All the major European powers were concerned about the effectiveness of their artillery when facing each other, but this was less true of their colonial adventures. Often facing difficult terrain, smaller pieces – in fact mountain guns – were the preferred form of artillery in many cases, particularly since the native opposition usually had no artillery of their own. Such guns could be loaded onto pack animals and transported quite easily, being reassembled ready for firing when needed, but the artillery actually used for any particular campaign depended on the local circumstances as well as availability and other factors.
The mid 19th century saw considerable improvements in artillery, with the widespread introduction of rifling and breech-loading, making guns quicker to use and more accurate over longer distances. However not all were convinced of the virtues of breech-loading, and it did present problems of its own, so in the mid 1860s the British decided to revert to muzzle-loading guns, partly for reasons of simplicity and cost. By the end of that decade the usual gun for colonial warfare was the 7-pdr, a muzzle-loading mountain gun on a small carriage that was easier to handle in difficult terrain. However where the terrain was more open the standard British artillery piece of the day, the 9-pounder RML gun was found to be better suited,
Inhoud:
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24 Britse Koloniale soldaten
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4 9 pounder kanonen
Afmeting:
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23mm ( 1.66m)
