Levels of Technology

I am currently conflicted on what I think the technological level of the world I am creating should be, on one hand I am thinking about a WW 1 level of tech which would allow for things like tanks, planes, and some really bad ass pieces of artillery. While on the other hand I have really started to fall in love with Renaissance era of warfare due to the presence of the first fire arms, cannons, and fully armored knights( and who doesn't love fully armored knights?).

Any thoughts?

As the computer said: "Insufficient Data; Please Specify Parameters."

It depends on the overall tone of your story. If you want War Is Glorious, then go with a Renaissance era setting. If you're aiming more toward War Is Hell, then go with the World War I type instead.

Well, since in the setting I am making there are many inhuman creatures and people often fight wars more in the interest of staying alive than glorious conquest I guess WW 1 would be the way to go but at the same time many of said inhuman creatures like to get in close and tear people to shreds so most units of riflemen would be quickly overwhelmed if they were ever in CQC....

Not necessarily. Soldiers in trench warfare had to rediscover the art of CQC, and frequently improvised weapons to use in melee until the powers-that-be decided to gear up the war machines to mass-produce them. Rifles and bayonets were too unwieldy to use in the tight confines of a trench or a shell crater.

Probably the most common improvised weapon was an entrenching tool (i.e., a small shovel) with the edges sharpened, like a crude axe. Modern armies still make use of this today. I've seen other WWI improvised weapons in a museum, everything from jam-tin grenades and nail bombs, to handmade knives and spiked wooden clubs. Nasty...

Didn't know that, I guess they got pretty desperate. Again I guess I'll just have to ponder this as I am still not entirely sure. On the other hand I could always go for an anachronistic approach, especially since there is a city state in this world whose sole purpose is scientific advancement though they are isolated and use their tech as a bargaining chip for trade....

edited 30th Oct '15 8:44:40 PM by Cyratis

Crossbows made a bit of a comeback too, for firing grenades.

As did improvised catapults, for similar reasons...lightweight frontline mortars didn't really catch on until the war was already in full swing.

I had no idea they improvised so much, but I think I will go with an anachronistic approach that is within reason. As in the most advanced artillery piece will most likely be a gatling gun type weapon.... Besides I think it adds a lot more flavor in terms of visual distinction....

If you go further back then that to say the Napoleonic wars you can get a good sense of some of the early progenitors of what made WWI hell. The sieges of forts were especially nasty, trench warfare was common, and the first fully dedicated rifle units were starting out as a fully fledged units rather then ad-hoc formations and select specialists.

The common soldier frequently carried a couple of knives as well as their bayonets and some nations infantry had a small sword called a hanger. The common British Red Coat stopped carrying them as the individual troops had to purchase them with their subsistence pay unless a higher up purchased them for them. Grenadiers though were known to carry them even after the regular infantry stopped acquiring them in general. The German infantry liked them as well. In general the infantry could expected to be armed with a number of sharp pointy things in addition to those nasty triangular spike bayonets.

Which, in turn, led to the development of the sword bayonet, and when that proved unwieldy in the trenches, it morphed into the knife bayonet. Blade length went from sixteen inches in WWI, to ten inches in WWII, to six inches nowadays.

As an aside, among African tribesmen, killing a lion with a spear is a rite of manhood, and the shorter one's spear haft is, the closer you get to the lion's teeth and claws, and the more bragging rights you earn. So imagine if you will, a bunch of natives sitting around the campfire, thumping their chests and claiming, "Mine's smaller than yours!"

edited 31st Oct '15 7:41:57 AM by pwiegle

Shorter bayonets never really caught on in the Pacific/Asian Theatre. It was intermittent in the European/Russian/African Theatre.

Ten inch or smaller bayonets as consensus was very much a post-war thing. Stuff like the ten inch M1 bayonet attached to the Garand was developed in the war but did not truly replace the 16 inch M1905 sword bayonet until after the war.

edited 31st Oct '15 7:47:31 AM by MajorTom

The sixteen-inch bayonets were certainly still around in WWII (and often cut down by armorers and individual troops in the field), but there were plenty of ten-inchers produced during the war, both by the Americans and the Germans. I don't claim to be an expert in this area, but in AP file photos I see half a dozen ten-inch bayonets for every sixteen-incher.

As for the Russians, they decided to stick with the tried-and-true Mosin-Nagant rifle and its long spike bayonet, designed in 1891, mainly for logistics reasons. The Imperial Japanese Army seemed to be hidebound by tradition, so they kept their long-barreled rifles with long-bladed bayonets long after they were practical.

Anywho, we're getting a bit off-topic here. The OP is talking about WWI-era weaponry for his setting.

edited 31st Oct '15 10:31:43 AM by pwiegle

They could easily borrow a bit from older wars as a fact of necessity. If the monsters are bullet sponges and the experience occurs enough adoption of various melee weapons is pretty much a given.

Close range fire arms were popular in the trenches as well. Handguns were uncommon among common infantry but highly prized. The "Trench gun' shot guns were generally well liked but still modified for close in fighting of a trench. Grenades are actually close quarters weapon. The first sub-machine guns and early machine pistols were adaptations to trench warfare. Then there are the ever infamous flame throwers. Lost of options really for fighting monsters still.

Mad Jack Churchill comes to mind. A British officer who went into battle armed with a broadsword and a longbow. In 1940!

Also, the Vietnam tomahawk.

edited 31st Oct '15 3:38:39 PM by pwiegle

Yes but they had flamethrowers in the time of the Byzantines and weapons like flintlocks were still used by a select few into the time of the first world war...

I too suggest a mix with some decent WWI level weapon like a rifle or pistol for offence and some old-school sidearm like a sword for defence. Also, depending on the most likely opponents, there is the posibility of wearing armour as well. (Against humans, elves and the like who "only" is armed with firearms = no armour exept a helmet, monsters with "only" claws, beaks and fangs = varying ammounts of armour. A boar-hunter's clothes is fitted with kevlar to resist the tusks after all, so... )

First as all, why they fight?, At least with WWI are powerfull nation against another throwing everything they have in a slaughter fest while renisence elevated the "war is politic with other name" to work of art, where political manuvers mean who you fight and why

The only "traditional" race I have is humans who have the advantage of being the most advanced overall technologically. As for why they are fighting it is mostly about survival instead of forwarding political agendas(though that is not unheard of) as they are often fighting inhuman beasts instead of each other though they are not exactly unified in the strictest sense.

This can't be happening everywhere in the world, though. There must be centers of civilization where the monsters have been cleared out and the common citizenry can live in peace and relative safety. Meanwhile, the soldiers are fighting on the frontiers and fringes of civilization, trying (I assume) to pacify it and expand their territory. Otherwise, it just comes off as a variation of the zombie apocalypse.

Again, we need more data.

Well,nowhere is really entirely safe but in the heartlands of the most powerful nations people are able to live their lives in relative safety though it is unwise to not sleep with a gun or sword near your bedside. The whole monster situation is mostly divided between what we would consider wild animals except exponentially more dangerous and forces that have more of an intelligence behind them. Things like the undead who only pursue war when their leader fancies it and the Y'naul(Demons essentially) who have always have a minor presence in the day to day lives of humanity but only attack on mass every 10 or so years....And that's only 2 forces....

Alright, after some thought I've decided to go with a mid to late 19th century level of tech. I think it fits the best because it allows for the presence of more "traditional" style warriors(sword and shield, ect...) alongside more "modern" weaponry...