Individual Soldier Equipment

Franz's private troops were primarily trained for urban warfare.

Franz was quite confident in his army's firepower; after all, when a generational gap in firepower is formed, frontal combat becomes a foregone conclusion.

No unit composed of flesh and blood could maintain its formation under the bombardment of rockets. Amidst the dense explosions, they would scatter like the natives or simply wait for death in place.

At the same time, the lever-action rifle provided much denser firepower. Coupled with the widespread use of rifled muskets, even in the era of line infantry volleys, Franz's troops held an absolute advantage; a single man could output the firepower of an entire squad from a traditional unit.

However, the most terrifying aspect of civil war is urban warfare. No matter how elite your troops are, it is possible to end up in a situation that approaches a one-for-one exchange.

Compared to urban warfare, slaughtering a city seems much simpler. But this is a civil war, and that kind of scorched-earth advancement is clearly inappropriate.

Yet, if Franz were to let his loyal elite soldiers trade lives one-for-one with the rebels, he could not accept that either.

Therefore, in addition to urban warfare artifacts like hand grenades, warning mirrors, and rapid-fire rifles, Franz also developed something quite ahead of its time.

The reinforced shield, with specifications slightly larger than the modern military standard (0.45 square meters), came in at 0.5 square meters.

Traditional lead spherical bullets have mediocre armor-piercing capabilities and can penetrate 4mm-thick steel plates, making them absolute killers against classical knights. However, with the advancement of technology, resisting such fire is no longer impossible.

Research shows that a 6mm steel plate can 100% withstand fire from these traditional rifles, and manufacturing such shields is not difficult with the technology of this time.