Cannons collapsed castle defenses and drove a new star-fort architecture

Evidence

Cannons destroyed even the most magnificent castles, shattering towers, breaching walls, and collapsing the arms race, until a new style of fortress emerged. Star forts sit low to the ground and rely on extensive earthworks to absorb the impact of cannons, and angled, pointy walls to deflect cannonballs fired from any direction. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 973 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Everything changed with the invention of gunpowder. The destructive power of cannons rendered even the most impressive castle walls obsolete, and by the end of the fifteenth century the benefits of castle-style fortifications weren’t worth their exorbitant costs. The arms race was over. The cannon had won, and thousands of castles across England, France, Spain, Germany, and Belgium were abandoned. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 519 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 973; Cannons ended the castle arms race, making thousands obsolete — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 519

Related

• Cannons ended the castle arms race, making thousands obsolete (similarity 0.95)
• Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts (similarity 0.94)
• Pushing siege weapons to longer range only drove artillery growth (similarity 0.80)
• Explosive artillery ended the era of fortified structures above ground. (similarity 0.80)
• Trebuchets made square castle towers disappear in favor of round ones (similarity 0.80)
• Colonies built costly forts only where naval cannons threatened (similarity 0.79)
• Fortification style evolved in direct response to artillery effectiveness (similarity 0.79)
• Siege artillery evolved to exploit the fragility of fortress wall corners (similarity 0.79)
• Bombers evolved like castles, adding all-around defenses against attackers (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts #corroborates (0.90) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 973
• Cannons ended the castle arms race, making thousands obsolete #corroborates (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 519