Weapons  and  Tactics
Chapter 1

Columnist Brig (Retd) ZA KHAN gives an overview of the changing concepts over the years.  

INTRODUCTION

1.  The Early  Weapons

The earliest fighting between groups of men probably occurred in the Stone Age when families fought for survival; the earliest warriors were foot soldiers armed with clubs, swords, daggers, spears and missile weapons, bows, slings and javelins; these weapons did not change very much till firearms started  replacing them in the 14th Century.

The first weapon, probably,  was a club from which the ‘mace’ developed. The early Egyptians used a mace, a heavy round shaped stone with a hole into which a wooden handle was fixed. About 2,500 BC,  copper and later bronze came into use, the stone mace disappeared and the axe, with  a blade designed for cutting, replaced it. 

Between 3,000 and 2,000 BC the long thrusting spear, with a wooden shaft and a socketed metal point was the main weapon of the ordinary soldier. A variation of the spear, the javelin,  similar to the spear  but much smaller, became a hand hurled missile of the charioteer who carried a number of them, it was also used by skirmishers who engaged the enemy in the preliminary stage of a battle.

With a rudimentary knowledge of metals and metallurgy small blades for axes could be made, the longer blade necessary for swords were much more difficult to make. First, short copper  daggers used for stabbing were developed, then daggers  with a wooden handle, then a sickle shaped weapon for slashing, finally the sword took shape around 2,000 BC when bronze replaced copper, and longer, stronger blades could be produced for the sword.

The early long range missile weapon was the arrow, bows and arrows were hunting weapons adapted for war; the Egyptians organised their bowmen for discharging arrows in volleys which made them  dreaded  on the battlefield.     

The chariot, first appeared around 3,000 BC, it was a great military advance because it introduced battlefield mobility. The chariot was originally a cart drawn by four asses, later it became a two wheeled vehicle drawn by one or two horses;  the vehicle was    driven by one man while another was  armed with a spear and bows and arrows; a line of chariots, as many as fifty, would charge to  create panic and disorder in the enemy infantry which allowed own  infantry, armed with spears and protecting themselves with shields, to close with the enemy.

Besides his weapon, the soldier of this period carried a shield for his protection, archers and charioteers, whose hands were not free for carrying shields,  used  armour for protection.

2. Organisation of Armies

Fighting between individuals, groups,  tribes, nations and countries has been there from time   immemorial; fighting has been necessary for survival as a family, as a group, as a tribe, as a nation and  as a people. Because fighting was necessity for survival, the bearing of arms  was  a compulsory liability of the male members of tribes in tribal warfare, it has been a compulsory liability in many countries in the past and is there at present. In   the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan the Mahsuds and other tribes require members of their tribe to serve in ‘lashkars’ when the tribe fights.

In ancient times, the weapons used for hunting, the bow and arrow, the javelin and the spear, were used for fighting, then for close combat the sword came into use; later weapons were designed and made for war.

It was soon discovered that when an organised body of men was fighting another organised body, it was necessary to disorganise the enemy and then come to close grips with the enemy to finish him off; therefore, arrows had to be discharged first, then javelins had to be hurled to disorganise the enemy; after disorganisation spears and swords were used frontally while chariots charged the flanks or the rear. To achieve this, men armed with similar weapons had to be grouped together and had to act together on orders which resulted in ‘organisation’ and action on ‘command’ created commanders.

Organisation in armies is obtained by forming bodies of men who are similarly armed  or those who perform a particular  function, even when the function is  not directly connected with fighting. Those connected with fighting are called the ‘fighting arms’, in olden days swordsmen, spearmen, archers with bows and arrows, charioteers and cavalry; now Infantry, Artillery and Armour; the fighting arms require Engineers to build roads and bridges and Signals for communications, these are called ‘supporting arms’; those connected with tasks other than fighting, supplying food and war material, looking after the wounded and the sick, etc, were jobs  performed by contractors but  these tasks are now performed by the ‘services’  of the army, Army Service Corps  for food and other supplies, Ordnance Corps for weapons and equipment, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for repairs and maintenance, Medical Corps to care for the wounded and the sick.

Fighting has to be an organised affair with  recognised leaders whose commands have to be obeyed,  obedience is obtained by collecting men armed with similar weapons or performing similar tasks  in groups with commanders, smaller groups grouped together to form  larger groups, usually the smallest group has been of ten men; the next of a  hundred consisting of ten groups of ten; similarly groups of 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and more are formed. The groups, from the smallest to the largest, have commanders whose commands had to be obeyed;  kings, in the past, were the top commanders, it was their  ambitions and grievances which caused wars; the kings led and commanded their armies, the commanders, from the largest group to the smallest, obeyed the king and  formed the chain of command.

Discipline is the subordination of the will, of an individual or a group, to that of a commander;  it is concerned with securing and ensuring the authority of a commander  to get calculated and orderly responses and actions to orders. Discipline  is inculcated by enforcing obedience but the best discipline is obtained by making men realise their responsibility to continue performing their function disregarding personal danger.

Training and drill teach orderly methods of performing functions necessary in battle, it ensures  correct responses to commands and the correct performance of functions under disorderly and tumultuous battle conditions.  

The organisation of an army has three purposes: the first is command, which means the passage of orders and instructions through a chain of responsible subordinates so that the original order is communicated to all those who are to execute it; the second is the co-ordination of the characteristics of the different types of weapons; the third purpose is administration so that the army may be  fed, clothed,  supplied with weapons and replacement of consumable items including material and  men that are expended.

To be called an army a force must be organised, it must be disciplined and must have a commander and a command system. In  battle an army  must seek to destroy the organisation of the opposing army by destroying parts of it or destroy its command system, or disrupt the administrative system of the opposing army so that it cannot be supplied with its necessities.

Weapons have different characteristics and effects,  tactics is the  employment in battle of men armed with different types of weapons   at the appropriate time and place  to obtain the maximum and best effect.

Weapons usually remain the same for long periods of time; the earliest weapons,  the sword, the spear, the javelin and the bow and arrow, remained on the battlefields for thousands of years, in fact the sword and the lance  only left the battlefields well after the beginning of the twentieth century;   modifications and improvements of old weapons  take place and new weapons are invented and when these are successful and advantageous they  are quickly copied.

 In  war movement of men and material to the battlefield and movement of the fighting bodies on the battlefield is involved, therefore, as means and  methods of movement change, tactics and strategy also change.

Constant thinking must go on about  the employment of existing weapons and when new weapons are adopted the changes necessary in tactics and organisations  must be carried out, similarly changes in methods of movement, supply etc must be constantly studied;  an army lost in traditions and time honoured methods and techniques has never been successful.

The following chapters  describe weapons, how they were used; what organisations were adopted and why; what the tactics were; why changes came about with or without changes in weapons.

The Early Civilizations

1. The Egyptians (4,000 - 525 BC)

The Sumerians of Southern Mesopotamia are known as the first people to put warfare on an organised basis but the earliest recorded history is that of Egypt, going back to about 4000 BC; the earliest recorded military organization is of the period of Ramses II (1304-1237 BC).

King Ahmose I, the first Pharaoh of the New Kingdom (1570-1100 BC), in about 1570 BC organised his army in two 'divisions', one in the Nile Delta and one inland in the south, it was this standing army which first evolved the 'line of battle' consisting of  the centre and the wings. When the army moved forward in an extended line it became a  frontal attack and when the whole army or a portion of it  attacked a wing of the opposing army from the undefended side it became a flanking movement. This gave armies organisation, originated  the art of deploying armies on the battlefield and the tactics for employing an army on the battlefield.

The detailed organisation of the Egyptians is not known, however, the following is known:-

The Egyptians had a seven caste system society in which the warriors were second after the priests.

The warrior caste received land to support themselves and their families.

The country was divided into 36 military provinces.

Chariots formed the elite corps, each chariot had  a driver and an archer   and  had scythes on the axles to cut through infantry. There was a light chariot and a heavy one, the brunt of the fighting was borne by the charioteers and the king fought from one. 

The infantry was armed with an iron sword and a six foot spear, the heavy infantry carried a shield covering the soldier from head to foot.

The army  had a staff system, with nobles acting as couriers for conveying orders, an intelligence system based on  spies, scouting and prisoner interrogation.

A supply system of wagons, carts, animals and ships existed and records of pay, equipment etc was kept.

Troops received training.

Battlefields were  flat ground on which chariots and masses of infantry  could move.

The Battle of Kadesh

The earliest battle in history whose details are known is the battle of Kadesh, it was fought on banks of the river Orontes (now known as the Jordan River) Seti I (1318-1304 BC), fought two campaigns to recover Palestine, Syria and Lebanon but was checked by the Hittites; Ramses II who succeeded Seti I continued the war to restore his empire.

The Egyptians, in four divisions, named after the gods Re, Amon, Ptah and Sutekh, advanced across the desert keeping close to the Mediterranean coast, the force was  logistically maintained by the navy, 400 miles were covered in one month, the Orontes river was reached without contacting the Hittites and a camp was made south of the city of Kadesh.

The Hittite king   hid  his army north of the city of Kadesh and  sent agents to the Egyptians who gave a false location of the Hittite army and false information that the Hittite auxiliaries wished to desert to the Egyptians. The Egyptians advanced towards Kadesh and captured Hittite scouts  who revealed that the main Hittite army of infantry and chariots was concealed north of the city of Kadesh, Ramses on learning this tried to concentrate his army.  Ramses had an army of about 20,000, foot soldiers and chariots; Mutawallis, the Hittite king, had an army of about 16,000, including 2,500 chariots with three men in each.   

The Hittites circled the city eastwards and attacked the Egyptian Re division cutting it in two, one half of the division  ran and joined the Amon division and the other half fled to Ramses' camp. The Hittites then attacked the Amon division and it fled to the north. Ramses noticing that a flank of the Hittites was open and weak attacked with his chariots, he controlled the Amon division and sent it to attack the Hittites who were looting the Egyptian camp, the Hittites having committed their chariots were helpless against the Egyptian chariots, they withdrew to Kadesh and prepared for a siege  but  Ramses II had to make peace with Hittites and return to Egypt to defend his kingdom against Libyan and European marauders.

The Battle of Kadesh, apart from being the earliest battle whose details are known, is unique because it was a battle fought between two moving forces, a thing that was not to re-occur for a long time.