CristianRodriguez

Mrs.Paquin
ERWC/Period3
4/14/16
ReWriteofRenaissanceWarfareResearchPaper
Duringanageofchaosandinstability,thebirthofanewformofwarfarewasbeing
developed,whichinturnmademanybattlesextremelydeadly.Theweaponsbeingcraftedby
thepeopleofthistimeperiodwerebecomingremarkablylethalandrevolutionizedwaraswe
knowittoday.ThisnewtypeofWarfareisoftencalledthebeginningofModernWarfare,onein
whichcasualtieswouldreachinsanelevelsneverbeforeseen.Withtheintroductionofnew
weapons,changingbattletactics,andthereinventingofolderweaponswereallapartofa
militaryrevolution,oneofmassdestructionofnationsandland,aswellashumanlife.
NewfounddiscoveriesandinventionsofweaponsduringtheRenaissanceperiod
allowedforincreasedlethalityforsoldiersatallranges.Gunpowderandartilleryweretwomajor
developmentsduringthisperiodthatwouldforeverreinventcombattothisdaytoday.
Gunpowderwasfirstdiscoveredaround850C.E.andfirstutilizedintheearly1230sbythe
Chineseforuseinfireworksandweapons.TheEuropeansfirstusedthisnewinventionduring
theBattleofCrecyin1346C.E.betweentheEnglishandtheFrench,inwhichtheEnglish
dominatedFrancesforcesbecauseoftheirtechnologicaladvancements.Gunpowderand
firearmsnowmeantthatknightswereveryvulnerableandwouldforeveraffecthowbattleswere
foughtthroughouttheworld,assoldiersnowhadtoworryaboutanattackfromafurtherrange
thantheywereusedtothatwasalsoextremelydeadlytoeventhemostheavilyarmoredknight.
TheuseofgunpowderinartilleryallowedforthetotalmassacreoftheFrenchintheBattleof
Crecy,whomwhichheavilyoutnumberedtheBritish.Withonly6cannons,KingEdwardof

EnglandandhisforceskilledmorethantenthousandFrenchsoldiersbeforetheirretreat.This
onebattleshowsjusthoweffectiveandrevolutionarygunpowderwas,devastatingarmiesand
eveningthesoldierdisadvantagetheEnglishwereat.Thepotentialfordeathandinjurybecame
higherthaneverbecauseoftheseinnovations,revolutionizingmodernweaponryasweknowit
today.
ThesystemofevolvingbattletacticsduringtheRenaissanceperiodwasaprofound
causeofstaggeringamountsofcasualtiesonthebattlefield.Becauseofnewinnovationsinthe
weaponspartofwarfare,mainlyartilleryandfirearms,militaryleadershadtorethinkhowthey
couldapproachwar.Artilleryshotsdemolishinglargeportionsofarmiesmeantthatthewayin
whichsoldiersattackedhadtomakeitsothatsomanymenwouldntbeabletobelostto
cannonfire.Oneofthewaystheyavoidedanopenbattlefieldwasthroughasiege,orwhenan
armyblockadesacityortowninordertoattackortomakethepeopleinittostarvebecauseof
nothingbeingallowedinoroutofthetown.whiletheenemyforcesremainwiththecityon
lockdown.Thistacticallowedforlittleornodirectconflictwithanothermilitarytoreducethe
numbersofliveslostduetothingssuchasartilleryasthetownspeoplewereoftennotexpecting
theblockadeandveryvulnerable.Theydidthisbydiggingtrenchessurroundingthetownin
ordertohaveanadvantageagainstattackingforcesfromoutsideoronesdefendingthetown
fromtheinside.Multipletrenchesweredugservingamultitudeofdifferentpurposesthat
ultimatelyhelpedgreatlystrengthenthesiegeandensuretheattackersgotwhattheywanted,
whetheritsahostagetypesituationwithransomneedingtobepaidforthemtostopthesiege
orconquestofthecitybythoseontheoffensive.Battletacticswerenotonlyaltered,butnew
oneswerecompleteoverhaulsofoldstrategiesinordertoaccommodatefornewinnovations
foranewageofwarfare.

Newlyreinventedversionsofolderweaponsandarmorfromearlierperiodswerealso
someofthemostdeadlyinstrumentsofmurderbesidesthenewcomerssuchasfirearmsand
cannonsoftheRenaissance.Asignificantlyimprovedversionofabowandarrow,the
crossbow,wasbeingperfectedduringthistimeasasuitablereplacementforarchersusing
bows.Itwasparticularlyeffectiveagainstknightsonhorsebackwithplatearmorasitwasable
topenetrateitandeasiertoaimthanabowandarrow.Thecrossbowalsoallowedfora
mediumrangedistanceweapontobeavailableatalltimes,astheboltorarrowwasreadytobe
firedonceitwasloadedandcouldstayloadedforalongtime,unlikeabowandarrowthatwas
onlyreadyoncetheuserloadedthearrowandpulledback.Itseaseofusealsoallowedthe
crossbowtobeaweaponthatmostpeoplecouldlearnquicklyifneededintimesofwarand
allowedpeasantstobeabletouseaswell.Theintroductionofextraplatingofarmorinother
areasthatwerenotpreviouslycoveredbeforesuchastheneckandhandsmadeknightsbetter
protectedagainstimprovedswordsandotherhandheldweapons.However,astimeprogressed,
peoplerealizedthateventhougharmorwasgettingmoreandmorethickerandstronger,it
weighedextremelyheavyandgreatlyreducedmobilityfortheknightwhichisessentialwhen
wieldingasword.Knightscouldsimplyjustnotkeepupwithrapidadvancementsintechnology
anddidnotfitintotheeraofEarlyModernWarfare,asfirearmscouldpenetratearmorunlessit
wasextremelythickandcannonsthatdecimatedthosemountedonhorseback.
Overall,theeraoftheRenaissancehadanenormousimpactonwarfareasweknowit
today,andsettheprecedentforhowbattleswouldbefoughtfromthenon,influencingmany
generationstocome.Fromnewweaponsthatwereextremelylethaltoanytypeofsoldieratany
range,tonewtacticstotakedownanenemyorrobatownofitsresources,toreinventionsof
olderweaponsinhopesthattheycouldcompetewiththenewheavyhittersintroducedduring

theperiod,allhelpedmoldmodernwarfareintowhatweknowitastoday,thedeadly,drawn
out,anddestructiveforcethatitis.

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