PRIMITIVE “ENGINES” OF WAR
Of course the main objects of war are offense and defense, the destruction of the opponent and the protection of one’s self. This first fighting was a hand-to-hand struggle which gave way to fighting at a distance as spears and arrows were invented. Shields and armor were then invented to ward off these missiles. Cities were surrounded with walls to hold off the enemy. Then came the Roman war “engines,” catapults and battering rams, to destroy the walls and towers which would enable the besiegers to fight on an equal level and in personal contact with the besieged. Although a battle might start with long-distance fighting it was always a hand-to-hand encounter that clinched the victory. Even to-day, although we have our big guns which fight at ranges of five to twenty miles, it is the rifle or bayonet which wins or loses the battle.