Cannons ended the castle arms race, making thousands obsolete
Evidence
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
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Cannons collapsed castle defenses and drove a new star-fort architecture; Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 973; Trebuchets made square castle towers disappear in favor of round ones — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 516 (+1 more)
Related
- Cannons collapsed castle defenses and drove a new star-fort architecture (similarity 0.95)
- Artillery ended the castle arms race and forced the rise of star forts (similarity 0.91)
- Trebuchets made square castle towers disappear in favor of round ones (similarity 0.87)
- Pushing siege weapons to longer range only drove artillery growth (similarity 0.82)
- Explosive artillery ended the era of fortified structures above ground. (similarity 0.81)
- Siege artillery evolved to exploit the fragility of fortress wall corners (similarity 0.80)
- Fortification style evolved in direct response to artillery effectiveness (similarity 0.79)
- Round towers replaced square ones because corners were vulnerable to artillery (similarity 0.79)
- Bombers evolved like castles, adding all-around defenses against attackers (similarity 0.78)
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 - Explosive artillery ended the era of fortified structures above ground.
#corroborates(0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 974 - Trebuchets made square castle towers disappear in favor of round ones
#complicates(0.50) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 516