Ancient stenobitic cannon: photo

As soon as the walls began to be erected to protect against the attacks of enemies around ancient cities, this served as the impetus for the emergence of assault guns, the main purpose of which was to break down such walls. Let's look at them in more detail.

The appearance of the stabbing tool

It is believed that the first stenobit cannon was invented by the Carthaginian masters - Pafferman and Geras. It happened about 500 BC. E., And its Carthaginians used during the siege of Gadis (Cadiz), a city in Spain. So it or not, whether these masters were the first inventors of the battering ram, just like no one will say. But the chroniclers of those times, describing the Carthaginian sieges, mentioned that along with other siege machines, a stenobitic cannon was used.

The first guns

An ancient staboid gun for a gate or wall break, later called a ram, was an ordinary log made of ash or spruce. In this form, the gun was very heavy, and given that it was necessary to carry it on its hands, sometimes for its exploitation it was necessary to employ up to a hundred soldiers.

All this was extremely wasteful in terms of human resources and very uncomfortable, so in the future began its improvement. The stenobitic cannon - ram - was initially hung on a special frame, and then mounted on the wheels. It was much easier to use it in this form. It took far fewer people to get the gun to the site and swing for the attack.

For more effective work on the battle end of the log was fastened a metal tip, resembling the head of a ram in appearance. Because of this, a log was often called "ram". Most likely, in the old saying: "looks like a ram on a new gate," it was a ram, and not a real animal.

But this improvement has not ended. The thing is that during the attack from the walls of the city, stones, arrows flew to the heads of soldiers controlling the ram, boiling water and hot pitch were poured. Therefore, in order to protect the soldiers, the frame with the log was closed from above by a canopy, and later on they were covered with shields from all sides. Thus, the assault squad, swinging the stabbing gun, turned out to be somehow protected from adversity, falling and pouring from the walls. Such an indoor ram for external similarity to the famous reptile began to be called a "tortoise".

Sometimes the tortoise was a construction consisting of several floors, each of which had its ram. Thus, it was possible to break the wall at a time at different levels.

But such a weapon was for obvious reasons very cumbersome and heavy, so it was used infrequently.

Falcon - an old military stenobit instrument

When the ram was first introduced to Russia, it is not known for certain, but already in the second half of the 12th century, written sources mention the capture of cities by "spear". It can be assumed that it was then, when sieges, in internecine wars, the attackers first began to use the falcon - the ramming type of stun gun.

In fact, the falcon did not differ in design from its known analogues. The same smooth bare log suspended on chains or ropes. True, sometimes a tree replaced an all-metal cylinder. By the way, according to one version of the saying "the goal as a falcon" came from associations with the appearance of the Russian gun.

Methods for counteracting ram

The stenobitic cannon, of course, was a very effective means of assault, so against its use, tactics of counteraction were also developed:

• To somehow soften the impact of the log, a bag full of soft material, wool or chaff dropped from the walls to the level of its head.
• On the heads of the storming detachment accompanying the battering ram, filth, boiling water, burning tar, oil flowed, stones and arrows flew. The besieged tried to set fire to the wooden structure of the gun.
• On the approaches to the city walls ditches were dug up and filled with water, a moat was thrown across the ditch, which rose during the attack. Such measures did not allow rolling the "falcon" to the walls.
• If it was found out that the ram would be delivered to the walls of the city by horses, then sharply sharpened metal "hedgehogs" would be thrown in their way, which had to crash into the hooves of animals where they were not protected by the horseshoe. This method of protection, if not completely stopped the attack with a ram, significantly hampered its further development, giving time for the destruction of the storming squad.

Defects

Another type of ancient tools was called "vices". Stenobitic tools, in the traditional sense, are something like a ram, but the defects with its construction had nothing in common. The so-called special missile machines were called.

In Russia, two types of vices were used: the lever-sling, which in the annals are referred to as slingers, and the cannons are implements mounted on a special machine.

Sling Defects

The design of the sling was a pillar on which a swivel was fastened (a lever holder that could be rotated) and actually a long non-equal-size lever itself.

On the long end of the lever was attached a sling (a belt with a pocket for a projectile), and on the other - ropes, for which people had to be pulled specially trained for this purpose - tension ones. That is, in the pocket of the sling was charged the stone (the core), and the tension ones jerked sharply by the straps. The lever, flying up, launched the projectile in the right direction. The fact that the swivel with the lever could rotate made it possible to conduct a practically circular attack, while not moving the entire structure.

Later belts with tension were replaced with a counterweight, and the support post was replaced by a more complicated frame.

Such a weapon was much more powerful than a pulling jig. Often the counterweight was made mobile, which allowed to regulate the range of fire. In Europe, such a tool was called "Toshishe"

Sentry Guns

The design of the easel self-shooting rocket was fundamentally different from the sling. Outwardly it is very similar to a large crossbow, that is, a gutter was fixed on a wooden base, and an onion was fastened in its front part.

The principle of shooting was also similar to the crossbow, but instead of the arrow in the gutter lay a stone (core). In order for the onion to withstand heavy loads, it was made from several layers of wood, combining different types of wood. In addition, it was covered with birch bark and wrapped with straps. The bowstring was made of animal veins or a sturdy hemp rope.

Combat provision of defects

Since the propelling machines were installed at a distance no closer than 100 m to the fortifications of the enemy, they became practically unattainable for enemy archers. Nevertheless, to protect the shooters of the guns, the defenses were protected by a palisade (fence) and surrounded by a moat.

As shells for vices, sling, almost anything could be used, ranging from 3 to 200 kg: stones, pots filled with a fuel mixture, even animal corpses. That is, there were no problems with ammunition.

With the guns it was more complicated. They were treated with treated stone core, measuring 20-35 cm in diameter. During the archaeological excavations found and arrows (bolts), which, apparently, were also used for shooting. The bolt was a metal rod with a metal tail, weighing about 2 kg and a length of 170 cm. There is an assumption that such arrows were used for arson, that is, with a shot carried with it a flammable composition.

Both types of guns were used together, complementing each other, so the effectiveness of the attack increased at times. Often the presence of such formidable weapons predetermined the outcome of the whole battle.