Martini-Henry rifle

The British army's first breech-loading rifle was the Snider, chosen because its action could be fitted to muzzle-loading Enfield rifles. It was only a temporary expedient, and in 1867 a committee studied purpose-built breech-loaders, selecting a weapon combining a breech designed by Frederick von Martini and a barrel designed by Alexander Henry.

Adopted in 1871, it was a single-shot weapon, with an under-lever falling-block action and a calibre of .45 inch. The cartridge was first made of rolled sheet brass, but this often caused difficult extraction and a drawn brass case replaced it. The rifle was later made for the .303 round used in the Lee-Metford, the army's first magazine rifle. The .303 Martini-Henry was used by the Home Guard in WW II, and the .22 version was a popular target rifle. The Martini action was used in the Peabody-Martini rifle which, in Turkish hands, caused most of the 37, 000 Russian casualties incurred in the assault on Plevna in 1877.

The Martini-Henry bore the brunt of Victorian imperial campaigns. Its heavy bullet could stop determined warriors in their tracks, though faulty deployment prevented the 24th Regiment from taking full advantage of it at Isandhlwana in 1879, and over-reliance on its firepower encouraged the British to take on a powerful Afghan army and thus contributed to the disaster of Maiwand in 1880.

— Richard Holmes