"Ammunition as a limiting Factor?" Topic

I recently read a set of "pike and shot" rules that limit the number of shots that an infantry unit can take in a game and which prohibit a foot unit from closing to hand to hand until all ammunition is expended.

The author explains that infantry in this period often ran out of ammunition as all they carried was the powder in their "twelve apostles"

While I've heard of the "twelve apostles" I've never read that infantry ran out of ammo more frequently than in other periods or that infantry wouldn't close except as a last resort ( ie when the ammo is gone)

Thoughts please? Citations would be welcome.

Thanks

"For King & Parliament" has ammunition, but it is used for long range or effective short range fire. Once "out of ammo" units may still fire, but less effectively and only at short range.

Musketeers in British conflicts were issued one pound of powder and one pound of lead. Depending upon the bore of the musket they got 12,14 or 16 shots from that (the most popular bore of muskets used, 12 being the commonest). As for the term "apostle", they are properly called chargers or charges. The term apostle appears to have been Victorian romanticism attempting to see symbolism in 12 bore muskets having 12 chargers on a bandolier (their imagery is flawed when it comes to 14 or 16 bore muskets). Contemporary references only refer to chargers and bandoliers (e.g. contract for purchase of bandoliers for the New Modelled Army 1645). Apart from their priming flask, that is all the powder they carried.

Resupplying a company of musketeers would take some time I imagine. Each individual being given their pound of powder, then carefully refilling each charger. That assumes they don't have to then cast their own shot.

I don't know of any contemporaneous commentary mentioning resupply in the middle of fighting, powder supplies appear to have been kept well to the rear. Nor do I recall ever reading that musketeers didn't fight hand to hand until their powder and shot supplies were used up. I would have thought that such a command would be mentioned in the drill manuals of the day.

Perhaps it is just a way to prevent shooting at everything that moves, at ineffective ranges, etc.

Resupplying troops with loose gunpowder in the midst of a firefight when the troops are armed with matchlocks with lit matches might be a bit awkward. IIRC troops guarding ammo trains and the like in the ECW were armed with flintlocks to prevent explosive accidents.

This probably refers to the One Hour Pike and Shot rules. It is a game mechanism to encourage a firefight followed by the push of Pike. It works rather well.

Clearly some battles included very lengthy exchanges of musketry, eg Edgehill, so there must have been some sort of mechanism for resupply. I do recall reading an account of a battle where infantry were resupplied with powder from a "budge barrel", but unfortunately I can't recall which one!

This probably refers to the One Hour Pike and Shot rules. It is a game mechanism to encourage a firefight followed by the push of Pike. It works rather well.

Bingo!

Not quarreling with it as a game mechanic. Just wondering about the author's explanation.

I tend to think of it more as a morale test, have they fired enough to work up the courage to charge? It is similar to his nineteenth century rules where you can only charge if you've inflicted more hits on the enemy.

Montrose's forces were often short of powder, and this could have been a contributory factor to the ‘salve and charge' approach. No point having a firefight when you are short of powder. I can see the point of limiting powder in games, but it might be a bit restrictive if all troops couldn't charge until they had used all of their powder. Interesting mechanism though.

There is an account, from Worcester 1651, of a Scottish musketeer unfortunately blowing himself up when recharging his bandolier with powder mid-battle. He had filled his bonnet from the powder barrel with enough to refill his bandolier, but on returning to his post he thrust his hand holding his lit match cord in to his bonnet without thinking. This was perhaps more of a siege situation than an open battle.