Practical Manual of Artillery

very alert and cautious about the way to offend the enemy and guard himself against being offended, as was said above. And how three principal considerations are also sought regarding any siege of a fortress. The first we will say is the site where the battery must be planted, and the second will be of the distance: the third and last is of the good or bad quality of the place which must be conquered with artillery. And nevertheless, he must know how, regarding the true election of the site, and in order to know how to recognize and find that which is required to use it comfortably, it must be accompanied by four principal qualities. The first is this, that the place where the battery is to be planted, whether it be strong by its nature or aided by art, be of such disposition that in case of necessity his infantry can skirmish with the enemies for the defense of the artillery. The second, that if, in order to avoid some imminent danger, the General is forced to move in haste with the artillery and abandon that site, the retreat must be easy for him and without any impediment, for the reason of not letting any piece be lost, which for him and the whole army would be great ignominy and blame (as was said elsewhere). The third consideration is that the balls must go to strike at right angles and point-blank at the place where the effect must be made, and this is for the reasons brought in the chapter on firing in this treatise. The fourth and last consideration is this, namely, that the battery be planted in such a place that, after it is well leveled, the assault is as easy as possible for the assaulting Soldiers, and there is no difficulty that causes them impediment to the ascent of the wall, not forgetting one point in this; for the honor and the entire importance of the enterprise in a siege consists in facilitating the assault, so that it does not result in bloodshed. Regarding the second consideration also, which we said to be of distance, I say that one must procure that it be proportionate to the power and quality of the artillery, and according to the convenience there will be of approaching the wall, with many other considerations that I hope to declare in the chapter on firing. Warning the General of Artillery regarding this particular that, in planting batteries, he must as much as possible avoid the extremes, that is, of both the long distance and the too short one; because from the one there will be little effect in the battery, and in the other, he will lose many people because of the continuous arquebus fire shot by the enemies. The third and last consideration, and of no less importance than the past, is that which we said to be of the place that must be conquered. And regarding this also we will say that, having observed the site very well from the outside and considered in what part it is most weak and most feeble—which in cold countries will always be on that side where the Northern winds blow, for because of these winds and the frost of Winter the walls always suffer great damage and become much easier to be ruined—I say that in such places, and where the earthworks are narrowest, the battery should be planted if some other particular impediment does not stand in the way. Besides this, the diligent and astute General of Artillery must procure to be informed often and fully, by faithful and diligent spies of the camp, of the interior disposition of the place and of the defenses that the enemy prepares inside, and in what manner and from what side his trenches and other artillery shelters can be offended, and of what defenses the enemy will be able to take advantage at the time of the assault. Investigating and seeking to understand similarly the number of pieces of artillery that are inside, which ones they are, and of what kind or quality, and the quantity of munitions, of powder, balls, and all other things that belong to the good defense of a City or well-munished fortress; and particularly he must also be informed of the thickness and quality of the wall, that is, if it is ancient or modern, as a thing that is of great importance; because a new wall is very easily ruined, and the same for the thickness of the earthwork, how high and wide it is, if there are counter-trenches inside that require being filled, or bridges to be built to cross them. All of which things, if the General of the army is sagacious and astute, and generous and magnificent in paying the said spies, without doubt he will be able to be fully informed of all the said things and obtain his intent. One must therefore, as has been said, always choose the weakest and most feeble part, so that it can least resist the blows of the artillery, and with less expense of munitions the battery may be leveled, and with greater brevity of time, which is that which matters much more. Once he has made the best election of the site, he must fortify it by degrees with his trenches, gabions, and other sturdy shelters, according to the convenience of the places; and this he shall do with the greatest silence of the night, so that (as has been said) he preserves