It's the late 1860s. You have been tasked with procuring arms for a new nation's Army and Militias. What are you equipping them with?For my Army I'll procure Peabody rifles and carbines in .43 Spanish, maybe a shock-dragoon brigade with Spencers. Revolvers are a tough choice, since there are loads of basically identical designs, so I guess gate-loading whatevers from Liege, officers will undoubtedly be required to purchase their own.Militias and reserve units will get Rolling Blocks, .43 Spanish, since they're recruit-proof. Probably dump a bunch of American surplus Colts on them, too. I'd also use some saved shekels to grab a few dozen Gatlings for fortress and garrison use, and keep an eye on exciting new products from Krupp.
listen OP it's a cool thread and a cool interest you have there, but basically nobody, even on /k/, knows about the global availability and selection of weapons in the 1860s specifically
>>62882431Everybody gets a Treuille-de-Beaulieu carbine and a sword bayonet that's literally a sword.
I would buy the cheapest thing that could be reliably sourced
>>62882431I'd easily go with the Rolling Block. Best of the single shots in terms of action strength, at least until the Sharps-Borchardt.The cartridge would be .40-50 Sharps Necked. It's pretty well regarded in BCPR shooting for its accuracy and lower recoil, so I think it'd be one of the better cartridges of the era to give to recruits who may not have shot a rifle before.Infantry would get the standard military Rolling Block with a 34" barrel, bayonet lug, and a carbine style rear sight with 100, 300, and 500 yard increments.Sharpshooter companies would receive the same rifle with 32" octagonal barrels, double set triggers, and Vernier tang sights.Cavalry would get a carbine similar to the Swedish 1870 with an 18" barrel, saddle ring, and flush fit front sight/barrel band.As for pistols, the Remington New Model Army would be the easiest and best to adopt. I'd probably just buy up surplus and overstock cap and ball revolvers rather than try to deal with any kind of new production cartridge conversions. If officers wanted a cartridge revolver, that would be on them for the foreseeable future.I'd also try to buy Winchester 1866s and distribute them to certain cavalry and infantry units as well as the marines of certain ships. Not enough to replace the Rolling Block, but enough to get the idea of repeaters rolling around within my nation.For artillery, I'd buy M1861 3 inch ordnance rifles and M1857 12 pounder Napoleons from the US. These weren't the best artillery around, but the 3 inch was very accurate and the Napoleon was strong and both were cheap and available. Hire some CS and US artillery officers to train my crews and I'd have a pretty competent arty corp, if a little bit outdated. Could buy some Armstrongs later on if the need arises.Finally, I am buying the CSS Stonewall before the Tokugawa do. She's a good ship that didn't deserve the scrapper.>>62882725Where do you think you are anon? Go back if you seriously think that.
>>62882929So what was the global availability of all the equipment there? How much did it cost compared to similar equipment?
>>62882945'Bout tree fiddy
>>62882929.40-50 Sharps Necked cartridge wasn't well-suited for military use. It was designed for short-range target shooting and medium-game hunting, rather than combat at range.
>>62882431Whatever I'd get would be chambered for the coolest cartridge ever:.50 Pontifical
>>62883002>PontificalAnon it's RIGHT THERE IN YOUR PICTURE
>>62882945Rolling Blocks were being adopted en masse all over the world at the time and were being bought by developing countries as well as European nations, so they were both available and affordable. Ordering a rifle in a custom cartridge was pretty much the standard of the day, so no issue with the .40-50 Sharps Necked which had just come out in 1869. Ammo would probably be purchased from the US unless my country was able to set up production itself.Turkey could afford Winchester 1866s in larger numbers than I would be buying them so no issues there either.Everything else was surplus from the US Civil War, including the CSS Stonewall.Don't know dollar amounts for all this of course, but don't really need to either.
>>62883006I will be cold in the ground before I utter a single syllable of It*lian
>>62882978Would have been better at it than .50-70 while having lower recoil and being more accurate at the same ranges. Most people in the 19th century didn't get much practice with their rifles anyways, so a lot of the advantages that better cartridges gave were wasted anyways.
>>62882431Assuming unlimited budget, standard weapon will be the Henry Rifle with a modification to allow a bayonet common for the time to be mounted. As soon as .45-70 lever guns show up start switching to those while keeping the Henry rifles as backup stock. Purchase the latest Springfield trapdoor rifles for marksmen. Standard sidearm would be the Remington New Model Army Revolver simply due to ease of reloading courtesy of it's ability to just swap the cylinders. For artillery buy Armstrong guns, Gatling guns, and Hotchkiss revolving cannons. Field uniforms would be a drab green or tan and be designed for function over looks.>MilitiaThe militia would be considered an "unorganized" militia for the most part. Each militiaman is responsible for procuring their own arms and equipment. The main difference between the modern US unorganized militia and this one would be registration and all registered members are required to report for bi-weekly trainings to ensure they are effective and cohesion with formal military units is possible. For mandatory training days militia are paid 75% the army's regular enlisted wage for the same period. Registering for militia service would be made to be seen as something you should take pride in.Assuming a limited and realistic budget, lots of rifled muskets and cheap older muzzle loading artillery. Probably buy a bunch of formerly confederate stock from the US if possible. Anything fancier would be bought in such low number it's not really worth mentioning and would only be given to specialists.
>>62883307Post civil-war America is the single greatest moment in firearm ownership. Big government contracts being cut short and liquidated to the common man, same with military clothing and supplies in brand new condition. Not to mention all of the surplus that would be circulating around.
