Artillery can fire further shots when on hills. It should assume position on a flat, firm
surface. If the trail of a gun carriage
digs into the soil, the recoil will soon break it. The soil where the enemy is situated should also be firm,
so that cannonballs can ricochet from the
ground and inflict more damage to the enemy (if a cannonball
hits mellow ground, the shell will sink). When firing canister
shots, the
direction that the land has been ploughed plays a vital role. If
the furrows are crossed, some of the bullets will dig into them. It is very disadvantageous to shoot at
an angle of over 5 degrees. It is desirable to have your
cannon protected by a parapet. The guns' effectiveness depends
heavily on
their location during the battle. Siege guns were used to bombard
enemy fortifications. These were basically mortars - short-barreled
large-calibre guns
firing bombs upwards in wide angles. Bomb hits inflicted substantial damage on fortresses and troops in
defensives.
