Soldiers did not even need to prime the pan, the dedicated position for the primer charge.
Therefore, this typical feature also made this musket fire faster.
Usually, self-priming muskets had larger touchholes.
For ordinary muskets, whether matchlocks or flintlocks, the correct operation was that the operator had to pour gunpowder from the paper cartridge onto the priming pan, and the priming powder had to be shared with the main charge.
But when the touchhole was enlarged, soldiers could pour all the gunpowder from the paper cartridge into the barrel as the main charge.
Then he only needed to shake and tap the gun to easily send some gunpowder from the barrel to the flash pan.
Do not underestimate this step; it allowed the M1784 Flintlock Rifle to reach a rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute.
What does that mean?
Perhaps in later generations, a rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute would be considered incredibly slow.
However, in the eighteenth century, before breech-loading guns were invented, the loading speed of muzzle-loading guns was limited, which also resulted in a pitiful rate of fire.
An ordinary flintlock with a rate of fire of 4-5 rounds per minute was already a blessing, and this was only under regular test conditions.
In real combat, limited by the battlefield and the soldier's nervous psychological state, the rate of fire of a flintlock could be even lower.
It can also be said that the self-priming device of the M1784 Flintlock Rifle has already made it one of the best-performing flintlocks among European Countries.
As for its drawbacks like excessive weight, they are insignificant compared to this advantage.
After all, on the battlefield, time is life.
Within the same amount of time, if you can fire more bullets than the enemy, your chances of survival will be higher.
Austria's flintlock production was standardized very early.
In the early 18th century, in 1722, Austria's first standard issue flintlock, the Suhl M1722 Flintlock, was born.
Since then, the Austrian Army's standard issue flintlocks have continuously evolved and improved over time.
The Prussian Army's current standard issue flintlock is, of course, the famous Potsdam M1740 Flintlock, with a rate of fire of 5 rounds per minute.
Although slightly inferior to Austria's M1784 Flintlock Rifle, it is sufficient.
The Prussian design for self-priming flintlocks would have to wait until the 1809 Flintlock during the Napoleonic Wars in the original history.
The British Army's current standard issue flintlock is the Brown Bess P1777 Flintlock, also known as the Brown Bess or the Brown Bess Flintlock, and also referred to as "the British Empire's sword pointed at the world."
France, as the first country in Europe to fully equip its army with flintlocks, produced its first flintlock in 1717, which was the Charleville M1717 Flintlock, also known as the Charleville Flintlock, earlier than Austria and Britain in 1722 and Prussia in 1723.
It is worth mentioning that the French Charleville Flintlock was also the most produced flintlock, even comparable to some automatic rifles of later generations.
The French Army's current standard issue flintlock is the Charleville M1777 Flintlock, which is also the highest-production model among the many Charleville Flintlock variants, making great contributions to the Napoleonic Wars.
What, you ask about the Russians?
Can what the Russians make even be called a gun?
Because most flintlocks of this era were smoothbore guns, their accuracy was pitifully low.
To increase range and accuracy, various countries chose to lengthen their barrels, which led to the flintlocks currently used by European Countries generally being over 1.5 meters long.
For example, the Austrian M1784 Flintlock Rifle is about 1.56 meters long, the French Charleville M1777 Flintlock is about 1.57 meters long, the British Brown Bess P1777 Flintlock is close to 1.6 meters long, and the Prussian Potsdam M1740 Flintlock is also over 1.5 meters long.
Next, one must mention the flintlocks produced by the Russians themselves.
The flintlocks produced by the Russians themselves are generally over 1.65 meters long, standard clumsy and bulky, which, of course, aligns with the Russians' consistent style.
Although Russia had already built the Tula Arsenal and the Sestroretsk Arsenal during the reign of Peter the Great in 1712 and 1724, in reality, Russia has not yet achieved standardized production of flintlocks to this day.
The large tolerances of Russian flintlocks are notorious among European Countries.
The Russians' own "gray cattle" do not even use the pile of fire pokers produced by Russia.
This is why, despite having two state-owned arsenals, a large portion of Russia's flintlocks still have to be imported from European Countries.
Before and after the Great Northern War, a large portion of Russia's flintlocks were continuously imported from Sweden.
Later, on August 6, 1726, to counter France and the Ottoman Empire, Austria and Russia signed an alliance treaty.
Since then, as an ally, Austria has practically monopolized Russia's flintlock imports.
Basically, what the Austrian Army used, the Russian Army used.
And having finished talking about flintlocks, it is time to talk about artillery.
In present-day Europe, only two countries possess an artillery system: Austria and France.
These are Austria's Liechtenstein artillery system, also known as the Liechtenstein artillery system, and the Gribeauval artillery system, which the French developed by drawing inspiration from the Liechtenstein artillery system.
The Liechtenstein artillery system refers to the artillery system established by Austria between 1744 and 1750, ultimately defined by a team led by Prince Liechtenstein through a series of experiments.
This artillery system included 3-pound, 6-pound, and 12-pound field guns, with barrel lengths of approximately 16 calibers.
The design featured a cylindrical breech with two reinforced sections where the barrel thickened, and the section before the trunnions gradually tapered.
This design improved the artillery's mobility and firing accuracy.
Specifically, the charge for the 3-pound, 6-pound, and 12-pound guns reached 1/4 of the projectile weight, and for some high-quality 3-pound guns, the charge even reached 1/3 of the projectile weight.
This improvement greatly enhanced the mobility of the Austrian artillery and was widely used in subsequent wars, even being captured and used by the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
The success of the Liechtenstein artillery system lay in its innovative artillery design, especially in improving the range and mobility of artillery, which had a significant impact on the development of artillery technology at the time.
It can also be said that Austria's artillery technology being unmatched in Europe is no exaggeration.
Even in the later War of the Coalitions and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 in the original history, Austria's bronze artillery still inflicted significant casualties on the French and Prussians.
Austria's bronze artillery could directly contend with Prussia's Krupp cannons without falling behind.
Austria's artillery technology had reached a pinnacle.
In fact, the Austrians have always been proud of their artillery and artillery technology.
The current artillery caliber models of the Austrian Army are roughly divided into the following types: 1-pounder (52.0 mm), 3-pounder (75.1 mm), 6-pounder (94.4 mm), 12-pounder (119.0 mm), 18-pounder (136.4 mm), and 24-pounder (150.1 mm).
The artillery caliber models of the Prussian Army are largely similar to those of the Austrian Army, with slightly smaller calibers for the same poundage of artillery, because the pound standards of European Countries vary.
Compared to the Austrian Army's artillery caliber models, the Prussian Army's artillery also has a 20-pounder (140.2 mm) caliber model.
Because the artillery caliber models of the two countries are roughly similar, they are also collectively classified into the German artillery system.
However, the artillery systems of Britain, France, and Russia are larger than those of Austria and Prussia.
Above 24-pounders, Britain also has 32-pounders (162.8 mm) and 42-pounders (178.3 mm); France has 36-pounders (175.3 mm); Russia has 30-pounders (164.3 mm) and 36-pounders (174.2 mm).
For small-caliber artillery, Britain has 4-pounders (81.4 mm) and 9-pounders (106.7 mm); France has 4-pounders (84.2 mm) and 8-pounders (106.2 mm), but no 6-pounders.
It is worth mentioning that, compared to the 18-pounders of Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, France also does not have them, instead using 16-pounders (133.6 mm), which is also the biggest difference between the Gribeauval artillery system and the Liechtenstein artillery system.
Russia also has 8-pounders (105.9 mm).
Currently, the mainstream field artillery caliber models in European Countries are mostly 6-pounders, 12-pounders, and 18-pounders, because in frontal engagements and field battles, these three caliber models of artillery are sufficient to handle most situations and can balance firepower and mobility.
24-pounders and larger caliber models, due to their lower mobility, are generally used more for sieges.
