New devices of war (howitzers to razor wire and all between)

So I was thinking now that Charis has a huge amount of steel production there are all sorts of weapons of war that they could make that aren't weapons. The first thing that I think they should develop should be some barbed wire which should come I very handy once the Mighty Host shows up as barbed wire is pretty effective at preventing people from getting close like in WWI.

Is there any other inevtions like barbed wire Charis should peruse because they now have access to a large amount of steel production?

Another idea I feel would have merit for them because they have effective armor plate would be something like a flak jacket from the Vietnam war. Or now that they are able to produce a large amount of steel thistle they could start issuing bullpen proof vests made of multiple layers of steel thistle as steel thistle is stronger than silk and a best made of multiple layers of silk was shown to be bullet proof.

Another idea would be that they start issueing canned rations as they appear to have the ability to produce a large number of cans because they can produce a large number of metal rounds.

Now I am not sure how useful this would be but they could start deploying smoke rounds to their artillery but I am not sure if that would help Charis or the Church more.

They could also devlope rocket artillery as they already have rockets bit once again I am not sure how much if an advantage that would be.

Now I just suspect this is more of the fact that there has been no location in the books to mention this but here it is: Charis already has breach loading naval artillery and a hydropunamic recoil system so I suspect that very very soon we will be seeing some honest to god howitzers pretty soon and that will dramatically increase Charis's ability to throw rapid fire artillery shells at long range and with much higher accuracy.

captinjoehenry wrote:So I was thinking now that Charis has a huge amount of steel production there are all sorts of weapons of war that they could make that aren't weapons. The first thing that I think they should develop should be some barbed wire which should come I very handy once the Mighty Host shows up as barbed wire is pretty effective at preventing people from getting close like in WWI.

Is there any other inevtions like barbed wire Charis should peruse because they now have access to a large amount of steel production?

Another idea I feel would have merit for them because they have effective armor plate would be something like a flak jacket from the Vietnam war. Or now that they are able to produce a large amount of steel thistle they could start issuing bullpen proof vests made of multiple layers of steel thistle as steel thistle is stronger than silk and a best made of multiple layers of silk was shown to be bullet proof.

Another idea would be that they start issueing canned rations as they appear to have the ability to produce a large number of cans because they can produce a large number of metal rounds.

Now I am not sure how useful this would be but they could start deploying smoke rounds to their artillery but I am not sure if that would help Charis or the Church more.

They could also devlope rocket artillery as they already have rockets bit once again I am not sure how much if an advantage that would be.

Now I just suspect this is more of the fact that there has been no location in the books to mention this but here it is: Charis already has breach loading naval artillery and a hydropunamic recoil system so I suspect that very very soon we will be seeing some honest to god howitzers pretty soon and that will dramatically increase Charis's ability to throw rapid fire artillery shells at long range and with much higher accuracy.

Personally, I'm rather surprised that Charis hasn't made the leap from rockets used for signaling purposes to rockets used for area-denial purposes. All of the technological "parts" are in place, and I can think of few things that would be more devastating to a mass assault by several hundred thousand Harchongians... Wikipedia has some fascinating information about the Soviet Katyusha rocket systems from WWII. While slow to reload (at least the earlier systems), a battery of 4 launchers could fire a complete salvo in about 10 seconds that was the equivalent of a 72-gun artillery barrage. Longer-ranged than most common field guns of the time, a Katyusha-like system could be either the first barrier in a layered defense, or it could be used for assault preparation to "soften up" the defenses a bit. The launchers are essentially simple tubes. The rockets are simply larger versions of what Charis already makes. The warheads can use impact fuses similar to those already in use, and they are most easily configured as fragmentation-type warheads (like the double-shell grenades described in the textev).

Actually, while Charis is still struggling to get its steel capacity up so that they have enough to manufacture rifles, cannon and iron clads, I doubt that such things as razor wire will be a very strong priority. They are increasing their industrial base, but as of the end of LAMA, things were still bottlenecked.

That being ssid, I think you have s good idea.

Don

As demonstrated by the Canal Raid, the key to this war is transport and logistics, and the ability to rapidly construct transport systems can be decisive. Charis can expect that the AOG will destroy the canal system as they retreat in the future. If I were Merlin, I would be thinking about how best to rebuild and extend the transport systems. I would also use heliographs, possibly powered by limelight, to quickly extend the coverage of heliograph tower systems.

One possibility is steam dredges to excavate and expand canals; steam shovels are another technology that runs fine on steam.

Another would be railroads; dragons would work for motive power.

As far as weapons proper, white phosphorus would be nice to have when faced with a mass assault. Flame throwers also.

Truthfully? I'd love to see steam tractors on treads with likewise equipped wagons. Low ground pressure keeps them from stalling and they only have to go about 8-10 kph. Think all-terrain trains of a sort. They'll also transition nicely to civilian life as tractors.

Add in steel plows and modern-style brush hog assemblies made possible because of steel blades and the already-capable farms can creep closer to their (current) modern equivalents.

After the aforementioned howitzers, of course.

Dave

Like this?

http://museumvictoria.com.au/collection ... _large.jpg

Lazalarlives wrote:Truthfully? I'd love to see steam tractors on treads with likewise equipped wagons. Low ground pressure keeps them from stalling and they only have to go about 8-10 kph. Think all-terrain trains of a sort. They'll also transition nicely to civilian life as tractors.

Add in steel plows and modern-style brush hog assemblies made possible because of steel blades and the already-capable farms can creep closer to their (current) modern equivalents.

After the aforementioned howitzers, of course.

Dave

Or a steam version of Dr. Porsche's "C-train" artillery tractors.


Or a steam version of Dr. Porsche's C-train?

Infantry on bicycles.
Combat helmets.
Machine guns.
Silencers (for those special occasions).
Gyro-stabilized guns for ships.
Optical range finders (extension of the current binoculars).
MRE's
Water purification tablets.

Joat42 wrote:Infantry on bicycles.
Combat helmets.
Machine guns.
Silencers (for those special occasions).
Gyro-stabilized guns for ships.
Optical range finders (extension of the current binoculars).
MRE's
Water purification tablets.

Infantry on bicycles? Where is the romance in that? I prefer horses...unlelss you can get them on Harleys!

Don

n7axw wrote:

Joat42 wrote:Infantry on bicycles.
Combat helmets.
Machine guns.
Silencers (for those special occasions).
Gyro-stabilized guns for ships.
Optical range finders (extension of the current binoculars).
MRE's
Water purification tablets.

Infantry on bicycles? Where is the romance in that? I prefer horses...unlelss you can get them on Harleys!

Don

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