I had a chapter in the original version called 'Sappers'. Sappers were trench diggers. It was a specialty. They worked in teams of five or so, and the first one had the job of breaking the soil. He was usually a small guy, and I pictured some Welsh digger. He got followed by others who dug deeper and wider. In preparation for trenching they would chop saplings and tree branches and weave them into baskets, and as they dug they threw the dirt into the baskets - fascines - and the dirt-filled baskets would be used to build up batteries, where the cannons were placed.
They would start hundreds of yards outside the fort, beyond cannon range, and dig towards the fort, mostly at night. The goal was to get close enough to the fort to roll in the artillery and blast the log walls with heavy cannons.
In the siege of 1759, Pouchot understood perfectly what was going to happen and it's widely written that he ordered his artillery to blaze away at the digging. He had sent a 'recall' message to the half of his army he'd sent away, and felt confident the siege would be lifted when these reinforcements arrived. In the meanwhile he had to slow the sappers down, and the best way to do that was try to collapse their trenches with cannon fire. They would rebuild, of course, but that would take time, and he was fighting for that time.
He began the siege with plenty of ordnance, and the British sappers were able to collect and sell back to the army some of these, which were ultimately fired back into the fort. In its way, early recycling.
I spent a long time creating a sapping team, and put in extensive details. The problem was that the chapter was largely surplus. A friend reading it said, it's good, but you don't need it.
Sigh. She was right. But I miss it.
They would start hundreds of yards outside the fort, beyond cannon range, and dig towards the fort, mostly at night. The goal was to get close enough to the fort to roll in the artillery and blast the log walls with heavy cannons.
In the siege of 1759, Pouchot understood perfectly what was going to happen and it's widely written that he ordered his artillery to blaze away at the digging. He had sent a 'recall' message to the half of his army he'd sent away, and felt confident the siege would be lifted when these reinforcements arrived. In the meanwhile he had to slow the sappers down, and the best way to do that was try to collapse their trenches with cannon fire. They would rebuild, of course, but that would take time, and he was fighting for that time.
He began the siege with plenty of ordnance, and the British sappers were able to collect and sell back to the army some of these, which were ultimately fired back into the fort. In its way, early recycling.
I spent a long time creating a sapping team, and put in extensive details. The problem was that the chapter was largely surplus. A friend reading it said, it's good, but you don't need it.
Sigh. She was right. But I miss it.
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