Post Boer War British Army Recommendations.
- Thread starter Peg Leg Pom
- Start date
The post Boer War British Army would beg to differ. They put a considerable amount of time, effort and money into finding a replacement for the 1880's vintage .303, and the Lee rifle which they saw as a failure. The SMLE was only meant to be a short term stopgap. (50 years is some stopgap, but that was the plan)
Except that cartridge will also be their machine gun cartridge, and from that their coaxial machine gun cartridge, their pintle machine gun cartridge (on pretty much all vehicles), and their aircraft machine gun cartridge for 25 years. So it has effects beyond rifles, which are varied enough for it to actually have some impact. They didn't know this at the time, and presumably neither would we if we were in charge, but it has those effects nevertheless.
It's just a little early to be thinking about machine guns on vehicles but the cavalry need something much lighter and more portable than the current maxim guns, especially if they are going to be converted into mounted infantry.
Actually the cavalry regularly carried Vickers guns with them in the prewar era- as one account on Forgotten Weapons shows.
Talk to the Danes about this experimental Madsen thing they have been playing with for a few years.
On another tack. South Africa showed that troops fresh off the boats were vulnerable to foot problems when then put to marching. The same was found IOTL with the BEF Reservists in 1914 when large numbers dropped out through foot problems. Mostly blisters etc. Fortunately morale was high enough to make these individuals push on and avoid capture but they reduced the available fighting infantry. Better boots with better fitting and some method of keeping reservists in marching order would make a difference to the BEF infantry mobility in 1914. Bicycles? Not a cool subject but more significant than changing an adequate battle rifle cartridge for another slightly different one.
On another tack. South Africa showed that troops fresh off the boats were vulnerable to foot problems when then put to marching. The same was found IOTL with the BEF Reservists in 1914 when large numbers dropped out through foot problems. Mostly blisters etc. Fortunately morale was high enough to make these individuals push on and avoid capture but they reduced the available fighting infantry. Better boots with better fitting and some method of keeping reservists in marching order would make a difference to the BEF infantry mobility in 1914. Bicycles? Not a cool subject but more significant than changing an adequate battle rifle cartridge for another slightly different one.
Cryhavoc101
Donor
On the subject of Machine guns - the best portable machine gun of the war was the Lewis gun.
BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) had assisted Lewis in overcoming production issues in 1913 and later when war clouds loomed Lewis moved his 'factory' from Belgium to the UK before the war had started.
So there is an opportunity to leverage this design earlier than OTL and actually have it in production in 1913
And don't even bother with the Hotchkiss M1909 - Britain made 40,000 of them in WW1 - Total Lewis production in WW1 by BSA and Savage arms USA = 50,000
40,000 additional Lewis guns would have been far more useful!
BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) had assisted Lewis in overcoming production issues in 1913 and later when war clouds loomed Lewis moved his 'factory' from Belgium to the UK before the war had started.
So there is an opportunity to leverage this design earlier than OTL and actually have it in production in 1913
And don't even bother with the Hotchkiss M1909 - Britain made 40,000 of them in WW1 - Total Lewis production in WW1 by BSA and Savage arms USA = 50,000
40,000 additional Lewis guns would have been far more useful!
And his book of the experience “A Staff Officers Scrapbook” is available free on archive.org, or cheaply in hard copy. It’s excellent and informative.
Ian_W
Banned
No. They don't. If we are going to have Dragoons, they need the exact same equipment as the Infantry use, so we do not have the snarl-ups in supply that embaress one at the wrong moment.
While they could be equipped with the Colt .45 'potato digger' it is entirely possible for a Maxim gun to be carried by horse.
Anglo Boer War - British Army
Boer War imperial regiments units corps infantry cavalry
Why .45? To use existing .45 Maxim or .45 Nordenfelt ammo?
The M1895 was 35 pounds, with a 21 pound Tripod.
MRlin improved the design, got fire rate to 600rpm and used a conventional gas system rather than the swing arm. More importantly, got the weight down to 21 pounds, with a lighter tripod similar to the Browning at 15 pounds more
Going off some other mentions in this thread, I would recommend at least experimenting with bicycle infantry for this role- cheaper than cavalry, less logistic burden added to the division, and should be able to do the scouting/supply line escort role.
On the subject of mobility I feel that the use of traction engines to tow heavy guns and supply waggons shows promise and that further efforts should be made to examine this potentially valuable development. It might also be worth investigating the use of other forms of mechanical transport at a later date as technology in this field is rapidly advancing.
Driftless
Donor
Model T's were highly adaptable in form as well. There were even numerous iterations of home-built half-tracks. Skis up front and tandem axled wheels with some kind of track for driving on snow-covered, or otherwise crappy surfaces
*Edit* Even if the British don't want to pay Henry Ford, just borrow the concept and make their own.
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They were very good in the desert, which considering some of the places the British Army routinely operated in is no bad thing. Sadly I can't see the rabid Anglophobe Ford doing business with the British Army until he has a factory in Britain and the Government can make him. (They'd go in and compulsory purchase what they needed straight of the production line). Or they'd tell Austen that they wanted x many Model T like cars and he should change the design just enough not to get them all sued.
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We're more likely to fight a war in the Netherlands than the Home Counties though. If enemy troops set foot in Surry somethings gone very, very wrong.
The British actually used a bunch of small cyclist units during the Boer War, including this beauty, an 8-man quadricycle designed to run on rail tracks.
So there is a bit of precedent for the idea of using cyclists for some tasks. You definitely won't be abolishing cavalry entirely any time soon though, and honestly in 1903 I don't think it would be a good idea.