War from the 16th Century to the Invention of Gunpowder
The invention of the powerful artillery guns would change man’s role in warring engagements. The artillery guns at first were very limited by their own design. The guns were very heavy and had to be transported by water, which meant that only towns and fortresses that were close to a body of water could be attacked with artillery also known as the cannon. There were also some fortresses that were impervious to the early cannon attacks based on strong designs or natural defenses. The French were able to penetrate the round shaped castles and large walls during the late 1400s by using concentrated fire of several small guns instead of a few large ones.
A new design of smaller walls that were built in uneven lines, like a star shape, was implemented to strengthen the area called crownworks or hornworks. Other modifications of new designs included lower and thicker walls, gun towers that projected at an angle, intervals of guns for fields of fire, wide and deep ditches, and pillboxes.
Of course with the new design of castles came new ways to attack. Some effective ways to attack these castles, but also rare ways to attack, were by surprise, by storm, or by treachery. The most common way to attack the castles were long term engagements that consisted of either surrounding the castle or getting in close enough that the castles guns would be ranged over the position. The long-term methods consisted of starving out the population, forcing surrender, or by mining and bombardment from close range.
The use of firepower also began to put an end to the use of headlong charges and hand-to-hand combat during the Renaissance years. The differences between firearms and the bow were obscene at the beginning of the rifle’s evolution. An archer could accurately hit a target at lengths of 200 meters and discharge ten arrows a minute, whereas the arquebus, or rifleman, only had accuracy at 100 meters and took several minutes to reload. Although the new weapons at primacy did not have the accuracy or the range of the bow, the Italians immediately implemented them into their arsenals.
The greatest advantage of the early rifles was that the weapon could be mastered in a matter of months, but it could take up to ten years to master the bow. Eventually the muskets overtook the battlefield, replacing t...
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...rength of China laid in the overwhelming amounts of personnel serving in the armed forces.
Japan made quick use of the new weapons, but concentration was not focused on rapid reloading. The Japanese put more training into accuracy and developed the volley in order to maintain a succession of well-aimed shots. The castles of Japan were also modified to sustain against any type of horizontal attack. The walls were built in front of the hills and backed strongly by the earth. Once stability was restored the Japanese empire began a phase of demilitarization by outlawing guns, tearing down fortifications of defeated enemies, and forbidding books concerning military matters. In both empires of the Far East, sieges were made by mass assaults, mining, or blockades rather than by bombardment.
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Parker, Geoffrey. The Military Revolution: Military
Innovation and the Rise of the West 1500-1800.
(Cambridge, United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press,
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Preston, Richard A., Alex Roland, and Sydney F. Wise. Men
In Arms: A History of Warfare and its interrelationships
With Western Society. (Belmont, California:Wadsworth/
Thomson Learning, 2001). Chap 8
This is a brief paragraph or two on each of the major siege weapons. For the not just the besiegers but also the defenders. Please note most of these weapons were not used alone and often had many different versions of the same weapon.
* The invention of the compound bow was just the beginning. As with the invention of the original bow and arrow, time and ingenuity would take the basic concept to new heights. However, the modern understanding of physics, coupled with advanced materials and construction techniques, has greatly increased the pace at which advances are made.
The outer wall was built with flanking towers and towers enforcing the centre of each wall span, with the exception of the gatehouse wall. This wall encloses an area of 130 x 100 meters1, making it one of the largest enclosure castles, it also encloses two further walls, the first of which has only one tower because of its close proximity to the outer wall, the inner wall is built with flanking towers to support the middle bailey.
A popular weapon used by both sides was the rifle. Rifles were invented before the Civil War and were greatly used in the War of 1812. However, more types were built and a larger amount was used during the Civil War. Rifles added a spin to bullets for a greater accuracy at longer ranges. Using this weapon, soldiers could fire 400 yards away, as opposed to the average 80 yards (Robertson 50). Rifles were the fastest and hardest weapon of the time. Rifles allowed their bullets to be shot harder and faster towards its target. New inventions, used by the Union more than the Confederate, included Parrott rifles. They were composed of iron. Robert Parker Parrott, an American soldier and inventor, created these weapons, hence the name Parrott rifles. Despite its name, the Parrott rifle was actually a cannon. Its size ranged from 10 to 300 pounders. It was not favored by most because it was considered unsafe (“Civil War Artillery”). Because of its bulkiness and heaviness, it seldom led soldiers to inaccuratel...
This was the self contained brass cartridge. It contained an ignition source called a primer, an amount of powder and a bullet. Early cartridge guns were converted percussion rifles. The first repeating rifles were the Henry and Spencer, the Henry had a fifteen shot internal magazine and the Spencer a seven round removable magazine this meant multiple could be carried. Repeaters were not limited to rifles though handguns such as the famous Colt Single Action Army were a common favorite among both civilians and military personnel. The industrial revolution boosted the firearms industry. It allowed gunsmiths who formerly would cut rifling and make parts by hand using saws and files to now use vertical mills and lathes to improve both output and precision. Barrels became easier to rifle and take to size using lathes and mills allowed sights to be manufactured much easier. The next major evolutionary step in the firearms industry was the bolt action rifle. A bolt action provides a tighter seal at the breach than other actions allowing higher pressure cartridges and a farther effective range do to increased velocity The first bolt action used by the U.S. military was the Krag-Jorgensen a Norwegian rifle with a internal side loading magazine. It was thought by many that the Krag was was an exceptional piece of equipment but during the Spanish - American War it was proved otherwise. Spaniards armed with German Mausers a rifle with a
A majority of weapons used in World War II were improved weapons from World War II. Most guns increased in power and abilities. In World War II people thought that pistols were useless but this was proved wrong due to the fact that the U.S. Mi...
Crossbows can vary a lot in design and construction. They range from 50 to 400 lbs. in draw weight. They can be very small hand held pistols or rifles, which can fire rapidly and accurately with pinpoint accuracy up to 60 yards and kill ranges up to 100 yards. The larger bows with 400lb. draw weights could have ranges of over 400 yards they could fire large arrows, rocks and other types of projectiles accurately while staying well out of range of most enemy fire. These bows were built of large beams and sat on wheels so that 2 men could change the position of the bow easily. These bows were very powerful but were also very slow in loading and firing. They had mechanical winches, which were hand cranked to draw the bowstring back. It took two men to run these bows called siege machines.
A crenellation is a defensive wall built on the top of a castle. These walls specifically have gaps (2-3 feet wide) which are used for firing guns and arrows, (“Mimidex”, n.d.).
Historian Frank Tallett asserts that the firearm’s popularity was “due in part to the endless fascination of rulers” with modern technology, and “in part to [its] superiority over bows in siege warfare.” Additionally, firearms required minimal training in comparison to the pike and longbow. An accomplished gunman could be produced after a few days of continuous training, while “many years and a whole way of life were needed to produce a competent archer.” Thus, the utilization of firearms led to increased manpower within armies, propelled the rise of infantry over cavalry, and paved the way for new tactical strategies and formations, such as the Spanish tercio and Maurice of Nassau’s Dutch battalion. Tallett further notes that handheld firearms could cause complete devastation to mass formations of pikemen. Tallett’s observation was clearly evident at the battles of La Motta (1513), Marignano (1515), and La Bicocca (1522). The battle of La Bicocca, in particular, demonstrated the vulnerability of the Swiss pikemen while highlighting the superiority of the Spanish
Today I’m going to tell you about Medieval catapults, crossbow, swords, and maces. They helped people in war a long time ago. I hope that you will like my project, and I learned a lot. This is about weapons.
Long distance weapons were essential to European combat. The main long distance weapons used by Europeans during that time were the longbow and the crossbow. Each form of weaponry had its unique advantages and their pejorative. The long bow (shown in figure 1) was the original form of distance weapons. The term ‘bow’ means to be made from wood, iron or steel. The Welsh, who inhabited England, were the first people to use longbows. Longbows were 6-7 feet long and had a range of 250 yards, and still had the ability to pierce a knight’s armor (Byam 12). A well trained archer could shot 10- 12 arrows in a single minute. Despite these pro’s the longbow had a lot of disadvantages as well. One draw back was only skilled archers, who were costly to train, could use a longbow. Another disadvantage was it didn’t have a ready loaded arrow (Edge 34). The crossbow (shown in figure 2) on the other had been emphatically different. The crossbow had a span of 2-3 feet and could kill a knight on horseback with one shot, because of good aim (Byam 30). Crossbows had ready loaded projectiles, while the longbow didn’t and the crossbow could be used by anyone since it didn’t require any skill. The crossbow did have a down side though, it had slow reloaded because of a crank and it was expensive. Crossbows were also used for other thi...
Gunpowder’s effect on the world can be exemplified through the grand changes in weapons. This can be shown through the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by the English navy. In this sea battle, the Spanish Armada outnumbered the English navy immensely turning the odds against the English. However, the Spanish Armada still used old boarding tactics while the English used advanced weaponry. In the end, “the English used their superior firepower to whittle away the Spanish forces” (Schlager). The English navy's victory over the Spanish Armada illustrates the effects of the invention of gunpowder. With the successful usage of advanced gunpowder based weapons, the English navy crushed the opposition even when the Spanish Armada clearly had the upper hand. The defeat of the Spanish Armada shows that weapons based on gunpowder allowed countries with smaller armies to have a higher chance in winning their fights. The gunpowder weapons proved to be a tactical advant...
“Volley Guns” (Chivers, 2010, p.26) or also known as “Organ Guns” (Ellis, 1975, p.10) were first attempts at increasing firepower by adding several barrels at the firing itself, rather than simply attempting to increase the rate of fire. “Gunsmiths had long ago learned to place barrels side by side on frames to create firearms capable of discharging projectiles in rapid succession. These unwieldy devices, or volley guns, were capable in theory of blasting a hole in a line of advancing soldiers” (Chivers, 2010, p.26). An example of such weapons can be seen on July 28, 1835 when Giuseppe Fieshi unleashed terror on King Louis-Phillipe in Paris, France. He fired his 25 barrel “volley gun”, killing 18 of the king's entourage and grazing the King's skull. The weapon was ineffective however. Four of the barrels failed and another four ruptured. Two other barrels had exploded inside, grievously wounding Giuseppe. (Chivers, 2010, p. 27)
The history of firearm and tool-mark identification has been a long one having evolved with great bounds over the last 165 years from the simple observation, physical matching, and caliber determination from an examination of shape/size of a projectile to the ability to match the projectile to the exact weapon from which it was fired. The first discussion regarding rifling of firearms was brought to light by Emperor Maximilian of Germany in 1493-1508 though the value of such identification did not occur for nearly 500 years.
Military architecture like castles and forts were built for mainly defence. They helped defend the region by having a place to watch over the land to see if any tribes or Vikings were invading. This protected the land and therefore the people were more prepared for