Ballistic Warfare
Created | Updated Mar 27, 2002
Definition
The definition of ballistic warfare is warfare that takes place at range, rather than at point blank1. However, your definition of 'range' can vary immensly from a simple thrown stone to an almighty artillary barrage. Therefore, each entry will usually give an aproximation for efficient range.
Ballistic Warfare: The Beginning
It is impossible to know when thrown objects were first used in anger, but since the dawn of time people have used improvised missiles2 to fight with; the earliest no doubt being stones or pieces of wood. And so it continued for some time. The spear was invented and hurled at animals, and later people, and mankind continued to find bigger and better ways to fight from a distance...
Bow and arrow
A bow is essentially a piece of slightly bent wood with a string made of flax, hemp, silk, cotten or sinew, though a combination of these was common.
By bending the bow and attaching the bowstring to either end of the bow, the archer placed tension on the back. Nocking an arrow and drawing the string back placed greater tension on the bow. Releasing the arrow also released the tension energy built up in the bow and propelled the arrow farther and with greater force than it could be thrown. Thus, warfare could be conducted at greater ranges with more devastating results to the opponent unable to fire arrows back. Bows are still very impressive weapons, capable of firing tremendous diestances in the hands of a good archer (A record set in the 19th century for bow fire was 660 yards for special arrows, and 440 yards (1/4 of a mile) with a normal war arrow!).
An Interesting Note: The phrase “to draw a bead on someone,” meaning to take aim at them, derived from archers during medieval Europe. The Longbow string had a bead attached to its center where the arrow should be nocked. By “drawing the bead” back, the archer prepared to shoot at a target.
Crossbows!
The crossbow was the next step up from the bow. The crossbow consists of a wooden body simmilar in design to a shotgun. However, rather than the 12 gauge-firing tube, the crossbow posesses a small bow construted onto the end of the frame. The bow string was notched onto the nut3 until fired. However, the crossbow wasn't perfect; it was shorter ranged than the bow and was comparitavely inaccurate. It was also difficult to reload. The crossbow often had a stirrup attached to the end of the stock, which crossbowman would place his foot in and pull on the string until it could be re-notched. It is estimated that in the time it took a crossbowman to fire and reload with one arrow, an archer could fire six times.
Rifles
Gunpowder weapons were the 'leading edge' of technology in the late medieval era. Gunpowder weapons took two forms: artillery, and hand-held guns. The two systems were employed tactically in sieges and battles, and in offense and defense operations. All forms of gunpowder weapons relied on chemical and metal-working advancements of the time, and their effective exploitation in warfare relied upon new thinking of the military commanders.
The two main substances involved in the making of Gunpowder are Sulphur and Saltpetre. The Chinese developed early forms of Gunpowder tended to burn brightly rather than explode.
1throughout this entry, Point Blank is defined as the distance where the target can physically grap the weapon of his or her attacker.2ie: anything that, while not actually designed for fighting, can be thrown hard enough to cause annoyance, injury and/or death.3the mechanism which held the string in place, depressing the crude trigger bar allowed the bolt to fly
