The Technology of the Blackpowder Universe
"We thought the war would end by Sandrinolia, where the rest of us would return home and kiss the cheeks of those we loved. Now look at it, us soldiers become the unlikely pioneers of technology,"The Blackpowder War sees the mass production of weapons due to the extremely high demand from the military and its allies in its desperation to arm their troops on the field. This includes more standardized weapons for different sections of the military as well as innovations in the use of improvised weapons. What follows is the creation of more efficient rifles and experimental weapons such as the flamethrowers or the use of poisonous gas on the field. During the early years of the devastating war, casualties were high on both sides of the conflict. This is due to the ineffectiveness of old military tactics that clashed with the advancing technology at the time, resulting in long drawn out battles that lasted for months. One such example is the Battle of Gorkhun River where a large portion of Imperial troops were defeated after 3 months of fighting for the control of the water stream or the Battle of Galicia where the one year long stalemate was only broken when the Halsiegel Troops from the Empire was first deployed.Major Eisenfowl Bradwick, 32nd Tenebrine "Neckbreaker" Regiment
Trench warfare
Trench warfare becomes a significant part in the First Blackpowder War, the application of newly developed technologies, wide network of trenches and coupled with highly defended positions that often utilized machine guns made it extremely difficult to cross the lands between two opposing trenches which commonly leads to high casualty rates that numbered in the thousands. The existence of pillboxes - a small concrete blockhouse - that is often built across the trenches is used to deliver machine gun fire, providing sufficient support and defense for the infantry. Tunnel warfare also becomes the norm in the early years of the First Blackpowder War, utilizing sapper units to undermine enemy positions and plant explosives to destroy their entrenchment. As a countermeasure, sensitive listening posts are used to hear the sounds of digging and is a crucial part in defending their bases from underground attacks.Experimental weapons/equipment
It was during this time where many new inventions have been brought to the forefront of the world which would later be redesigned and repurposed for public use. The first of which is the experimental Power Armor that was first conceived for the initial iteration of the Shock Trooper Program, it has a great defense against firearms with its thick plating but with the high cost of production and terrible mobility, it was scrapped and undergo multiple redesigns for public use in the form of the Load Lifter Suits. Tanks were also first developed during this time. While it was first suggested as early as the 2200's during the Ember Conflict, authorities have little interest in its development until the the war began. With the need for breaking the stalemate battles that often drags for months or even years, heavily armored vehicles is conceived especially to cross over the treacherous No Man's Land.Jet packs/Jumppacks are created for the use of the Tenebrine Shock Troopers which allows for great mobility and while in its initial iterations are very crude and difficult to handle, the manufacturers soon refined it to perfection. Thus, the Urmanean Empire created their own jet packs to equip their special units with an extra mobility across the field, increasing their overall effectiveness on battles.
Other weapons such as the Augma Class Armaments are highly experimental, utilizing crystallized energy known as the Augma Shards. In traditional terms, the weapons that classified in this category are "energy weapons" that shoots high concentrated energy that are destructive in nature. One such example is the HV-230c Trident which is a rifle that can disintegrate anything it comes into contact with that was created by the Republic of Grecca during the final months of the war. But only 5 of those have been made and due to its devastating capabilities, its usage is prohibited across the world.
Tanks/Armored Warfare
"Boxes of steel, they were our homes. Kept us safe for days. But if one those Imp tanks took a good shot at us, this'd be our coffins - in iron, in blood. Well, I better have a proper pint before that happens then,"Tanks were first developed to break the stalemate across multiple points on the trench lines that stretched from coast to coast. It was the Sovereignty that first deployed these new weapons of war in the Second Battle of Branworth to retake the town from Imperial hands in 2337.Sergeant Cromwell "Warmonger" Adder, 2nd Armored Division
The Sovereignty of Tenebrine was the first to develop the armored vehicles for combat, utilizing high velocity cannons that fired explosive shells to deal with infantry. The first of which was the Griffin Types with one main cannon and equipped with four other machine guns to the side, firing .30 cal rounds to any approaching hostiles.
First seen in action during the aforementioned second battle for Branworth, it is an effective machinery that only take them 6 hours to reclaim the town from Imperial occupation - with smaller squads sent to eliminate any stragglers or to capture any soldiers that surrendered. As with all wars go, with the creation of the tanks came the arms race between the Sovereignty and the Empire to create a more powerful with each subsequent model that came next.
Poison gas and others
Poison gas were systematically in battle. First invented by the Urmanean Empire in their attempt to break the Siege at Fort Delos in 2337, it is proven to be very deadly as some variants can cause death in mere seconds when inhaled by a soldier who do not wear any protective gear such as gas masks. These includes phosgene, tear gas and mustard gas. But the most infamous of which was the Manticore Gas that is forst seen utilized during the Battle of Tythos in 2339 where it targets the Shock Troopers and immobilized those who are normal troopers.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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