In the Valley of the Wild Wolf, in front of two small counterweight trebuchets in the training ground outside the barracks where the Grenadier Company is stationed.
Five government officials who came all the way from the valley were teaching the operation of the grenade trebuchet to officers above the grenadier company's grenade leader.
These five people include an official from the Government Affairs Office, two professors and apprentices from the Government Affairs College, and the other two are craftsmen from the Workshop Department. These people are also the designers and manufacturers of small counterweight trebuchets specially used for grenadiers.
A middle-aged man with sparse hair and a bloated body, wearing a fine linen robe and an owl brooch symbolizing knowledge and wisdom on his chest, pointed at a wooden board with drawings next to the trebuchet and explained patiently.
"...The counterweighted trebuchets operated by your grenadiers are not bows and arrows. The weight of the projectiles thrown is basically the same. As long as the specifications of the parts of each trebuchet are consistent, the grenadiers only need to control the weight of the counterweight iron block and the length of the launcher arm to accurately control the range."
"You remember two key points."
"First, The heavier the counterweight stone, the longer the projectile's range. "
"Second, the trebuchet launcher arm we made can be divided into three sections to adjust the length. Under the premise of a certain counterweight, the longer the arm, the farther the range."
After the bald professor finished speaking, he gestured to his apprentice, who immediately took out another piece of straw paper from the cowhide bag in his hand and handed it over.
The bald professor took the paper and raised it, saying: "This is the data I came up with after repeated trials with the apprentices from the School of Government Affairs and some craftsmen in the workshop."
ft., while the second-level lever arm (twenty feet) can throw 598 feet, the third-level lever arm (twenty-five feet) can only throw 530 feet. This is because the counterweight is too light, and the too-long arm actually reduces the range. There are some profound mathematical principles in this, and you don’t need to delve into it.”
…
“When we add the counterweight stone to the limit of 600 pounds, the three-stage lever arm can throw the ten-pound iron bullet to a distance of 1,200 feet. Of course, the length of the fuse on the iron bullet is also different for different ranges, otherwise it will explode before it reaches the target position."
The people sitting on the grass couldn't help but exclaimed that such a long range was really shocking. In their understanding, the trebuchet can basically throw heavy rocks to a distance of 350 to 500 feet. Now they heard that the maximum range of the trebuchet they operated was as high as thousands of feet, which was shocking enough.
“You don’t need to be shocked. Our trebuchet itself is nothing amazing. The reason why it has such a range is just because the projectiles we launch are not heavy rocks that weigh hundreds of pounds, but iron bullets that are only ten pounds. Oh my god, I have to praise the count. It was the Holy Lord who gave him such wisdom. A wise and amazing mind. "
The bald professor was a little thirsty as he spoke. He stopped and said to the stunned grenadiers: "I will send you a few parameter tables later. You can go back and copy them again, and read them to the grenadiers repeatedly so that they can remember them."
"In addition, dear friends, I have to remind you again that what you will face in the future is something that can blow a war horse into powder. In other words, you will always be with the god of death, so remember to be cautious. You should slowly get used to the days without fireworks..."
In April, the earth returns to spring and everything recovers.
Hibernating in the Wells Valley for a winter, Art took Ron and ten earl guards with a camel team from the government to visit his "neighbors" in the mountains.
When the team passed through the wilderness, he ordered the camel team to go ahead, and he led the guard into the Wild Wolf Valley. He wanted to see the current situation of the grenadier company.
After passing through layers of clear posts and hidden sentries, the team quickly arrived at the army station in the Wild Wolf Valley.
After briefly listening to the introductions of several chief officers and adjutants, he inspected the grenadier companies one by one.
After nearly two months of training, the grenadier company finally has some appearance.
They practiced the operating procedures of the new trebuchet, simulating a series of actions such as marching, rushing to the battlefield, forming formations according to orders, removing parts of the trebuchet, and assembling them.
Before arriving at the battlefield, all the parts of each trebuchet were dismantled into parts and loaded on an iron-lined four-wheeled carriage. The parts of the trebuchet plus the counterweight stones basically reached the vehicle load limit of 1,500 pounds.
Of course, each trebuchet will also be loaded with ten iron bombs during war, and the remaining ammunition will be transported by special iron carriages.
After arriving at the battlefield, the six grenade crew members will assemble the trebuchet as quickly as possible with the help of the vehicle tools. This process is not too difficult for them who are from heavy baggage soldiers.
After completing the assembly, the grenadier team leader will give the calculated enemy position and distance to each grenade group based on the company deputy commander Smith. The grenade group will adjust the direction of the trebuchet and set the counterweight stone and the length of the arm according to the distance and direction. Then four grenadiers will operate the winch, and the other two will operate the winch. Responsible for putting the projectiles into the magazine, igniting the fuse, smashing the lock, and throwing them at the enemy...
A set of movements is not very skilled, and it takes almost three minutes to complete a projectile. However, this kind of thing requires long-term training to project quickly, and there is no rush.
“…The grenadier company must set up a separate bomb weapons depot. This arsenal not only requires dedicated management and heavy guarding, but also blocks all sources of supplies. Not to mention candles and torches, even fire sickles and flints cannot be brought in.” When inspecting the grenadier company weapons depot, Art saw them storing wooden boxes containing projectiles in the same warehouse as ordinary weapons and armor, and he immediately pointed it out.
In fact, these projectiles do not pose much danger before being launched. The cast iron shell is indeed filled with granular gunpowder, but the small holes where the projectiles are inserted into the lead wires have been blocked with beeswax, and the lead wires are placed separately in a wooden box next to them that is also sealed with beeswax. The lead is inserted into the projectile only just before combat.
However, a killing weapon is a killing weapon after all. It can kill enemies and also commit suicide. Once an accident occurs in the warehouse where the projectiles are stored, the consequences are unimaginable.
Rogge, Smith and others responded one after another and said they would immediately build a separate warehouse specifically to store projectiles.
Matt nodded and continued: "I watched your drill just now, and there were no obvious problems in other aspects. However, one grenade group actually let the fire go out at a critical moment. This would be very serious on the battlefield. A fatal mistake. "
"So from now on, the leader of the grenade team will be personally responsible for the fire, and the projectile fuse must be lit by him himself."
"Yes! Yes!" Rogge nodded repeatedly.
"By the way, you said that many soldiers are still unable to adapt to the loud noise. I have ordered Dennis to bring people to guide the soldiers. If they still cannot overcome their fear, I will kick them out of the grenadier company and send them back to the original team for a downgraded appointment. But in Before I declare the grenadier company to be officially put into operation, those who are removed from the grenadier company must undergo the strictest supervision by the inspector. "
"Also, let you think about the grenadier company tactics.是否有些眉目了？」
「大人，我们刚刚向作战部的卡扎克大人汇报了初步的思路。掷弹兵连队同弓弩队一样作为远程部队......」
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蒂涅茨东境安德马特堡南端，荒原与山地交界地带，一支庞大的驼队正在朝群山之中缓缓行进。
The camel team consists of sixty horses, twenty green mules, and more than thirty laborers and guards.
The goods carried by the camel team were mainly wheat, in addition to some cloth, bacon, dried meat and a small amount of luxury goods.
In addition to Art and his twenty-man Earl's Guard, traveling with the camel team were also accompanied by several escorts led by Baron Antayas and the mountain mercenaries who came down the mountain to join the Welsh Army last winter.
This small mercenary successfully passed the test of the Welsh Army after more than a month.
They are very hardworking and have a very brave and resolute character. The mountains are bitterly cold, and in recent years there have been constant wars between the Mountain Confederation and the Habsburgs in the east. These mercenaries are not weak in combat effectiveness. After obtaining the "exquisite" weapons and armor from the Welsh Legion, the combat power of these mercenaries was almost as good as that of the Welsh Legion soldiers.
This time the government brought a large amount of food supplies to visit the Mountain Confederation, so it was natural to bring these "locals" with them.
The team traveled through the winding roads in the mountains of the Mountain Confederation. The so-called roads were just some narrow mountain paths. In some places, they were even single-horse paths carved out of the cliffs.
“I used to think that Andermatt Castle was the most remote mountainous area, but compared with here, our place is simply a plain.” Antayas had already gotten off the horse, and the steep mountain road made the horse foam at the mouth from exhaustion.
"Oops~" Art straightened his waist slightly, letting his sore back from climbing uphill stretch for a moment.
"Antayas, I have seen terrain similar to this one. In the Earl of Longchal, the terrain there is also rugged enough, but in comparison, the mountain road of Earl of Longchal is not difficult."
Just as the two nobles stopped to rest, the "locals" quickly caught up from the rear team. While saluting Yate and saying hello, they loudly reminded the front of the camel team that they needed to pay attention to the falling rocks ahead and the landslide on the other side.
Antayas handed the mead he carried with him to Art and said with a smile: "Look, my lord, on the same mountain road, these mountain barbarians are as if they are on the plains ~ I have to be amazed."
At took the wine bag and took a big sip, "Last year I went to Paris for an audience, and a nobleman once asked me if there were still many uncivilized savages in the mountainous areas of Burgundy."
"In their eyes, we are just apes that have just become "humans"~" Art stopped laughing.
"I heard that there are rivers, lakes and pastures in the mountains. Maybe the top of the mountains is a different kind of scenery." Looking at the increasingly white snow-capped mountains, Art felt a little yearning in his heart.
"Let's go, let's go faster..."