Outskirts of Fort Arltrees, El Oleonda, April 622

Hills and mountains have always represented a difficult obstacle for armies: roads are bad and too narrow for baggage trains, or they do not exist at all. Moreover, the difficult terrain tires the man quickly, and can easily injure the horses. For these reasons, generals avoid mountain ranges whenever possible.

Sometimes, however, it is simply not possible: a mountain range crosses El Oleonda from East to West, and any alternative path from Fort Arltrees to Jiangkai would require weeks of difficult march across the jungle.

In Fort Arltrees, a new company was specifically formed to move and fight on the difficult high grounds of El Oleonda interior. The unit is equipped with light cannons that can be disassembled and transported on mules, together with all the equipment required to set up a battery. 

Both the artillerymen and the chasseurs (the light infantry accompanying the cannons) were recruited among the colonists coming from mountain regions of Oleon, and also include a few Altonian immigrants. These men spent their whole life walking along the mountain trails, leading their cows on the high meadows or carrying goods from a tiny village to another one: thus, they are renowned for their endurance and for their autonomy.

As in their daily life in the motherland, the bluecoats can rely on a robust breed of Oleander mules to carry weights up and down the mountains... in this case cannons and supplies, instead of wood or salt! Stronger and less delicate than horses, they can deal with mountain trails without problems. Some mules are also equipped with a saddle, and can be riddden by the soldiers in case of need: they may not be as elegant as thoroughbred Guelphian horses, but still mules represent invaluable companions for Oleander mountain infantry.

The cannons can be quickly unloaded and assembled by the gun crew itself: even the barrel can be lifted by a few men with arm strength. Gunpowder and ammunition are kept in small hemp bags instead of the usual kegs and cases: when you have to carry everything for hours up a steep slope, reducing the weight and the size of the loads is paramount.
In a quarter of an hour, a battery of 6-pounder cannons can be placed almost anywhere... in any skirmish with the Lotii, no matter where, Oleon can now rely on its cannons!

Artillerymen with a disassembled cannon (loaded on mules), and chasseurs (right), one of the specialties of Oleander light infantry.

The cannon after assembly, and the artillery crew.

OOC, the cannon design is very simple. However, all the parts can effectively be loaded on the mules.

Overall view:

Troop raising build for Fort Arltrees (1 company of mountain artillery).

Edited April 3, 20222 yr by Keymonus

WIP!?! There's more?!? Marvelous. I really don't have words for how much I enjoy this so...

I like the use of the old horse piece for the mules, it's also cool that you showed the cannon both on and off the mule

9 minutes ago, Jeff of Clubs said:

WIP!?! There's more?!? Marvelous. I really don't have words for how much I enjoy this so...

Thanks!  The build is done, but I’m still working a little on the story!

14 minutes ago, Justsomebrix said:

I like the use of the old horse piece for the mules, it's also cool that you showed the cannon both on and off the mule

Thanks! I saw a drawing of mountain artillery on mules and I wanted to try something similar!  

Now you are the "Man with the Golden Gun Cannon" 

Spoiler

(That was the title of a 1970s James Bond movie)

 

Smart idea! This unit can transport its cannons to hard-to-reach and strategically important positions. I really like the landscape and the soldiers with their transport horses.

Thank you all guys! This unit was inspired by mountain infantry units, that often used mules to carry their weapons and supplies. In Italy, they were extensively employed on the Alpine front during WWI (later than our timeframe), where Italian Alpini and Austrian Kaiserjaeger fought each other on high mountains.

22 hours ago, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Now you are the "Man with the Golden Gun Cannon" 

  Reveal hidden contents

(That was the title of a 1970s James Bond movie)

 

   The unforgettable Scaramanga! 

Very nice!

Love the base you made with the altitude and the vegation. Excellent process of packing and unpacking the mule. so a big hooray!

Well erm a big hooray as long as they stay in El Oleonda hahaha