![]() One of the earliest descriptions of gunpowder in the West was written by Roger Bacon in 1245. Modern artillery uses explosive chemical power and launches rounds that can carry explosive, smoke, and illumination charges antitank mines radar-jamming devices and laser- and satellite-controlled terminal guidance systems. These older weapons used mechanical force as a means of launching solid, deadweight projectiles. All modern artillery is directly descended from the ancient engines of war, described in such Bible passages as 2 Chronicles 26:15: “devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls.” Artillery pieces of the pre-gunpowder era included the ballista, essentially a huge crossbow that threw its projectile in a relatively flat trajectory, and the catapult and the trebuchet, which flung missiles in a more arched trajectory, making it possible to engage targets behind walls and hills. Anyone who has ever been subjected to sustained artillery fire would most likely concur.Īt its most basic level, an artillery piece is a crew-served weapon that throws a relatively large projectile great distances. JOSEPH STALIN CALLED ARTILLERY the “god of war.” Marshal Henri Petain is frequently quoted as having said, “The artillery conquers, the infantry occupies.” Louis XIV ordered Ultima ratio regum (the final argument of kings) inscribed on all French cannons, while a medieval pope reportedly issued a blanket excommunication for all gunners as servants of the devil.
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