in much the same way as a firework, but with infinitely deadlier consequences. Launched from angled troughs or stands, rockets are not particular accurate. This does not matter when they are fired in large numbers, and their morale effect should not be underestimated. They may also have an incendiary effect on a target. Rockets are weapons for specialists, and so this technology allows the recruitment of rocket units.
Historically, rocketry had long been used in Indian and Asian warfare, as the British discovered during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. The British, ready as always to adopt foreign ideas when it suited, soon had their own version of rockets thanks to Colonel William Congreve (1722-1828). The Congreve Rocket was introduced to British artillery in 1805 and used to intimidate the enemy and spread fire and panic amongst them. A battery of Congreve Rockets was present at Waterloo in 1815, the final epic battle of the Napoleonic period.
Percussion Cap
-50% misfire chance for all gunpowder weapons
The percussion lock replaces the flintlock mechanism on firearms, and reduces the chance of misfiring in wet weather.
A flintlock makes a spark in an open pan; this then igniting the gunpowder to fire a musket. A percussion lock uses tiny amounts of chemicals called fulminates to create the spark needed. Fulminates explode when hit; there is no flint to come loose and no powder to become soaked in the rain. Instead a small copper cap is fitted onto the end of a tube that leads into the gun barrel; when struck by the lock’s hammer, the gun fires, even in damp weather.
The percussion cap was the invention of a Scottish clergyman, Alexander John Forsyth (1769-1843), who was looking for a solution to a hunting problem. The flintlock’s “flash in the pan” before the main charge fired alerted birds that they were about to be shot, causing them to fly away in a deucedly unsporting fashion. His clever idea to use a small ignition charge of fulminate of mercury gave him an invisible spark that didn’t warn his feathered targets!
Rifled Cannons
+2% recruitment cost for all naval units in all your regions
5% reduction to naval cannons' reloading time
Rifling a barrel increases the accuracy of a weapon, and this principle can be applied to large cannons as well as small arms.
Ordinary naval cannons are smoothbore weapons, meaning that the barrel is a simple tube to contain the explosion. The limitations of casting mean that cannons are quite crude and windage, the gap between barrel and shot, is always a problem. A shot often “rattles” down the barrel when fired, making it inherently inaccurate. The loss of accuracy with a smoothbore makes its maximum range of academic interest only, simply because it becomes a matter of luck rather than judgement to hit anything far away!
A rifled cannon solves these problems. By using machines to bore out the barrel from a blank casting, one inaccuracy is removed. Another machine cuts a helical pattern of grooves into the barrel wall. This imparts a spin to any shot as it travels down the barrel, and a spinning projectile flies true. This makes the effective range of a rifled cannon shot much greater than one from a smoothbore, although the maximum range for both is similar.
Historically, rifled cannons used manufacturing techniques developed for making accurate steam pistons and cylinders.
Iron Plating
+2% recruitment cost for all naval units in all your regions
5% reduction to naval cannons' reloading time
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw ironclad.png
Ironclad
Iron plating provides a skin of armour for wooden warships, making them almost invulnerable to shots from smaller cannon.
As guns have grown in calibre and fire a variety of explosive shells, wooden warships have become increasingly vulnerable. Iron plates are the response, bolted to the thick timbers of a conventional wooden warship’s hull. The timbers are still part of the defences of the ship, helping to absorb the impact of any hits. The wrought iron plating is immensely thick and heavy, with a consequent effect on the handling qualities of any “iron-clad” vessel. Cast iron, being inherently brittle, is entirely useless as a protective device.
Historically, iron-plated ships were not “ironclads” in that they did not always have the entirely iron construction, armour plating, and steam propulsion that defined those vessels. Some wooden ships-of-the-line were skinned with iron plates, but it was not an entirely successful experiment. More successful were the floating batteries that carried iron plating as armour: these were shallow draft platforms that were intended to maximise firepower. All other considerations, such as sailing characteristics, were secondary. Used for bombardments or for defence in restricted waters, such batteries were formidable; at sea they were a menace to their crews.
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Veldriss
- "IL CREATORE"
- Messaggi: 5405
- Iscritto il: 21 ottobre 2008, 10:55
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Re: AVANZAMENTO TECNOLOGICO
Industrial
Division of Labour
+3% wealth generated by all buildings
The division of labour creates a more skilled and organised work force by making workers specialise in only one task.
As a society develops, its capabilities and needs grow. By dividing work into tasks, and allocating these to specific workers, a manufactory owner can develop a more effective work force. As workers specialise in their tasks, they will become faster and find ways of improving their work; this knowledge can be passed on to future workers. This result is an increase of each building’s economic output.
Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723-90) was a champion of the division of labour. He argued that any rate of production would be dramatically increased within industry if work was divided effectively. In his book “The Wealth of Nations” he called for a public education system to be put in place to teach workers the fine points of their crafts, if not much else. American author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817- 1862) later criticized this idea in his book “Walden”. Thoreau thought specialisation was at the expense of traditional skills, such as farming and house-building, which were needed for true independent living.
Poverty Control Laws
+1 to repression in all regions
These laws help control any poverty problem by making being poor and destitute a crime.
In order to properly aid and control the poor, a distinction must be made between the genuinely needy and the merely bone-idle and feckless. These vagrants prey on hand-outs meant for deserving locals, but suitable persuasion, such as a sound beating or prison, moves them on. Such strictures will also illustrate the advantages of honest work and act as a deterrent to anyone else looking to evade their duty of work. The feckless, being made to work, can add to the productivity of a region.
Historically, in many countries poor relief was closely regulated: the poor were “impotent”, ”able-bodied”, or ”idle”. Local government, being sensitive to local needs, distinguished between each type, and also decided on who needed moving on to another locale. Whereas the infirm and elderly could not earn a living wage, there were some who were happy to leech off the goodwill of charitable parishes. For the ”able-bodied” who couldn’t find work, there was also the workhouse. These institutions were made deliberately unpleasant to discourage the poor from viewing them as an easy alternative to finding work for themselves.
Land Drainage
+10% wealth generated by farms
Draining marshy and low-lying land for agricultural purposes improves soil and crop yields for all farming.
Land drainage can provide new land that can be cultivated, and protect existing farmland from flooding. Marshy landscapes can be tamed, and rivers diverted to make way for productive and profitable farmland. This land reclamation and improvement gives a higher output from all farms, and provides more food.
Historically, the Dutch were experts on drainage using windmills to distribute water into high channels where it could flow away; this is hardly surprising given their country’s low-lying landscape. Of course, drainage was at the mercy of the wind, and developments in steam power in the late eighteenth century led to the technology being applied to drainage. The steam engine would pump as long as it had water and fuel. Indeed, stationary steam engines were first used to pump water out of mines in Britain, allowing miners to excavate deeper than before, but the principles of raising water were exactly the same for a land drainage scheme.
Bottling and Canning
-5% upkeep costs for all naval units
Bottling and canning prevents food spoiling, a problem on ocean voyages where fresh food is unavailable.
Diet-related ailments at sea can be reduced or eliminated by eating fresh food. Sealing food in airtight containers keeps it fresh; dried biscuits and bread may last longer than fruit or meat, but on their own they are not sufficient to sustain crew health or morale. Instead, bottled and canned foods can be taken aboard at the start of a journey, providing good meals for all. This technique not only preserves the food, but its goodness as well: the crew are better for eating good food, and naval upkeep costs are reduced.
In 1800 the French government, recognising the truth of “an army marches on its stomach”, offered a reward to anyone who could come up with a way of providing armies with safe food. After years of experimenting, French confectioner Nicolas Appert (1749-1841) noticed that food boiled in sealed containers only went off once air was admitted. He won the prize and put his foods into production in 1810 at the world’s first cannery.
Joint Stock Company
+10 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
-10% to cost of constructing industrial buildings
A joint stock company is owned and capitalised by many people, who can trade their stake in the company.
Joint stock companies allow a business to raise money quickly. The people who provide the money have shares in any subsequent profits and own the enterprise even if they do not manage it. They can sell their stake in the company as they see fit, for whatever price they can get, so creating a stock market. Shareholder investment reduces the construction cost of industrial and mining buildings, and boosts the growth of national wealth.
Historically, joint stock companies are the basis of a capitalist economic system, but have always had dire results for some investors. The easy profits to be made in trading stocks and shares encourage rampant speculation that may be entirely unconnected to the actual value of what is being traded. Stocks have also been “talked up” and sold unfairly by unscrupulous investors. The South Sea Bubble of 1711 in Britain and the Mississippi Company Bubble of 1721 in France both resulted from what would, today, be termed criminal insider dealing and insanely greedy speculation by too many eager “marks”. However, when used honestly, the stocks-and-shares system remains a fine way of raising capital to do business while compensating those whose money is at risk.
Plateways
+10% wealth generated by mines
Plateways are iron tracks that allow more efficient transportation of ore or coal, increasing a mine’s output.
With industry comes the demand for materials and fuels to sustain it, and the need for improved transport to carry them. One answer lies in putting carts on cast iron channels called plateways, laid out as tracks that guide the vehicles. These sturdy plateways are laid on level routes as far as possible, allowing horses to pull heavy loads for great distances. Plateways make mining and industry more efficient by delivering bulk raw materials.
Historically, movement of iron ore and coal without using rivers or canals was costly and slow. Horse-drawn wagons ran along wooden rails, but these regularly broke under the strain. Cast iron provided the answer in the form of L-shaped iron rails; the upright guided the cart wheels. This system worked well enough, but the carts were easily derailed by stones. This was not an uncommon problem when iron ore and other stony products were being carried. The weight of carts could also crack the cast iron used. Both these problems were solved by the introduction of wrought iron rails, but the concept of a plateway is a direct ancestor of the modern rail network.
Steam Engine
+10% wealth generated by industrial buildings
This mechanical stationary engine enables the building of steam-powered factories.
The application of reliable and controllable sources of power allows industry to produce goods at a tremendous rate. Work is no longer tied to the force of a convenient river, reliant on the wind or limited by a man’s muscles. Progress and industry, simply, are no longer subject to Nature’s whims! The steam engine unleashes power wherever it is needed, leading to an accelerated growth of industrial production.
Experiments with steam power can be traced all the way through history, as far back as the ancient Greeks and the Aeolipile. However, it was the atmospheric beam engine of Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) that first used steam effectively and signalled a new age of industry. His design was later improved by James Watt (1736-1819). The more fuel-efficient, and thus cheaper to run, Watt Steam Engine provided power to run factories, pump water, and eventually propel all manner of vehicles.
Mass Production
-1 happiness from industrialisation (lower classes)
-4% recruitment cost for all land units in all your regions
-4% recruitment cost for all naval units in all your regions
A system for making items in huge quantities, where manufacturing is no longer dependent upon the skills of individual craftsmen.
Craft-based manufacturing of any kind has a ceiling on the number of goods that it can produce. The goods themselves may be beautifully made, but the number of expert workers is the limitation; people can only make so many things if they are doing everything for themselves.
Mass production mechanises the basic and repetitive tasks of production, and divides work into simple, repetitive and repeatable tasks. No longer does a master craftsman labour to make one item from start to finish. Instead, work is broken down into simple tasks and each given to a worker with the item passing to the next person for the next task. Each job is simple, so mechanical aids and tools can be used in place of expertise.
Marc Brunel (1769-1849) was a French engineer who fetched up in England after the French Revolution. His block-making machines are a typical example of mass production in the period. They let unskilled labour make the blocks and pulleys needed in their thousands by the Royal Navy – blocks were a vital part of ship’s rigging.
Steam Ship Propulsion
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw steam frigate.png
Steam Paddle Frigate
Steam propulsion concerns the use of steam engines to propel ocean-going vessels, enabling the building of paddle steamers.
Engineering improvements to the steam engine have made it more efficient, and it is now suitable for use in ships. The only question is where to store the mountain of coal required to fuel the engine, a problem that limits the cruising range of ships and still requires them to have masts and sails. When the wind is right, it is more sensible to use it than burn coal.
Historically, the transition from wind-power to steam-powered vessels was slow and protracted. Apart from the need for a network of coaling ports, development of steam ship propulsion itself went through many increments and was beset by engine failures, sinking ships, bureaucracy, and false starts. Jouffroy d’Abbans (1751-1832) was one of many inventors who were almost official geniuses: in 1783, his paddle steamer, the Pyroscaphe, managed to sail for fifteen minutes down the Saône, but the French Academy of Sciences refused to acknowledge his achievement for political reasons. D’Abbans died unrecognised, bitter and impoverished.
Limited Liability Company
+10 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
+5% wealth generated by all buildings
Limited liability protects the shareholders from any financial problems their company may have.
Trade and enterprise are among the building blocks of any fledgling empire, and therefore any business is to be encouraged and aided. The shareholders in a limited liability company are not held personally accountable for any company debts. They are not expected to use any more of their own money, beyond what they paid for their shares, to honour the company’s commitments. Shareholders face less risk as a result, and this not only increases the wealth of a nation, but also its gross national product.
When the Act of Limited Liability was passed in the United Kingdom in 1855 it was met with some scepticism. The public feared that companies would be free to act irresponsibly because their owner could walk away from the financial consequences. To prevent this, shares were only partly paid to begin with so that in the event of company bankruptcy shareholders would still have to pay the balance for shares in a worthless enterprise. However, as only the already wealthy could afford the risk, this approach was soon abandoned, and business boomed.
Steam Locomotive
+10 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
+10% wealth generated by mines
A locomotive moves not only itself but also a train of carriages or wagons along a track.
A stationary steam engine can be used to haul loads along a track by means of ropes or chains, but it is much more convenient for the engine to move with the train. Plateways and railways are not new ideas, but the application of mobile steam power is a revolution. Railways linking mines, ports, and cities make the world smaller, but also give men of business unparalleled opportunities for trade, so allowing increased industrial expansion.
Historically, steam engines were a wonder of the age when they were introduced to public service, despite the fact that the first day of the first passenger railway in the world resulted in the death of an important local politician. In 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway held a grand celebration. William Huskisson, the Liverpool Member of Parliament, dithered when a train approached at speed, and was run down. His leg was severed, and it took the unfortunate fellow some time to die from shock and blood loss. Despite killing a well-loved worthy, the L&M was an engineering triumph and a financial success, ushering in the railway age.
Screw Propeller
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw ironclad.png
Ironclad Ntw 1deck38 steam.png
38-gun Steam Ship Ntw 2deck80 steam.png
80-gun Steam Ship
A screw propeller drives a ship through the water, powered by steam and independent of the wind.
Unlike a paddlewheel, a screw propeller is entirely underwater, and is largely invulnerable to enemy fire as a result. However, it does add to the draft of a ship, so a pilot must have his wits about him in shallow water. The mechanism is, however, far more efficient than any combination of paddlewheels (either stern or side), and can drive a ship at much higher speed for a given engine size.
Historically, the screw propeller had its origins in Archimedes’ Screw, an ancient method of lifting water to a higher level. The screw’s potential for propulsion was recognised early on, but not actually implemented. It required steam power, coupled with further refinements to the shape of the screw propeller, to finally see it adopted instead of paddle wheels. British engineer Francis Pettit Smith (1808-1874) accidentally discovered that smaller propellers work better than big ones. During one of his many tests, a piece of his screw propeller snapped off, and he noticed that, rather than grinding to a halt, the ship actually accelerated.
Interchangeable Parts
-3% upkeep costs for all army units
-3% upkeep costs for all naval units
+1% wealth generated by all buildings
Uniformity in the parts of any machine or device means that it can be assembled easily or broken items can be replaced quickly.
Many devices are hand-built by craftsmen to extremely high standards, but this brings its own problems. If a designed component doesn’t fit into a machine, it can be carefully worked until it does; in itself, this is no bad thing, but the altered piece may not now fit into an apparently identical mechanism.
By making identical parts within a fine tolerance, identical machines can be built from any mixture of those parts. Work can be divided up amongst craftsmen, and broken parts can be replaced easily, even by a user! This is particularly useful for the military, as muskets and other equipment can be quickly repaired in the field rather than being thrown away or expensively rebuilt.
This advance became widely known about thanks to American inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825). He built ten muskets in front of a US Congressional committee, took them to pieces, mixed up the parts, and rebuilt the muskets. The act was impressive, but he had cheated by having all his demonstration pieces carefully handcrafted to extremely exacting standards. He was largely copying the ideas of Frenchman Honoré Blanc.
Division of Labour
+3% wealth generated by all buildings
The division of labour creates a more skilled and organised work force by making workers specialise in only one task.
As a society develops, its capabilities and needs grow. By dividing work into tasks, and allocating these to specific workers, a manufactory owner can develop a more effective work force. As workers specialise in their tasks, they will become faster and find ways of improving their work; this knowledge can be passed on to future workers. This result is an increase of each building’s economic output.
Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723-90) was a champion of the division of labour. He argued that any rate of production would be dramatically increased within industry if work was divided effectively. In his book “The Wealth of Nations” he called for a public education system to be put in place to teach workers the fine points of their crafts, if not much else. American author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817- 1862) later criticized this idea in his book “Walden”. Thoreau thought specialisation was at the expense of traditional skills, such as farming and house-building, which were needed for true independent living.
Poverty Control Laws
+1 to repression in all regions
These laws help control any poverty problem by making being poor and destitute a crime.
In order to properly aid and control the poor, a distinction must be made between the genuinely needy and the merely bone-idle and feckless. These vagrants prey on hand-outs meant for deserving locals, but suitable persuasion, such as a sound beating or prison, moves them on. Such strictures will also illustrate the advantages of honest work and act as a deterrent to anyone else looking to evade their duty of work. The feckless, being made to work, can add to the productivity of a region.
Historically, in many countries poor relief was closely regulated: the poor were “impotent”, ”able-bodied”, or ”idle”. Local government, being sensitive to local needs, distinguished between each type, and also decided on who needed moving on to another locale. Whereas the infirm and elderly could not earn a living wage, there were some who were happy to leech off the goodwill of charitable parishes. For the ”able-bodied” who couldn’t find work, there was also the workhouse. These institutions were made deliberately unpleasant to discourage the poor from viewing them as an easy alternative to finding work for themselves.
Land Drainage
+10% wealth generated by farms
Draining marshy and low-lying land for agricultural purposes improves soil and crop yields for all farming.
Land drainage can provide new land that can be cultivated, and protect existing farmland from flooding. Marshy landscapes can be tamed, and rivers diverted to make way for productive and profitable farmland. This land reclamation and improvement gives a higher output from all farms, and provides more food.
Historically, the Dutch were experts on drainage using windmills to distribute water into high channels where it could flow away; this is hardly surprising given their country’s low-lying landscape. Of course, drainage was at the mercy of the wind, and developments in steam power in the late eighteenth century led to the technology being applied to drainage. The steam engine would pump as long as it had water and fuel. Indeed, stationary steam engines were first used to pump water out of mines in Britain, allowing miners to excavate deeper than before, but the principles of raising water were exactly the same for a land drainage scheme.
Bottling and Canning
-5% upkeep costs for all naval units
Bottling and canning prevents food spoiling, a problem on ocean voyages where fresh food is unavailable.
Diet-related ailments at sea can be reduced or eliminated by eating fresh food. Sealing food in airtight containers keeps it fresh; dried biscuits and bread may last longer than fruit or meat, but on their own they are not sufficient to sustain crew health or morale. Instead, bottled and canned foods can be taken aboard at the start of a journey, providing good meals for all. This technique not only preserves the food, but its goodness as well: the crew are better for eating good food, and naval upkeep costs are reduced.
In 1800 the French government, recognising the truth of “an army marches on its stomach”, offered a reward to anyone who could come up with a way of providing armies with safe food. After years of experimenting, French confectioner Nicolas Appert (1749-1841) noticed that food boiled in sealed containers only went off once air was admitted. He won the prize and put his foods into production in 1810 at the world’s first cannery.
Joint Stock Company
+10 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
-10% to cost of constructing industrial buildings
A joint stock company is owned and capitalised by many people, who can trade their stake in the company.
Joint stock companies allow a business to raise money quickly. The people who provide the money have shares in any subsequent profits and own the enterprise even if they do not manage it. They can sell their stake in the company as they see fit, for whatever price they can get, so creating a stock market. Shareholder investment reduces the construction cost of industrial and mining buildings, and boosts the growth of national wealth.
Historically, joint stock companies are the basis of a capitalist economic system, but have always had dire results for some investors. The easy profits to be made in trading stocks and shares encourage rampant speculation that may be entirely unconnected to the actual value of what is being traded. Stocks have also been “talked up” and sold unfairly by unscrupulous investors. The South Sea Bubble of 1711 in Britain and the Mississippi Company Bubble of 1721 in France both resulted from what would, today, be termed criminal insider dealing and insanely greedy speculation by too many eager “marks”. However, when used honestly, the stocks-and-shares system remains a fine way of raising capital to do business while compensating those whose money is at risk.
Plateways
+10% wealth generated by mines
Plateways are iron tracks that allow more efficient transportation of ore or coal, increasing a mine’s output.
With industry comes the demand for materials and fuels to sustain it, and the need for improved transport to carry them. One answer lies in putting carts on cast iron channels called plateways, laid out as tracks that guide the vehicles. These sturdy plateways are laid on level routes as far as possible, allowing horses to pull heavy loads for great distances. Plateways make mining and industry more efficient by delivering bulk raw materials.
Historically, movement of iron ore and coal without using rivers or canals was costly and slow. Horse-drawn wagons ran along wooden rails, but these regularly broke under the strain. Cast iron provided the answer in the form of L-shaped iron rails; the upright guided the cart wheels. This system worked well enough, but the carts were easily derailed by stones. This was not an uncommon problem when iron ore and other stony products were being carried. The weight of carts could also crack the cast iron used. Both these problems were solved by the introduction of wrought iron rails, but the concept of a plateway is a direct ancestor of the modern rail network.
Steam Engine
+10% wealth generated by industrial buildings
This mechanical stationary engine enables the building of steam-powered factories.
The application of reliable and controllable sources of power allows industry to produce goods at a tremendous rate. Work is no longer tied to the force of a convenient river, reliant on the wind or limited by a man’s muscles. Progress and industry, simply, are no longer subject to Nature’s whims! The steam engine unleashes power wherever it is needed, leading to an accelerated growth of industrial production.
Experiments with steam power can be traced all the way through history, as far back as the ancient Greeks and the Aeolipile. However, it was the atmospheric beam engine of Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) that first used steam effectively and signalled a new age of industry. His design was later improved by James Watt (1736-1819). The more fuel-efficient, and thus cheaper to run, Watt Steam Engine provided power to run factories, pump water, and eventually propel all manner of vehicles.
Mass Production
-1 happiness from industrialisation (lower classes)
-4% recruitment cost for all land units in all your regions
-4% recruitment cost for all naval units in all your regions
A system for making items in huge quantities, where manufacturing is no longer dependent upon the skills of individual craftsmen.
Craft-based manufacturing of any kind has a ceiling on the number of goods that it can produce. The goods themselves may be beautifully made, but the number of expert workers is the limitation; people can only make so many things if they are doing everything for themselves.
Mass production mechanises the basic and repetitive tasks of production, and divides work into simple, repetitive and repeatable tasks. No longer does a master craftsman labour to make one item from start to finish. Instead, work is broken down into simple tasks and each given to a worker with the item passing to the next person for the next task. Each job is simple, so mechanical aids and tools can be used in place of expertise.
Marc Brunel (1769-1849) was a French engineer who fetched up in England after the French Revolution. His block-making machines are a typical example of mass production in the period. They let unskilled labour make the blocks and pulleys needed in their thousands by the Royal Navy – blocks were a vital part of ship’s rigging.
Steam Ship Propulsion
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw steam frigate.png
Steam Paddle Frigate
Steam propulsion concerns the use of steam engines to propel ocean-going vessels, enabling the building of paddle steamers.
Engineering improvements to the steam engine have made it more efficient, and it is now suitable for use in ships. The only question is where to store the mountain of coal required to fuel the engine, a problem that limits the cruising range of ships and still requires them to have masts and sails. When the wind is right, it is more sensible to use it than burn coal.
Historically, the transition from wind-power to steam-powered vessels was slow and protracted. Apart from the need for a network of coaling ports, development of steam ship propulsion itself went through many increments and was beset by engine failures, sinking ships, bureaucracy, and false starts. Jouffroy d’Abbans (1751-1832) was one of many inventors who were almost official geniuses: in 1783, his paddle steamer, the Pyroscaphe, managed to sail for fifteen minutes down the Saône, but the French Academy of Sciences refused to acknowledge his achievement for political reasons. D’Abbans died unrecognised, bitter and impoverished.
Limited Liability Company
+10 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
+5% wealth generated by all buildings
Limited liability protects the shareholders from any financial problems their company may have.
Trade and enterprise are among the building blocks of any fledgling empire, and therefore any business is to be encouraged and aided. The shareholders in a limited liability company are not held personally accountable for any company debts. They are not expected to use any more of their own money, beyond what they paid for their shares, to honour the company’s commitments. Shareholders face less risk as a result, and this not only increases the wealth of a nation, but also its gross national product.
When the Act of Limited Liability was passed in the United Kingdom in 1855 it was met with some scepticism. The public feared that companies would be free to act irresponsibly because their owner could walk away from the financial consequences. To prevent this, shares were only partly paid to begin with so that in the event of company bankruptcy shareholders would still have to pay the balance for shares in a worthless enterprise. However, as only the already wealthy could afford the risk, this approach was soon abandoned, and business boomed.
Steam Locomotive
+10 per turn to town wealth in all your regions
+10% wealth generated by mines
A locomotive moves not only itself but also a train of carriages or wagons along a track.
A stationary steam engine can be used to haul loads along a track by means of ropes or chains, but it is much more convenient for the engine to move with the train. Plateways and railways are not new ideas, but the application of mobile steam power is a revolution. Railways linking mines, ports, and cities make the world smaller, but also give men of business unparalleled opportunities for trade, so allowing increased industrial expansion.
Historically, steam engines were a wonder of the age when they were introduced to public service, despite the fact that the first day of the first passenger railway in the world resulted in the death of an important local politician. In 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway held a grand celebration. William Huskisson, the Liverpool Member of Parliament, dithered when a train approached at speed, and was run down. His leg was severed, and it took the unfortunate fellow some time to die from shock and blood loss. Despite killing a well-loved worthy, the L&M was an engineering triumph and a financial success, ushering in the railway age.
Screw Propeller
Enables recruitment of:
Ntw ironclad.png
Ironclad Ntw 1deck38 steam.png
38-gun Steam Ship Ntw 2deck80 steam.png
80-gun Steam Ship
A screw propeller drives a ship through the water, powered by steam and independent of the wind.
Unlike a paddlewheel, a screw propeller is entirely underwater, and is largely invulnerable to enemy fire as a result. However, it does add to the draft of a ship, so a pilot must have his wits about him in shallow water. The mechanism is, however, far more efficient than any combination of paddlewheels (either stern or side), and can drive a ship at much higher speed for a given engine size.
Historically, the screw propeller had its origins in Archimedes’ Screw, an ancient method of lifting water to a higher level. The screw’s potential for propulsion was recognised early on, but not actually implemented. It required steam power, coupled with further refinements to the shape of the screw propeller, to finally see it adopted instead of paddle wheels. British engineer Francis Pettit Smith (1808-1874) accidentally discovered that smaller propellers work better than big ones. During one of his many tests, a piece of his screw propeller snapped off, and he noticed that, rather than grinding to a halt, the ship actually accelerated.
Interchangeable Parts
-3% upkeep costs for all army units
-3% upkeep costs for all naval units
+1% wealth generated by all buildings
Uniformity in the parts of any machine or device means that it can be assembled easily or broken items can be replaced quickly.
Many devices are hand-built by craftsmen to extremely high standards, but this brings its own problems. If a designed component doesn’t fit into a machine, it can be carefully worked until it does; in itself, this is no bad thing, but the altered piece may not now fit into an apparently identical mechanism.
By making identical parts within a fine tolerance, identical machines can be built from any mixture of those parts. Work can be divided up amongst craftsmen, and broken parts can be replaced easily, even by a user! This is particularly useful for the military, as muskets and other equipment can be quickly repaired in the field rather than being thrown away or expensively rebuilt.
This advance became widely known about thanks to American inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825). He built ten muskets in front of a US Congressional committee, took them to pieces, mixed up the parts, and rebuilt the muskets. The act was impressive, but he had cheated by having all his demonstration pieces carefully handcrafted to extremely exacting standards. He was largely copying the ideas of Frenchman Honoré Blanc.
