Early thermal weapons

Early thermal weapons, which used heat or burning action to destroy or damage enemy personnel, fortifications or territories, were employed in

The destruction of enemy possessions and territory was a fundamental strategy of war, serving the dual purpose of punishment and deprivation of resources.

The tactics were replicated by England during the Hundred Years' War; fire became their chief weapon as they laid waste to the French countryside during lightning raids called chevauchées, in a form of economic warfare. One estimate records the destruction of over 2000 villages and castles during one raid in 1339.^[6]

As well as causing the destruction of lands, food and belongings, fire could also be used to divert manpower. 13th century Mongol armies regularly sent out small detachments from their main forces to start grass fires and fire settlements as diversions.^[7]

Devastation by fire was not only used as an offensive tactic; some countries and armies employed "

At the simplest level, fire itself was used as a weapon to cause large-scale destruction, or to target specific enemy positions or machinery. It was frequently used against siege engines and wooden structures.^[13] Incendiary weapons could be used to set fire to towns and fortifications, and a wide range of thermal weapons were used against enemy personnel. Some armies developed specialised "fire-troops". By 837, many Muslim armies had groups of "naffatin" (fire archers),^[14] and when the Mamluk Sultanate raised a fleet for an attack on Cyprus they had "nafata", or firetroops.^[15]

Simple fire-raising

The burning of enemy positions and equipment was not necessarily a complicated procedure, and many fires were set by individuals using common materials. When

Besieged forces would sometimes launch sorties in an attempt to fire the attackers' camps or equipment. When Hugh Capet besieged Laon in 986–987, his troops became drunk one night, and Duke Charles's men sallied forth and torched the camp, forcing Hugh to abandon the siege.^[17]

The besieged were not the only ones who might fire siege equipment; when

Various throwing machines were in use throughout the classical and medieval periods. Generally referred to as "

Most of the terms used for throwing machines were vague, and could refer to different engines, all of which went through changes and developments over the period. Among the most common were the ballista, mangonel and trebuchet. The ballista was similar in form to a crossbow, though much larger, and used a string-winding mechanism to fire a missile or bolt placed in a groove.^[24] Other giant crossbows were used throughout the period, and an "espringal", based on the ballista, which threw large bolts, was developed in the 13th century.^[25] Torsion-powered arrow firers had been used from 400 BC, and were adapted for stones.^[22] A mangonel had a wooden spoon-shaped arm, to hold a stone or other projectile, which was manipulated under tension from a twisted rope.^[26] The trebuchet was an advanced development of the 12th or 13th century, which used a counter-weight to power the throwing arm, and was the major siege engine until the cannon became widespread.^[26]

In mining

Forces attacking a castle or other strong fortification sometimes sought to undermine the foundations by digging "mines" or tunnels underneath them. Usually, such mining or digging machinery was protected by a tortoise (also called a cat, sow, or owl): a covered shed on wheels, which shielded the miners from missile attack.^[27]

As the tunnels were constructed, they were generally supported by wooden beams and posts.^[28] Once the mine had been finished, the internal space was filled with combustibles, such as brushwood, firewood, resin, and other incendiary substances; once ignited, these would burn the supporting props, causing the mine to collapse, bringing down with it the structures lying above.^[29] From the 15th century, gunpowder was also used, although the aim remained to burn the props.^[30]

Defenders might sometimes dig counter-tunnels in order to reach the enemy's mines and launch an attack; frequently thermal weapons were used to drive the besiegers from the tunnels.^[31]

Rather than undermining a structure, some besiegers used borers to drill holes in the outer walls in an effort to destroy them; such methods were more effective than rams on brick walls (which tended to absorb the shocks from the ram).^[32] Borers differed in size and mechanism, but a typical machine was made from a log of wood, tipped with iron and supported and driven by windlasses or ropes.^[32] Once a series of holes had been bored along the length of a wall, the holes were typically filled with rods of dry wood, saturated with sulfur or pitch and then ignited. Bellows could be used to encourage a blaze.^[33]

Fire ships

Fire ships were used on several occasions throughout the period. In 332 BC Alexander the Great laid siege to Tyre, a coastal base of the Phoenicians. In order to bring his siege engines within range, Alexander ordered the construction of moles. The Tyrians responded by attacking the first mole with a large fireship, which destroyed it. A large horse transport ship was packed with cedar torches, pitch, dried brush and other combustibles; above this were suspended cauldrons of sulfur, bitumen and "every sort of material apt to kindle and nourish flame".^[34] This was towed to the mole, and lit by the Phoenicians before they jumped overboard and swam away.^[35]

Another example occurred during the 886

Often ingenious methods were developed for administering the weapons. The 10th-century Olga of Kiev is reported to have tied burning tinder to birds which, when released, flew back to their nests in the hostile town and set them alight.^[38]

Stone castles were susceptible to fire, since they contained many combustible materials.[43] In 1139, Henry de Tracy forced the surrender of Torrington Castle by the simple expedient of tossing lighted torches through the keep's loopholes.^[44]

Stone was also susceptible to intense heat, which would cause it to crack and collapse. Byzantine sources recorded the demolition of stone structures caused by placing clay pots of burning charcoal at the base of walls moistened with vinegar or urine,^[38] and the 6th century treatise by an engineer in Justinian's army includes the lighting of fires beneath the walls amongst its instructions for sieges.^[45]

Stone castles sometimes offered other inflammatory targets. During the

During the High Middle Ages, the majority of Poland's castles were still made of wood, so uncut stone was frequently added to the front to improve their fire defences.^[51]

Both attackers and defenders needed to be prepared for incendiary and thermal attack. When the

Lit torches (burning sticks) were likely the earliest form of incendiary device. They were followed by incendiary arrows, which were used throughout the ancient and medieval periods. The simplest flaming arrows had oil- or resin-soaked

Flaming arrows and crossbow bolts were used throughout the period. Fifteenth-century writer Gutierre Diaz de Gamez witnessed a Spanish attack on the Moorish town of Oran in 1404 and later described how "During the most part of the night, the galleys did not cease from firing bolts and quarrells dipped in tar into the town, which is near the sea. The noise and the cries which came from the town were very great by reason of the havoc that was wrought."^[56]

Anna Komnene records that at the 1091 Battle of Levounion, lighted torches were fixed to spears.^[57]

The Chinese

A 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long iron crossbow-bolt probably designed to carry a fire cartridge was found in a 13th-14th-century castle in Vladimir, Russia.^[60] Such large machine-thrown bolts were ideal for incendiary weapons. The Mongols used an "ox-bow" machine to throw bolts which had been dipped in burning pitch, with a range of 2500 paces.^[61]

During the

Greek fire was one of the most effective thermal devices, although it was extremely dangerous for the users.

Similar petroleum and bitumen-based incendiary mixtures had been known for centuries before the invention of Greek fire, but this new recipe created a blaze which was extremely difficult to extinguish.[45] It burned on water, and was used effectively in naval warfare,^[40] although it was primarily an anti-personnel weapon rather than a ship-burner.^[67] It remained effective at sea even after its use had declined on land after the 13th century.^[66]

The Greek fire recipes continued to be developed over the centuries, and by the

Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 listed weapons made by Javanese people, including Greek fire.^[70]: 224 Zhang Xie in Dong Xi Yang Kao (1618) mentioned that city of Palembang, which has been conquered by Javanese, produces the furious fiery oil (ming huo yu), which according to the Hua I Kao is a kind of tree secretion (shu chin), and is also called mud oil (ni yu). Zhang Xie wrote:^[71]: 88

It much resemble camphor, and can corrode human flesh. When ignited and thrown on water, its light and flame become all the more intense. The barbarians use it as a fire-weapon and produce great conflagrations in which sails, bulwarks, upperworks and oars all catch fire and cannot withstand it. Fishes and tortoises coming in contact with it cannot escape from being scorched.

Because there was no mention of projector pump, the weapon is probably breakable bottles with fuses.^[71]: 88

Hot oil

Oil of various kinds could be heated to high temperatures and poured over an enemy,^[72] although, since it was extremely expensive, its use was limited, both in frequency and quantity.^[21][40] Moreover, it could be dangerous and volatile. Since the smoke point of oil is lower than its boiling point, the oil was only heated and not boiled.

Pouring-oil was used in historic battles, and Josephus described its use at Jotapata in AD 67, saying "the oil did easily run down the whole body from head to foot, under their entire armour, and fed upon their flesh like flame itself."^[73]

Oil was usually used to create incendiary devices. The Roman-Byzantine armies of the 6th century created "fire-pots", oil-based incendiary weapons which could be launched by hand or with

Another use of oil can be seen in the naval battle of La Rochelle during the Hundred Years' War; the Castilians sprayed oil on the decks of English ships then ignited it by shooting flaming arrows down.^[77]

Water, sand and other heated missiles

Hot oil was considerably less common than boiling water or heated sand, which were cheap and extremely effective; even "dust from the street" could be used. These would penetrate armour and cause terrible burns.

They built copper and iron shields, put sand into them, and heated them over hot fire so the sand became red-hot. By means of some mechanism they threw this sand at those who had fought bravest and subjected their victims to most severe suffering. The sand penetrated through the armour into the shirts, burned the body, and it could not be helped [...] they died, going mad with horrible pain, in sufferings piteous and unquenchable.

— Diodorus Siculus, on the 4th century BC Siege of Tyre^[73]

Such heated missiles have also been used in mining situations; the 1st century Roman writer

Pitch was a base ingredient in many incendiary devices throughout the period. The Boeotians developed a fire machine, which they used against the Athenian wooden fortifications during the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. A cauldron of burning coals, pitch and sulfur was suspended at one end of a hollowed-out log and bellows were fixed to the other end.^[83] A similar mixture was used 1700 years later by the Scots, when they dropped bales of wood, tar and sulfur by crane onto the English "sow" (a large protective shield covering the battering ram) at the 1319 siege of Berwick-upon-Tweed.^[43]

Animal renderings and parts

At the 1215

Some documented uses of animals were not thermal or incendiary. Live insects were also used, to sting the enemy. 4th century BC writer Aeneas Tacticus suggested defenders should let wasps and bees into enemy mines,^[79] and jars of scorpions were sometimes fired during early bombardment in naval battles.^[88] In 189 BC Ambracia was besieged by the Romans, who dug mines under the walls. The defenders filled a clay jar with chicken feathers, which they then lit, using bellows to blow the acrid smoke down the tunnel; unable to approach the pot due to defensive spears, the Romans were forced to abandon their works.^[79]

Quicklime, sulfur and smoke

The 15th-century engineer Taccola recommended quicklime,^[72] although its use went back to ancient times, and might well have been a component of Greek fire.^[89] Quicklime reacts violently with water, and can cause blindness and burns.^[89] While quicklime was used in some naval battles,^[88] it does not appear to have been standard issue on board ships, due to the danger of the quicklime blowing back and burning the user.^[63]

Other substances smoked rather than flamed. Sacks of burning sulfur were effective at clearing enemy mines due to the toxic smoke produced.^[21] Any smoke could be used in small confines; the Greek military writer Aeneas Tacticus recommended burning wood and straw to drive out enemy sappers by the smoke.^[79]

Gunpowder and cannons

The discovery of gunpowder was probably the product of centuries of alchemical experimentation.

The years 904–906 saw the use of incendiary projectiles called 'flying fires' (fei-huo).[96] Needham (1986) argues that gunpowder was first used in warfare in China in 919 as a fuse for the ignition of another incendiary, Greek fire. Initially, gunpowder mixtures were utilised through traditional engines and throwing mechanisms; containers and grenades were thrown by mangonels and trebuchets, and explosive rockets and arrows were developed, along with gunpowder flamethrowers.^[97]

Like firearms, cannons are a descendant of the

Firearms remained in use in China throughout the following centuries. Meanwhile, gunpowder and firearms spread elsewhere very quickly. Gunpowder seems to have been widely known by the 13th century. The Europeans, Arabs, and Koreans all obtained firearms in the 14th century.[101] The Turks, Iranians, and Indians all got firearms no later than the 15th century, in each case directly or indirectly from the Europeans.^[101] The Japanese did not acquire firearms until the 16th century, and then from the Portuguese rather than the Chinese.^[101]

In 1326, the earliest known European picture of a gun appeared in a treatise entitled "Of the Majesty, Wisdom and Prudence of Kings".

However, early cannons were not very effective, the main benefits being psychological, frightening men and horses.^[104] Short barrelled, large-calibre "bombards" were used up until the late 15th century in Europe, during which period they grew increasingly larger.^[106] In the mid-15th century, mortars also appeared.^[107] Various smaller weapons also existed, including the serpentine, ribaudequin and cropaudin.^[108] The powder was of poor quality and was used in small quantities – to prevent explosion of the barrel – so the effective range of these cannons was rarely more than 200–250m.^[109]

The barrels of the cannons were

The use of incendiary devices had decreased by the 14th century, perhaps due to the economic realities of war where it became increasingly important that captured castles and towns were undamaged.[21] Moreover, fewer wooden engines and structures were employed in the battlefield after the late 13th century, perhaps because of the prior success of the incendiary weapons at destroying them.^[113]

While the incidence of use dropped, towards the latter end of the Middle Ages the incendiary devices became more sophisticated, and the principle of wielding fire with sword remained present throughout the

The principle of fire and sword

Fire itself remained a part of warfare. In his reminisces of the

Fire remained an extremely successful weapon. During naval warfare of the Napoleonic Wars, "the one thing most likely to destroy a ship was fire".^[119] Sometimes the fires were merely a side effect of weapon technology. Early

Smoke screens have continued to be used by attackers and defenders as a means of sowing confusion and hiding movements. During naval battles in the 18–19th centuries, shots were sometimes fired early so a defensive screen was erected before the ships converged, to spoil the aim of the enemy.^[121]

Development and continued use of weapons

The major development of weapons in the early modern and modern periods occurred with firearms, which became progressively more efficient. Gunpowder settled into its standard ratio in the 17th century,^[94] and general ballistic technology improved. Initially, iron round shot replaced the earlier stone balls for cannons then, latterly, different types of shot were invented.^{[citation needed]}

A

The incendiary liquids of the ancient and medieval periods were also developed, and have their modern equivalents. World War I saw the development of the

Technology improved throughout the 20th century, and the latter half saw the development and use of napalm, an incendiary liquid formed in part from naphtha, which was the main ingredient of the Arabic "naft".^{[citation needed]}

Flames continued to be used for defensive light until artificial lights were developed. At the

• Petroleum Warfare Department
• Scorched earth
• Death by boiling

Notes