Development of English Weapons Essay

Back in history, human beings used hunting by products such as craws, horns and animal teeth as weapon. As human being developed, he started to use axes made of stone as a weapon both for personal protection and for hunting. More development and civilization led to the development of weapons such as the wooden clubs, unshaped stones for throwing at the enemies and spears for both hunting and fighting. By then, human beings used to make wooden spears for hunting and for attacking any possible human enemy. With time the fire hardened spear points were replaced with stone sharp ones which were more effective than they precedents. Further development and civilization saw the development of bows and arrows to hunt and to counter attack an enemy (Davies, 1990, 67). By 400 B. C, evolution of what can be termed as earlier technology had enabled humans to develop a four wheeled ballista which was drawn by armored horses and more effective while it came to making attacks or counter attacking an enemy than the primitive weapons previously used. However, ancient weapons to be used by human being in their activities were qualitative improvement of the primitive weapons. In this context, revolution in military technology arose as a result of improvement in techniques and materials used in creating prehistoric weapons. As technology began to improve, weapons used in wars also started to improve. For example, with the discovery of the spooked wheel chariots drawn by horses became possible and useful for transporting soldiers to and fro the battle field. Around 1300BC, use of spoke wheel chariots had heightened but ceased later in the 4th century BC as humans began breeding horses that supported human weight and as cavalry replaced the military force that was used in fighting from chariots. In western world, the medieval period was highly characterized by knights and rudimentary siege artillery with their purpose inclusive of negating the increased use of castles which proliferated most of Europe and the neighboring East. The knights made use of various weapons such as the knifes, the bow and the sword. First, the knife which came in various designs was used highly by the knights to thrust into the weak sports of an enemy’s armor, to slit their throats when using stealth or to slash those enemies that came to the battle field un-armored. In essence, the knife could be single edged but many of them were usually double edged and unserrated. Today, knifes continue to be a major weapon used by soldiers both for fighting and other purposes. However, as opposed to knifes in the earlier times, most of knifes used by soldiers today are serrated. In particular, a knife forms one of the basic equipments for soldiers during any warfare. Secondly, the knights made use of swords which like knifes were designed either single edged or double edged. They also came in different sizes with some built heavy enough to be carried by only the strong men in the army. They were used in slashing the enemy or even killing them (http://atschool. eduweb. co. uk/sirrobhitch. suffolk/Portland%20State%20University%20Greek%20Civilization%20Home%20Page%20v2/DOCS/10/seanh1. htm. The design with which swords were supplied depended on the way in which they were intended to counter and kill the enemy. Some were long and others short while others were broad enough to accommodate both hands and could penetrate virtually any type of armor. For example, the bastard was a long or broad sword with normal types of blades but with a heavy pommel or ball at the bottom that was helpful for balancing purposes and as a mace for bashing the head of an enemy. Further, the saber was useful for slashing and employed by cavalry to kill the enemy and in this case could penetrate the armor of an enemy while riding a horse at a high speed. Other weapons commonly used by the knights and the cavalry include the pole arms, spears and lances, axe and other blunt objects such as a hammer and a mace. For one, the mace came as a metal or wood stick about twelve inches long and with a leather loop to prevent it from frying of the wrist while being used. The part used in striking the enemy was usually a sphere with spikes or angled blades designed to inflict injury on the enemy. Spears were simple weapons used for piercing the enemy both at close range or long range. They could have metal or wood heads and was useful while aiming at the weaker spots of the armor. It could also penetrate through the shields or mail given its length and sharpness (Boardman, 1998, 45). Further, the handle of the spear was commonly designed to break off once it hit the target to prevent the enemy from throwing it back. Pole arms came in different sizes and designs. They were used in piercing the armor of the enemy besides slicing or chopping through the enemy given its sharp and curved edges. It was useful while in a cavalry battle field due to the fact that it could be used in chopping off the feet of a horse rode by an enemy thus temporary incapacitating him. While many of this weapons such as the mace and the hammer did not see the light of modern usage, they still presented a good and viable starting point for the development of more sophisticated weapons used by armies all over the world. In regard to the armor used during the medieval times, leather formed the first form of armor to be worn and used by human beings in the battle field. As weapons developed and with the discovery of metal, leather started to become obsolete and was replaced by plate and mail. These two were worn on various parts of the body to prevent a soldier from being slashed by the enemy in the battle field (http://www. angelfire. com/wy/svenskildbiter/siege. html). As enlightenment hit the world, armors began to be worn together with undergarments and actually to be tailored like suits so that a knight could be hit but be on his feet within seconds having sustained no injury. Today, the plates and the mails have been discarded paving way for bullet proof armors and other forms of discovery. For example, the tanks used by armies around the world and in Europe in particular are heavily armored vehicles used for transporting weapons and soldiers to the battle field as well as launching missiles from the safety of highly armored walls. Despite this, the same metals used in designing and producing plates and mails are the ones used in producing today’s armored vehicles (U. S. Congress, 1995, 35). The knights developed from the earlier Calvary. On the other hand, siege artillery which were by then been used to breach the walls of the castles led to many revolutionary advances including the use of gun powder and cannon use. It was not until the Renaissance period that the western world and most parts of the rest of the world started to use firearms in warfare. Human powered weapons were finally exiting battle fields and being replaced with more powerful mechanically powered weapons. This is commonly referred to as the age of riffles as riffles begun to be commonly used in the battle fields. Firearms were developed in large numbers and cannons to support them. Motor vehicles replaced the use of horses in the battlefield and escalation technology which involves the use of armed aircrafts and armored vehicles developed. Firearms and cannons were designed to be fitted on these vehicles and aircrafts and were useful in attacking using long range missiles as is the case today. This saw the introduction of guns and rockets for use in the battle field. Guns and rockets were more efficient than their predecessors by the virtue of their design to store energy in a combustible propellant like gun powder as opposed to springs and weight. They increasingly started to be used in 16th century and with progressive ignition mechanisms remain in use to date. Based on these new developments, new technologies have such as machine guns have risen over the years (http://www. angelfire. com/wy/svenskildbiter/siege. html). Later in the 19th century, fossil fuel powered steam engines replaced sail power warship propulsion. In earlier times, bayonets were developed and which were used both as a pole-arm and as a knife but were later discarded with the discovery of rifled artillery which was by then being used in destroying masonry fortress. In essence, this discovery caused a huge revolution in the field of military and continues to affect today’s weaponry development and war strategies (Blair, 1997, 56). Further, the era of World War II marked a major revolution in military technology with more sophisticated weapons been developed in line with the emerging technologies. New concepts and designs of weapons were developed in massive numbers and the existing technology improved to march with the military needs. For example, atomic bomb was developed around this period. In essence, the end of World War II saw the institutionalization of weapons development as institutions and countries competed to develop unique weapons and counter weapons. In the western world, this constant development of weapons still continues to date (Collins, 1997, 87). In conclusion, despite the fact that weapons used during the medieval times have changed increasingly as compared to those used in recent times, these weapons formed the basis for developments of today world. The strategies employed during the medieval times were highly dependent on the kind of weapons in use. For example, the use of anchors to attack the enemy was dependent on the use of bows and arrows. Still, with the discovery of gunpowder, use of cannons became prominent in blasting the walls of castles and in sinking the ships of the enemy. Today’s weapons and strategies have their roots in the weapons and strategies employed during the earlier times with technology improvements and discoveries increasing the effectiveness of weapons being produced.For example, computer guided weaponry and nuclear weapons have developed over recent years though the later is useless for small wars. Work Cited: Blair Claude. European Armor c1066 to c1700. London: Batsford Publishers, 1997, pp. 56 Boardman Andrew. The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses. London: Alan Sutton,1998, pp, 45 Collins McNamee. The Wars of the Bruces: Scotland, England and Irelan. , London: East Linton, 1997, pp. 87 Davies R. Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990, pp. 67 Organized Infantry. Retrieved on 2nd January 2009 from http://atschool. eduweb. co. uk/sirrobhitch. suffolk/Portland%20State%20University%20Greek%20Civilization%20Home%20Page%20v2/DOCS/10/seanh1. htm U. S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Improving the prospects for future international peace operations: workshop proceedings, Washington DC, US Government Printing Office, 1995, pp. 35 Wyley Stephen, Siege Warfare. The Art of Offense and Defense, 1989. Retrieved on 2nd January 2009 from http://www. angelfire. com/wy/svenskildbiter/siege. html