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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:00 pm

Bill

Minor pedants' correction if I may be permitted one...section not platoon. Platoon is not in use at this stage.

Coy = Captains' command of 4 sections each of sgt (sect comd), cpl and 20 approx/variable number of ptes. Two x sections = half-company under a subaltern.

Regards as ever

Mike

Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 6:28 am

Mike

Yes, of course, I stand corrected.

That's what happens when a Sapper comments on Infantry things !

Bill

Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:59 am

Bill,

This where you get the terms 'Second Captain' - i.e. second in Command of a Company. And 'Senior Major' - as their two Majors per battalion, the senior one being nominally the battalion second in command.

Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:45 pm

Bill

It is as nothing to the confusion one gets when infanteers comment on engineering!!

Regards

Mike

Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 1:01 am

Thanks Bill, that explains alot but I'm still reserving some room for further cogitation! (You have set up a very decent set of rules for a war game by the way.)

Best

Michael

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 4:34 pm

Mike

Good to know you'd be interested in such a project. It'd be great if it was possible to get a combined documentary - Isandlwana/Rorke's Drift - in time for the 130th Anniversary of both battles. Very Happy

Coll

Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:29 am

Bill/ Mike
I go with your 1000 yards, or slightly less, at Ondourman the MH armed Sudanese battalions opened up at 800 yards, but were ordered to cease as the smoke obscured the target.

The main difference here between the two massed forces apposing is the terrain, Ondourman was like a snooker table, the Lee metford armed troops had opened up at 2000 yards and was cutting swathes through the Fuzzies.

I fired my Martini at 500 yards a few weeks ago, and I hit **** all, as the raised foresight obscured what I was actually shooting at. Zulus in open skirmish order would be very difficult to hit in the undulating ground. I think your a hit rate of only 1-2% at that 100 yard range, with 5% as the range closed.
One of these days I am going to get four or five MH shooters to aim at a sheild say at 500, 300 200 and 100 yards and we'll see what happens.

Mike can't you pull a few strings here?, if we could get to Brecon on the military range with flip up targets, Martini armed and volley firing and see the results?
Neil

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 9:39 am

Neil

Yes. Let me have a concrete proposal and I'll see what I can do.

Mike

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:55 am

Hi Mike.
glad you like the thought.
The Proposal would be, I could get a group of Martini shooters, all FAC holders, (myself included obviously and one for you of course) live firing, firstly in aimed volleys at targets at say, 500 metres, graduated at 300, 200 and closing to 100.
It is impossible to guage the results, sitting at a table at the 100 metres mark, at a fixed target, no pressure on a pleasant sunday morning.So, to make the thing realistic we would need to introduce a touch of pressure on the firer, (safety being the overriding issue). Military ranges with pop up and swivel targets to replicate a moving enemy are the only range to give any sense of realism.

We could carry out several hitertoo untried experiments, with the idea of prooving or disproving once and for all the effect of the Martini Henrys' in a slightly competetive environment, the results of which could help with some of the lastest written works, maybe get the whole thing on film.

Ideally competitors would be the 80th, the 1879 group and The Diehard members, wearing P1871 webbing, loading from ball bag, why not in uniform?. As realistic as we could get it.

Objectives.

1) the effect of controlled volley firing at these ranges, firing to a specific order by OC, to the original, load... present....
2) Independent fire at these ranges, but with timed intervals, to put a little pressure on the firer to aqquire and hit the target in a limited time zone.
3) The last and possibly most pressurised experiment of rapid firing at a quickly advancing target over a given time period.

The would to be to record the average hit rate, the accuracy to individual firing when timing is reduced, the effect of smoke on accuracy etc.

Ammo expanditure would be 30+ MH .450/.577 rounds per man, (an average sunday morning for me), I am sure the results would make some extremely interesting reading, and good to watch.
Regards
Neil

Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:43 pm

Yes Neil

Concept's fine but when, where, who, etc etc. Safety plan and so on. It will require formal correspondence from you to me even to kick off an outline proposal etc. Let's go offline if you want to take it ahead. But cautionary note...I might have time to faciltiate but not (at this busy juncture) to organize and run an event.

Mike