Hit by a cannonball!

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That hurts just looking at it!

I remember reading that Wellington has the British troops lay down in formation when not in direct combat. Because getting hit by stray cannon balls was an common occurrence! Your unit could be in reserve and behind a shot hill, and wham a cannon ball passes through you formation. Unlike this breastplate the angle would be downward.

I know from other sources, One inch Grape Shot, fired at 10 or 15 yards into charging infantry, could pass through 10 or more men. (during US Civil War) And there was a spent 8" cannon ball still rolling through a rear area that ripped a southern soldier's leg off. Nasty Stuff!!

Ivan
 
I took this photo at the Waterloo Lions Mound battlefield monument this summer. This was a re-enactors area that had staged cannon and scattered pieces of a similar suit of armor on the ground.

Waterloo.jpg
 
Kurusu said:
Not in cavalry. They weren't called "cuirassiers" for nothing.:D
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Indeed. The British heavy cavalry had shed the classic knightly accoutrements by that time, but the French cuirassiers did retain the impressive helmet and metal cuirass.

Not much protection against bullets, but probably of some use against edged weapons when fighting other cavalry.

Plus, one needs to remember that the main purpose of heavy cavalry was not so much to fight cavalry, but terrorize infantry, and the impressive appearance of the shining armor had a likely psychological effect. That it also made for a highly visible target to aim at mattered little at a time when line infantry didn't really aim their muskets except in the general direction of the enemy.

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"And there was a spent 8" cannon ball still rolling through a rear area that ripped a southern soldier's leg off. Nasty Stuff!!"

I have read accounts that more than one southern soldier experienced such a battlefield amputation from a rolling cannon ball. And probably some Yankee soldiers also. The story goes that some soldiers wanted a minor injury so that they could be sent to the rear, avoiding further combat risks. So when a soldier so inclined saw a rolling cannonball approaching, he might stick his foot out to let it hit his foot. Unfortunately, his foot, or maybe even his entire leg, was ripped off. Not quite the million dollar wound he expected.
 
This is one aspect that many historical war movies get wrong, including about the Civil War.

The clip below is a good example. By the time “Glory” was made, they’d come a long way in terms of authenticity of uniforms, equipment, and weapons; I used to know some reenactors who participated in that.

But as the big guns fire, the fire-and-dirt mushrooms erupt among the troops as if they’d shot explosive shells, like in a WW II film. In reality, most field artillery in the Civil War (and before) fired low-velocity solid round shot which soldiers could actually see in flight. The exception was canister shot at very close distances, and mortars; on the latter, a fuse was lit by hand before the main charge launched the projectile.

Not until the arrival of breech-loading cannons did pre-manufactured shells with impact fuses become common. And then the famous French 75, the first field gun with a recoiling barrel around 1898, made high-velocity long-range fire possible.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lJiMlgvygvc[/ame]
 
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The recoiling barrel concept of the French 75 (first adopted by the French Army in 1898) was so effective that for some time afterward it was considered a military secret. I have some fairly detailed drawings showing how the hydropneumatic recoil control mechanism was designed to operate, and variations of it have been used for artillery ever since. Its great value was that a field artillery piece, once in position, did not have to be manually wrestled back into firing position after each round was fired, which increased the firing rate dramatically. As was the case for machine guns, the U. S. Army was woefully behind the French learning curve in the deployment and use of field artillery pieces, and it was forced to use the French 75 during WWI, just as many American Doughboys had to use French machine guns, for lack of any significant numbers of American MGs. There were only a few hundred MGs in service at the time of the U. S. Army's entry into the war in early 1917, and most of those (such as the Benet-Mercier and the Browning 1895) that it did have were obsolete designs in comparison to the German Maxims. It wasn't until almost Armistice Day that better American MGs (such as the Browning M1917 and the BAR) became available in quantity for U. S. combat service.
 
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In Germany, as a child, I saw armor, a heavy breast plate, with a bullet dent in it.

I recall reading, or learning, long ago that armor became impractically heavy — that if the guy wearing it fell off his horse he could not get up — when it needed to become so thick as to protect against bullets.

Not sure if that is historical fact or just speculation, but I do recall it.
 
"In Germany, as a child, I saw armor, a heavy breast plate, with a bullet dent in it."

During WWI, many German machine gunners were equipped with heavy steel breastplates and head and face protectors which attached to their helmets. That helped survival, as the trench lines were fairly static, and the machine gunners were fixed in defensive positions and didn't have much to do other than to sit behind their MGs and pull the trigger. On one of the recent "Pawn Stars" episodes, some guy brought in an American armored helmet which was intended to meet much the same purpose. I believe it was said that they were manufactured by Ford. But apparently most of them didn't get into action.
 
Onomea said:
In Germany, as a child, I saw armor, a heavy breast plate, with a bullet dent in it.

I recall reading, or learning, long ago that armor became impractically heavy — that if the guy wearing it fell off his horse he could not get up — when it needed to become so thick as to protect against bullets.

Not sure if that is historical fact or just speculation, but I do recall it.
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Seems more like speculation to me. After all, wasn't the .357 developed at least in part because 38 special didn't reliably penetrate automotive glass & sheet metal? Even back in the 30's the soft steel sheet metal car doors were made from weren't nearly as thick as what you're suggesting the armor was or would have to be.

Seems to me that even the large and heavy projectiles they shot out of the old black powder muskets wouldn't have tremendous penetration, because they were such low velocity rounds. They'd have a lot of knock-down power, being so heavy, and they'd likely tear an unprotected arm or leg off, but in terms of penetrating armor, not so much.

But that is pretty much speculation on my part...
 
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I seem to remember a pic of a 75mm gun crew with one shell on the way, one man ready to load and the first shell being tossed on a rather large pile of spent 75mm shell cases. I don't recall the firing rate of the 75 mm cannon but have heard of approximately 75 rounds for the first minute and a slower rate of fire thereafter. Truly a deadly combination what with the firepower and accuracy. Frank
 
Ah, "The Professionals" with Lee Marvin and
Burt Lancaster where Woody Strode with his
dynamite tipped arrows was to make it seem
like French 75s were being used. That's the
effect Marvin said he wanted.
 
Frank46 said:
I seem to remember a pic of a 75mm gun crew with one shell on the way, one man ready to load and the first shell being tossed on a rather large pile of spent 75mm shell cases. I don't recall the firing rate of the 75 mm cannon but have heard of approximately 75 rounds for the first minute and a slower rate of fire thereafter. Truly a deadly combination what with the firepower and accuracy. Frank
Click to expand...

That rate of fire seems a bit high. More than 1 shot per second?

Kevin
 
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