In 1856 Henry Bessemer invented a process whereby air could be blown into the bottom of a vat of molten iron to remove the carbon, producing steel much more cheaply than previously possible. These Bessemer converters rapidly supplanted earlier forms of steel-making throughout the industrializing nations. For example, between 1865 and 1879 the yearly steel production of Britain and Germany multiplied by four.
Cheap high grade steel significantly affected military technology and growth. Mass produced rifles and artillery using this steel, coupled with ever higher rates of conscription, increased the size and the destructive ability of the great powers' armies .
These improvements to heavy industry allow the recruiting of Sharpshooters and Scouts, and permit the upgrading of Light Infantry and Hussars to these more modern units.
