![]() Fire-raising and other destructive strategies can still be seen in modern strategic bombing.īehold from your walls the lands laid waste with fire and sword, booty driven off, the houses set on fire in every direction and smoking. ![]() Development of the early weapons has continued ever since, with modern war weapons such as napalm, flame throwers, and other explosives having direct roots in the original early thermal weapons. Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, starting with fire lances, which led to the eventual development of the cannon and other firearms. Some siege techniques-such as mining and boring-relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures. Large tracts of land, towns and villages were frequently ignited as part of a scorched earth strategy. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding.įire and incendiary weapons were also used against enemy structures and territory, sometimes on a massive scale. Smoke was used to confuse or drive off attackers. Other anti-personnel weapons included the use of hot pitch, oil, resin, animal fat and other similar compounds. The simplest and most common thermal projectiles were boiling water and hot sand, which could be poured over attacking personnel. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrow and bolts and fired by hand or machine. Incendiary mixtures, such as the petroleum-based Greek fire, could be launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. These weapons or devices could be used by individuals, thrown by siege engines, or utilised as army strategy. ![]() Incendiary devices were frequently used as projectiles during warfare, particularly during sieges and naval battles: some substances were boiled or heated to inflict damage by scalding or burning other substances relied on their chemical properties to inflict burns or damage. ![]() 70, by David Roberts (1850), shows the city burningĮarly thermal weapons, which used heat or burning action to destroy or damage enemy personnel, fortifications or territories, were employed in warfare during the classical and medieval periods (approximately the 8th century BC until the mid-16th century AD). Weapons during the classical and medieval periods that used heat or burning for damage The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. ![]()
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