There were also other strategies besides the brute force of launching heavy objects at the enemy.
FEUDAL KINGDOMS BECAME THE NORM FULL
Wooden walls at the front of the machine offered some protection for the operators, but a direct hit from a boulder could easily disable a catapult.Īside from physical damage, the sight of a battery of artillery machines being assembled in full view must have been a daunting one for those under siege. If the defenders had their own artillery, then they would be used to target the attacker's machines. Archers and crossbowmen could fire with great accuracy and pick off artillery operators. In the typical siege situation, the range of artillery was not huge and perhaps explains why artillery machines are usually depicted very close to a defensive wall in medieval illustrations and why those operating them needed some form of protection. Gunpowder-projected missiles of all sizes became the norm, finally ending the knight's and bowmen's long domination of the medieval battlefield. Cannons were used from the 13th century CE, and although they were highly dangerous to use and largely ineffective because of their lack of accuracy, by the 15th century CE, technology had improved dramatically. Used by both attackers and defenders during siege warfare, batteries of artillery caused devastation to people and fortifications.
The trebuchet arrived from the late 12th century CE, which was similar to the mangonel but used a counterweight as a means to propel missiles further and with greater accuracy.
As armies battled further afield such as in the Byzantine Empire and against the Arab caliphates, in particular, so new ideas spread from China and India across Eurasia and into western Europe. Artillery weapons in medieval Europe included the mounted crossbow (ballista) and single-arm torsion catapult (mangonel), both similar to ancient Roman machines.
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