Fortress Cannon in Peacetime: Active or Stood-down

What with Lockdown and being on furlough...and using working on the games as a reason not to do the gardening or DIY 24/7...I have been thinking about fortress cannon.

What are people's thoughts on fortress cannon in peacetime. Do you keep them active in your fortresses or do you have them stood down? I do tend to keep them active but thinking about it (and lets be honest, a lot of us have a lot of extra time to think at the moment), is that wise? If I'm at peace do I need 1,000 men manning 100 fortress cannon...could I not stand 900 down (and use to support trade through the cantonment system?) and have 100 men doing caretaker roles?

Obviously would mean extra orders if I end up at war but could save money on running costs.

What do others do?

Well, I believe you could do a mix, keeping the key positions were you might expect an attack active and drilled, and put into cantonement the “second” and “third” defensive line.

For example, you could keep active a fortress on the borders with a known enemy, or near a strategic strait, and stood down those internal.

Thanks, that's a good idea

If you want to play a position in a strictly historic manner then in peace time most fortress guns were dismounted and went into special sheds to protect them from the weather.

Governments tended to keep a very, very reduced artillery establishment (mostly officers and NCO's) in being so fire salutes, look after equipment, provide fire work displays (see write up of Albert Borgard p27 Glory and Aergument) and provide some type of basis for expansion to war time strength if required.

In order to balance realism with game play so you do not get caught out by any sudden attacks why not have 25 FC as a coastal battery (and 75 FC stood down) to defend ports from Naval attack & say active 10 FC for inland locations.

Combine this with some Border Patrols of Light Horse or Dragoons and standing orders to muster stood down units when Boarder Patrols give warning of hostiles crossing the border. Basically someone slaming the cuts shut and a few cannon rounds will put off most raids while if foe shows up with full siege tryne you may get everyone into action before walls breached.

Personally, I just pay my fortress gunners and assume only a few are on duty at any one time while the rest are off doing their own thing (bit like TanK Regiment officers in the Skiing season)

Thanks Stuart, think a combination of yours and Nexus' ideas would work best. It's really for positions like Scotland where I have relatively high numbers of fortress cannon and limited resources so not having all cannon active is financially beneficial and historically accurate

Jason2 wrote:What with Lockdown and being on furlough...and using working on the games as a reason not to do the gardening or DIY 24/7...I have been thinking about fortress cannon.

What do others do?  

Still working full time (plus) so can put off finding a reason not to paint the garden fence until the weekend.

But latest tactic is thinking about "gaiters" instead.....In the Miscellany it says they can be developed by a Infantry Academy but my feeling is that they would have developed first as a civilian fashion to protect expensive silk stockings from mud and water damage when you were out and about.

Gaiters would then have been picked up by trendy and fashionable elements in the military so same reasons of protecting their stockings from damage and keeping their feet dry........but probably without fancy stitching and the roses all down the side. Apart from Regiments who have the rose as a Regimental sybol.

Would £5 each cover Gaiters with Regimental Crest down the side? (Sounds like one of the Doge of Genoa mistresses in G10 - "Little Hapsburg Eagles all down side")

By the time this lock down ends think Richard is going to get some really weird orders.

A Opera about Corsairs anyone?

From what I recall gaiters started out as a riding accessory, very much for the reason you suggested, to protect fine trousers etc from mud and water damage and then got picked up by the military £5 each sounds enough though I wonder if only officers would have fancy decorated ones and the rank and file just have plain ones?

I'm trying desperately to keep my orders under control, to save Richard too many "WTF" moments though it may already be too late...but I am managing to hold off on doing research into Scottish Lancer light cavalry and what appears to be a Scottish armoured cart...

I have also only just discovered Hamburg was the centre of German opera at this time...so a Hanseatic Opera may soon be commissioned...

Jason2 wrote:From what I recall gaiters started out as a riding accessory, very much for the reason you suggested, to protect fine trousers etc from mud and water damage and then got picked up by the military   £5 each sounds enough though I wonder if only officers would have fancy decorated ones and the rank and file just have plain ones?

I'm trying desperately to keep my orders under control, to save Richard too many "WTF" moments though it may already be too late...but I am managing to hold off on doing research into Scottish Lancer light cavalry and what appears to be a Scottish armoured cart...

I have also only just discovered Hamburg was the centre of German opera at this time...so a Hanseatic Opera may soon be commissioned...

Aside from worries about the trendy and fashionable G7 Spanish Army.........damn sure my G2 Rumelians never worried a bit of mud and blood unless it was getting on their loot and lowering the value.

Due to having an Italian Queen in Spain have already had the Italian Opera moment - see example of recent order below:

The Arts I) Sponsor Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti opera “Julich” - based on events leading up to Battle of the Spurs in Flander 1302 II) At La Scala Antonio Bernacchi takes role of Count Robert – the very nasty brother of the French King – who menaces the fair Gabriel daughter of the captive Count of Flanders until she is saved by the heroic William of Julich who kills Count Robert in the battle of Courtrai III) In the America’s Maria Calvos singing the part of Gabriel takes the Opera on tour – inc Quayaquil, Lima and Mexico City after San Fransico.

Normally I build Ports, fish wharfs and sewers at particular locations but yes I do have Opera houses at all of the locations mentioned. Its a G7 version of the HEIC cricket pitches in scabble I sort of "I was here marker"

I've got to be honest, I know very little about opera so who knows what sort of ones I'll end up commissioning...a German version of "Pirates of Penzance"?

Ok, I am now currently working on the idea of restoring the old "Viking" shipyard, canal and naval base at Loch na h-Airde on the Isle of Skye...

...and the Kwantung Office for Cunning and Devious Devices to Respectfully End the Lives of Barbarians is working on some new weapons of mass destruction...

Following on from Stuart's comment on research in lockdown...to divert me from DIY and gardening (now Aberdeenshire is back to a typical spring and rain), I am currently working on an idea for a early 18th C "Northern Lighthouse Board" and associated RNLI-like organisation both for Scotland and the Hanseatic League...