A History of Artillery by Ian V. Hogg

A History of Artillery by Ian V. Hogg

Hardcover, ISBN 9780600313144
Publisher: Hamlyn, 1974

Used - Very Good+. This book is in very good condition. The cover have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. The book is protected with a Cellophane cover. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.

To be read again and again and again. There is so much technical discussion in here that a first read will be like a swallow in the clouds; afterwards, one can dive in like a hawk to pick up the various pivot designs for 1870's coastal guns.

As the late Ian V. Hogg himself acknowledges, brevity necessitates that this is only A History of Artillery, but Goodreads' search results don't show much younger competition. Naturally, its virtue lies partly in the artwork by legendary John Batchelor, whose team efforts with Hogg are always a must-read on any subject military.

Hogg knows exactly what to select for each period. The medieval origins of artillery focuses on re-evaluating the role of "Doctor Mirabilis" Roger Bacon and the myriad of erroneous 'earliest reference' contenders. Manufacture of cannon drew as much on the barrel-makers as the bell-founders; indeed the very word "barrel" still refers to the reinforcement hoops on medieval cannon. The famous chemical composition of gunpowder has its place here, as do the modest improvements to mix its components on a mocular level and variations on their proportions, in an effort to reduce the black powder's notorious damp instability in favour of a more rapid combustion.

The early modern period would see little improvement in this field. Instead, artillery became moderately mobile and consequently reached maturity as a projectile weapon superior to arrow and catapult within the increasingly scientific realm of fortification and siege warfare. It reached the point of predictability where the architect of a fortress determined by the day how long it could withstand. The only innovator of note is Gustavus Adolphus (1631) , who put a premium on fast field artillery to crack the square battle formations of his day before sending the heavy cavalry in for the kill. Napoleon would perfect the mobility of the six-horse team as his victories became increasingly dependent on the fury of the grande batterie .

The text gains momentum with the patent fever of the mid-19th century. New and improved combustibles make their appearance, as does Schrapnel, named for its inventor, which allows the pellets to follow the direction and force of their shell. Metal-hulled warships become the first object of study for armour-penetrating ammo, which curiously enough makes a better impact when not concentrated in a sharp point. Two world wars later, it would be made to shrink while being fired and clothed in tungsten. industrial steel and hydraulics allow guns to grow in size and range until, at the eve of the Great War, indirect fire is a thing.

This is also where some background in physics and metallurgy becomes a plus... and I have none! the complex chemistry of 1890's grenades or the fabrication of retractable domes are beyond me.

Be that as it may, the momentum leads to the bread and butter of the book : WWI and WWII*. The 19th-century transition from the Napoleonic howitzer to the Big Bertha is barely coupled to the numerous conflicts of the 1800's, except for the German Wars of Unification, which awoke the European Powers great and small to the rapidly changing face of the God of War. The wars themselves are dealt with in a slightly swaggering manner, as the combatants copy each other or at least try to catch up by more original means. The illustrations do not readily accompany the text, but the sum of their captions is a wide enough selection of (mostly) Anglo-French vs. German gun designs, some iconic, some curiosities that never made it onto the field.