Firing Range (FOTS)
| Firing Range (FOTS) | |
|---|---|
| File:Firing Range FOTS.png | |
| Chain | Improvement Type |
| Requires | Training Camp |
| Enables | - |
| Spawned Defence Forces | - |
| Basic Building Statistics | |
| Clan Effects | - |
| See main article; FotS Buildings | |
Description
"Squeeze the trigger! You great foolish lump! Squeeze!"
A firing range gives every recruit and soldier a chance to practice with their firearms, under the disapproving eyes of their drill sergeants. This mild "baptism of fire" improves unit accuracy.
Marksmanship was a completely wasted skill when infantry carried smoothbore muskets. An average infantryman was lucky to hit a target more than a few paces away. Industrialisation in the 19th Century made it possible to make rifled weapons at a low cost, and give one to every soldier in an army. All of a sudden, skill-at-arms, and in particularly paced, accurate firing, became a practical proposition. A trained man with a rifle could, with practice, reliably hit a man-sized target hundreds of yards away. The key requirement was practice, but a unit which had been properly trained, or had been blooded in action, could make any advancing foe pay dearly for every yard gained.
