History runs its course, but sometimes there are things which push that course in a specific direction.
There are some great examples from the past of how revolutionary innovations gave an advantage to one of the belligerents in a conflict, changing the tide of war and even the course of history in the process.
It was cannons in the Battle of Crecy that paved the road to a new age of war. Rifled barrels then changed the face of armed combat and the “Little Boy” ultimately took it into a sphere of mass destruction.
Another weapon that made an impact on the history of warfare was the Prussian Dreyse needle-gun. This weapon was given credit for the birth of the German nation.
It completely changed the perspectives of combat when it first appeared in the Austro-Prussian war in the mid-19th century. From that point on, warfare entered an era that would culminate in the great battles of the 20th century.
The rise of the German Nation
The Romantic Era of the early 19th-century was the period when European nations rose up with hopes of making their way onto the political map.
One such was the German Nation. The main instigator of German unification was the Kingdom of Prussia.
They not only had an aspiration to gather numerous small states of the German Confederation under their rule, but also a desire to build an empire that would dominate the continent.
In a militaristic Prussian society, the only way to do this was by means of war. Building an army that could confront large European powers was the imperative of the whole country. It was given the full attention of the state.
The Prussian government invested a fortune in training and equipping its soldiers, creating one of the best armies of the 19th century.
In order to achieve their goals, the Prussians first had to set their face against the Austrian Empire. At the time, the Austrians had exercised influence over the German states for more than two centuries — something the Prussians were keen to change.
Legendary Prussian Minister President Otto von Bismarck carefully prepared the ground for a war against the Austrians by forming alliances with Italy and France.
Then he provoked war by presenting Prussia as the protector of German states against Austrian domination. Inevitably, on June 14, 1866, the war erupted.
Austro-Prussian War 1866
Despite the military reputation that the Austrian Army had built up, the Prussians were undaunted and well-prepared for war.
While the Austrian army might have been famous for its powerful cavalry and artillery units, it still used tactics and organization techniques from the Napoleonic Wars.
In contrast, Prussian military leaders (led by the brilliant Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke) organized their army and their doctrines according to the industrial and technological progress of the time.
This approach would be to their advantage in a war against Austria: better organization and more modern weapons. The latter proved to be decisive.
Before the war, the Prussians were the only army to adopt the new breech-loading needle-rifles. The Austrians were using Lorenz muzzle-loading muskets.
The contrasting performance of these two weapons on the battlefields of the Austro-Prussian War would be critical to the final outcome.
Needle-guns vs. Muskets
The Dreyse needle-gun was indeed a revolution in rifle-making.
It was the first ever bolt-action and breech-loading rifle. This new system allowed a much higher rate of fire. It marked the beginning of a new era in rifle design and influenced the birth of many other similar models.
The gun was designed by Prussian firearms manufacturer Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse. The development of the rifle was shrouded in secrecy by the Prussians as they didn’t want their enemies to be aware of the ace they held up their sleeve.
When it was accepted for service, the weapon was designated as the Light Percussion Model 1841 in order to hide its true nature. By the beginning of the war with the Austrians, the entire infantry was armed with new Dreyse Model 1862 rifles.
What made the needle-gun so special was the bolt system housed at the rear of the barrel. The bolt housed a needle that was responsible for igniting the cartridge primer.
Once the breech was locked with the bolt, the needle was driven against the spring. By pulling a trigger, the needle was released and hit the primer of the cartridge.
The cartridge consisted of a paper case with 7.4 grains (4.8 g) of black gunpowder, a percussion cap, and a 0.61 in (15.4 mm) bullet housed in a separated paper case called a sabot. Since the cartridge was loaded from the breech, this enabled much easier and quicker reloading.
Despite certain drawbacks, such as the huge escape of gas through the breech that resulted in a relatively short range of 660 yards (600 m), the Dreyse needle-gun was still superior to the Austrian’s Lorenz musket rifles.
The Lorenz Model 1862 was a muzzle-loading percussion rifle that replaced the old Augustin rifles in the Army of the Austrian Empire.
It fired a 0.54 bullet housed in a paper cartridge that was loaded from the muzzle with the help of a wooden rod. This rifle employed a relatively modern percussion system that used an externally housed percussion cap to ignite the gunpowder inside the cartridge.
Its rifled barrel allowed a decent range of 1,100 yards (1,000 m).
Even though the Lorenz rifle had better range and was more precise, it was still far below the performance of Dreyse rifles on the battlefield. There were two reasons for this.
The first was the rate of fire. With the new breech-loading system, Dreyse riflemen were able to fire 10 to 12 rounds per minute. That was five times more than they were capable of with a Lorenz rifle.
During the Austro-Prussian War, Austrian military leaders still used the tactic of line infantry mass assaults. Consequently, a higher rate of fire resulted in proportionally higher hits.
Ability to load the rifle from the breech was another advantage that needle-guns had over muskets. Riflemen armed with a Dreyse were able to load their rifles in crouched and prone positions, even on the move.
Since Lorenz rifles were loaded from the muzzle, Austrian riflemen had to do it while standing.
The difference between standing and crouching on the battlefield where bullets were flying was enormous. Battles between Prussians and Austrians would demonstrate that in a brutal manner.
Carnage at the Battle of Nachod
The Battle of Nachod on June 27, 1866, was the baptism of fire for needle-guns in the war.
The Austrians entered the battle with over-confidence, aiming to overrun the Prussian troops with a massed assault of line infantry. On the other side, the Prussians, armed with Dreyse needle-guns, were ready to face them.
Once the battle started, the commander of the Austrian 6th Corps, Field Marshal Wilhelm Freiherr von Ramming, decided to use the traditional tactic of 19th century wars.
He sent a brigade of infantry arranged in a column to push Prussian troops from the plateau in front of the village of Nachod. As soon as the Austrians approached Prussian lines, both units opened fire.
At that moment, it became obvious why the Prussians were going to be the superior force.
While Austrian soldiers were standing upright out in the open, reloading their Lorenz rifles, the Prussians had already reloaded their Dreyse needle-guns and opened another volley of fire.
Half of the Austrian soldiers standing out there were killed in one sweep. As the Austrians were trying to recover from the shock of this, the Prussians reloaded their rifles again and fired another volley.
Those Austrians who managed to survive had no choice but to attack the Prussians with their bayonets. It’s needless to say that they were easy targets for the Prussians and their needle-guns.
However, the Austrians continued to send one battalion after another in an attempt to push the Prussians from the plateau.
For four hours, six and a half Prussian battalions were holding back twenty-one Austrian battalions with only their needle-guns. After the battle was over, the Austrian losses were 5,487 men. That was five times more than the Prussian casualties.
Disaster at Königgrätz.
The heavy blow that the Austrians suffered at Nachod became a catastrophe at Königgrätz just a week after, on July 3. The Battle of Königgrätz was the decisive point in the Austro-Prussian war. Once again, Austrians were the victims of their own tactics combined with the might of Dreyse needle-guns.
An Austrian army of 215,000 soldiers met 39,000 Prussians in a valley between the River Elbe and the River Bistritz. During the battle, the Prussians received reinforcements when the 2nd Army arrived with 85,000 soldiers.
The decisive fight took place in the forest of Swiepwald, where the Prussian 7th Division was holding its position against the Austrian 2nd and 4th Corps.
In the dense forest terrain, the Prussians again used the advantages of a higher rate of fire and the ability to reload their rifles in a concealed position to inflict heavy losses on the Austrians.
After two and a half hours, the Austrians managed to push the Prussian 7th Division out of the woods. But their victory came at a very high price, and it came too late.
The Prussians had been holding on long enough for the 2nd Army to arrive on the battlefield. With the high casualty rate and now facing fresh enemy reinforcements, the Austrian commander, Field Marshal Ludwig von Benedek, had no choice but to retreat.
Even though the Austrians were fighting the majority of the battle on the defensive with almost twice as many soldiers, their losses were even higher than at Nachod.
Around 45,000 Austrian soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. The Prussians had casualties of 9,000 soldiers.
The loss at Königgrätz meant the end of the war for the Austrians. On August 23, 1866, Austria signed a peace treaty with Prussia, giving them over dominion over German states.
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The Prussians set a foundation for the German Empire and became one of the most frightening military powers in history. It was that same power that led the world into two of the biggest conflicts humankind has ever seen.
The question is whether the course of history would have been different if the Dreyse needle-gun hadn’t been in the hands of Prussian soldiers.