Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1914-11-05
From CatapuIt To Howitzer.

From The stones cast from slings with
which the natives of Gaul sought 10 repel
the advance OF Caesars Roman legions to
the huge German howitzers hurting l6-in.
explosive shells against the allies is as
long step mechanically as it is in point
of time. But except for the temper OF
the weapons, there is no appreciable dif-
ference between the hand-to-hand con-
flicts-short sword against spear-of 80
B. c. and the bayonet charges OF the
French and English against the Germans
in 1914. For nearly 2, 2,0O0years the ground
on which the Great War is being fought
has been almost continuous battle field.
Every form OF weapon and every type OF
armor ever used by civilized man in the
settlement OF international differences or
private quarels has been tried, tested
and developed almost on the same spot
where The efficiency OF the most modern
implements OF warfare is now being put
to the supreme test. Omitting the one
distinctly modern military arm-the flying
corps-the differences between the weap-
ons of 1000 years ago and the weapons
OF today are differences in detail only,
and excepting the class OF weapons max
ing use OF gunpowder for the propulsion
of missiles. it is questionable whether
there has been any marked increase in
efficiency, either OF men or Of arms. AS
last resort, when the order comes to
rush the enemy's iutrenchments, battles
are still decided by brute strength and
hand -to-hand fighting-sword to spear,
bayonet to bayonet-iust as in the days
when Caesar wrote, "The BelgianS are
the bravest"
When Caesar invaded Gaul, his soldiers
carried, besides their curved oblong
shields for protection, the famous Roman
short swords, Slarp-pointed and two
edged, for close infighling, with iavelinS
or throwing spears as missiles. These
were also useful in hand to-hand conflicts
and were the prototype OF the modern
bayonet. Steel had not yet come into
general use, bu' these Soft-iron weapons
had at least the merit OF being easily
sharpened on any convenient stone. And
backing up the foot soldiers and horse
men, just as the artillery does today, was
the Roman artillery, consisting OF catapults,
which were huge implements for hurting
large rocks into the ranks of the enemy.
and the ballista, device working on the
same principle, for throwing quantities OF
arrows. In each OF these the propulSive
force was produced by the sudden re-
leasing OF great beam or tree trunk which
had been bent by means OF rope and
winches TO form huge spring. A show
er of arrows hurled from balista must
have created as much havoc in the ranks
OF the oncoming Gaus as the bursting OF
a shrapnel shell among the foot soldiers
does today, while the great stones thrown
by the catapuiS were often as large and
heavy as the shells OF the modern howit-
ZerS.
The one important addition that was
made TO the armament Of European SOL
dierS, prior to the introduction OF gun
powder, was the bow. Ii was near
ly 1000 A. D. efore the bow became
what il afterWard w3S for more than four
certuries-the principal weapon Of the
European foot soldier, occupying in one
form or another the same position that
the magazine rifle does today.
The superiority OF the long bow over
the crossbow was demonstrated at the
battle of CreSsy in 1916. the decisive bat
tie OF the One Hundred Years War be-
tween the English and the French, where,
as the old chroniClerS relate it, the long
arrows of the British archers flew in such
clouds that they obScured the sun. The
man with the long bow could shoot sew
eral arrows while the crossbowman was
shooting one.
IL this battle, fought only few miles
from The scene OF some ofthe fierceSt con-
flicts OF the present war, gunpowder was
used for the first time, the English forces
having three crude cannon, or bombardS,
using the newly discovered explosive to
hurl stones at the French just as Caesars
catapults had hurled stones at the GaulS.
II was hundred years or more after this,
however, before the use Of firearms be-
came at all general in warfare. and nearly
two centuries before the hand gun,
mounted on stock like that OF the cross
bow, began seriously TO displace the bow.
| Wife-"Silence is golden, they say"