Chapter 625: Chapter 534: The Weapon that Subverts the Battlefield Mode
(There’s still a bit of the chapter left unfinished, please refresh after 20 minutes. The author sincerely apologizes.)
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Compared to the Minie rifle, the Tuvinan rifle required a couple more strikes during the loading process, resulting in a slightly slower loading speed, but the difference was minimal.
Moreover, aside from the difficulty of development, the current level of craftsmanship and logistical capabilities were more suited to the Tuvinan rifle—The irregular shape of the Minie bullets required high precision in manufacturing, which could only be done in factories at the rear before being transported to the front lines. This undoubtedly increased logistical pressure.
For the Tuvinan, the lead column bullets could be melted and cast by the soldiers at the front lines—the current flintlock bullets were produced in this manner, and so the army’s logistical supplies only included gunpowder, without any projectile.
As for long-term goals, Joseph even thought about skipping the Minie rifled muskets altogether.
He glanced at the wall where Ferguson’s 1776 breech-loading rifled musket hung.
...
This gun was widely ridiculed in England and had gone unnoticed for more than half a century, but he was well aware that it was the future direction of rifle development!
The Ferguson 1776, full of ingenuity, was loaded from the back of the barrel and then sealed with a vertical iron block. It was the first breech-loading rifle to be used in actual combat.
This gun could fire a horrifying six rounds per minute. In comparison, the best flintlock marksmen could only achieve four rounds per minute, while an average soldier firing three rounds was considered proficient.
Meanwhile, the greatest advantage of the breech-loading gun was that it could be fired while lying down.
Muzzle-loading guns had to be stood up to load ammunition, thus the marksman always had to stand.
The breech-loading gun could complete this process while the shooter was prone.
One could imagine, in a standoff between two armies, where one side stood upright and the other was lying down firing, the former was certain to be massacred.
In fact, the Ferguson 1776 rifle had been issued to the British Army during the American Revolution, and Ferguson himself had commanded the American Hunter Soldier Company to significant success on the battlefield. However, after his death in battle, the rifle faded into obscurity.
Of course, the core reason the rifle wasn’t taken seriously was because the technology wasn’t up to par—the poor design of the vertical bolt and the rough manufacturing standards caused severe leaking in the barrel. After Ferguson’s death, no one continued to improve it.
It wasn’t until 1819 that Hall, from the United States, developed the first reliable breech-loading rifle, though it still used a flintlock firing mechanism, leading to limited practicality.
In 1841, the Prussian Dreyse invented the percussion cap firing breech-loading rifled musket, and helped Austria win the Putdan War within a week, finally vindicating the breech-loading rifle.
After that, muzzle-loading guns gradually exited the stage of history, and breech-loading rifles began to dominate the battlefield.
Joseph’s plan was to first cultivate mature rifled musket manufacturing technology in France using the Tuvinan rifle and then let his father slowly develop the breech-loading rifle.
As long as it was successfully developed and the troops equipped, ten thousand French soldiers defeating fifty thousand from any European army was not a dream!
And he had a huge advantage, as he was well aware of the direction in which breech-loading guns were developing.
Rotary bolt, high-strength firing pin, cartridge-fixed ammunition, coupled with the percussion cap ignition already extensively equipped by the French Army, meant there was no need to take a detour; under the leadership of “France’s foremost craftsman”, what had taken decades of research historically might now be accomplished in just ten years, or even as few as seven or eight years!
At that moment, Louis XVI’s assistant, Emmerich, came over with a dozen freshly-cast cylindrical bullets.
Louis XVI took the bullets and immediately, with great excitement, slung the freshly minted rifled gun over his shoulder and pulled his son towards the Royal Armory next to the Palace of Versailles.
At the target range of the Royal Armory, Joseph loaded the Auguste 1790, forcefully rammed it down a few times with an iron ramrod, pulled back the breechblock, inserted a copper cap, and finished loading. The time taken was almost no different from that of an ordinary flintlock gun.
Then a guard took over the gun—since there was a risk of the new gun bursting, he insisted that His Majesty the King not fire it personally—aimed at a wooden target in the distance, and pulled the trigger.
After a loud bang, the range staff came running over with the target, and everyone present was immediately struck with an expression of utter shock.
From a distance of 100 paces, the bullet had hit the center of the wooden target.
For the flintlock guns, which relied on sheer faith to hit anything at 40 paces, this was an absolutely crushing superiority.
In subsequent tests, the Auguste 1790 even hit the wooden target directly from 140 paces away, displaying the terrifying accuracy of the rifled gun.
Louis XVI excitedly slapped Joseph’s back and exclaimed loudly, “My dear son, we are once again at the pinnacle of Europe’s firearms!
“I truly look forward to the moment when our enemies, defeated by France’s warriors, tremble and inquire, ‘What weapons do you use? They are incredible.'”
“They will receive the answer—Auguste 1790 model, developed by our great King himself!” Joseph very much played along, and then the father and son exchanged a look and burst into happy laughter.
After his father had calmed down a bit, Joseph leaned close to his ear and tempted him, “Wouldn’t you like to create another gun that could completely revolutionize the European battlefield model?”
“What on earth is filled in your mind with such marvelous ideas?!” Louis XVI exclaimed in astonishment at his son, “What kind of gun is it?”
Joseph smiled slightly, “A brand-new type of breech-loading gun.”
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In 1776, the British Patrick Ferguson invented a new type of repeating rifle (breech-loading). This rifle had a range of 180 meters, with a maximum range of up to 270 meters, and an average firing rate of 4 – 6 shots per minute.
By the early 19th century, nations generally recognized the advantages of rifled guns and had added a few to their troops, used mainly for elite soldiers in skirmisher roles like the British Baker and Brunswick rifles, and
Germany’s Dreyse Needle Gun as a representative of breech-loading rifles. Breech-loading also brought the huge advantage of faster firing rates, but the sealing of the breech-lock at the time was terribly poor and prone to leakage, which limited the range.
Many domestic resources mention the Dreyse M1841 as the first breech-loader equipped in large quantities for military use, but in reality, it was Hall’s M1819. However, while M1819 still used the flintlock method of ignition, M1841 employed the more advanced needle fire. The Hall M1819 breech-loading rifle, designed by Captain John Harris Hall, was patented on May 21, 1811, and officially entered service in the United States Army in 1819. The widespread equipment of Hall’s M1819 breech-loading flintlock was largely dependent on a series of mechanized production machines invented by Hall. Previously, rifles were handcrafted by professional gunsmiths, and each rifle was unique, so even a small issue with a rifle,