Are there any examples of balistas, scorpions, or other catapult-like weapons being used in field battles
Upvote:-5
The Romans used ballistae and catapults all the time in battle. I've even got high definition video:
The catapult is in the back, the ballista are the items in the front with the arrows coming out of them. This is out in the field (notice trees in background).
Upvote:0
Romans didn't even use archers that much. They relied heavily on their very well trained infantry; and history shows that they could adapt to nearly any situation effectively. Any other troop types were auxilia kept for situational backup. It wasn't until the late period that other troops dominated the field. Artillery is slow and vulnerable to attack. A battlefield is always moving around and it takes specialised skill and calculation to use artillery. So, it's letting fly at a charging enemy long distance with wind and poor accuracy at play, recalculating every shot as they move; or firing over your allies heads, in which case you need high ground without obscurities or a vulnerable flank position.
The Romans of course had a highly trained standing army with specialised units. Medieval armies were not so, other than later mercenaries. But the same issues applied.
Therefore, artillery was best used in siege warfare, against a large,still target. It was impractical elsewhere and mainly a tool of intimidation and a show of power in the field.
Upvote:2
There are carvings of wagon mounted "carroballista" (artillery) shown on Trajans Column in Rome. Trajans column is a commemoration of the Emperor Trajans conquest of Dacia and shows his Legions and their equipment carved in great detail. Being mounted in wagons would suggest the Carroballista were highly mobile and could be deployed in the field to fire missiles at the enemy.
Upvote:4
From Wikipedia:
Several attempts to use artillery in the field are recorded but they were mostly unsuccessful, except when the artillery could be deployed in some protected place. For example, in the Battle of Jaxartes Alexander used catapults to clear the further bank of the river.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_and_Roman_artillery#Use
This article seems to be well-researched, and cites mostly contemporary sources.
More post
- 📝 Before 1961, what did they think would happen to people in weightlessness?
- 📝 How long would it take to travel from Missouri to South Africa in late 1890s?
- 📝 Ancient Civilization in non-Egyption Africa?
- 📝 Is there any valid basis for this claim that German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Hohenzollern family had Jewish blood?
- 📝 Was the term 'renaissance' used during said period?
- 📝 Why has the khopesh never been used since ancient Egypt?
- 📝 When did the acceptance of diversity become such an important social goal in Western countries?
- 📝 Are Luther and Calvin responsible for executing more humans than the Catholic Inquisition?
- 📝 Did the Mayans view the gods as antagonistic to humanity?
- 📝 Why did the United States not seriously develop Anti Aircraft Missiles?
- 📝 Was the French Commander-in-Chief Gamelin a terrible general?
- 📝 Was (Mahanian) "control of the seas" an Athenian goal in the age of the trireme?
- 📝 What are the largest numerical units that the median-wealthy person in Western civilization was aware of through the centuries?
- 📝 Did medieval peasants work 150 days a year?
- 📝 What is a difference between the revolution in Egypt that sprung recently and the Russian Revolution of 1917
- 📝 What is the origin of the Danish dough whisk?
- 📝 How did one get accepted into university in 19th century England?
- 📝 What is the first example of a Western government passing a sin tax?
- 📝 Was smoking allowed aboard hydrogen-filled zeppelins?
- 📝 How extensive and developed was the ancient Kushite (Nubian) horse trade?
- 📝 Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
- 📝 How likely is it that any non-Celtic language was spoken in the British Isles when the Romans invaded?
- 📝 What is the history of the Roman ogee shape?
- 📝 How did CGP Grey get his hands on old New York Times papers?
- 📝 How accurate is Belloc's version of European economic history in The Servile State, with regards to the seizing of the monastic lands?
- 📝 Place and/ or plane identification
- 📝 Horses.. goats... evolution
- 📝 What was the Soviet reaction to the revelations about secret US programs like Projects ARTICHOKE, MKULTRA, MOCKINGBIRD, etc., revealed in the 1970s?
- 📝 Which were the most important ghettos during Holocaust?
- 📝 Who were the Huns and/or Xiongnu?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Are there any examples of balistas, scorpions, or other catapult-like weapons being used in field battles
- 📝 Are there any examples of technologies have been lost over time?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 Are there any ideas as to what the English landscape was like before the arrival of the Angles?
- 📝 Are there any historical examples of successful price ceilings (aka price gouging laws)?
- 📝 Are there any examples of single combat between kings/generals ending a war?
- 📝 Are there any examples of California gold rush prospectors becoming exceedingly wealthy due to their claim(s)?
- 📝 Are there any other "Delphic Temple"-like sites in the world?
- 📝 Are there any examples of overpopulation?
- 📝 Are there any examples of people being able to predict the consequences of communication revolutions?
- 📝 Are there any examples of recurring payments in ancient times?
- 📝 Are there any examples of soldiers faking their death a combat before the modern era?
- 📝 Are there any examples of European rulers with a rank lower than king to utilize a "throne" and a "throne room"?
- 📝 Are there any good examples in earth history of two religions co-existing?
- 📝 Are there any incidents of war / brutalities because of Football match other than the famous one between El Salvador and Honduras?
- 📝 Are there any historical examples of (non government-approved) fake news having a strong effect?
- 📝 Are there any examples of two medieval kingdoms trying to unify but eventually failing to do so?
- 📝 Are there any examples of localized micro-conflicts in Mexican history?
- 📝 Is the concern about automation costing jobs a recent one only, or are there other examples from the past?
- 📝 Are there other examples of naval bases being deliberately situated in shallow-water harbours post-1801?
- 📝 Are there any modern history examples of large scale conflicts where warfare technology provides a great advantage to the defender, except WWI?
- 📝 Are there other examples of sustainable propaganda besides USSR: several generations, several leaders
- 📝 Are there any examples of civilians competing with, or hindering, a military?
- 📝 Are there any important biographies of nobodies?
- 📝 Are there historical examples of audiences drawn to a work that was "so bad it's good"?
- 📝 Are there any accounts of everyday life during the Black Death?
- 📝 Are there any accounts written by torturers on their actions?
- 📝 Is there any documentation that indicates the Aztecs were as violent as they are made out?
- 📝 Are there any underground cities known except those found in Cappadocia?
- 📝 Are there any records that indicate a submarine vs submarine battle?