Aldarion
Archmage
Short History of Artillery -Antiquity to 19th Century
Artillery is the king of the battlefield. Even today, with air power, smart ammunition and drones, most of the damage is still being done by the artillery. In July 2024, Ukrainians were firing 2 00…
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Artillery is the king of the battlefield. Even today, with air power, smart ammunition and drones, most of the damage is still being done by the artillery. In July 2024, Ukrainians were firing 2 000 rounds per day while Russians were firing 10 000. From at least the Crimean war until today, most of the damage and casualties was typically caused by the artillery.
Yet it wasn’t always this way. History of artillery goes back a long way indeed, and early artillery generally wasn’t suitable for battlefield usage.
Origin of artillery really lies in prehistory. First human weapons were simple melee weapons such as clubs – Greek hero Hercules is a prominent user of the weapon. Yet clubs, relying solely on blunt damage, required a lot of strength to use and were hardly efficient. Next evolution was spear. Spear was far superior as it penetrated the skin, causing internal injuries and bleeding, which could kill the animal even if it survived the initial attack. And once spears were designed so they could be thrown, killing animals with spears also became far safer.
