2. The Hwacha
As the pioneers of gunpowder, the Chinese were very protective of their weapons during the 14th and 15th centuries. In particular, the country imposed especially strict embargoes on gunpowder exports to Korea, which meant that Korean engineers needed to devise their own methods for dealing with the seemingly endless incursion of Japanese invaders. This resulted in Korea developing its own gunpowder weapons including the hwacha—a rocket launcher that could fire well over 100 missiles with the strike of a single match.
Hwachas provided an excellent counter to the Japanese samurai warriors, whose deadly form of close quarters combat was effectively neutralized by long-range ballistic attacks. Perhaps the greatest testament to the hwacha’s power came during the Battle of Haengju in 1593. Barely 3,000 Korean soldiers, civilians and monks stood to defend the Haengju hilltop fortress against 30,000 Japanese troops. But as the Japanese forces confidently advanced, they were unaware of the 40 hwachas stationed on the outer walls of the fortress.
After being repelled again and again by salvo after salvo, more than 10,000 Japanese were killed before the siege was called off. This marked one of the first major victories by Korea in the Japanese invasion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwacha Source: En.wikipedia.org
1. Rocket Cats
This bizarre and highly unorthodox form of weaponry was only recently rediscovered in 2014. It was found in a military guide to siege warfare written by German artillery master Franz Helm roughly 500 years ago.
In the mid 1500s, gunpowder was beginning to change the face of war and this prompted the development of detailed instructions for the most effective uses of the explosive compound. Helm’s manual contained descriptions and colorful illustrations of nearly every type of bomb imaginable. There was also a notable section where he advised siege armies to capture a cat from the city being targeted for attack and then strap a bomb to it. The idea was that the cat would then run home and explode, causing damage and starting fires to areas behind enemy lines.
Although it’s unclear whether or not this tactic was ever actually employed, according to Mitch Fraas, the researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who first translated the text, there isn’t any historical evidence to prove that anyone tried what Helm suggested. According to Fraas, such a scheme would likely only result in an army setting fire to their own camp.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillypets/U-Penn-researcher-unearths-centuries-old-rocket-cat-warfare-plot.html Source: Philly.com
Wes Walcott
Wes is a devourer of media. He ravenously consumes podcasts, books, and TV shows with seemingly no regard for review scores or subject matter. If encountered in the wild, Wes is said to respond positively to verbal cues relating to X-Men or the SNES. The subject can be easily captured and tamed using Transformers or Gundam models.