What the Trebuchet Can Do - The Throwing Weapon That Changed Warfare
When weapons were forged in forges and assembled in workshops rather than labs, humans learned to use gravity and leverage to make projectiles fly farther, more accurately, and do more damage. Before guns and gunpowder, siege tactics relied on missile launchers. Notable among these was the trebuchet, a brilliant example of ancient engineering that evolved from the simple sling. But how did a shepherd's weapon become a powerful tool that changed the course of history?
Even in ancient times, warriors and hunters noticed that the length of the thrower's arm greatly affects the result. The longer the lever, the further the projectile flies and the more powerful the blow. That is why someone came up with the idea of attaching a sling to a long stick to increase the lever. Then the structure was attached to a frame, and the power of several people began to be used to launch it.
Then the device was scaled up and instead of muscle power, the weight of the counterweight was used. The longer the lever and the more massive the weight, the further the projectiles fly. At the same time, their mass also increased. According to historians, gravity throwing machines first appeared in China in the 5th–6th centuries BC.
Machines of impressive size and incredible power were built in China. To prepare the largest of them for firing, several dozen people were required to work, pulling on ropes with great effort. These stone throwers launched giant stones, but their effectiveness was demonstrated mainly during the siege or defense of fortresses and other fortified structures.
This military technology existed only in China for almost a thousand years. But at the end of the 6th century AD, it reached Europe. Probably, nomads adopted the idea from the Chinese and brought stone throwers to the walls of Byzantium in the 5th-6th centuries. The first attempts to use it did not cause serious damage to the fortifications, but the Byzantines appreciated the design and began to use it. One of the first mentions of such machines is found in chronicles from the 580s. In Byzantium, they were called "petrobols", which is translated from Greek as "stone thrower".
After that, stone throwers began to spread across Europe and the Middle East. They were used by the Slavs, Visigoths, Persians and Arabs. Everyone liked the new thing so much that it soon replaced the ballistas and catapults known since ancient times. Over time, the names also changed: in Byzantium they began to be called mangans, in Western Europe - mangonels, and in Arab countries - al-manjaniq.
In the 7th century, the Byzantines and Arabs began using pots with flammable compositions based on oil as projectiles. In addition, they improved the mechanism: they shortened the lever with the load as much as possible and increased its mass. Thanks to this, the shot became more powerful, and less effort was required to load the machine.
In the 9th century, stone throwers reached the Franks. It was then that the machine received its classic name - "trebuchet", derived from the word trébuchet, which means "beam scales". In Europe, trebuchets served as siege weapons until the end of the 14th century. Despite the simplicity of the design, these mechanisms seriously influenced the tactics of siege and defense of fortifications. Their use did not require professional warriors - townspeople or even peasants could join in the action.
At first glance, the trebuchet seems to be a surprisingly simple device. Its design includes a frame with an axis, on which a beam-lever is fixed. The beam is divided relative to the axis in the proportion of 1:5 or 1:6. A counterweight is attached to the short end, and a sling with a charge is attached to the long end.
The principle of operation is clear even without explanation: the counterweight is raised to a certain height, then released. The energy of its fall is transferred to the beam, which spins the sling and sends the projectile right to the target.
But it is not so easy to reveal the true potential of this design. If you assemble a trebuchet with a 4-meter beam and a counterweight weighing 100 kilograms, it will take up a significant part of the site, but will be able to throw a brick at most fifty steps. Such a machine will destroy perhaps a neighbor's fence, but it is unlikely to cope with serious fortifications.
Traction trebuchets, used in sufficient quantities, could easily change the course of a battle. During a siege of a fortress, the attackers not only knocked the defenders off the walls and damaged the walls and towers, but also caused damage inside the fortifications. Heavy stones, falling inside, caused death and destruction. Pots with a combustible mixture set fire to cities and destroyed the enemy's throwing machines.
Trebuchets also proved themselves to be excellent in the defense of fortresses. The besieged could hit the soldiers approaching the walls, and at the same time destroy the siege towers and throwing machines of the enemy. The simplicity of the mechanisms allowed using any heavy objects as projectiles. If the supply of charges was exhausted, it was possible to dismantle the buildings and throw stones or building blocks at the besiegers.
In the Middle Ages, there were stone throwers capable of throwing stone balls weighing 100-150 kilograms at a distance of up to 200 meters. The shooting accuracy was quite high - the ball hit a square measuring 5 by 5 meters. The rate of fire was about two shots per hour. No scientists were needed: experienced carpenters, relying on their knowledge, could make such a machine in just 8-10 days.
In parallel with large stone throwers, hand trebuchets were also used in the Middle Ages. Even women and children could be taught to use them with high efficiency. And these are not just words. It is known that in 1218, during the siege of Toulouse, Simon de Montfort, the leader of the Albigensian Crusade, was killed by a stone thrown from a compact hand trebuchet by women.
There is a surprising and tragic incident connected with siege machines that had a serious impact on the history of Europe. In 1346, the Khan of the Golden Horde, Janibek, was besieging the Genoese fortress of Kaffa in Crimea. During the siege, he decided to use an unusual tactic. Janibek ordered the use of stone throwers to throw the bodies of people who died of the plague over the city walls. With this cruel move, he wanted to demoralize the defenders and force them to capitulate.
The plague is a terrible and highly contagious disease. The incubation period can be up to 12 days, and the infection is carried not only by people but also by animals, especially ship rats. When Kaffa fell, Genoese ships left the city, taking with them goods and, unfortunately, the plague. The disease began its journey west, moving along trade routes and ports. Over the next seven years, the epidemic destroyed between 30 and 60 percent of the population of Europe, becoming one of the greatest catastrophes in human history.
Thus, a few volleys from siege engines set off a chain of events that claimed millions of lives. A weapon designed for medieval warfare caused destruction comparable to the effects of a nuclear bomb. It is important to keep in mind that this version is based on just one written source. That is why historians continue to argue about the accuracy of the details. In any case, the story of Kaffa has become a symbol of how military ingenuity changes the world – often in unexpected and frightening ways.
Although trebuchets seem simple mechanisms, their manufacture requires certain experience and knowledge of important parts. If this is not taken into account, the machine can become dangerous for the shooters themselves. A striking example is the unsuccessful experience of the Spanish conquistador Fernan Cortes.
In 1521, while fighting the Aztecs, Cortes ran out of gunpowder. He decided to build a small trebuchet and attack the Indians with stones. But his idea failed. The 11-kilogram boulders fell too close to the machine, and one of them flew straight up and fell right on the mechanism, destroying it. After that, Cortes abandoned the idea, which at first seemed brilliant to him.
The final cross on trebuchets was put by the cannons of the early 15th century. With a total mass of one and a half tons (ten times less than a siege engine), the cannon fired a 130-kilogram cannonball 200 meters with a much higher initial speed. Some monstrous examples launched cannonballs weighing about half a ton 500-600 meters.
The art of making stone throwers was gradually lost at the turn of the Middle Ages and the New Age. In 1850, the French Emperor Napoleon III commissioned a military engineer, Captain Fave, to build a powerful trebuchet. He took on the task and applied precise mathematical calculations in the development process.
As a result, Captain Fave created an impressive machine: the lever was 10.3 meters long, and the counterweight weighed 4.5 tons. Of these, 1.5 tons were rigidly fixed to the lever, and another 3 tons were placed in a movable box. The gun frame exceeded 5 meters in length. The first tests were successful: the trebuchet sent an 11-kilogram cannonball 175 meters, and a 30-kilogram sandbag 120 meters. But after the fifth shot, the machine fell apart, almost crippling the crew.
Thousands of years ago, the trebuchet changed the approach to siege of fortresses, and today it amazes us with its ingenious simplicity and power. What do you think: if you had the opportunity to build your own trebuchet - for fun, reenactment or experimentation - would you dare to do it?