Napoleon in 1812

18. Reversal of alliance – 4

Nabot, who lived in this world, and Napoleon, who came from another world, had revealed big and small differences in many different areas. In particular, their personalities and values were very different. The two were complete opposite to the point where it was too much to explain.

Of course, they also had similarities. First of all, their appearance was almost the same, and their excellent military capabilities were similar.

However, if someone who knew the truth had said, ‘Both Napoleons are similar in that they both have excellent military capabilities’, Napoleon would have answered like this without hiding his unpleasant feelings.

‘He has similar military capabilities to me? That’s nonsense! How can the guy who got rid of the rifle unit because he was lazy to manage it be compared to me?’

The most decisive difference between Napoleon and Nabot in the military aspect was their understanding of military organization and their ability to accept new cultures, technologies, and tactics. To sum it up in one word… it was whether they had useless stubbornness or not.

The rifle, which had a steel wire dug, boasted a superior range and accuracy than the musket. But Nabot only saw the complexity and cost of the production process.

Although the rifle production was stopped and the rifle unit was disbanded because it was somewhat inappropriate in battle lines, their effectiveness had already been fully proven in numerous wars and battles.

In particular, the Iberian Peninsula War was a stage for all European countries to realize how terrifying the shooting of well-trained British riflemen was.

Under their sharp snipes, more French officers were killed than expected, which significantly reduced the French military’s operational capabilities on the peninsula.

Despite the fact that they had been hit hard by British rifle soldiers, and despite constant suggestions by the field’s generals and officers to develop rifle units to respond to it, Nabot did not break his stubbornness. To him, a rifle was a useless weapon, and it could be countered with enough muskets.

Britain realized the fear of rifles in the American Revolutionary War and quickly accepted it and added specialized rifle unit to its army organization.

On the other hand, France had been hampered by the development of the Great Army just because it had a leader who did not admit that he was wrong even though it had been thoroughly shown.

At this point, rumors should have been circulating that Nabot was actually a British spy. To be evaluated as similar to such a human being would be an insult and shame toward Napoleon.

Fortunately, unlike Nabot, Napoleon was not stubborn to the point of being taken for a British spy, and he was the first to create a new unit when the army was reorganized after the war. Naturally, it was a unit specializing in rifle handling.

“Incorporate the Tirailleur (shooter) battalion and Voltigeur (acrobat) battalion into the Chasseur (hunter) Regiment.[1] After that, they will be divided into new battalions and subdivided so that they can engage in different operations and missions according to their training performance.”

Napoleon originally had experience running rifle units in the world where he came from, so he was able to minimize the trials and errors he had to inevitably go through while organizing the new units.

By making the most of his memories, the Chasseur Regiment was reorganized like the one of the Revolutionary Republic, and its uniform was changed to a color that was favorable for cover.

The light infantry and skirmish-type units differed from the line infantry in the way they engaged in battle. They had scattered and covered formations instead of lined and dense ones, autonomous shooting instead of strict fire control, and thorough gunfights rather than hand-to-hand combat with bayonets…

Since they had to take on much more complex and diverse tasks, their leaders had to be able to operate troops on a unit basis.

Napoleon first assigned the officers of the Military Academy who had excellent improvisation abilities to the Chasseur Regiment. Four years had already passed since the reorganized Chasseur Regiment was born.

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“5th Battalion 17th platoon, ready! Aim… Fire!”

Tatata! Tatatata! Tata!

“Stop! 17th platoon, fall back! 18th platoon, get ready!”

The era of guns and cannons, which began in the 17th century, ripened even more maturely in the 19th century.

All infantrymen had to be able to show consistent movement under the strict command system of officers and non-commissioned officers, with a sufficient understanding of the formations and good performance.

But the best thing they had to do was to handle guns and scar the enemy’s heart.

‘Firing is only for the fighting spirit! After the bayonet charge, the hand-to-hand is the most important virtue for the infantry corps!’

In the past, when the hit rate and killing ability of firearms were weak, this doctrine was used, but it was a thing of the past. Now, battlefield infantry and grenadiers, who were engaged in close-quarter combat with the enemy, also received systematic shooting training to aim accurately.

The rifle units, whose ability to handle guns was much more important than them, had to conduct at least three times as much live shooting training. It was time to show the results of their hard-working training in front of Napoleon. The next Chasseurs prepared to shoot.

Soldiers lifted their rifles at a distance of 150m toward a target of 25cm x 25cm. They aimed and fired in accordance with the order and signal of the officer. Along with the sound of gunshots, the smoke leaking from the rifles covered the field.

The current shooting range was intentionally installed in a windy place, so the smoke quickly went away. Soon after, each target pierced by the bullets appeared.

Napoleon and the senior officers were staying far from the shooting range. From there, it was not easy to know whether they hit the targets or not, even when looking through a telescope.

Nevertheless, Napoleon did not hide his pleased face. This was because he was able to feel confidence from the Chasseur Regiment preparing to fire.

It was a belief in oneself that only those who tried hard enough could have. It was also an essential virtue for elite soldiers.

“Great! You’ve grown steadily even though I didn’t care enough about you! You have worked hard, my men.”

“No! It’s all thanks to the grace of Your Majesty!”

“It’s an honor to finally repay Your Majesty the Great Emperor for what you have done!”

As he skimmed through the shy flattery of the officers running around with joy, Napoleon looked at the results of the shots brought by the non-commissioned officers.

Confidence was good, but he needed to check their performance. There were a few Chasseur units that had yet to finish the shooting demonstration, but he could still get an approximate average of their accuracy. When he checked with his own eyes, half of the targets had been hit and half of them seemed to have been missed.

In order not to bring shame to the name of the rifle unit, 200m targets had to have a hit rate of at least 60% and 300m targets of at least 25%.

This was the minimum standard for organizing a rifle unit. For reference, the standard of the British military that had the best shooting skills in all Europe was higher than this.

However, now, even with 150m targets, which were much closer, only a 50% hit rate was barely achieved, so it could be said to be a very pathetic result for Napoleon’s ambitious unit.

Nevertheless, Napoleon showed a satisfied face. The officers next to him also looked proud of the achievements of their subordinates.

Why were they reacting like this? The reason was the guns held by the Chasseur Regiment currently practicing shooting on the field.

The chasseurs were holding a very old-fashioned rifle that was far worse than the Versailles rifle handled by French rifle soldiers in the past, which was not much better than the Italian muskets.

Although the rifle unit was established, it was difficult to obtain rifles for them because Nabot had turned all the factories that were producing rifles into muskets factories. Moreover, the design and patents for the Versailles rifles had been sold to other countries.

Inevitably, they had to produce a rifle exclusively for shooting practice, changing only a bit the old-fashioned model by adding a new launch device. That was what the Chasseur Regiment was holding right now.

‘If the shooting rate is this high even with that antique thing, then of course they will show a much greater firepower and accuracy with the new rifles, which the Empire’s engineers have put their heart and soul into. Thanks to Nabot, the sandbag effect will definitely be seen.’

Napoleon and the officers were not satisfied with the poor shooting accuracy of the old rifles. The biggest drawback of a rifle with deep steel wires was that it took a lot of strength and time to push ammunition deep into the chamber.

To solve this problem, the Ministry of War and Industry of the Empire was currently suggesting that bullets should be dug in advance (like bolts and nuts) to engage with steel wires.

The new rifle was an improved version of the British-made Baker rifle, which was currently considered the best, adapted to the French style reflecting the latest trends.

For this reason, it could be said that it was a revolutionary weapon that Napoleon and the main figures of the Imperial Army had been waiting for, although it was still confidential.

“The shooting skills of the Chasseurs have definitely improved a lot compared to before. However, there is still room for further development in my eyes.”

“Your Majesty’s opinion is very reasonable.”

“What can’t our soldiers do better than those islanders? Like the famous green coats, we can train masters of shooting and snipers. To this end, I will spare no support.”

Officers were slightly wary of Napoleon’s words. One of them proudly expressed his opinion.

“I am Major Lexington of the 12th Battalion. The Empire’s soldiers are much stronger, faster and more loyal than the islanders. Under the same conditions, of course, the soldiers of the Empire will do better. However, shooting is an individual capability that each soldier needs to improve as much as they can by thoroughly investing time and effort. For this, there is nothing better for the Chasseurs than shooting practice.”

In other words, he was asking for more support such as ammunition and rifles to add to the shooting practice. Napoleon had given generous support to the Chasseur Regiment so far and was producing new rifles with a large amount of money, but he had not been able to deliver as much ammunition as he intended.

The reason was simple. This was because France was not a country rich in gunpowder. The main ingredients of gunpowder were sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate).

Sulfur and charcoal were easily available, but the problem was the saltpeter, which was a resource that could only be extracted in India, China, and South America. Britain, which was holding tightly to the Asian trade, did not sell any saltpeter to its potential enemy, France.

Eventually, France had to purchase saltpeter from Spain, and to South American countries currently at war for their independence.

Rifles were not the only ones consuming gunpowder. Canons such as field artillery, siege guns, and fortress cannons also ate a lot of gunpowder. The place of purchase was limited and there were many places to use, so no matter how generous Napoleon was, he could not easily promise such support.

‘But this is now a thing of the past.’

Napoleon usually chewed Nabot as usual, but there was one thing that Nabot did really well enough to meet his high standards. The fact that he actively invested in chemistry, manufacturing, and war supply production.

Realizing that the supply of gunpowder was too scarce to continue the war, Nabot had trained chemists and geologists across the country to obtain saltpeter, and precisely the potassium nitrate component contained in it.

Competent French scientists found a way to produce potassium nitrate by cultivating a nitride bacteria in organic-rich soil.

Nabot gave Bernard Courtois and Jean-Antoine Chaptal[2], who formalized the process, great awards and titles of nobility, and spared no support for mass production. The investment at that time was only seeing the light now.

Although its quality was inferior to that of gunpowder produced from saltpeter and there was a risk of explosion, perhaps because of impurities, the fact that gunpowder could be produced without relying on foreign trade was enough to offset these downsides.

Napoleon, determined to use a significant portion of the amount produced by the gunpowder factory here, nodded at the demand.

“You have the right to ask me proudly. Didn’t you manage to train such great and elite soldiers with third-class rifles and limited resources? I will accept Major Lexington’s request.”

“It, it’s an honor, Your Majesty!”

While the officers showed extreme courtesy, Napoleon watched the Chasseurs, who were still shooting. In the future ‘Great War’, they would be given large and small missions and would create different tactical values.

He had already thought about the operational techniques of the Chasseurs. Napoleon was convinced that their skills combined with the new rifles would shine splendidly. Thanks to both Napoleons, France was able to steadily supply gunpowder even when the sea routes were blocked.

TL notes

[1] Chasseur, Tirailleur, Voltigeur