Siege Weapons of the Far East (2): AD 960–1644

Osprey New Vanguard #44

by Stephen Turnbull, Wayne Reynolds (Illustrator)

From the 11th century AD, East Asian armies made increasing use of exploding missiles and siege cannon to reduce the fortifications of their enemies. Some of these weapons were very similar to those used in Europe - for example, the heavy siege cannon used in the siege of P'yongyang during the Japanese invasion in the late 16th century. Others, like the Korean hwach'a carts mounting over a hundred rockets that were used to bombard the Japanese at Haengiu in 1593, were very different from their European contemporaries. This book details the design and use of the wide range of weaponry available during this period.

Genres: Military History, History

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Stephen Richard Turnbull is British a historian specializing in eastern military history, especially the samurai of Japan. His books are mainly on Japanese and Mongolian subjects. He attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds an MA in Theology, MA in Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is currently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He has also written a number of books on other medieval topics. He is semi-retired but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky]

SIEGE WEAPONS OF THE FAR EAST (2) continues where book 1 left off. By this time the Chinese had begun to use gunpowder for its explosive properties as a propellant though it was still used as an incendiary device. The illustration on the cover gives an example of both uses. Here we have a gun crew armed with a European ships cannon, with its gunpowder charge about to be ignited by one man, while another is lighting the flammable material on the huge arrow, which will be shot at the enemy's gate, where it will embed itself deep into the wood causing it to burn.

Besides the Chinese, this volume covers the Japanese, Korean and Mongol use of cannon as well. Though the Chinese were given credit for the invention of gunpowder, they were overtaken by the Europeans as time went by. Whereas the Chinese started out with small siege cannons and went large, it was just the opposite with the Europeans. Because European cannon were in such demand, European traders sometimes had to give up their ship's cannon for trade. At one point Jesuit priests who accompanied the Portuguese were put to work setting up a cannon foundry for the Ming for their fight against the Manchu. It seems that the barbarians could do what the Chinese could not. One cannon from Europe was 20 feet long and weighed 4,000 pounds. It was christened the 'red [-haired] barbarian gun' which could smash any city wall.

This is not to say that the Asians couldn't build cannon. The Koreans manufactured mortars that could fire explosive shells while they preferred to use their cannon to fire heavy wooden arrows instead of stone or iron shot like the Chinese. They also made these carts that could fire volleys of iron tipped rocket arrows which reminded me of the Soviet Katyusha rocket launchers of WWII.

The closing chapter covers the various siege operations such as mining under castle walls to cause them to collapse. Some of the methods and equipment used were similar to those used in Europe. By placing a jug in the ground covered with a hide they could hear digging underground. A common counter to this was to pump poison gas into the tunnel by use of pipes and bellows. Very ingenious, if you ask me.

This was loaded with the usual photos, drawings and color plates; another fine work by Stephen Turnbull.

[Timons Esaias]

This sequel to SWFE(1) covers various gunpowder based weapons, as well as mining machines and strategies. There are some assault towers described, but also firing-platform towers. There are an interesting array of bombs that could be thrown from a wall (in either direction) or catapulted (ditto), as well as incendiary arrows and spears; not to mention quite an array of early cannon.

Fire lances were covered in the previous volume, but rockets of various kinds are dealt with here. I would have liked more detail on the types of rockets, but this is an interesting introduction to a complex subject. I only wish there were footnotes or detailed references.