The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1917-04-05

They Turned the Tide Of Battle In One
sf His Gallo campaisns-Ths Fa-
NOUS Greek Wet Fire and the Flrss
Uss Of o~unpowder and Cannon.
Reviewing the history of warfare
among civilized nations" says a Geo
graphic Society Bulletin, zone Of the
earliest engines Of destruction whose
fame has been p~erpetuated on the
pages of legendary epic was the great
wooden horse which the crafty Ulysses
left on the plains Of Ilium and which
the TroJans believed to be an Offering
sacred to the goddess Athena. Coun
seled by the false Simon, the Trojans
RACED their walls In order that the
gift Of the Greeks might be brought
into the city. After nighfarl the war
riors hidden inside the wooden animal
crept out, threw open the gates Of the
city and admitted their companions.
thus bringing about the destruction OF
the city of Priam and wreaking venge
ance upon the people who had shell
tered Paris and the fair but false
Helen Of Troy.
IAN engine Of war which emerges
from the cloud Of legend and takes
its place among historical a~ctualities
was that employed by Alexander the
Great in his seven months siege of
the famous Phoenician metropolis,
Tyre. This ancient city was strongly
situated on an island, and as there
were no long range catapults In the
fourth century before the Christian
era. Alexander conceived the plan Of
building q mole or causeway from the
mainland to the island. This engi.
neering enterprise was hampered by
the Tyrians, who launched blazing
ships against the assailants as they
sunk piles to hold In place the rock
and debris that formed a roadway
over which the army was to march.
In order to protect his construction
corps Alexander devised an engine
Of war, great towers covered with
green hides. These were set up as
shields against the floating flames of
the enemy, and the result was one Of
der's conquest Of the eastern world.
"One Of the simplest and yet one OF
the most effective inventions of an
cient times was the javelin with a
point Of soft iron employed by julius
Caesar In one OF his Gallo wars. The
Roman legionaries hurled these weap.
n against the shields Of their me
mics. The iron head penetrated the
outer coverings Of bulls hide. but fat.
tened out against the hard wood OF
metal back Of the shield, and thus
became hooked TO this protector. The
shanks Of the dangling javelins so
impeded the movements of the bar
barian soldiers that they were forced
either to throw away Their shields and
fight uncovered against the Romans
lay I'm their %advance) TO disencumber
themselves from this unique weapon,
which may properly be called the
dumdum plum. the progenitor OF the
soft nose or dumdum bullets of today.
Greek fire Is u term which has been
applied to various compounds through
a succession Of centuries poipg as far
back as 424 b. c., when at the siege Of
Delium a caldron flied with sulphur.
pitch and charcoal was placed against
the walls Of the city, ignited and the
flames intensified by a bellows attach.
ed to a hollow tree trunk. The most
famous of the Greek fires, however.
was that invented by the architect
Callinicus during the reign Of Constan.
tine %Pogonatus. This particular engine
of destruction was known ms wet fire
on account OF It's property IF bursting
into fame when wetted. Thrown from
siphons. II fell upon the ships Of the
Saracens, causing them to burst into
flames, and thus Constantinople wa
saved to the Byzantine emperors for
the time being 0GS A. d..
Probably more farreaching I'm It's
effect than any other engine Of wal
was the introduction Of %eunpowder on
the battlefield. 1t was one of the most
potent factors contributing to the over
throw of the great feudal system. for
1t destroyed the superiority of the ar
mored knight over the yeoman foot sol
der and. as Carlyle rightly said. II
made all men Of the same height Fol
lowing the use Of gunpowder In small
arms came the invention ard develop
ment Of the cannon. a weapon which
was employed with destructive effect
against the walls Of Ccnstantinople
when this historic city finally fell into
the hands Of the Mohammedans IN
1853.
'The aeroplane, the Zeppelin and the
submarine have been developed grad
ually In times Of peace preparatory for
war and are the products Of many
minds. Not so the ironclad Merrimac
and the turreted Monitor, which ap
peared suddenly and almost simulta
~peously on the horizon OF naval war.