War wagon

One of the earliest example of using conjoined wagons in warfare as fortification is described in the Chinese historical record Book of Han. During the 119 BC Battle of Mobei of the Han–Xiongnu War, the famous Han general Wei Qing led his army through a fatiguing expeditionary march across the Gobi Desert only to find Yizhixie Chanyu's main force waiting to encircle them on the other side. Using armored heavy wagons known as "Military Sturdy Wagon" ({{lang-zh|武剛車}}; pinyin: wŭ gāng chē) in ring formations as temporary defensive fortifications, which provided archers, crossbowmen and infantry protection from the Xiongnu's powerful cavalry charges, and allowed Han troops to utilize their ranged weapons' advantages of precision. Wei Qing neutralised the Xiongnu's initial cavalry charges, forcing a stalemate and buying time for his troops to recover strength, before using the cover of a sandstorm to launch a counteroffensive which overran the nomads.The Book of Han, Ban Gu, 111 CE

The Guangwu Emperor (AD 25–57) introduced an ox-pulled war wagon several stories high with an observation tower, which was deployed at the Great Wall against the Xiongnu.{{cite book |last1=Peter Lorge |title=Debating War in Chinese History |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004244795 |page=44}} By the 6th century such war wagons reached several meters in height and had up to 20 wheels.{{cite book |last1=Ce Zhang |title=A History of Mechanical Engineering |date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-9811508332 |page=34}}

File:War Wagon - Manuscript on the Art of War.jpg war wagon, c.1437]]

A medieval European war wagon was developed in the Hussite Wars around 1420 by Hussite forces led by the Czech general Jan Žižka rebelling in Bohemia.Arnold, Thomas. ‘’The Renaissance at War’’. Cassell & Co. 2001. p. 82.{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Norman J. |date=April 28, 2023 |title=Politics, Law, and the Military: Overview. |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3034600097/WHIC?u=azstatelibdev&sid=bookmark-WHIC&xid=52e21c45 |access-date=April 28, 2023 |website=Gale}} It was a heavy wagon given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners, archers and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using spears, pikes and flails. Groups of them could form defensive works, but they also were used as hard points for formations or as firepower in pincer movements.Arnold, 82. This early use of gunpowder and innovative tactics helped a largely peasant infantry stave off attacks by the Holy Roman Empire's larger forces of mounted knights.

The wagon was first used in war in Battle of Sudoměř on March 25, 1420, where it was found to be a powerful weapon for the Hussite army. Despite being outnumbered by approximately 400 to 2000, the war wagon allowed the Hussite forces to emerge victorious in the battle. The wagon was then used throughout the rest of the Hussite Wars with great success.{{Cite web |last=Mark |first=Joshua J. |title=Hussite Wars |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Hussite_Wars/ |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}

After the Hussite wars, they stayed in usage as the special tactical weapon of Bohemian mercenaries which prevailed against knights or foot soldiers. Its successful history came to an end, at least for large scale engagements, with the development of field-piece artillery: a battle wagon wall "fortress" of approximately 300 wagons was broken at the Battle of Wenzenbach on September 12, 1504 by the culverines and muskets of the landsknecht regiment of Georg von Frundsberg.

The Zaporozhian Cossacks were mostly infantry soldiers who used war wagons, according to two Early Modern authors - Erich Lassota, an important primary source on the Zaporozhian Cossacks from the very end of the 16th century, and Guillaume de Beauplan, a 17th-century cartographer and author of a book describing Ukraine, published in two editions in 1651 and 1660.{{cite book |last1= Stasiewska |first1= Zofia|last2= Meller|first2= Stefan |title=Eryka Lassoty i Wilhelma Beauplana opisy Ukrainy |trans-title=Erich Lassota's and Wilhelm Beauplan's descriptions of Ukraine |location=Warsaw, PL |publisher=Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy |year=1972 |page=110 |lang=pl}}

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• Armoured car (military)
• Armoured personnel carrier
• Carroballista
• Cavalry
• Chariot
• Fire arrow
• Horse artillery
• Laager, Tabor (formation)
• Self-propelled artillery
• Tank
• Tachanka
• Wagon
• Wagon fort
• Wagon train
• Zamburak

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{{Reflist}}

• [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/matthaywood/main/Warwagons.htm Hussite War-wagons, presenting detailed information about the Hussites' most characteristic tactic, by Matthew Haywood]
• [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/matthaywood/main/Hussites.htm General information regarding the Hussite forces]
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=9ntLB8W-cVQC&q=The+Hussite+Wars+1419+-+36,+Stephen+Turnbull,+Illustrated+by+Angus+McBride,+Osprey,+2004 Google Books The Hussite Wars 1419–36 by Stephen Turnbull]
• [http://www.xenophongroup.com/montjoie/hussite.htm Hussite Warwagon painting]
• [http://www.1stcorps.co.uk/history.php Hussite history summary]
• [http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba176/dba176.html Wargaming Hussite armies and tactics]

{{Ancient and Dynastic Chinese Military History}}

Category:Armoured fighting vehicles of Germany

Category:Chinese inventions

Category:Czech inventions

Category:Military equipment of antiquity

Category:Military equipment of the Middle Ages

Category:Armoured fighting vehicles of China

Category:Military history of the Czech Republic

Category:Wagons