Evolution Of Artillery Research Paper

In 1775, thirteen colonies began a fight for their independence from Britain’s rule. Without formal training in artillery tactics or a proper armament of artillery pieces, early units had to overcome adversity and hardship. But with courage and dedication the artillery and its leadership were able to play a vital role in the success on the battlefields, and ultimately the victory resulting in America earning its freedom.

During the Middle Ages, or also known as the Medieval Ages, change was a major part of that period. Europe was watching war become much different. In the older times, a few thousands of troops were considered a large army. Nowadays, nobody has ever seen such size of an army with such variety in weapons including guns, munitions, and artillery that were all developed during that period. Besides, it was obvious that the face of warfare was changing by the end of the fifteenth century. Two of the most significant developments were the maintaining of a fair amount of troops on a permanent basis at the ready, and the rising need of gunpowder weapons and munitions. In essence The Middle

Field Artillery “The King of Battle” dates back as far as the birth of the United States Army itself. The Battle at Bunker

“At the time of our entry into World War I America was ill prepared for large scale warfare with large movements of whole Armies. The U.S. Army was not prepared with its Artillery and had no heavy artillery guns to speak of” (Hartwell, 2017). During World War I, the Coast Artillery Corps was subject to rapid changes and unit realignments. This signified the beginning of a seamless transition to what would eventually give birth to Air Defense Artillery. The French and British had provided the United States Army with its initial Artillery weapons resulting in no American Artillery brought to the front. Production quickly started on American versions of their foreign Artillery counterparts currently used in action. The American 8

Field Artillery also known as “The King of Battle” dates back as far as the birth of the United States Army itself. At the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 1775, six artillery cannons stood and fought with much admiration. Due to poor leadership, five of the six cannons were lost and could not partake in battle. Henry Knox, a former bookseller, took over the artillery and created one of the most impressive and cohesive field artillery units that the United States Army has seen today. The artillery guns consisted of a large bronze or iron cannon, and a wooden frame connected with bolts wheeled on a carriage.

The 100 Years’ War was given a misleading name, as this conflict between England and France was not a war that lasted one hundred years, it was rather a series of related clashes that lasted just over a century. However, the fact that this conflict lasted more that one hundred years meant that many new tactics and weaponry came into play that changed the concepts of warfare forever. During this one hundred years, tactics changed from the system of feudal armies dominated by heavy Calvary, to the first attempt at some sort of ‘standing army’. The evolution in the types of tactics and weapons that nations used caused the battlefields of Europe to be covered in blood, as the more advanced the weapons, became, the more casualties amounted. The 100 Years’ War was the first time that strategy was used in order to command troops on the battlefield, and it was during this time that the fabrication of early martial handbooks also came into the battle. One of the more famous authors of one of these books was “the great Swabian practitioner and teacher, Johannes Liechtenauer” . Unfortunately, there are no French texts concerning martial handbooks that predate 1570, meaning that in order to look at tactics, sources from surrounding nations at the time have to suffice. Another thing that evolved extremely rapidly during the 100 years’ war, was the escalation of the types of weapons used during conflicts. Inasmuch there were 100 years of outright fighting, each side had a chance to

Prior to the Civil War during the Napoleonic era, artillery was a smoothbore weapon system primarily forged with bronze. These systems were very large, cumbersome, horse drawn and difficult to move into battle. However, near the end of the Napoleonic Era the Gribeauval system would improve cannon systems by casting them out of a solid piece of bronze, and boring out the center. This new Napoleonic invention increased range and accuracy, ultimately, establishing the cornerstone of rifled artillery.1

The civil war, one of the most bloodiest and climacteric battles in the history of the United States. Many battles took place during this pivotal, yet traumatic time in the United States of America. Like any battle, there have moving parts. Within Battles they contain, Scouts, Calvary, Infantry, and Field Artillery. Of all the moving parts on the battle field, the Field Artillery plays an important and triumphant role, within the battlefield infrastructure. The civil war, like other wars, ubiquitous use of artillery was important; artillery was the key to winning battles. One battle in particular, relied densely on the field artillery. Malvern Hill was that important battle. The history of Malvern Hill is one of many puzzle pieces,

The American Civil War has a plethora of important events with major impacts on the eventual outcome. In this war, a significant event occurred on the coastline of Savannah, Georgia during the Battle of Ft. Pulaski, an important battle with definite defensive and logistical advantages as the prize to the victor. The innovation shown in this battle will forever leave an imprint in the history of the field artillery's modern cannon rifling system as it revolutionized influencing higher rates of accuracy at greater distances. The Union commander during that era, Cpt. Gilmore, showed how a once considered invincible “third system defense” fortress, built with seven foot wide walls with a legion of cannons, can be breeched and seized without any loss from enemy fire. With continuous and accurate fires while being out of reach from enemy fires this technology to which is still in use today in modern field artillery cannons. We will be exploring the historical timeline of this battle. Not just the significance of this particular fort battle in the Civil War, but also in how rifled cannon tubes changed the course of this battle.

It was a very exciting time for us, the British, we had just seized Louisburg in Nava Scotia. I am part of the British army; General Wolfe is our leader and decided that we would take over Quebec City next. Making our way in boats we headed to D’Orléans for our plan of action. This was the only area that was defenseless at the time, we had our eyes set and ready for anything to come our way. The French saw us coming and sent battle ships to take us out, with our eyes peeled we see them coming in fast. To our disadvantage, they had cannons on 3 ships setting up to fire, we had no choice but to flee. General was furious, already planning another attack method, he wanted to provoke the French general Montcalm. Positioning the army on the south

General George S. Patton is one of America’s greatest generals and was known for his brutal honesty. One of his most famous quotes were “I don’t have to tell you who won the war. You know the artillery did.” General Patton regularly held the artillery in high admiration throughout World War II. The actions on the battlefield that led to rise of the artillery began much earlier in history. One battle had greatly contributed to the development of artillery tactics and equipment during these times. This created the foundation for modern artillery howitzers and tactics. The United States of America, and the entire world, owes much of their artillery prowess to the decisive tactics used in The Fall of Constantinople, where the cannon showed itself the most effective piece on the battlefield.

“The fort was built in an irregular pentagon design which is still considered one of the finest examples of Napoleonic military architecture in existence; the Pentagon in our nation’s capital is modeled after it. It was unusual in that it was erected over a sandy foundation with little solid rock underneath, but it never settled or sagged. The armament for it was formidable: three hundred and twelve seacoast and garrison guns, six field pieces, and one hundred and thirty-four other heavy guns, all to be manned by a garrison of twelve hundred men. The design also provided for a complete three hundred and sixty degree defensive pattern, thus eliminating the possibility of land attack. During the years, muzzle loading cannons gave way to rifled cannons which in turn were replaced by “disappearing” twelve inch guns. There was even a “torpedo” launching casemate.” (Hamilton, Harlan. Throg Neck Light. 3)

Medieval Warfare is warfare in the middle ages or the time period before the 18th century. (McDonald, 2010). Advancements in weapons caused for more gruesome and bloody war. The use of swords, spears, axes, and arrows caused for many fierce and bloody battles. Advancements in intelligence made for better tactics, strategies, travel and more importantly, more victories.

When focusing on cavalry, artillery, and infantry in the Franco-Prussian war as three aspects to compare, the following information came out.

Another change occurred, in that armies changed from being mercenary based to kingdoms establishing their own standing armies. As a result, professional soldiers emerged which only continued to elevate the common soldier’s status in society. This occurred for a few reasons. Before arquebuses, a state maintaining a standing army was incredibly dangerous and expensive to handle. A standing army under a commander was mechanically difficult to manage while standing bowmen, as stated before, required constant training to be effective. Granted, it was possible that a standing army could be stronger than a mercenary based army, but most countries did not want to take the continual drain on their resources. The French had developed a standing army merely out of necessity for themselves due to the Hundred Years War.