Martian Army Field Artillery Advice.
Now there is no hard and fast rules on how a Martian army would be armed but
using the original source books there is some guidance.
Most small city states wouldn’t have access to the latest human weapons in
general, especially artillery or vehicles that would use and carry them. Some
city states may even object to the use of such technology.
So it’s fair to say that traditional Martian artillery would be the back
bone of Martian armies. So for those who have yet to purchase a copy of the
source books for Space 1889 her is a brief rundown of the main types of Martian
Artillery.
Field Weapons-
Some of these are used by Clouldships and are more or less common in the skies
over Mars.
They are similar to human black powder weapons of the medieval period.
From Left to Right:
Light Guns. Which are most effective in the field in larger batteries.
Heavy Guns. Used normally in battery’s but have more range and power than
their smaller Light gun sisters. They are likely to be the most common field
canons for higher and middle level cities.
Rod Guns. Not common in the field but they are used for attacking
fortifications or emplacements firing a large metal rod.
Rouge Guns. The main siege breaking type of canon. Slow to reload, heavy and
slow to transport but city killers!
Lob Guns. The Grand Daddy of traditional of Martian artillery. Rare on the
field and not common in air conflict. Very heavy to move and expensive for a
city to produce and maintain.
Within this you could add some variants. For example a light multi-barred guns
which I’ve added to my poorer armies and classed it as a light gun. Useful
against infantry at closer range.
My examples are mainly War Games Foundry canons with the light gun and Lob Gun
coming from Games of War's pirates range parts of a Games Workshop Warhammer Empire
artillery kit (see example of construction/conversation on an earlier blog)
respectively.
Aerial Weapons-
Some of these are used by Clouldships and are more or less common in the skies
over Mars.
They are similar to human black powder weapons of the medieval period and
later.
Swivel Guns. Most traditional upper decked Martian ships would have these to
clear enemy boarding parties or to sweep enemy decks when in range.
Light Guns. They are likely to be the most common in the skies and used
below and above deck.
Heavy Guns. The number of these guns depend on the type of ship
they are firing from, effective used in broadsides.
Rod Guns. Not common in the field but they are used for attacking
fortifications or emplacements firing a large metal rod. More useful in the air
to remove an enemy’s ship from around them.
Rouge Guns. The main siege breaking type of canon. Slow to reload, heavy and
slow to transport but city killers! Some ships carry them but their weight
limits them to the number on board.
Lob Guns. The Grand Daddy of traditional of Martian artillery. Rare on the
field and not common in air conflict. Very heavy to move and expensive for a
city to produce and maintain. They are ship killers but their weight and
kickback can disrupt a vessel.
Within this you could add some variants. For example a flame canon. A left over
from more advanced days. Useful against Cloudships at closer range.
Advice on Game Play-
This depends on your style of play and the rules you are using. But if you’re looking for a more equal game I’d suggest the following. To the combat the more technologically advanced humans, mainly European artillery. Traditional Martian armies need to use superior numbers and good displacements to inflict maximum damage to earth armies and their artillery as quickly as possible even if this loses them in the first stages of the game. Once the “Red Devils” have a good bead on your gun positions they are likely to pick you off at their leisure.
Extract from
"Building a
Traditional Martian Army Space 1889 style Part 1"
This was not intended as a stand alone piece and my be added back into a larger piece I've been working on.Very much a work in progress. But like so many others things free time is a factor. The post is in response to a recent TMP thread.
