In the end, Most wrote a note for Claude to collect 28 aubass mark 3 muskets from the armaments department of the logistics department.
Apart from the nine normal men and the eight slow-witted men, Claude, the four nobles and Myjack were all given one of those guns.
The five extra muskets were requested by Claude in the name of replacing broken ones during training. He had to pester Second Lieutenant Most for a long time before he agreed to it.
With the muskets, Claude began personally training the new recruits. He did away with the so-called formation training.
The main training was to stand at attention and salute. After that, they had to familiarize themselves with the gun and master the essentials of aiming and shooting. After that, they had to practice the movements of loading and loading the ammunition. Finally, they had to shoot at the target.
After everything went according to plan, Claude dug a tunnel in the courtyard and built a short wall. He had the soldiers hide in it or lie on the ground in a cramped space. They had to practice loading their guns and aiming while lying on their sides or on their stomachs in awkward positions.
The seventeen new recruits, four nobles, the sixteen-year-old Myjack, and Claude himself were all rolling around on the ground with his face covered in dirt.
Not only did they have to bathe every day, but they also had to wash their uniforms every two to three days. The four nobles protested. They said that they had never seen or heard of such training.
Claude shut them up with a single sentence. "This kind of training will help you keep your lives on the battlefield."
Reality had proven that equipping the Aubass mark 3 standard musket, or the tilted neck musket, to those so-called strong veteran combat squads was a huge mistake.
The veterans' mindset was already set in stone. Their long training had made them used to marching in formation and firing at the same time. The accuracy of the muskets wasn't that important to them.
Although they admitted that using a gun with a crooked neck would increase the accuracy of their shots, they were not used to moving the cartridge, pan cover, and matchlock handle to the right side. They felt that it did not look as good as it did on the back of the gun.
The part that protruded from the right side of the gun looked rather uncoordinated and unsightly, so they weren't willing to use it.
Claude's recruits, on the other hand, had no experience with muskets. To them, it didn't matter if the muskets looked good or not. What mattered was that they would feel a sense of satisfaction and joy every time they hit a target during training.
Even the four nobles were no exception. Given their declining families, they couldn't afford to play with muskets at home. Even if they did, they wouldn't be allowed to take them out for shooting practice.
The only thing that didn't make them happy was the practice of loading and reloading. They either had to lie on the ground, hide in holes or hide behind boulders.
Under such circumstances, it was indeed very difficult to reload a gun.
However, Claude was the one who grasped this the tightest. He would often stand at the side with a whip and count. If the time limit was exceeded, he would lash out.
Even though the recruits in the camp had to load and reload while standing, everyone had seen it before.
But Claude said, "It's up to them if they want to stand there and let their enemies shoot at them. As my men, I have to be responsible for your lives and I won't let you die so easily on the battlefield.
But just because you don't die doesn't mean you don't have to kill the enemy. Hiding doesn't mean you can escape. "
After hearing that, everyone understood why Claude wanted them to train like that. Their own shooting training had taught them how foolish it was to stand there and let the enemy shoot at them.
While it was troublesome and inconvenient to load and reload on the ground, it wasn't as if they couldn't do so.
Also, hiding in the tunnels would make it harder for the enemy to hit them. That way, they could hide and slowly aim at the enemies in their field of vision.
Before the start of the rainy season, Claude had the soldiers tear down one of the walls of the courtyard and had them build two large sheds about a hundred meters apart.
In order to build the two wooden sheds, Claude went to the logistics department and had a long chat with Captain Cantaya. In the end, he managed to get the necessary construction materials in the name of training supplies.
The two wooden sheds were built for training. The larger shed was for the soldiers to train in loading and aiming. However, they all had to lie on the ground covered with straw mats.
The small wooden shed was used for setting up targets. The original human-shaped targets were all privately funded by Claude to Gourneygada to print nearly a thousand of them. Then, he used the leftover wood from the shed to make 20 human-shaped half-body targets to stick on. That was all he needed for training.
During the rainy season in April, most of Bluefeather's new recruit training had been stopped. The soldiers hid in their tents and played cards and chess, waiting for the rainy season to pass in boredom.
However, in the courtyard behind the infirmary, Claude was in charge of the new recruit training was still in full swing. Every now and then, the sound of gunfire could be heard.
If a match wasn't lit, while loading on the ground was difficult and troublesome, there was no chance of a misfire.
On the battlefield, however, matches were usually lit. Loading a gun while standing was both convenient and safe. Even if there was a chance of a misfire, the gun would be aimed at the sky.
However, Claude asked the soldiers to get down on the ground and reload their guns. When the match was lit, they had to pay attention to where the muzzle was aimed.
Claude wanted them to aim at the empty space in front of the infirmary and not have the habit of firing horizontally to avoid hitting their comrades.
At the end of the fourth month, Most paid a visit to the infirmary. The marksmanship training that Claude was giving his men had alarmed the battalion. Their rate of gunpowder consumption was three to four times that of the other combat squads, so Most had no choice but to come and check on it.
"Your soldiers actually fire more than 50 times a day?"
Most was shocked. He looked at the gunpowder consumption form and the results of the soldiers' marksmanship training and couldn't believe it.
It was important to note that other combat squads would not fire more than 20 times a day even when they were training to march in formation and fire together.
Claude's soldiers had to fire more than 50 times a day. That was inconceivable.
In particular, the higher-ups were well aware of what kind of trash the recruits on his side were.
"You can go and see the results of my soldiers' training," Claude said proudly.
So, Most followed Claude to the courtyard where the two of them trained.
After the shooting, Claude had Berklin and Myjack, who were checking the results in the shed, put on their ponchos and brought the new target papers over for Most to check.
"Eleven nine-ringed, five ten-ringed, three eight-ringed and one seven-ringed. What do you think of the results?" Claude asked.
It wasn't just the nine normal squad and eight slow squad that fired. Aboyev, Moriad and Dyavid were also involved.
The one with the worst result was Aboyev. He was the one who shot the seven-ringed target.
Most looked at the target papers curiously. The question he asked had nothing to do with the results. "Why did you make the soldiers lie on the ground and shoot?
Why did you make the stretcher-bearers stand at the back? It's not like they're armed.
Also, where did these target papers come from? "
Claude had no choice but to explain that the soldiers couldn't train to fire in formation.
As for the stretcher-bearers, Claude had them stand behind the shed so they could get used to the sound of guns being fired. That way, they wouldn't panic and run around on the battlefield.
He had wanted to train them to carry stretcher-bearers, but they had to stop due to the rainy season.
The target papers were privately printed with his own money. It wasn't expensive, costing him only a crown or so.
While Most was interested in Claude's private target papers, he didn't have any intention of using them in camp training.
It was simple. The targets used for firing in formation were human-shaped wooden targets. That way, the area of effect of each shot could be estimated based on the marks on the targets. What was used was to deal damage to the enemy within the maximum range of the gun. There was no need for accuracy.
"These soldiers of yours have very high accuracy in shooting. As the guards of the treatment center, they have already met the requirements.
I personally think you can stop training them. There's no need to waste any more gunpowder.
The officer in charge of gunpowder in the logistics department, Second Lieutenant Carlos, has already sent two reports to us, asking us to investigate and punish you for wasting gunpowder and bullets, "Most tactfully concluded.
Ever since everyone knew that Claude was backed by Baroness Maria, who was deeply trusted by the king, most of the officers didn't want to have anything to do with him. They didn't want to offend him and make their superiors worry.
Otherwise, Claude and Kantaya wouldn't have been able to get their requests for materials to build the two wooden sheds so easily. Their requests for gunpowder from Second Lieutenant Carlos were also met, mainly because they didn't want to offend Claude over such a small matter.
Not to mention, Claude had a legitimate reason for doing so. It was to train the soldiers and not to stuff his own pockets. The results were there for all to see and no one could say anything about it.
Claude could only smile bitterly. Why was it so hard for him to do something? But there was nothing he could do about it. The soldiers of this era didn't have the concept that sharpshooters relied on bullets, or rather, gunpowder and bullets.
They were used to lining up and shooting at the enemy. They relied on marching in formation within firing range to kill and injure the enemy. Then, they would use the lives of their soldiers to face the enemy's artillery fire and stride forward until they launched a charge and engaged in a life and death battle with the enemy to obtain victory.
Every time they won a battle, countless young soldiers would die on the battlefield, becoming cannon fodder that no one cared about.
The victors could even count how many soldiers they sacrificed and how many families they had to compensate.
On the other hand, the losers could only estimate how many soldiers they had lost. As for their names and families, it was not important. Sometimes, in order to retreat, they would even burn the corpses of these sacrificed soldiers so that they would completely disappear from this world.
At the very least, he wanted to change the way some of them fought. "The shooting training I gave them isn't just for them to be on patrol duty. I want them to have strong offensive and defensive capabilities.
If you don't believe me, when the weather is clear, we can have a field drill to test the offensive and defensive capabilities of my soldiers. "
Most's interest was piqued. "You're saying that you're confident you can win if your soldiers go against a combat squad?"
Claude shook his head. "You're wrong. It's not a combat squad, it's a platoon. It'd be best if they have a cannon."
"Are you crazy?
You only have around twenty men, not even enough for two full squads. Where do you get your confidence from? "Most was shocked.
"I have the confidence to win. You can test it out and see if I'm bragging or not. However, I have a condition. Before the field confrontation exercise, you have to get Second Lieutenant Cross to provide me with the gunpowder and guns I need for shooting practice.
If we fail, I'm willing to use my own money to make up for the cost of the gunpowder and guns we used, "Claude promised.
Most looked into Claude's eyes and saw that his gaze was firm and confident. He nodded slowly. "Alright, I can relay your request to Kloss. But when the weather clears up, I'll ask the battalion to conduct the drill. I hope you won't make a fool of yourself."
"I promise I'll surprise you," Claude said with a smile.