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94-516: Gonçalo Teixeira Correia ( c.  1583   – 12 February 1632) was a Portuguese artillery captain who led a mission across the Ming Empire to fight its Manchu invaders and train its army in the use of Western cannon . After he was killed defending Dengzhou (now Penglai) in Shandong from mutinous troops under Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming , he was eulogized and honored by

188-426: A Catholic convert and one of Paul Xu 's protégés, trained in both geometry and gunnery and a warm supporter of their cause. On 19   January 1632, poor treatment of Manchurian conscripts by Shandong's local officials and a failure to deliver their wages from Beijing on time led to their commanders Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming revolting against Governor Sun, who futilely attempted to negotiate with them for

282-554: A Chinese paean to his bravery at Dongzhou written by João Rodrigues in the year after his death. A memorial by Rodrigues also secured an official statement from the War Ministry on 19 June 1632 which listed all Macao's services for China, including those performed by Correia. Xiong Mingyu , the Ming Minister of War, further gave Correia the posthumous title of Assistant Regional Commander and two of his men were also given

376-500: A core, with the first drilled bore ordnance recorded in operation near Seville in 1247. They fired lead, iron, or stone balls, sometimes large arrows and on occasions simply handfuls of whatever scrap came to hand. During the Hundred Years' War , these weapons became more common, initially as the bombard and later the cannon . Cannons were always muzzle-loaders . While there were many early attempts at breech-loading designs,

470-408: A field carriage, immobility once emplaced, highly individual design, and noted unreliability (in 1460 James II , King of Scots, was killed when one exploded at the siege of Roxburgh). Their large size precluded the barrels being cast and they were constructed out of metal staves or rods bound together with hoops like a barrel, giving their name to the gun barrel . The use of the word "cannon" marks

564-480: A gate of the fortress on 22 February, making further resistance futile. Nine more Portuguese were killed, 15 escaped only with serious injury, and Rodrigues —near seventy—survived only by jumping from the high city wall into the ocean below. Although Sun was arrested and executed for his behavior during the mutiny, Correia was the subject of A Record of Gonçalo the Dutiful ( 公沙 効忠 紀 , Gōngshā Xiàozhōng Jǐ ),

658-521: A hollow iron ball filled with pitch and fuse, designed to be fired at close range and burst on contact. The most popular in Portuguese arsenals was the berço , a 5 cm, one pounder bronze breech-loading cannon that weighted 150 kg with an effective range of 600 meters. A tactical innovation the Portuguese introduced in fort defense was the use of combinations of projectiles against massed assaults. Although canister shot had been developed in

752-478: A lack of engineering knowledge rendered these even more dangerous to use than muzzle-loaders. In 1415, the Portuguese invaded the Mediterranean port town of Ceuta . While it is difficult to confirm the use of firearms in the siege of the city, it is known the Portuguese defended it thereafter with firearms, namely bombardas , colebratas , and falconetes . In 1419, Sultan Abu Sa'id led an army to reconquer

846-475: A mid-19th-century 12-pounder gun , which fired a 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) round, with a kinetic energy of 240 kilojoules, or a 20th-century US battleship that fired a 1,225 kg (2,701 lb) projectile from its main battery with an energy level surpassing 350 megajoules . From the Middle Ages through most of the modern era , artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages . In

940-455: A negotiator with the Portuguese. Paul Xu , recently appointed Vice-Minister of War, published memorial on 2 March 1630 claiming that European weaponry consisted of better-quality metal and gunpowder, forged and sighted more accurately than their Chinese equivalents. Rodrigues submitted a memorial of his own, generally praising Macao and the Jesuits. The Chongzhen Emperor referred the question to

1034-489: A peaceful resolution. On 11 February, they fully invested Dengzhou. Of the course of the siege, Teixeira and twelve other Portuguese manned their cannon and fired 19 times, killing about 600 or 700 of the mutineers. However, Teixeira was hit by an arrow while attempting to throw a grenade from the battlements and he died the next day, along with two of the other Portuguese. Traitors emerged within Sun's ranks and one secretly opened

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1128-497: A prelude to a decisive infantry and cavalry assault. Physically, cannons continued to become smaller and lighter. During the Seven Years War, King Frederick II of Prussia used these advances to deploy horse artillery that could move throughout the battlefield. Frederick also introduced the reversible iron ramrod, which was much more resistant to breakage than older wooden designs. The reversibility aspect also helped increase

1222-565: A sixth of all rounds used by the Portuguese in Morocco were of the fused-shell variety. The new Ming Dynasty established the "Divine Engine Battalion" (神机营), which specialized in various types of artillery. Light cannons and cannons with multiple volleys were developed. In a campaign to suppress a local minority rebellion near today's Burmese border, "the Ming army used a 3-line method of arquebuses/muskets to destroy an elephant formation". When

1316-565: A strong integrating effect on emerging nation-states, as kings were able to use their newfound artillery superiority to force any local dukes or lords to submit to their will, setting the stage for the absolutist kingdoms to come. Modern rocket artillery can trace its heritage back to the Mysorean rockets of Mysore . Their first recorded use was in 1780 during the battles of the Second , Third and Fourth Mysore Wars . The wars fought between

1410-514: A tour of the southern provinces almost three times longer than Correia's route, were still able to join them in the southern capital in late August. The Jesuits found them "in perfect health, but excessively annoyed by the lengthy delays and fearful that these long waits would be followed by other, greater ones". After Manchu raiders were seen near Beijing, the new permits were issued and the party permitted to continue its mission on 14 February 1630. Correia and his men were 65 kilometers (40 mi) from

1504-421: Is a widely used generic term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions . By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines. In some armies, the artillery arm has operated field , coastal , anti-aircraft , and anti-tank artillery; in others these have been separate arms, and with some nations coastal has been a naval or marine responsibility. In

1598-728: Is also sometimes given as Gonçalvo or as the Spanish Gonzalo or Gonzalvez . Correia appears in legal documents concerning the Portuguese enclave Macao in 1623, when he is described as 39 years old. Under the Ming , international maritime trade apart from the tribute system was notionally prohibited by the Hongwu Emperor 's Ancestral Injunctions but bribery and disinterest had made enforcement lax for many decades. Correia made frequent trips to Guangzhou over

1692-541: Is believed that he had two private palaces; one for his female lovers and one for his male lovers. One Confucian moralist group, the Donglin Movement , expressed distress at the conditions of the government. In response, the imperial court, under Wei Zhongxian's control, covertly ordered the execution of a number of officials associated with the Donglin Movement. Living conditions worsened during

1786-783: The British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore in India made use of the rockets as a weapon. In the Battle of Pollilur , the Siege of Seringapatam (1792) and in Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British. After the wars, several Mysore rockets were sent to England, but experiments with heavier payloads were unsuccessful. In 1804 William Congreve, considering

1880-642: The Napoleonic Wars , the industrialist William Armstrong was awarded a contract by the government to design a new piece of artillery. Production started in 1855 at the Elswick Ordnance Company and the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich , and the outcome was the revolutionary Armstrong Gun , which marked the birth of modern artillery. Three of its features particularly stand out. Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youjiao became emperor at

1974-407: The catapult , onager , trebuchet , and ballista , are also referred to by military historians as artillery. During medieval times, more types of artillery were developed, most notably the counterweight trebuchet. Traction trebuchets, using manpower to launch projectiles, have been used in ancient China since the 4th century as anti-personnel weapons. The much more powerful counterweight trebuchet

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2068-536: The contemporary era , artillery pieces and their crew relied on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation. These land versions of artillery were dwarfed by railway guns ; the largest of these large-calibre guns ever conceived – Project Babylon of the Supergun affair – was theoretically capable of putting a satellite into orbit . Artillery used by naval forces has also changed significantly, with missiles generally replacing guns in surface warfare . Over

2162-672: The mandarins as to whether the Manchus in the north or the increasing numbers and violence of European traders in the south were actually the greater threat. Shen Que , a Buddhist adept who rose to prominence in the Ministry of Rites, had succeeded in having the Jesuit mission in Nanjing expelled and its property confiscated in 1616 and Lu Zhaolong , a native of the Guangdong county on

2256-616: The siege of Constantinople in 1453 weighed 19 tons , took 200 men and sixty oxen to emplace, and could fire just seven times a day. The Fall of Constantinople was perhaps "the first event of supreme importance whose result was determined by the use of artillery" when the huge bronze cannons of Mehmed II breached the city's walls, ending the Byzantine Empire , according to Sir Charles Oman . Bombards developed in Europe were massive smoothbore weapons distinguished by their lack of

2350-442: The 15th century. The development of specialized pieces—shipboard artillery, howitzers and mortars —was also begun in this period. More esoteric designs, like the multi-barrel ribauldequin (known as "organ guns"), were also produced. The 1650 book by Kazimierz Siemienowicz Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima was one of the most important contemporary publications on the subject of artillery. For over two centuries this work

2444-551: The 16th century unequalled by contemporary European neighbours, in part due to the experience gained in intense fighting in Morocco, which served as a proving ground for artillery and its practical application, and made Portugal a forerunner in gunnery for decades. During the reign of King Manuel (1495–1521) at least 2017 cannon were sent to Morocco for garrison defense, with more than 3000 cannon estimated to have been required during that 26-year period. An especially noticeable division between siege guns and anti-personnel guns enhanced

2538-440: The 16th century, cannon were largely (though not entirely) displaced from the battlefield—the cannon were too slow and cumbersome to be used and too easily lost to a rapid enemy advance. The combining of shot and powder into a single unit, a cartridge, occurred in the 1620s with a simple fabric bag, and was quickly adopted by all nations. It speeded loading and made it safer, but unexpelled bag fragments were an additional fouling in

2632-431: The 20th century, target acquisition devices (such as radar) and techniques (such as sound ranging and flash spotting ) emerged, primarily for artillery. These are usually utilized by one or more of the artillery arms. The widespread adoption of indirect fire in the early 20th century introduced the need for specialist data for field artillery, notably survey and meteorological, and in some armies, provision of these are

2726-454: The Chinese proposal, approved a plan whereby Pedro Cordeiro and António Rodrigues do Campo would lead two companies north to Correia, who would then assume general command. The two companies together had only 160 Portuguese soldiers, supplemented by about 100 Cantonese and 100 African and Indian servants, but this was still a large contingent from a town whose entire Portuguese population at

2820-484: The Chinese, whose War Ministry granted him the posthumous rank of Assistant Regional Commander. Correia's name appears in contemporary records as Goncallo or Gonsalo Teixeira Correa . Following Portuguese conventions , it is the latter of his surnames which he received from his father but it is sometimes omitted. His given name is usually emended to the modern Portuguese spelling Gonçalo ; some sources use his surname's archaic spelling Corrêa . His name

2914-541: The Detachment Commander, and the highest number being the Coverer, the second-in-command. "Gunner" is also the lowest rank, and junior non-commissioned officers are "Bombardiers" in some artillery arms. Batteries are roughly equivalent to a company in the infantry, and are combined into larger military organizations for administrative and operational purposes, either battalions or regiments, depending on

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3008-576: The English-held towns of Jargeau, Meung, and Beaugency, all with the support of large artillery units. When she led the assault on Paris, Joan faced stiff artillery fire, especially from the suburb of St. Denis, which ultimately led to her defeat in this battle. In April 1430, she went to battle against the Burgundians, whose support was purchased by the English. At this time, the Burgundians had

3102-684: The Javanese were considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it. In 1513, the Javanese fleet led by Pati Unus sailed to attack Portuguese Malacca "with much artillery made in Java, for the Javanese are skilled in founding and casting, and in all works in iron , over and above what they have in India ". By the early 16th century, the Javanese had already started locally-producing large guns, which were dubbed "sacred cannon[s]" or "holy cannon[s]" and have survived up to

3196-486: The Jesuits André Palmeiro (January 1569   – 14 April 1635) and Domingos Mendes ( c.  1579 –1652) as part of the company until late March when it was at Nanxiong in northern Guangdong , well away from the imperial border guards. Palmiero and Mendes then donned a disguise of Chinese clothing and bid them farewell, separating from the party to inspect various Jesuit missions throughout

3290-628: The Manchu cavalry that many of his men had considered "invincible". In early 1628, João Rodrigues and two others negotiated its terms at Guangzhou . Near the end of the year, Correia's reliability and experience with the Chinese caused him to win the coveted post leading the expedition. His team ultimately consisted of Rodrigues , two other interpreters ( Simão Coelho and a Chinese jurubaça named Horatio Nerete), four other artillerists (Pedro de Quintal, Pedro Pinto, Francisco Aranha, and Francisco Correia), and 22 Indian and African servants. The inclusion of

3384-504: The Ming imperial court, with the Tianqi Emperor as merely a puppet ruler. The Tianqi Emperor apparently devoted his time to carpentry. Wei Zhongxian took advantage of the situation and began appointing the people he trusted to important positions in the imperial court. Meanwhile, Madam Ke sought to retain power by removing all other women from the emperor's harem by locking away the emperor's concubines and starving them to death. It

3478-501: The Ministry of Rites, which oversaw foreign affairs as well as religious ceremonial, but permitted Xu to be transferred there. As Vice-Minister of Rites, Xu offered a formal proposal on 5 June that Rodrigues be sent back to Macao to hire an infantry detachment, purchase cannon, and recruit gunners, totaling 200 men in all. He also had Giacomo Rho , the hero of the Dutch siege of Macao , visit Beijing to build interest and support. The proposal

3572-653: The Mysorian rockets to have too short a range (less than 1,000 yards) developed rockets in numerous sizes with ranges up to 3,000 yards and eventually utilizing iron casing as the Congreve rocket which were used effectively during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 . With the Napoleonic Wars, artillery experienced changes in both physical design and operation. Rather than being overseen by "mechanics", artillery

3666-525: The Portuguese and Spanish arrived at Southeast Asia, they found that the local kingdoms were already using cannons. Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised and even outgunned on occasion. Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 said that the inhabitants of Java were great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They made many one-pounder cannons (cetbang or rentaka ), long muskets, spingarde (arquebus), schioppi (hand cannon), Greek fire , guns (cannons), and other fire-works. In all aspects

3760-416: The Portuguese settlement at a time when the less-liked Dutch were still at open war with them; their fort had only finally been permitted in 1625 and remained minimal. The emperor criticized his officials for their erratic counsel but overturned Xu and ordered Cordeiro and Rodrigues do Campo's return. The Jesuit Rodrigues continued north with a few others, upon the pretext that it was necessary that he deliver

3854-430: The Portuguese would use their military aid as a bargaining chip in negotiations concerning Macao, where officials had already pushed to maintain greater food stores, reduce their annual land tax, rebuild walls and towers, relax trade restrictions, dismiss the local county 's assistant regional commander, and receive permission to settle on Pearl River shore opposite Guangzhou . Jiang, a member of Xu's pro-Western group,

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3948-567: The Tianqi Emperor's reign. The Ming dynasty also faced several popular uprisings. The Tianqi Emperor died heirless on 30 September 1627 due to his only son having died in the Wanggongchang Explosion and was succeeded by his fifth and sole surviving brother, Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian was enthroned as the Chongzhen Emperor . Consorts and Issue: In August and September 2009, a 42-hour television series dramatising

4042-480: The age of 15, following the death of his father, the Taichang Emperor , who ruled less than a month. He did not pay much attention to state affairs, and was accused of failing in his filial duties to his late father by not continuing the latter's wishes. It is possible that Zhu Youjiao suffered from a learning disability or something more. He was illiterate and showed no interest in his studies. However, he

4136-530: The army. These may be grouped into brigades; the Russian army also groups some brigades into artillery divisions, and the People's Liberation Army has artillery corps. The term "artillery" also designates a combat arm of most military services when used organizationally to describe units and formations of the national armed forces that operate the weapons. During military operations , field artillery has

4230-564: The bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon", an early example of field artillery . These small, crude weapons diffused into the Middle East (the madfaa ) and reached Europe in the 13th century, in a very limited manner. In Asia, Mongols adopted the Chinese artillery and used it effectively in the great conquest . By the late 14th century, Chinese rebels used organized artillery and cavalry to push Mongols out. As small smooth-bore barrels, these were initially cast in iron or bronze around

4324-417: The capital when they encountered such a company of pillaging Manchus. The gunners retreated to nearby Zhuozhou and set up 8 of their cannon on the city walls . Without doing much damage, they were still able to compel the Manchus to retreat from the area, a result that caused them to be welcomed into Beijing triumphantly. In Beijing , contact between Nicolò Longobardo and Rodrigues was avoided to maintain

4418-551: The country. Despite having missed the two Jesuits, local officials continued to delay and oppose the mission. They were kept at Nanjing , just like the earlier missions, until the local mandarins received a new confirmation from Beijing that they were to be allowed closer to the capital. Rodrigues composed a report blaming the delay on winds unfavorable for passage up the Grand Canal but was only attempting to save face on both sides. Palmeiro and Mendes, despite having conducted

4512-431: The course of military history, projectiles were manufactured from a wide variety of materials, into a wide variety of shapes, using many different methods in which to target structural/defensive works and inflict enemy casualties . The engineering applications for ordnance delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, encompassing some of the most complex and advanced technologies in use today. In some armies,

4606-461: The current context originated in the Middle Ages . One suggestion is that it comes from French atelier , meaning the place where manual work is done. Another suggestion is that it originates from the 13th century and the Old French artillier , designating craftsmen and manufacturers of all materials and warfare equipments (spears, swords, armor, war machines); and, for the next 250 years,

4700-617: The defense in a siege was lost. Cannons during this period were elongated, and the recipe for gunpowder was improved to make it three times as powerful as before. These changes led to the increased power in the artillery weapons of the time. Joan of Arc encountered gunpowder weaponry several times. When she led the French against the English at the Battle of Tourelles, in 1430, she faced heavy gunpowder fortifications, and yet her troops prevailed in that battle. In addition, she led assaults against

4794-415: The development of artillery ordnance, systems, organizations, and operations until the present, with artillery systems capable of providing support at ranges from as little as 100 m to the intercontinental ranges of ballistic missiles . The only combat in which artillery is unable to take part is close-quarters combat , with the possible exception of artillery reconnaissance teams. The word as used in

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4888-453: The early 15th century, the Portuguese were the first to employ it extensively, and Portuguese engineers invented a canister round which consisted of a thin lead case filled with iron pellets, that broke up at the muzzle and scattered its contents in a narrow pattern. An innovation which Portugal adopted in advance of other European powers was fuse-delayed action shells, and were commonly used in 1505. Although dangerous, their effectiveness meant

4982-704: The elderly Jesuit Rodrigues was at the insistence of the Macanese patrons of the voyage. Their battery consisted of ten heavy cannon, seven bronze and three iron , and four "excellent bombards". They left Macao on 11 December 1628. The officials at Guangzhou were particularly distrustful of the Jesuit Rodrigues and held Correia and his men for extensive examination. They were still ultimately required by imperial mandate to permit them passage in February 1629. In fact, Correia and Rodrigues helped to disguise

5076-414: The end of the 14th century, cannons were only powerful enough to knock in roofs, and could not penetrate castle walls. However, a major change occurred between 1420 and 1430, when artillery became much more powerful and could now batter strongholds and fortresses quite efficiently. The English, French, and Burgundians all advanced in military technology, and as a result the traditional advantage that went to

5170-433: The enemy by obscuring their view. Fire may be directed by an artillery observer or another observer, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, or called onto map coordinates . Military doctrine has had a significant influence on the core engineering design considerations of artillery ordnance through its history, in seeking to achieve a balance between the delivered volume of fire with ordnance mobility. However, during

5264-477: The expeditions' cannon and gifts for the emperor. Once in Beijing, he submitted a memorial denying Lu's accusations regarding Macao's demands and ambitions. He and his party then joined Correia, whose force had not been returned but sent southeast to the port city of Dengzhou in Shandong . There, he was continuing to train the Ming army in the use of Western cannon under the guidance of Governor Ignatius Sun ,

5358-410: The fallen city, and Marinids brought cannons and used them in the assault on Ceuta. Finally, hand-held firearms and riflemen appear in Morocco, in 1437, in an expedition against the people of Tangiers . It is clear these weapons had developed into several different forms, from small guns to large artillery pieces. The artillery revolution in Europe caught on during the Hundred Years' War and changed

5452-550: The fiction that the Jesuits at court were entirely unrelated to the foreigners occupying Macao . The expedition of gunners was otherwise well received. Based on the battle at Zhuozhou, Correia claimed in a memorial to the throne that the Manchus continued to pose a threat to China but "300 Portuguese and a few loyal Chinese would be enough to scare off the Tartars and even to punish them in their lands". He offered his services as

5546-494: The ground breaking legs and ankles. The development of modern artillery occurred in the mid to late 19th century as a result of the convergence of various improvements in the underlying technology. Advances in metallurgy allowed for the construction of breech-loading rifled guns that could fire at a much greater muzzle velocity . After the British artillery was shown up in the Crimean War as having barely changed since

5640-423: The gun barrel and a new tool—a worm —was introduced to remove them. Gustavus Adolphus is identified as the general who made cannon an effective force on the battlefield—pushing the development of much lighter and smaller weapons and deploying them in far greater numbers than previously. The outcome of battles was still determined by the clash of infantry. Shells, explosive-filled fused projectiles, were in use by

5734-418: The introduction in the 15th century of a dedicated field carriage with axle, trail and animal-drawn limber—this produced mobile field pieces that could move and support an army in action, rather than being found only in the siege and static defenses. The reduction in the size of the barrel was due to improvements in both iron technology and gunpowder manufacture, while the development of trunnions —projections at

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5828-470: The introduction of a gun shield necessary. The problems of how to employ a fixed or horse-towed gun in mobile warfare necessitated the development of new methods of transporting the artillery into combat. Two distinct forms of artillery were developed: the towed gun, used primarily to attack or defend a fixed-line; and the self-propelled gun, intended to accompany a mobile force and to provide continuous fire support and/or suppression. These influences have guided

5922-486: The largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to shell -firing guns , howitzers , and mortars (collectively called barrel artillery , cannon artillery or gun artillery ) and rocket artillery . In common speech,

6016-535: The mainland opposite Macao, published memorials heatedly arguing against permitting the "South-Sea barbarians" any access to China whatsoever. The competition of the factions was apparent when Xu succeeded in having a company of Portuguese gunners approved in 1620 only to have them returned the way they'd come in 1621, owing to local resistance upon various pretexts. After the fall of Guangning (now Beizhen in Liaoning ), Ignatius Sun 's extremely thorough memorials on

6110-451: The modern period, the consideration of protecting the gunners also arose due to the late-19th-century introduction of the new generation of infantry weapons using conoidal bullet , better known as the Minié ball , with a range almost as long as that of field artillery. The gunners' increasing proximity to and participation in direct combat against other combat arms and attacks by aircraft made

6204-414: The next few years, despite Dutch violence against the Portuguese and Chinese —a spill-over of their Eighty Years' War with Habsburg Spain , then in personal union with Portugal —renewing official prohibition on foreign trade for a span in late 1623 and early 1624, then almost permanently from 1626 on. China had been impressed with "red-barbarian cannon" since around 1600, when an enormous specimen

6298-468: The nuts, bolts and screws made their mass production and repair much easier. While the Gribeauval system made for more efficient production and assembly, the carriages used were heavy and the gunners were forced to march on foot (instead of riding on the limber and gun as in the British system). Each cannon was named for the weight of its projectiles, giving us variants such as 4, 8, and 12, indicating

6392-626: The posthumous ranks of brigade commander and commandant in the Ming army. Artillery Artillery are ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms . Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges , and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines . As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing

6486-701: The present day - though in limited numbers. These cannons varied between 180 and 260 pounders, weighing anywhere between 3–8 tons, measuring between 3–6 m. Between 1593 and 1597, about 200,000 Korean and Chinese troops which fought against Japan in Korea actively used heavy artillery in both siege and field combat. Korean forces mounted artillery in ships as naval guns , providing an advantage against Japanese navy which used Kunikuzushi (国崩し – Japanese breech-loading swivel gun ) and Ōzutsu (大筒 – large size Tanegashima ) as their largest firearms. Bombards were of value mainly in sieges . A famous Turkish example used at

6580-468: The rate of fire, since a soldier would no longer have to worry about what end of the ramrod they were using. Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval , a French artillery engineer, introduced the standardization of cannon design in the mid-18th century. He developed a 6-inch (150 mm) field howitzer whose gun barrel, carriage assembly and ammunition specifications were made uniform for all French cannons. The standardized interchangeable parts of these cannons down to

6674-406: The responsibility of the artillery arm. The majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars , World War I , and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was "the god of war". Although not called by that name, siege engines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first known catapult

6768-548: The role of providing support to other arms in combat or of attacking targets, particularly in-depth. Broadly, these effects fall into two categories, aiming either to suppress or neutralize the enemy, or to cause casualties, damage, and destruction. This is mostly achieved by delivering high-explosive munitions to suppress, or inflict casualties on the enemy from casing fragments and other debris and from blast , or by destroying enemy positions, equipment, and vehicles. Non-lethal munitions, notably smoke, can also suppress or neutralize

6862-735: The sense of the word "artillery" covered all forms of military weapons. Hence, the naming of the Honourable Artillery Company , which was essentially an infantry unit until the 19th century. Another suggestion is that it comes from the Italian arte de tirare (art of shooting), coined by one of the first theorists on the use of artillery, Niccolò Tartaglia . The term was used by Girolamo Ruscelli (died 1566) in his Precepts of Modern Militia published posthumously in 1572. Mechanical systems used for throwing ammunition in ancient warfare, also known as " engines of war ", like

6956-466: The side of the cannon as an integral part of the cast—allowed the barrel to be fixed to a more movable base, and also made raising or lowering the barrel much easier. The first land-based mobile weapon is usually credited to Jan Žižka , who deployed his oxen-hauled cannon during the Hussite Wars of Bohemia (1418–1424). However, cannons were still large and cumbersome. With the rise of musketry in

7050-476: The siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460. The able use of artillery supported to a large measure the expansion and defense of the Portuguese Empire , as it was a necessary tool that allowed the Portuguese to face overwhelming odds both on land and sea from Morocco to Asia. In great sieges and in sea battles, the Portuguese demonstrated a level of proficiency in the use of artillery after the beginning of

7144-454: The siege sixty-nine guns in fifteen separate batteries and trained them at the walls of the city. The barrage of Ottoman cannon fire lasted forty days, and they are estimated to have fired 19,320 times. Artillery also played a decisive role in the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs of 1444. Early cannon were not always reliable; King James II of Scotland was killed by the accidental explosion of one of his own cannon, imported from Flanders, at

7238-670: The strongest and largest gunpowder arsenal among the European powers, and yet the French, under Joan of Arc's leadership, were able to beat back the Burgundians and defend themselves. As a result, most of the battles of the Hundred Years' War that Joan of Arc participated in were fought with gunpowder artillery. The army of Mehmet the Conqueror , which conquered Constantinople in 1453, included both artillery and foot soldiers armed with gunpowder weapons. The Ottomans brought to

7332-537: The superiority of Western cannon and fortification attracted attention at the highest levels of the War Ministry. The Tianqi Emperor permitted a second Portuguese expedition to reach his capital in the spring of 1622. The same year, a Dutch assault on Portuguese Macao was repulsed when a gunner and the geometrician Giacomo Rho successfully struck the exact spot of the Dutch powder stores. The delegation in Beijing

7426-406: The term "gunners" for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either "crews" or "detachments". Several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery , although sometimes called a company. In gun detachments, each role is numbered, starting with "1"

7520-477: The time was less than a thousand men. In the event, the party only reached as far as Nanchang in Jiangxi before they were turned back. On 27 June, the Chinese had learned that the Manchus were withdrawing due to epidemic diseases among their men and horses. By July, officials in the capital were submitting memorials that Portuguese help was no longer needed or advisable. Lu Zhaolong 's in particular suggested that

7614-634: The use and effectiveness of Portuguese firearms above contemporary powers, making cannon the most essential element in the Portuguese arsenal. The three major classes of Portuguese artillery were anti-personnel guns with a high borelength (including: rebrodequim , berço , falconete , falcão , sacre , áspide , cão , serpentina and passavolante ); bastion guns which could batter fortifications ( camelete , leão , pelicano , basilisco , águia , camelo , roqueira , urso ); and howitzers that fired large stone cannonballs in an elevated arch, weighted up to 4000 pounds and could fire incendiary devices, such as

7708-492: The way that battles were fought. In the preceding decades, the English had even used a gunpowder-like weapon in military campaigns against the Scottish. However, at this time, the cannons used in battle were very small and not particularly powerful. Cannons were only useful for the defense of a castle , as demonstrated at Breteuil in 1356, when the besieged English used a cannon to destroy an attacking French assault tower. By

7802-580: The weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery. The actions involved in operating an artillery piece are collectively called "serving the gun" by the "detachment" or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The manner in which gunnery crews (or formations) are employed is called artillery support. At different periods in history, this may refer to weapons designed to be fired from ground-, sea-, and even air-based weapons platforms . Some armed forces use

7896-421: The weight in pounds. The projectiles themselves included solid balls or canister containing lead bullets or other material. These canister shots acted as massive shotguns, peppering the target with hundreds of projectiles at close range. The solid balls, known as round shot , was most effective when fired at shoulder-height across a flat, open area. The ball would tear through the ranks of the enemy or bounce along

7990-636: The word "artillery" is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings, although these assemblages are more properly called "equipment". However, there is no generally recognized generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth: the United States uses "artillery piece", but most English-speaking armies use "gun" and "mortar". The projectiles fired are typically either " shot " (if solid) or "shell" (if not solid). Historically, variants of solid shot including canister , chain shot and grapeshot were also used. "Shell"

8084-431: Was accepted and, although some sources report that Correia returned to Macao to assemble the forces, he remained in Beijing to offer assistance with its defense while Rodrigues went south with Jiang Yunlong and two other high-ranking mandarins instructed to report any interference with his journey. Rodrigues reached Macao by the end of August and a special 6-member committee of the senate , convened ad hoc to consider

8178-412: Was an outstanding carpenter and craftsman, often spending vast amounts of time on woodworking and instructing his servants to sell his creations undercover on the market just to see how much they were worth. Because the Tianqi Emperor was unable to read court memorials and uninterested in state affairs, the court eunuch Wei Zhongxian and the emperor's wet nurse Madam Ke seized power and controlled

8272-496: Was developed in Syracuse in 399 BC. Until the introduction of gunpowder into western warfare, artillery was dependent upon mechanical energy which not only severely limited the kinetic energy of the projectiles, it also required the construction of very large engines to accumulate sufficient energy. A 1st-century BC Roman catapult launching 6.55 kg (14.4 lb) stones achieved a kinetic energy of 16 kilojoules , compared to

8366-454: Was invented in the eastern Mediterranean region in the 12th century, with the earliest definite attestation in 1187. Early Chinese artillery had vase-like shapes. This includes the "long range awe inspiring" cannon dated from 1350 and found in the 14th century Ming dynasty treatise Huolongjing . With the development of better metallurgy techniques, later cannons abandoned the vase shape of early Chinese artillery. This change can be seen in

8460-403: Was maligned and accused of having embezzled from the funds set aside for the foreign mercenaries. More importantly, the major Guangzhou merchants, fearing the possibility that closer ties to Portugal might end their monopoly on its trade, raised a subscription and reïmbursed the throne for its expenses in hiring and returning the mercenaries. They were also anxious about reducing the defenses of

8554-462: Was procured from some European ship. Paul Xu —a Jesuit convert who rose to very high office in large part due to the superiority of Western geometry , with its applications in astronomy , astrology , and accurate use of artillery —warmly encouraged the use of Portuguese guns to counter the ongoing Manchu invasions of northern China. However, during Correia's time in China, there was debate among

8648-420: Was sent home in 1624, however, when an exploding cannon killed the gunner João Correia and his two Chinese assistants. After more discussion, the Chongzhen Emperor approved a third and larger expedition of foreign gunners a few years later. The general Yuan Chonghuan had used his Portuguese-trained artillerists to great effect at Ningyuan in 1626, then again at Ningyuan and at Jinzhou in 1627, rolling back

8742-501: Was used in Europe as a basic artillery manual. One of the most significant effects of artillery during this period was however somewhat more indirect—by easily reducing to rubble any medieval-type fortification or city wall (some which had stood since Roman times), it abolished millennia of siege-warfare strategies and styles of fortification building. This led, among other things, to a frenzy of new bastion -style fortifications to be built all over Europe and in its colonies, but also had

8836-423: Was viewed as its own service branch with the capability of dominating the battlefield. The success of the French artillery companies was at least in part due to the presence of specially trained artillery officers leading and coordinating during the chaos of battle. Napoleon , himself a former artillery officer, perfected the tactic of massed artillery batteries unleashed upon a critical point in his enemies' line as

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