Artillery

Barrages are bombings on enemy camps. There are different classifications of artillery barrages that vary on how many bombs are dropped in a certain time span. There are four types of artillery barrages. Box barrages are shells dropped around an enemy camp to prevent advancements by their soldiers. Pin-point barrages are shells dropped specifically onto machine gun posts or snipers.…

Inside the besieged city of Leningrad, Russian citizens experienced deplorable conditions that would be equal in devastation to the atrocities at Auschwitz. Following the German encirclement of the city on July 8, 1941, a directive from Adolf Hitler was given to the Nazi commanders of Army Group North on Sep. 29, 1941, which foreshadowed the struggle that Leningraders would soon be forced to survive: “The Fuehrer has decided to have [Leningrad] wiped off the face of the earth . . . . the…

World War I is seen as the dawn of modern chemical warfare, with multiple chemical agents being used on a large scale. The variety of poisonous gases resulted in 1,240,000 injuries and 91,000 fatalities. Chemical weapons in World War I were primarily used to subdue, injure, and kill enemy soldiers who were in the trenches, against whom the slow moving gas clouds would be most effective. The types of chemical warfare weapons dominated from debilitating chemicals, such as tear gas and the dreadful…

The bombs explode overhead, whistling and howling until they meet their final destination either on unsuspecting soldiers or the already-disturbed ground. Bloodcurling cries of men and animals alike echo from every corner of the battlefield, turning even the toughest of men green with anguish. Moreover, the men one cares about the most are being picked off one by one, delivering them from the monotonous horror that is war. It is for these reasons that Robert E. Lee said, “It is well that war is…

AUSSIE SOLDIER IN KHE SANH WAR A deafening rumble of an explosion rose above their heads. The frightening whistling of artilleries and the terrible cries of wounded soldiers filled the air. A dense, misty fog floated through the trenches, adding to the sense of misery that already filled the deep, dark and gloomy jungle of Vietnam that was the “Khe Sanh War”. Jimmy stared at his rifle hopelessly; his spirit was gradually being chipped away by the humid, muddy and mosquito infected environment.…

November 14, 2009, I recline on a diminutive, unyielding, frosty cot in the nucleus of the Hindu Kush Mountains, Afghanistan. Sprouting to explosions with AK-47 bullets penetrating the scanty plywood wall adjacent to my sleeping area. Swiftly, I grappled my sweat-stained digital Interceptor Body Armor (IBA), Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH), and M-4 Carbine, arranging a race to a fighting position. Flinging my ½ in thick wooden door open, I beheld a spectacle from a war film I’d seen as a child.…

Trebuchet: A machine used in medieval siege warfare for hurling large stones or other missiles. This is one of the most important and game changing weapon of all time. When the trebuchet is fired, the weight box falls and the force of gravity causes rotational acceleration of the attached throwing arm around the axle (the fulcrum of the lever). The throwing arm is usually four to six times the length of the counterweight portion. These factors multiply the acceleration transmitted to the…

One of the gases that were used was mustard gas which the Germans first used when they filled artillery shells and grenades with them to fire at the troops in the trenches. Many soldiers were killed by the effects of mustard gas when it was inhaled as it could blister the lungs and make breathing difficult. Many soldiers did not escape injury from…

Tanks usually had 2 machine guns and one light artillery gun on board, a much more powerful opposition than the sabres used by cavalry in the Battle of Balaclava. Weapons evolved a lot between 1815 and 1918 as technology became more advanced. There was a period of time where technology really improved…

Over the last century, since it happened on the 1st July 1916, the Battle of the Somme has been viewed and qualified as one of the most significant battles in history. It was the first major offensive of the war against the main enemy, the Germans, in which British troops played the leading part. Many different historians in different times have almost opposite opinions/facts about what happened. However, they all agree on one thing: it’s significance. Whether it was due to failures, successes,…