Artillery: Mastering Firepower in Modern Warfare

By Fouad Sabry

What is Artillery

Artillery refers to ranged weapons designed to launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Historically, artillery development began with the creation of siege engines aimed at breaching defensive walls and fortifications. These early devices were heavy and relatively immobile. Over time, advancements in technology led to the development of lighter and more mobile field artillery cannons, enhancing their utility on the battlefield. Modern artillery includes highly mobile self-propelled artillery vehicles, which provide a significant portion of an army's firepower due to their versatility and mobility.

How You Will Benefit

(I) Insights and Validations on the Following Topics:

Chapter 1: Artillery

- Overview of artillery, its historical evolution, and modern applications.

Chapter 2: Howitzer

- Detailed information on howitzers, their design, and their role in modern and historical contexts.

Chapter 3: Self-propelled Artillery

- Insights into the development, functionality, and strategic advantages of self-propelled artillery.

Chapter 4: M110 Howitzer

- An in-depth look at the M110 howitzer, including specifications, usage, and historical significance.

Chapter 5: Nuclear Artillery

- Exploration of the development and deployment of nuclear artillery weapons.

Chapter 6: Recoilless Rifle

- Examination of recoilless rifles, their mechanism, and their tactical use in military operations.

Chapter 7: Mortar (Weapon)

- Comprehensive coverage of mortars, including their design, types, and use in various military scenarios.

Chapter 8: Shell (Projectile)

- Information on artillery shells, including their design, types, and impact on warfare.

Chapter 9: QF 18-Pounder Gun

- Detailed history and technical specifications of the QF 18-pounder gun, a significant piece of field artillery.

Chapter 10: Field Artillery

- Overview of field artillery, its evolution, and its role in modern military strategy.

(II) Answering the Public's Top Questions about Artillery

- Common inquiries about artillery, ranging from technical specifications to historical use and modern advancements, will be addressed comprehensively.

Who This Book Is For

- Professionals: Military professionals and defense industry experts seeking in-depth knowledge of artillery.

- Undergraduate and Graduate Students: Students studying military history, defense technology, or related fields.

- Enthusiasts and Hobbyists: Individuals with a keen interest in military technology and history.

- General Readers: Those looking to expand their understanding of artillery beyond basic knowledge.

This book serves as a detailed guide for anyone interested in the complexities and advancements in artillery technology and its strategic applications throughout history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 18, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Artillery

The range and power of artillery launchers are significantly greater than those of infantry weapons, making them a class of heavy military ranged weapons. Early artillery development was primarily concerned with the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, which produced huge, largely stationary siege machines. Field artillery cannons for use on the battlefield became smaller, lighter, and more mobile as technology advanced. Modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile and extremely versatile weapons, making up the majority of an army's total firepower. This development is still ongoing.

The term artillery originally meant any unit of soldiers equipped largely with armor or manufactured weapons. Since the invention of cannon and gunpowder, artillery has primarily meant cannon, and in modern usage, it typically refers to rocket artillery as well as shell-firing guns, howitzers, and mortars (together known as barrel artillery, cannon artillery, or gun artillery). In everyday speech, the term artillery is frequently used to describe specific machines, along with their fittings and accessories, even though these assemblages are actually better described as equipment. While the United States uses the phrase artillery piece, the majority of English-speaking forces use the terms gun and mortar. There isn't, however, a single, widely accepted term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and other similar weapons. Typically, the fired projectiles are either shot (if solid) or shell (if not solid). In the past, canister, chain, and grapeshot were all forms of solid shot that were employed. The term shell is frequently used to refer to a projectile, which is a part of munitions.

By connection, the arm of the military that typically uses these engines is also referred to as artillery. Field, coastal, anti-aircraft, and anti-tank artillery have all been operated by the artillery arm of some armies; in other armies, these have been different weapons, and with some nations, coastal defense has been the responsibility of the navy or the marines.

Technology-based target acquisition tools and systems, mainly for artillery, arose in the 20th century. Examples include radar and sound ranging and flash spotting. Typically, one or more of the artillery arms operate these. Field artillery now requires specialized data, including survey and meteorological data, as a result of the early 20th century's frequent use of indirect fire. In certain armies, the artillery arm is responsible for providing these data.

Since at least the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, artillery has been in use. In the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II, artillery was primarily responsible for battle fatalities.

Despite not being called artillery, siege engines have been used in battle from the beginning of time and serve in a similar capacity. Syracuse produced the original catapult in 399 BC. Before the use of gunpowder in battle, artillery relied on mechanical energy, which severely constrained the kinetic energy of the projectiles and necessitated the building of very huge engines to gather enough energy. A mid-19th-century 12-pounder gun fired a 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) round with a kinetic energy of 240 kilojoules, while a 20th-century US battleship fired a 1,225 kg (2,701 lb) projectile from its main battery with an energy level exceeding 350 megajoules. By comparison, a first-century BC Roman catapult launched 6.55 kg (14.4 lb) stones with a kinetic energy of 16.

Horse-drawn gun carriages were used to transport artillery pieces on land from the Middle Ages to the majority of the modern era. Artillery pieces and their crews traveled by wheeled or tracked vehicles in the modern era. These railway guns dwarfed these land-based artillery pieces; Project Babylon of the Supergun affair, the largest large-calibre gun ever designed, was potentially capable of launching a satellite into orbit. The artillery used by naval forces has also undergone significant alteration, with guns typically being replaced by missiles in surface warfare.

Projectiles have been made over the course of military history from a wide range of materials, in a wide range of shapes, and with a vast range of techniques to target defensive and structural works and cause harm to the adversary. The engineering applications for the delivery of ordnance have also evolved greatly over time, incorporating some of the most sophisticated and complex systems currently in use.

The projectile, not the gun that fires it, is the artillery weapon in some militaries. Gunnery is the process of delivering fire onto the target. The detachment or gun crew refers to the collective acts required to operate an artillery piece as serving the gun, which can result in either direct or indirect artillery fire. The application of gunnery crews (or formations) is known as artillery support. This can refer to weapons made to be fired from platforms on land, the sea, or even the air at various points in history.

Some militaries refer to the soldiers and sailors whose major duty is operating artillery as gunners..

The teams of gunners and their weapons are typically referred to as crews or detachments. A group of these crews and teams, each of which serves a different purpose, form an artillery unit known as a battery or, less frequently, a company. Each position in a gun detachment has a number, with 1 designating the Detachment Commander and coverer, the second-in-command, having the highest number. In some artillery arms, junior non-commissioned officers are referred to as Bombardiers, while Gunner is the lowest rank.

For administrative and operational reasons, batteries—which are roughly equivalent to an infantry company—are consolidated into bigger military groups, either battalions or regiments, depending on the army. These could be organized into brigades, and both the Russian army and the People's Liberation Army have artillery corps.

When used organizationally to identify units and formations of the national armed forces that use the weaponry, the term artillery also signifies a combat arm of most military services.

Field artillery participates in military operations by engaging targets, particularly deep targets, or supporting other armed forces in battle. These impacts can be broadly divided into two categories: those intended to cause casualties, damage, or destruction, and those intended to suppress or neutralize the opponent. This is mostly accomplished by dropping high-explosive bombs to subdue the enemy or cause casualties among them through blast, casing pieces, and other debris, or by obliterating their locations, tools, and vehicles. By obstructing the enemy's eyesight, non-lethal munitions, such as smoke, can also subdue or neutralize them.

Fire can be called into map coordinates or directed by an artillery observer or another observer, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

Through history, military doctrine has had a profound impact on the fundamental engineering design principles of artillery weapons, in attempting to strike a balance between the volume of fire fired and the mobility of the ordnance.

However, throughout the present era, The late 19th century introduction of the new generation of infantry weapons using conoidal bullets also brought to the idea of sheltering the gunners, better known as the Minié ball, has a range that is nearly as long as field artillery's.

The development of a gun shield was required due to the gunners' increasing proximity to and involvement in direct combat against other combat armaments as well as attacks by aircraft. The invention of novel means of bringing the artillery into battle was required by the difficulties of using a fixed or horse-towed gun in mobile warfare. The towed cannon, which is usually used to attack or defend a fixed-line, and the self-propelled gun, which is designed to accompany a mobile unit and to provide continuous fire support and/or suppression, are two separate types of artillery that were developed. Until the present, these factors have influenced how artillery ordnance, systems, organizations, and operations have evolved. As a result, artillery systems are now capable of supporting forces at ranges ranging from just 100 meters to that of ballistic missiles' intercontinental ranges. With the possible exception of artillery reconnaissance teams, close-quarters combat is the only type of combat that artillery cannot engage in.

The phrase as it is used today has its roots in the Middle Ages. One theory is that it derives from the French word atelier, which refers to a location where manual labor is performed.

Another theory is that the term artillery dates back to the 13th century and the Old French word artillier, which denoted artisans and producers of all materials and weapons of war (such as spears, swords, armor, and war machines). For the next 250 years, the term was used to refer to all types of military weapons. As a result, the Honourable Artillery Company, which up until the 19th century was mostly an infantry force, was given that name.

An other hypothesis is that it originates from the Italian arte de tirare (art of shooting), invented by one of the pioneering artillery usage theorists, Niccolò Tartaglia.

Military historians also refer to the mechanical engines of war employed for throwing ammunition in ancient combat, such as the catapult, onager, trebuchet, and ballista, as artillery.

More types of artillery were created throughout the medieval era, most notably the trebuchet. Since the fourth century, traction trebuchets, which propel projectiles with the aid of human traction, have been utilized as anti-personnel weapons in ancient China. However, the counterweight trebuchet was first used in the 12th century, with the year 1187 being the first recorded mention of it.

Chinese artillery in the past featured vases-like shapes. This includes the far range awe inspiring cannon from 1350 that was discovered in the treatise Huolongjing from the Ming Dynasty's 14th century. Small, primitive weapons known as madfaa spread into the Middle East and eventually made their way to Europe in the 13th century.

In Asia, the Mongols took Chinese artillery and successfully exploited it in their massive conquest. By the end of the 14th century, organized artillery and cavalry were utilized by Chinese rebels to drive the Mongols out.

These were initially made as small smooth-bore barrels that were core-cast in iron or bronze. The first drilled bore ordnance was used in 1247, close to Seville. They launched lead, iron, or stone balls, occasionally big arrows, and occasionally just a few handfuls of whatever junk was available. These weapons increased in popularity throughout the Hundred Years' War, first as the bombard and then as the cannon. Muzzle-loading cannons were always in use. Despite numerous early attempts at breech-loading designs, these were considerably riskier to operate than muzzle-loaders due to a lack of engineering understanding.

The Portuguese invaded Ceuta, a coastal city in the Mediterranean, in 1415. Although it is challenging to determine if guns were used at the siege of the city, it is known that the Portuguese afterwards defended it with guns, specifically bombardas, colebratas, and falconetes. In 1419, Marinids imported cannons and used them in the attack on Ceuta under the command of Sultan Abu Sa'id. Finally, handguns and riflemen make their first appearance in Morocco in 1437 during an expedition against the inhabitants of Tangier. These weapons had clearly evolved into a variety of shapes, ranging from small cannons to massive artillery pieces.

During the Hundred Years' War, the artillery revolution spread throughout Europe and altered how conflicts were conducted. Even a gunpowder-like weapon had been employed by the English in military assaults against the Scottish in the decades before that. Castle walls could not be breached by cannon at the end of the 14th century; they could only knock in roofs.

However, a significant shift happened between 1420 and 1430, when artillery significantly increased in strength and could now effectively batter strongholds and fortresses. The traditional advantage that the defense in a siege enjoyed was lost as a result of the advancements in military technology made by the English, French, and Burgundians. During this time, the cannon were lengthened, and the gunpowder formula was enhanced to make it three times more potent than previously. These modifications caused the era's artillery weapons to have more power.

Gunpowder weapons were used on Joan of Arc multiple times. She faced strong gunpowder fortifications when she led the French against the English at the Battle of Tourelles in 1430, but her forces won the conflict. Assaults against the English-held towns of Jargeau, Meung, and Beaugency were also led by her, all of which were supported by sizable artillery units. Joan, who oversaw the attack on Paris, came under heavy artillery fire, particularly from the neighborhood of St. Denis, which finally resulted in her loss in this conflict. She engaged in combat with the Burgundians in April 1430, whose allegiance the English had paid for. The Burgundians at this period had the most powerful and extensive arsenal of gunpowder among the European nations, but the French, led by Joan of Arc, were able to repel the Burgundians and protect themselves. As a result, gunpowder cannon was used to fight in the majority of the engagements of the Hundred Years' War in which Joan of Arc took part.

In Mehmet the Conqueror's army, which overthrew Constantinople in 1453, both artillery and foot infantry wielding gunpowder weapons were present. The Battle of St. Jakob a der Birs in 1444 saw the crucial contribution of artillery as well. Early cannon were not always trustworthy; during the siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460, King James II of Scotland was slain by the unintentional explosion of one of his own cannon, brought from Flanders.

The effective employment of artillery was crucial to the Portuguese Empire's growth and security because it provided them with the means to combat overwhelming odds on land and at sea from Morocco to Asia.

Portuguese artillery consisted of anti-personnel cannons with a high barrel length, such as the rebrodequim, berço, falconete, falcão, sacre, áspide, cão, Passavolante and serpentina); Battering fortifications with bastion guns (camelete, leão, pelicano, basilisco, águia, camelo, roqueira, urso); in addition to howitzers that shot big stone cannonballs in an elevated arch, weighed up to 4000 pounds and was capable of firing explosives, as an iron ball that is hollow and filled with pitch and fuse, intended for close-range firing and bursting on contact.

The new Ming Dynasty established the Divine Engine Battalion (神机营), He was an expert in all kinds of artillery.

Multiple volley guns and light cannons were created.

In an effort to put down a local minority uprising close to the current Burmese border, To defeat an elephant formation, the Ming army employed a three-line strategy of arquebuses and muskets.

Bombards were most useful during sieges. During the siege of Constantinople in 1453, a notable Turkish example