.Firearm improvements

Since siege artillery destroyed medieval castles, European countries realized the power of gunpowder and gunpowder weapons, and they began to pay attention to the development of firearms. From the 15th to the 17th century, firearms were improved and quickly put into use.

1, artillery

The casting materials of early artillery used a large amount of copper or bronze, but copper artillery was soft and easy to deform, so it was not suitable for heavy artillery. Later, when casting heavy artillery, people poured molten iron into the mold, cooled it, and then took out the blank. Cannon

The quality of the gun depends on the quality of the casting technology. The artillery blank is made, and then the holes are drilled with a water-driven drill. During the final test, the weight of the propellant must be equal to the weight of the projectile, and the artillery is considered qualified and delivered

Used by the military.

In the 15th century, a prominent change in the practice of artillery in warfare was the emergence of field artillery. The French army mounted relatively light copper-cast cannons on horse-drawn two-wheeled vehicle frames, and field artillery began to appear on the battlefield. During this period

, France also mounted the artillery on a wheeled gun mount, which increased its mobility and could also be aimed and ranged.

The artillery of the 16th century could not meet the standards of long range, accurate shooting, and high lethality, and its maneuverability was also relatively poor. In order to improve these shortcomings, the only way to improve the gun barrel was to lengthen the barrel, extend the range, and thicken the wall of the barrel to make it more powerful.

It can withstand the explosive force of a large amount of shells in the bore. However, at that time, it was difficult to solve these problems and achieve the maneuverability of the artillery. At the end of the 15th century, although French field artillery was in the lead, due to many shortcomings and deficiencies,

Its advantage was offset by Spanish infantry light firearms. For most of the 16th century, the Spanish had a clear advantage in artillery-making technology.

Before the mid-16th century, European military powers such as Spain and France competed to build artillery. The types and calibers of artillery were very complex, which made it difficult to supply ammunition to suit the "appetite" of multiple types of artillery. In view of this, King Charles V of Spain

The world took the lead in ordering to unify the artillery made by the empire into 7 types. France followed Spain and specified French artillery into 6 types. However, in the development and development process of artillery, there are still many models and types, and there are still many types and types between countries.

There are also differences.

Due to early efforts, artillery changed a lot in the 17th century. Artillery became an independent branch and formed the following main types: the first type is the long gun type, which is equivalent to modern artillery; the second type is cannon, that is, howitzer type

Prototype; the third type is a gun with a thinner barrel wall and higher ballistics, which is the prototype of the modern mortar. During this period, the production technology of the gun advanced so much that it took nearly two centuries to

There are basically no major changes in the range, power and main types of guns.

2,musket

Since the appearance of muskets in Europe in the 14th century, the evolution of muskets has been slow. Perhaps due to the complexity of use, people have not yet realized its advantages. But in the following centuries, with the advancement of technology, the performance of muskets has also improved.

has been improved, and its status has also changed accordingly.

In the 15th century, Western European craftsmen redesigned the wooden handle of the original "fire door gun" so that it could rest on the soldiers' shoulders when shooting, instead of being placed on a stand or placed on the ground. Since then, the definition of rifle

Officially identified as: a long-barreled firearm for individual shoulder fire (14).

By the middle of the 15th century, someone invented a safer ignition device and created the matchlock, a new type of gun that used a matchlock to ignite. Compared with the previous muskets, it was not much different, except that it was replaced with a new one.

Ignition device, but this device made the musket fire faster and more accurately. The disadvantage was that its range was not far enough, and the penetrating power of the bullets after being fired was relatively small. The infantry at that time was becoming more and more

Armor is mostly used, so its use is not widespread.

The smoothbore matchlock is a heavier light weapon successfully developed by the Spaniards. The barrel of this gun has become longer and the projectiles fired are heavier. It can shoot through armor and block cavalry charges. The extension of the barrel and the use of gunpowder

The improvement allows the bullet to have a higher speed and a longer range after being fired. On the other hand, because the gun becomes heavier, it must be mounted on a fork bracket before it can be fired, resulting in poor maneuverability. However, given that it has a longer

Due to its strong firepower advantage, it was finally accepted by people and widely used in the armies of European countries.

At the end of the 15th century, the Prussians invented the linear bore test gun, which was to carve linear grooves into the bore to reduce the friction between projectiles and the bore when loading. After the 16th century, some people changed the linear bore into a spiral shape.

After the improvement, the bullets flew more stably and improved the shooting accuracy. However, because loading projectiles in the front of this gun was time-consuming, people did not pay attention to it. It was not until the invention of the breech-loading gun that spiral rifling was widely used. It also appeared in the 16th century.

a machine

A type ignition device, which uses sulfur dioxide or flint to collide with steel sheets to generate sparks and ignite gunpowder. There is also a rotary ignition switch that uses the same principle. They have had a major impact on cavalry weapons and tactics. But this ignition

The device is too expensive and finicky to be widely used.

In the 17th century, the Swedes had an outstanding invention. They packed projectiles and propellant in a paper tube. When loading, the paper tube was torn, and the propellant and projectiles were loaded into the gun chamber. This simplified the loading process.

It also ensured the quantitative loading of propellant. This kind of ammunition was later widely promoted and used in Europe.

By the mid-17th century, a bayonet inserted into the muzzle of a musket began to be widely used and partially replaced the spear. Around 1680, Vauban may have used a ring to fix the bayonet to the barrel, so that the gun

The bore can be freed for shooting (15). Soon, someone made an improvement, installing a sleeve on the handle of the bayonet, and using bolts to firmly fix it with the barrel. At the end of the 17th century, European armies generally used

This kind of bayonet was invented. From then on, the musket soldiers themselves became spearmen, and the real spearmen quickly disappeared from the infantry formations.

With the rapid development of science and technology in the 19th century, the development of firearms bid farewell to its long "childhood and entered adolescence." In the 19th century, people successively invented breech-loading striker guns, metal-cased bullets, smokeless powder, repeating machine guns and other weapons.

Artillery and muskets were introduced to Europe with gunpowder. During the evolution of firearms, apart from changes in production technology, the gunpowder used has not changed. It has always been black powder, and this phenomenon continued until the end of the 19th century.

Therefore, it can be said that the improvement of weapons during this period was the improvement of black powder weapons.

4. Tactical changes

The use of firearms has changed the traditional way of combat. The extensive use of artillery has promoted the evolution of siege and defense tactics. At the same time, with the emergence of matchlocks, it has also changed the traditional infantry combat mode.

1. The emergence of the Spanish phalanx

At the end of the 15th century, while supporting the king of Naples in the war against France, Gonzalo returned to Cordoba first to realize and give full play to the power of light weapons. Perhaps he discovered the most important tactical function of black powder weapons.

: That is, firepower is a multiplier that greatly enhances defensive power (16). In any case, he was the first to take advantage of this new discovery. He deployed his matchlock soldiers in trenches to guard broad frontal positions, thus saving

This large number of troops allowed him to use more troops to deal with, maneuver and defeat the French army, which was much larger than his. He also managed to solve a basic infantry combat issue in the 15th century: how to defend the equipment being used in field operations.

The problem of the arquebusiers' bullets. He mixed the arquebusiers with the spearmen. The spearmen provided reliable protection for the arquebusiers, and used offensive assaults to give full play to the arquebusiers' light weapons firepower.

This new formation system was later known as the "Spanish phalanx". The formation of the phalanx was usually in this form. The spearmen were arranged in three dense rows, with 50 to 60 people in front of each row.

The depth is 20 columns. On the four corners are arquebus soldiers arranged in a dense square. This solid and mobile dense formation has a width of about 150 meters and a depth of 100 meters. On the outside of the four sides of the square

Each row of matchlock soldiers was lined up, and an independent detachment was also sent to engage in small-scale attacks (17). In the second half of the 16th century, the Spanish army was once powerful. The reason was that it adopted the Spanish phalanx, an army system

for the sake of.

The Spanish square formation popular in the 16th century, with spearmen in the middle and musketeers on the four sides

2.Morris’s reforms

Due to the success of the Spanish column combat idea, Western European countries rushed to imitate it. However, this system also had its own shortcomings. Its successors had to seek a more flexible and troop-saving system. The Dutch general Morris successfully took this step.

First, Morris's main contribution to the art of war was the optimal tactical use of force.

Morris reformed the Spanish phalanx based on the military system of the ancient Roman legions. He first reduced the number of horizontal rows of the Spanish spear infantry regiment from 40 to 10 rows, and finally to 5 rows, so that

All soldiers can throw all their weapons at the enemy position at once (18). The tactical formation created by Morris consists of 5 horizontal rows, each row has about 50 spearmen, and the distance between the soldiers is about 3 feet. It can be said that

It is the prototype of the modern line formation. On each flank of this formation, there are three platoons of musket soldiers, each with 40 people. They form four columns facing the enemy, with 10 people in each column. In this way, the muskets

After the soldiers finished shooting, they could retreat and reload, and then other lines would repeat their actions, thus creating a hail of lethal bullets.

In addition to reforming the formation system, Morris also regularized the troops, trained soldiers to march in an orderly manner, practice firing, marching in reverse, reloading and unified actions. Such repeated training ensured that every action met the standard, thereby reducing actual combat

The probability of errors in the process ensures actual combat effectiveness. In order to cultivate well-trained officers, Morris founded a military academy in 1619, which was another first in Europe. Students who graduated from this academy later served in the Thirty Years' War.

Zhongdu's military exploits were outstanding.

3. Gustav’s reforms

King Gustav of Sweden was also more sophisticated in the innovation of black powder weapon tactics. He fully understood the value of firepower and momentum and made full use of this. The purpose of Gustav's reforms was to improve the quality of infantry, cavalry and artillery.

, so that these three arms have greater combat effectiveness, thereby exerting the power of their joint operations.

In Gustav's reform of the formation, he still retained the 6 horizontal infantry line trial formations created by Morris, and deployed the spearmen on both sides of the musketeers, so that the strengths and weaknesses of the two arms complemented each other and improved

In order to improve their combat effectiveness, the musketeers implemented the tactic of overall advancement during combat. After the first row of soldiers finished shooting, they marched in the opposite direction. The two rows of soldiers behind were ready to fire volleys. And during the process of marching in the opposite direction,

The entire formation is still moving forward, so the combat firepower of the entire team seems to be a network of small arms firepower sweeping forward. The formation moves forward, and the musket soldiers are also covered by the spearmen while changing ammunition. Later Gus

Taft also invented the method of volley fire. The so-called volley fire is to have three rows of musket soldiers shoot at the enemy at the same time. The first row kneels to shoot, the second row squats to shoot, and the third row stands to shoot. This forms a formation.

Layer barrage increased firepower. In order to enhance the firepower of light weapons, he also added fire support from regimental artillery.

Gustav also turned the cannon into an offensive weapon, used in conjunction with cavalry and infantry. The purpose of his use of cannon was to allow the cannon to work together with other weapons to carry out the ultimate attack on decisive enemy targets.

Powerful fire attack. In order to make the gun highly mobile, he standardized the caliber of Swedish guns into three calibers suitable for firing 24, 12 and 3 pound shells. In the past, artillery usually had to occupy positions in advance before the battle began.

, the artillery was fixed on the position during the entire battle and could not move. Gustav's light regimental artillery could do this.

Gustav's efforts to develop regimental artillery reflect an interesting phenomenon that often occurs in modern wars, that is, people always try to find a way to improve the firepower and lethality of weapons to meet the needs of frontline soldiers. Infantry.

The demand for "accompanying artillery" in combat has always affected the military's tactical theory, organization and weapon development.

4. Frederick the Great: diagonal battle sequence

Frederick was a conservative innovator who incorporated mobility, speed, and rate of fire into his military system. He actively used cavalry units, especially when the battle was about to start and in the early stages of the battle.

It is to attack the enemy first. He invented the cavalry cannon, which gave the high-speed cavalry more firepower. The most successful thing in his life was the use of the infantry's "oblique battle sequence".

The infantry formation of the Prussian army consisted of two rows, each row was three columns deep, and the two rows were separated by about 300 steps. The cavalry was arranged in two or three single rows, located on both wings of the infantry row. The entire army had a total of

The four command points are located on the two wings of the infantry and the two wings of the cavalry. This rigid combat system itself has no advantages. The key is the unexpected changes and deployment during battle. This is the use of diagonal battle order.

The success of the diagonal battle sequence in combat mainly relies on the perfect training and strict discipline of the Prussian infantry. To effectively use this formation, the commander must first understand the enemy's deployment and wait for the opportunity to react before the enemy returns.

When there is no time to strengthen its flanks, it unexpectedly inserts diagonally towards the enemy. In addition, it is necessary to send an advance guard to hold the enemy in its original position and prevent it from temporarily mobilizing troops to resist the main attack. The characteristic of this kind of attack is that it is violent,

The firepower of the infantry and artillery was almost continuous and continuous. The Battle of Leuthen in 1757 is a typical example of Frederick's use of diagonal battle order (19).

It can be seen from the above reforms that the tactical level of European armies is gradually improving. This is not only related to the use of gunpowder and firearms, but also is inseparable from the situation in Europe at that time. The wars that occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries were more complicated than those in European history.

There are more than any other period in history, thus creating opportunities for tactical reform and practice.

5. Logistics

The use of firearms caused the biggest revolution in warfare. On the one hand, the number of armies was increasing day by day, and on the other hand, the supply system became more important (20). According to Talit's estimate, the size of European armies expanded by about 10% in the 16th and 17th centuries.
To be continued...