Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 230 The Real Salvo

In order to increase the range as much as possible, when designing the musket, Lu Jin tried to lengthen the barrel as much as possible. When it was finally finalized, the barrel was 1.1 meters long, and together with the buttstock it was 1.45 meters long. With the addition of a bayonet more than half a meter long, the whole gun was two meters long.

Among cold weapons, this is naturally a short gun, but among muskets, the length is a bit exaggerated.

The advantage of the long barrel is naturally the super-long range, which makes it still very lethal at a distance of 200 meters. If it hits a cluster of unarmored targets at meters, they will basically die if they get close.

Unless all the enemy soldiers two hundred meters away were wearing armor and equipped with shields, they would be able to withstand the musket fire from such a distance.

In addition to the range, in order to improve the hit rate, Lu Jin also ordered that standard ammunition must all be shotgun shells with five pellets per shot. After actual testing, although the hit rate of a single gun hitting a single target is only about 15%, when hitting a cluster of targets, the hit rate will suddenly rise to a terrifying 75% or more. For a distance of meters, this hit rate is already very exaggerated.

However, although the hit rate of shooting shotguns at this distance is not low, it is still not easy to penetrate armor.

In subsequent armor-piercing tests, when the distance is shortened to 180 meters, the armor-piercing probability will increase significantly. When the distance reaches 150 meters, as long as the largest projectile hits, it is almost 80% likely to penetrate the armor, and the armor-piercing rate of small projectiles can also be increased to %.

When the distance is close to about 120 meters, even a small projectile will break the armor.

Of course, the A mentioned here are all homogeneous rolled steel plates with a thickness of 2 mm. Some of them may not meet the steel standards and can be considered as soft steel at best, but this test result still has certain reference value.

It may sound a bit outrageous, but the so-called small projectile is actually not small. The large projectile has the same caliber as the gun, with a diameter of 16 mm, but the diameter of the small projectile is 9 mm, which is larger than the diameter of common deer bullets. Big means heavy. As the weight increases, the energy storage effect is better and the chance of armor penetration is higher.

This raises a question: since the hit rate and killing power at long distances are not low, why should I bear huge casualties and fire at a volley at a distance of 30 meters?
Moreover, at a 30-meter range, each person can fire at most one or two rounds before charging with bayonets. So why do soldiers carry so much ammunition? Isn't it completely redundant?

As we all know, when describing military battlefields, ancient Chinese literati liked to use the Spring and Autumn style of writing, or very exaggerated descriptions, exaggerating the number of people, exaggerating the effects of weapons, etc. So, could it be that the literati we hope for would have the same problem?

Suffering huge casualties and approaching to a distance of 30 yards to fire another round of salvos, this record does not deny its real existence, but could it be that it is just an exaggeration, and that there were actually only one or two such records, but they were blown up to be the case in every battle?
As for the so-called volley, does it mean the whole regiment fires together, or the battalion and company level volleys? Could it be that Western scholars mistook the battalion and company level volleys for the whole army volleys?

The reason why Lu Jin was skeptical was that the actual operation itself was difficult.

Take commanding for example. The shoulders of an adult male occupy at least 60 centimeters, or 0.6 meters, when standing in a queue. During the period of executions by firing squad in Europe, a platoon consisted of 38 people, four platoons formed a company, three to four companies formed a battalion, and two or three battalions formed a regiment. A regiment had about 1500 people.

1500 people, divided into three rows, 500 people in each row, each person occupies 0.6 meters, so the battle line must be 300 meters wide.

How to command 500 people on a -meter-wide front to fire simultaneously without a walkie-talkie for each person?
Not to mention that the British Army has drums and music. The British Army's drums and music are infantry drums, which are used to control the marching pace. The order to open fire is usually shouted by officers. So the problem is, a person can only shout 50 meters away, and standing in the middle of the team can only control a -meter battle line. What's more, there are the sounds of muskets and artillery firing on the battlefield. Even a human voice may not be able to be heard that far?

So how do you control 500 people to fire at the same time?
Would the so-called volleys in those literary works be divided into multiple sections, with battalions and companies firing in succession? If it was a company-level volley, a company would only have more than a hundred people, and three rows would only be 20 meters wide, which would be easier to control and look more practical.

After all, Lu Jin is not a specialist in this field, and most of the popular science he knows about from marketing accounts is only half-baked. In fact, the real situation of the British army in history also had the tactic of "shooting by squad". Each column in the battle line was considered a squad, usually with five or six people. If they were arranged in three horizontal rows, there would be only three people in each row, which was called "missing squad".

In real battlefield salvos, the entire army does not fire at the same time, because it is impossible to control such a long front line. This is limited by real physical conditions. No matter how much literary works exaggerate, they cannot change the physical facts.

So Lu Jin was confused about how to fire volleys and how to train musketeers. He had no choice but to continue experimenting and conduct exercises with the army to find out the actual problems.

There is also the organization of the Shengwu Army. The basic level is the four-four system, which is to facilitate the formation of square formations. But when attacking with volley guns, should they be arranged in three rows or four rows?

"First row, ready, raise your guns, aim, fire!"

bang bang bang-

There was a flash of fire, and after the first row opened fire, they immediately passed through the gap in the second row's array, went around to the back row and began to reload.

"Second row, ready, raise your guns, aim, fire!"

bang bang bang-

There was another volley of fire. After two rounds, the place where the soldiers had originally stood was filled with thick smoke. Everyone was choked and held their breath, squinting their eyes. The reloading speed was also greatly affected.

Some people wanted to move forward or backward and wanted to get out of the smoke area, but leaving the formation easily was not allowed, so everyone felt a little uncomfortable.

This continued until the third round of volleys, affected by the smoke, the soldiers in the third round could no longer aim normally. They could only hold their muskets horizontally, aim roughly straight ahead, and then open fire.

Next, two rows fire in unison. The front row shoots in a kneeling position, and the second row shoots in a standing position. It is difficult to insert the third row at this time. If the third row is to be inserted, the first two rows can only squat, and then the third row can fire. If this is not done, the third row can only extend the gun into the middle of the gap between the soldiers in the second row. However, the fire, noise and smoke produced by such shooting will greatly affect the soldiers in front, so it is not recommended to do so.

After completing a few simple rounds of tests, Lu Jin called together the battalion and company-level officers again and asked everyone to express their opinions and see how to arrange the future formation.

Guo Ying had been training musketeers for the longest time, and he spoke first.

"Marshal, I think it's most appropriate to arrange them in two rows. The front row can kneel and shoot, while the back row can stand and shoot. The front and back will not affect each other, and can also exert the maximum firepower. I guarantee that the enemy will be defeated in one round." This time, before Lu Jin could speak, the newcomer Zhen Yuanqi spoke.

"I think three rows are better. Why? Although the firepower of two rows firing at once is stronger, I think it is a bit of a waste of firepower. Anyway, it is impossible for the muskets to penetrate people, especially when the first row of the enemy is fully armored. Whether you fire at one row or two rows, you can only hit the outermost row of the enemy.

"Although the firepower of two rows is strong when you fire two rows at the same time in a short period of time, the follow-up is weak. After you finish firing one round, the two rows have to reload at the same time. The time you spend reloading is a flaw. If the enemy takes this opportunity to send cavalry to charge, you won't even be able to counterattack.

"The most suitable method is to fire in three rows. The three rows rotate endlessly. After the first row finishes firing, they retreat and reload. The second row fires. After the second row finishes firing, they retreat and reload. The third row fires. When the third row has finished firing, the first row has also reloaded. This rotation of firing and reloading can make the offensive continuous and the enemy will never be able to get close.

"But if they are arranged in two rows, even if they don't fire at the same time, but take turns shooting, there won't be enough time to reload. When the first row finishes firing and we're reloading, the second row has also finished firing. At this time, the first row is not ready yet, and there will be another flaw."

"That's right. I also think three rows are suitable." Zhen Yuanji, the elder brother, echoed his brother when he heard him say this.

Zhu Shou from the First Brigade also said, "I have also been training for two months. Two rows are indeed too few, and four rows are a bit too many. After firing, they retreat and reload, which is actually just two rounds of free time. If they are arranged in four rows, one row will be idle and will not have a turn, wasting the firepower of one row in vain."

"Three-row round shooting is indeed more appropriate, but our army is organized in four-four formations, so how should this team be arranged?" Zheng Yulin from the First Brigade also raised his own question.

Li Jun from the Second Brigade heard this and said, "This is actually the easiest to do. When I first joined, I also learned about our military organization. The most basic squad in our army is 12 people. I heard that this is the number of people in the Mandarin Duck Formation created by the Marshal, and it has been used since then.

"When the spear formation was the main focus, the commander-in-chief divided each squad into three or four groups, with a squad leader, deputy squad leader, and one or two group leaders. All officers had to tie a red ribbon on the head of their spears, and form a group of three or four people, with the red ribbon as the main focus, and three people on each side would kill the enemy together.

"I think this formation can also be extended to the musket squad. A squad of 12 people is divided into three rows, with four people in each row. There is a squad leader, a deputy squad leader and a team leader. This is how it works when firing volleys. When fighting with bayonets in close combat, four people are also formed into groups. This is how we train normally. There is no need to practice more formations. The simpler, the easier it is to learn."

Everyone nodded when they heard this. This was a good idea, and the organization of the class was decided.

As for the battle line formation, no matter how you arrange it, there are three rows in front and back, and each class has three rows in formation, and the rest just need to be arranged in order.

Zhang Wen also looked at Lu Jin at this time, "What do you think, Marshal?"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Lu Jin concluded, "The class can indeed be arranged like this, and the military formation should be mainly three rows. Arranging in three rows does not mean that two rows cannot be used. If it is an offensive formation, two rows actually have a greater advantage, with fierce firepower, a wide battle line, and a larger strike area, but we also have to consider the defensive formation.

"In fact, adding bayonets to the front of the muskets is not for you to use as spears to stab people, but to form a spear array. However, if the line is too thin, even with bayonets, it is still easy for the enemy cavalry to break through. There must be three rows to keep the enemy cavalry out of the formation."

Everyone nodded when they heard this. The method of firing volleys in rotation on the spot was indeed only suitable for defense, so Lu Jin then led them to study how to attack, mainly testing the legendary "shooting by team" and "company-level volley".

The Shengwu Army was organized into four-four units. A company had 200 people, excluding civilian staff such as messengers and instructors, and a total of 16 squads. Each squad was divided into three rows, with four people in the front. That means the entire company had 64 people in the front, densely arranged. The width of the entire company's battle line was nearly 40 meters, which was just right for vocal command. If it was wider, it would be difficult to command by relying solely on officers shouting commands.

Then came the battalions. The four companies were arranged in a row 160 meters wide, and when all four battalions were deployed, it would be 640 meters. The front line was more than a mile wide, but there were only three thin layers. If the enemy saw this formation, they would definitely think Lu Jin was crazy, as they had never seen such a wide formation before.

Looking at the battle line that was more than a mile wide in front of them, the battalion officers surrounding Lu Jin were all amazed. Li Jun spoke first.

"It seems that the brigade commander can only command the company level at most. There are a total of 16 companies in front of us. How should the Marshal's shooting on the move be implemented? Should we move forward with the whole army, stay where we are after shooting to reload, and then go to the front to catch up with the main force, or speed up and surpass the main force in advance, reload and wait for the main force in front?"

Lu Jin did not hesitate this time and said immediately, "Of course we should speed up first, finish the battle at the front, reload on the spot and wait for the main force.

"Think about it, let's prepare for the worst. If the entire army is advancing, and one company stays behind to reload after fighting, and the enemy attacks from behind, who will support them? We can't let the entire army turn around, right?
"But if we speed up to finish the battle in front and encounter an enemy surprise attack, then the two companies next to this company can open fire to help friendly forces repel the enemy. Besides, if you were the enemy, would you dare to surprise the company that is loading ammunition in front of so many guns?"

Everyone shook their heads when they heard this. Only a fool would run so close to get shot. That's not a surprise attack, that's suicide.
Then, under Lu Jin's command, everyone simulated two rounds of shooting on the move.

The newly made waist drum was struck, and the orchestra that had been prepared in advance also started to play the bamboo flute. The divine song that had not yet been released also traveled through time and space with Lu Jin.

All one could hear were the soldiers in the battle line on the parade ground, marching in neat steps to the drum beats and singing in unison.

"We are all sharpshooters, and every bullet kills an enemy.

"We have artillery behind us, and we are good at destroying cities and strongholds.

"With our infantry and artillery working in coordination, there is no enemy formation that we cannot break through.

"We are united and of one mind, the roar of guns and cannons terrifies the gods and ghosts~"

bang bang bang-

Accompanied by bursts of gunpowder smoke rising from the parade ground, it was officially announced that an army ahead of its time had come into being ahead of schedule.

(End of this chapter)