Introduction
Francis Bacon, a significant English philosopher, statesmen, and author, credited the three greatest inventions of his time in his work Novum Organum in 1620. He chose the printing press, the compass, and gunpowder. Gunpowder had changed the face of modern warfare by Bacon’s time, forcing new tactics and strategies to develop on the battlefield. Additionally, industries devoted to the manufacture of firearms, artillery, and gunpowder emerged in every European country.
Austrian field piece
Route to Europe
Gunpowder, and its first military uses in rockets, cannons, and other weapons, originated in China. Through trade, firearms technology slowly diffused across Asia to Europe, disseminating to most countries by the fourteenth century. Initially, cannon were not powerful enough to knock down castle walls, but most armies saw great potential in the technology. Many nations invested in small artillery pieces, and the formula for gunpowder was experimented with to improve destructive potential.
Improvement of Gunpowder
A great advance was made when European powder-makers added liquid to gunpowder in an effort to reduce both the dust produced in manufacture and the hazard of accidental explosions. The paste produced was allowed to dry in granules, leading to the term “corned” powder. This powder turned out to be both more powerful and easier to load into cannon. The power was increased because the powder ignited simultaneously, producing a coordinated explosion. Previously, the gunpowder first ignited by the application of flame would explode independently, ejecting a good portion of unlit powder, thereby reducing overall explosive yield.
Example of Black Powder
The Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years War featured the first large scale European employment of cannon in warfare. For the most part, the cannon employed were fairly small pieces, such as the bombard cannon pictured below. Despite their small size, the improvements in gunpowder composition increased their performance tremendously, enabling them to take down castle walls. The traditional advantage that walls gave defenders was reduced greatly. A fortress considered unassailable a century before could now be seized.
A typical smaller bombard.
Cannon also proved their worth in defense on the field. In 1453 at the Battle of Castillon toward the end of the conflict, six thousand troops under Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury marched against a defending French force. The French were set up in a defensive position with over three hundred cannon arrayed against the English. As English forces charged forward, French bows, firearms, and cannon inflicted horrendous casualties. This battle foreshadowed the critical role artillery would begin to play in field combat, inflicting mass casualties to advancing troops at great distance.
The Fall of Constantinople
Also in 1453, the changes artillery would cause to the nature of fortifications were revealed through the final advance of the Ottoman Empire against the venerable Byzantine Empire’s capital of Constantinople. Constantinople was defended by tall, thick walls which had kept it safe from attack for centuries, even as the rest of Byzantium fell to the Ottoman Empire. The Turks deployed a gigantic great bombard artillery piece to fell the walls along with other smaller bombards. Their great cannon took 200 men and sixty oxen to emplace and could fire only seven times a day.
The Great Bombard used by the Ottomans
Some of the weaknesses of artillery of the period were revealed in this siege, as well as their strengths. The great bombard itself was rather ineffective. The cannon was inaccurate and took an extremely long time to reload. The Byzantines were actually able to repair most of the damage inflicted by the great cannon before it was readied to fire again.
However, over a period of weeks, the Ottoman’s artillery began to inflict heavy damage to the walls, aiding the final assaults that took the city. The siege showed that cannon, given enough time, could eventually bring down defenses impervious to all previous siege weapons. This would lead to a revolutionary change in fortifications as the old defensive models used throughout Europe based on Roman or Medieval styles were no longer effective.
Mehmed II advancing alongside his great bombard.
Weaknesses of Early Cannon
Early artillery was hindered by several factors. Many cannon weighed a tremendous amount, causing them to become effectively immobile once they were deployed. Precision targeting was impossible. At best, gunners could aim for a general area on the field. They were also were rather unreliable and dangerous. James II, a Scottish king, was killed in 1460 when one of his artillery pieces exploded near him. Artillery had a slow rate of fire as well, due to the nature of their construction. Breech-loading artillery was difficult to implement due to engineering limitations of the time, so most pieces were front loaded, a much lengthier process.
An additional problem that early cannon faced was caused by manufacturing limitations. Each piece was crafted and cast individually. This made it difficult to keep artillery in working order, as each piece was effectively a unique model of gun. Muskets shared a similar weakness when any of their components became damaged. A gunsmith would have to craft a new piece that fit into the body of the weapon, as standardized, replaceable parts had not been invented yet.
Improvements to Cannon
The mobility and strength of Cannon were improved throughout the 15th century. Field carriages that allowed them to be pulled into place by horses or oxen were created, allowing them to be moved intact to the field rather than in pieces. Advances in iron casting technology allowed the gun barrel’s size to be reduced. Engineers developed trunnion, which were cylindrical projections from the gun barrel into the carriage that allowed the piece to be depressed or elevated far more easily than before. This allowed gunners to change their targets on the field more rapidly.
A field piece with trunnion visible on the sides of the barrel.
In the early 17th century, several more improvements were made. The shot and powder of cannon were combined into a single cartridge in the 1620s, which made cannons far easier and safer to load. They were placed into a small fabric bag that was destroyed when the gun fired. Unfortunately, residual fragments of the bag tended to foul up the gun barrel. A new tool, called a worm, was created to clear out any remaining bag fragments to keep the gun ready to fire.
A worm used to clean out gun barrels.
Grapeshot and canister shot were also developed to enhance the effectiveness of artillery at close range. Both of these types of shot consisted of numerous small metal balls inside a metal case or fabric bag. When fired, the casing was destroyed and dozens to hundreds of lethal objects were shot forward in a wide angle, similar to a shotgun. This was absolutely devastating to infantry and cavalry at close range, and added a significant amount of versatility and power to artillery-they were able to employ solid shot for longer ranged combat and switch to canister or grapeshot as the enemy approached to inflict horrendous casualties
Diagram of a Grapeshot Canister
Advances in artillery tactics-Gustavus Adolphus
The visionary Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus brought artillery into the forefront of field combat in the early 17th century. Whereas many nations were focused on creating fielding larger cannon, Adolphus believed that mobility and training were more important for creating a potent artillery force. In that vein, he chose to employ dozens of smaller cannon that could be rapidly shifted to fire into critical areas of battle. They were deployed in flexible batteries that fired into the gaps between his musketeer and pike formations, devastating any enemy troops attempting to penetrate these seemingly open areas.
Adolphus revolutionized the training of artillerymen. His cavalry, foot, and artillery all drilled on the field together in combined arms exercises. His artillerymen were far better prepared for combat than the artillery of other nations due to this vigorous training that more accurately simulated battlefield conditions. At the Battle of Breitenfeld between Protestant and Catholic forces, the Swedish artillery fired three to five volleys for every returning volley of the Catholic artillery. When Catholic cavalry attempted to charge the Swedish positions multiple times, they were driven back by intense artillery bombardment, at a rate of fire unmatched by any other army at the time. Adolphus’s flexible formations also showed their worth when Catholic infantry moved in a flanking attack on Swedish lines. Swiftly shifting his troops, Adolphus brought his artillery and troops to bear on the flanking attack, devastating it with barrages of artillery and musket fire.
Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld
Adolphus’s employment of highly mobile, highly trained artillery was a groundbreaking shift in battlefield tactics. It changed the face of warfare entirely, influencing Napolean and many later generals in their own battle formations. Artillery advances focused on creating lighter, more mobile guns that were capable of shifting to new threats on the battlefield. Better training and equipment allowed the rate of fire to increase dramatically, allowing artillery crews to make major differences on the battlefield.
Cannon had evolved from serving as a limited support weapon used to level fortifications to a core component of every general’s army. No one could afford to neglect their artillery services, and the mobility and power of guns continued to increase throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, serving critical roles in all major conflicts of the time. In future articles I will show the continued progression of artillery through the major conflicts of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
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