Potzdam Musket
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The Potzdam musket was the standard
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
weapon of the Royal Prussian Army (German: ''Königlich Preußische Armee'') from the 18th century until the military reforms of the 1840s. Four models were produced—in 1723, 1740, 1809 and 1831.


History

Potzdam, just outside
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, had been
Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
's favorite place of residence as well as the city where the
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
was made, hence the name. While the musket is more correctly called a Prussian infantry musket or a Prussian pattern musket, these muskets later became known as „Potzdam muskets". After Frederick was crowned in 1740, he ordered the then-current Prussian musket; a version from 1723, for his army. The Potzdam musket had already made a name for itself by being the first standard
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
-made long-gun, and the 1740 model further solidified Potzdam as the key
arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
for
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The muskets were widely used by the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
ns and soldiers of the various German
principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...
in the 18th century. British-hired Hessian troops as well as troops from other German principalities in the revolting
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British colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...
in
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also used the muskets against
rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
.


Design features

A
smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...
musket, the weapon was reasonably accurate to about against
line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...
. But a musket was preferably used at a much shorter distance than that when discharged ''en masse''. The
calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...
of the Potzdam Muskets was between 0.71 (18.034 mm) and —which was larger than most other major nations' military
round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * Having no sharp corners, as an ellipse, circle, or sphere * Rounding, reducing the number of significant figures in a number * Round number, ending with one or more zeroes * Round (crypt ...
s. The
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
length of the Potzdam muskets varied between and and an overall length between and , and weighed between and . The
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
of the Potzdam was usually made of
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
. Stress-bearing parts of the Potzdam, such as the barrel, lock plate and
firing mechanism A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a tra ...
were made of steel and
sling Sling may refer to: Places *Sling, Anglesey, Wales * Sling, Gloucestershire, England, a small village in the Forest of Dean People with the name * Otto Šling (1912–1952), repressed Czech communist functionary Arts, entertainment, and media * ...
-
swivel A swivel is a connection that allows the connected object, such as a swivel gun, gun, swivel chair, chair, Caster, swivel caster, or an anchor rode to rotate horizontally or vertically. Swivel designs A common design for a swivel is a cylindr ...
s made of iron whilst other furniture pieces such as the butt plate,
trigger guard A trigger guard is a protective loop surrounding the trigger (firearms), trigger of a firearm designed to prevent unwanted contact with the trigger, which may cause an accidental discharge. Other devices that use a trigger-like actuator mechanism, ...
and ramrod pipe were found in
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
. Many were converted from
flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...
to
percussion cap The percussion cap, percussion primer, or caplock, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. Its invention gave ...
in the mid-19th century.


Variants


Model 1723

The Potzdam Infantry Musket Model 1723 was the first standard long-gun of the Prussian Army. It was the
rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
of the Charleville musket (1717) of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the Brown Bess-musket (1722) of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. These were manufactured in .73 calibre—to enable the use of British military
bullets A bullet is a Kinetic energy weapon, kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is Shooting, shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made ...
. It had pins to hold the barrel in place and four pipes which held a steel scouring stick with a trumpet shaped end. As with the Royal Swedish Army, that also clung to pinned barrels (until pattern 1775), the Potzdam musket had fore-sights made of brass, making the
bayonet lug A bayonet lug is a standard feature on most military and on some civilian long guns. It is intended for attaching a bayonet, which is typically a short-bladed multipurpose knife bayonet. The bayonet lug is the metal mount that either locks the b ...
's optimal location under the barrel where an triangular cross-section bayonet could be fitted—its inner
diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...
was approximately . Moreover, could the weapon's rounded fore-sights be used with a crude rear sight in form of an oblong rounded notch in the barrel peg. The Potzdam Infantry Model 1723 for the Guard (German: ''Infanteriegewehr Modell 1723 für die Garde'') had a calibre of around . The barrel length was and an overall length of , and weighed .


Model 1723/Model 1740

The 1740 pattern Potzdam Musket, derived from the earlier 1723 pattern, was produced from 1740 to 1760 and used the same standardised parts. The
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s were brass, and the barrel was shortened by . It was supplied to allied German states during- and after the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, and was also manufactured at Herzberg,
Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...
,
Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...
and
Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...
. The 1740 model had a barrel and an overall length of , and weighed less than . Though the M1723/M1740 eventually gave way for the Potzdam Infantry Musket Model 1809, it was still in use by Prussian soldiers at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
in 1815 and beyond.


Model 1809

The Model 1809 Prussian Musket, like its predecessor, was assembled at the Potzdam armory during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. It had steel rather than brass barrel bands to reduce costs, and borrowed extensively from the design of the French Charleville Model 1777 Musket. The
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
(or cock) had a decorative heart-shaped cutout, and the
steel pan The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...
had a protective shield to keep the
powder A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distinguish se ...
dry in wet weather. The pins were abandoned in favour of three barrel bands. Unusually, the fore-sights were cast into the barrel band rather than the end of the barrel. Even more unusual for a military musket was, that the weapon had a V-notch. The 1809 model had a barrel and an overall length of , and weighed approximately . The calibre was reduced to .71 (18.034 mm). The barrels were manufactured separately at
Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...
, and were brought to Potzdam for finishing and final assembly. At the Battle of Waterloo, the 1809 pattern Potzdam was the most widespread musket in use by
von Blücher The term () is used in German name, German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple Preposition and postposition, preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the of ...
's troops. Due to its large bore, it could fire the cartridges of fallen British and French soldiers, although the smaller French bullets would rattle down the barrel and reduce
accuracy Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''. ''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value''. ''Precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other. The ...
and
stopping power Stopping power is the supposed ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a ...
. The
socket bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...
of the M1809 musket was patterned after the
bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...
of the French Charleville musket. Like most other bayonets of the early 19th century, it had a triangular blade. But it lacked the mortise normally used to secure the bayonet over the fore-sights of the musket barrel.


Model 1831

From 1831 to 1839, the Prussians manufactured a
caplock The percussion cap, percussion primer, or caplock, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. Its invention gave ...
conversion of the 1809 Potzdam musket. These were
manufactured Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...
not only in Potzdam, but also in Danzig. Then starting in 1841 the musket was gradually replaced by the
Dreyse needle gun Dreyse may refer to: * Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse (1787–1867), German firearms inventor * Hitch Dreyse, a fictional List of Attack on Titan characters, character in ''Attack on Titan'' (''Shingeki no Kyojin'') series who serves in the military po ...
, and most of the old
muzzleloader A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the bullet, projectile and the propellant charge into the Muzzle (firearms), muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern desi ...
s were sold to the
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
for use in their
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. These were issued to the Union army as late as 1864.Springfield Armory Museum
/ref>


See also

*
German military rifles The evolution of German military rifles is a history of common and diverse paths followed by the separate German states, until the mid-19th century when Prussia emerged as the dominant state within Germany and the nation was unified. This article ...
*
List of wars involving Germany This is a list of wars involving Germany from 962. It includes the Holy Roman Empire, Confederation of the Rhine, the German Confederation, the North German Confederation, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, the German Democr ...
*
Military history of Germany The military history of Germany spans the period from ancient times to the present. Ancient times During the Ancient history, ancient and Early Middle Ages, early medieval periods the Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes had no written languag ...
* Swedish Land Pattern Musket * French Land Pattern Musket * British Land Pattern Musket * Spanish Land Pattern Musket * American Land Pattern Musket *
Musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
*
Rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
*
Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...


References

{{Early firearms Prussian Army Muskets 18th-century weapons Firearms of Germany Napoleonic Wars weapons