War from the 16th and 17th Century to Invention of GunpowderWar from the 16th and 17th Century to Invention of GunpowderWAR FROM THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURY TO INVENTION OF GUNPOWDERThe invention of the powerful artillery guns would change mans 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 rifles 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 the broadswordsmen, halberd, crossbowmen, long bowmen, and for a time the cavalry. The pikemen maintained a position as protection of the musketeers in between reloads, because improvements needed to be made for the muskets accuracy and rate of fire.
Maurice of Nassau equipped his army with weapons of the same size and caliber in an order to attempt more efficient training methods. His cousin, Count John, began to work on making a training doctrine, which included counted movements for the pikes, arquebus, and muskets. The importance of this training method is that it would enable a commander to ensure that the army trained would be able to improve skills of reloads and master techniques of actual usage of weapons. The doctrine spread to the countries Germany, France, and England and Count John opened a military academy based on Maurices drill, practice, and training methods of arms, armor, maps, and models.
As time went on the training became more complex and eventually Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was able through constant drill and practice bring training methods to full potential. Reloading techniques were improved so much that only six ranks of musketeers were needed to maintain a continuous barrage. Firepower from artillery was also perfected as a result of Nassaus work, and every regiment was capable of firing twenty rounds in an hour. Gustavus also trained his cavalry to charge home with swords drawn, rather than to skirmish with pistols. The military revolution brought the changes of improvement in artillery, increasing reliance on battlefield firepower, and a dramatic increase in the size of the army.
The rapidly increasing size of the armies in Europe brought three problems: Recruitment, Finance, and Supply. The problem with recruitment was solved in many ways. The most common method of enlistment was actually through volunteering, but other men were forced to serve as well. The volunteers were attracted to service because of the money, and recruits joined from the mountains, towns, and even in war-zones and the majority of them consisted of peasants or townsmen that needed work. Many men joined the army to escape the life of their fathers work, to avoid criminal prosecution, to see more of the world, or to pursue honor. In addition to the volunteers, the governments also used forceful means of enlistment by “recruiting” an entire population of an area as a unit and forcing them to fight together.
HISTORY
Prewar Germany’s Army of the Red Army
This is the first book about the German Army and Allied forces of World War 1 (1941-1942). It is divided into 3 volumes: the series begins with the original German Army, the military and training of the Second Army, and the Battle of the Somme in October 1941. The series begins with Field Notes for Allied forces beginning as early as November 1942 and ending in the German Army of the Red Army. German tanks and a number of infantry regiments in Europe. The American army has already entered World War 1 for World War 2. The other countries that are considered to be in the same category in World War 1, including Korea, the Philippines, and Afghanistan, have never taken part in World War 1. However, the Americans have not only advanced by 1,500,000 units for World War 2 and to a large extent to their second victory, but have also been the first in their history to have at least two major wars. By the end of the period of the First World War a war effort must be conducted to accomplish these goals. There have also been two other major periods of conflict of this period.
While the English Empire had a strong military during World Wars a long-standing tension arose among the English armies and their allies on the ground in the Pacific. During the two wars, England and Spain, under King Edward of England and Duke of Wellington on 15 December 1774, engaged the Russians in a stalemate in the Indian Ocean as Spain and Italy had refused to abandon their naval bases on Plymouth Island. On June 9th, 1876, the Dutch defeated the British and had to make a series of decisions to take out the French base at Vicksburg on the Atlantic. However, the Americans had been weakened and had to take out one additional base on the Potomac at Dover in September, but the British surrendered on December 1st, 1878. The Americans had only gained a foothold on the Pacific but had advanced by 1,200 units to victory just about to set up another campaign in California. The British and French made only a dozen additional strikes, as did Germany, but by October they were well and truly in control after they had established considerable force to the north. During this period the English empire was still in its embryonic stages and the Americans were just beginning to exert power.
The French Empire had also lost much of its ground and made great efforts to expand its empire across the Atlantic Ocean and to reach American territory where Napoleon had planned to invade the Americas in 1806. The United States had never been an active foreign power until it was attacked and the nation was invaded by France, where a second invasion of Japan had to be taken. Although the Americans maintained more territory under the command of Lord Nelson and the Americans maintained only a handful of islands, the French had a considerable number of strong territories and territory in the western Atlantic. The American invasion had to be stopped because the French had also failed to establish a foothold on one of Japan’s most important islands (Kunigaku Prefecture, Niji). The United States had already declared a war of aggression against the Kingdom of Japan in Japan with Germany