War on Land
1st Edition
Published on 1. January 2012
190 pages
978-1-61530-752-4 (ISBN)
Description
Long before they took to the sea and air, warring factions engaged in land-based conflicts that involved close-range combat with rudimentary defenses and weapons. As civilizations have advanced, so too have their military strategies, tactics, and weaponry. Eventually this led to the development of sophisticated land fortifications, arms, artillery, and missile systems in use today by ground troops. This insightful volume examines the evolution of warfare on land around the world, as well as the impact of new technologies on the nature of war.
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Content
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Prehistoric And Early Warfare
- The Earliest Military Weapons
- From Precious Metals To Base Metals
- Antiquity And The Classical Age
- The Phalanx And The Legion
- Military Technology Of The Period
- Defensive Weaponry
- Types Of Armour
- Offensive Weaponry
- Arrows
- Mechanical Artillery
- Fortification
- Land Transportation
- Chapter 2 War In The Middle Ages
- The Age Of Cavalry
- The Medieval Knight
- The War-Horse
- The Castle
- Siege Weapons
- The Trebuchet
- Greek Fire
- The Horse Archer
- The Huns And Avars
- The Byzantine Cataphract
- The Turks
- The Mongols
- The Infantry Revolution
- The Crossbow
- The English Longow
- Halberd And Pike
- Chapter 3 The Gunpowder Revolution
- Early Gunpowder
- Serpentine Powder
- Corned Powder
- Gunpowder Recipes
- Refinements In Ballistics
- The Development Of Artillery
- Wrought-Iron Muzzie-Loaders
- Wrought-Iron Breechloaders
- Cast Bronze Muzzle-Loaders
- Cast-Iron Cannons
- Early Use Of Artillery
- Special-Purpose Shot
- Gunnery
- The First Small Arms
- The Matchlock
- The Wheel Lock
- The Flintlock
- Chapter 4 Fortification And Modern Body Armour
- Fortification
- The Effect Of Artillery And Siegecraft On Fortification Design
- The Sunken Profile
- The Bastioned Trace
- Duration Of Early Modern Fortification
- Trench Warfare, 1850-1918
- The Siege Of Petersburg
- Permanent Fortification During World War I
- The Maginot Line And The West Wall In World War II
- Other Fort Series
- German Channel Defenses In World War II
- Nuclear Fortification
- Body Armour
- New Materials
- Modern Body Armour Systems
- Chapter 5 Modern Small Arms: Shoulder Weapons And Pistols
- Shoulder Weapons
- Smoothbore Muzzle-Loaders
- Rifled Muzzle-Loaders
- Breechloaders
- The Many Uses of Guncotton
- Automatic Weapons
- The Assault Rifle
- Pistols
- Revolvers
- Samuel Colt
- Self-Loaders
- Chapter 6 Machine Guns And Specialty Shoulder Weapons
- Early Manual Multibarreled Weapons
- The Gatling Gun
- Richard J. Gatling
- The Mitrailleuse
- Heavy Machine Guns
- Recoil
- Gas Operation
- Blowback
- Light Machine Guns
- Large-Calibre Machine Guns
- Grenade Launchers
- Single Shot
- Automatic Fire
- Antitank Weapons
- Chapter 7 Modern Artillery
- Cannons
- Rifled Bores
- Recoil Control
- Carriages And Mountings
- Big Bertha
- Fire Control
- Ammunition
- Mortars
- Antiaircraft Artillery
- Heavy Weapons And The Problem Of Fire Control
- Light Weapons
- Antitank Guns
- Recoilless Guns
- Chapter 8 Tanks And Other Armoured Vehicles
- Tanks
- Earliest Developments
- World War I
- Interwar Developments
- World War II
- The Sherman Tank
- Postwar Tank Development
- Other Armoured Vehicles
- Armoured Personnel Carriers
- Amphibious Assault Vehicles
- Infantry Fighting Vehicles
- Wheeled Armoured Vehicles
- Chapter 9 Rocket And Missile Systems
- Military Rockets
- The Congreve Rocket
- Francis Scott Key And "The Star Spangled Banner
- Rocketry Research And Experimentation
- Barrage Rockets
- Bazookas And Panzerschrecks
- Antiaircraft Rockets And Aerial Rockets In World War II
- Tactical Guided Missiles
- Guidance Methods
- Guided-Missile Systems
- Conclusion
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- Back Cover
