Cannon

Cannon, The true star of the battlefield, claiming the greatest number of lives .

A commander ordered the soldiers to start firing cannons at the enemy.

Summary

The cannon has a long history. Through the centuries of use in the Old World, neither its shape nor purpose has varied much. It employs the explosive power of gunpowder to propel a cannonball to smash the target. For this simple weapon, the most important thing is the strength of the barrel.

With stronger barrels, one can shoot cannonballs farther and with more power. The prolonged War led to advances in metalworking, resulting in two divergent evolutionary paths for the cannon namely, lighter and heavier. Light, sturdy small cannon were built with hilly or uneven terrain in mind, to be deployed in mountain ranges and badlands, and occasionally in surprise attacks where speed was of the essence.

They could be operated by a small number of men, and also allowed for versatile strategies with larger numbers when assaulting a fortress. Heavy, destructive, large cannon were used to defend forts and cities. While they had a poor maneuverability, their range and power could prevent advances by the enemy, obliterate their ships, and crush the hearts of those who would face them. The range of explosion and the destructive power of shrapnel were far beyond that of guns; as a result, cannon claimed the lives of more soldiers than any other weapon. It is recorded in surveys from the Southern army , there had an Incarnate which used its enormous strength to wield cannon like rifles.