- Wagon fort
Wagon fort is a mobile
fortification made ofwagon s arranged into a rectangle, a circle or other shape and possibly joined with each other, an improvisedmilitary camp .The term "wagon-fort" was mentioned as early as in the 4th century book by a Roman army officer
Ammianus Marcellinus , "The Later Roman Empire" in reference to fortified camps ofGoths . [Ammianus Marcellinus , "The Later Roman Empire", Translated by Walter Hamilton, "Penguin Classics" (1986) ISBN 0140444068, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0140444068&id=sKJUCEBDn6IC&pg=PA423&lpg=PA423&dq=%22wagon+fort%22&sig=6YKUxEck7A4bNpkqQfRvFHgRRpI#PPA423,M1 p. 423] ]Notable historical examples include
Hussite s (known under the German word) Wagenburgs ("wagon castle"), "tabors" in the armies of thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth andCossacks , the "Laager" ofSouth Africa n, and defense formations of early Americansettler s, known as corrals ["Random House Unabridged Dictionary": "Corral: a circular enclosure formed by wagons during an encampment, as by covered wagons crossing the North American plains in the 19th century, for defense against attack"] .In modern
armoured warfare , a "laager" is a formation oftanks or otherarmoured vehicle s, used for quick resupply or refueling. It is rather vulnerable to attack, especially from the air, so it is only maintained for a short period, in a relatively safe location.Variations
Laager
A "laager", "lager", "leaguer" or "laer" (
Afrikaans , from Dutch "leger" (camp); pronounced IPA
/ˈlaː.gər/ or IPA |/ˈli.gər/). The word is South African in origin, and originally referred to a formation used by travelers whereby they would draw wagons into a circle and placecattle andhorses on the inside to protect them from raiders or nocturnal animals. In 1800s America, the same approach was used by pioneers who would "circle the wagons" in case of Indian attack.Tabor
A "tabor" (Ukrainian: also _uk. "tabir") is a
convoy or a camp formed by horse-drawn wagons. For example, nomadic Gypsies used to wander and camp in "tabor" formations. Tabors supported the armies in Europe between the 13th and 20th centuries. Tabors usually followed the armies and carried all the necessary supplies and rear units, such asfield kitchen s,armourer s orshoemaker s.The tactics were later copied by various armies of
Central Europe , including the army of thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . In the 16th and 17th centuries, these tactics were also mastered by theCossacks , who used their tabors for the protection of marching troops as well.History
In the 13th century the armies of
Kievan Rus used the tabors in thebattle of Kalka to defend themselves from Mongol forces.In the 15th century, during the
Hussite Wars , theHussite s developed tactics of using the tabors as mobilefortification s. When the Hussite army faced a numerically superior opponent, theBohemians usually formed a circle of the armed wagons, joined them with iron chains, and defended the resulting fortification against charges of the enemy. Such a camp was easy to establish and practically invulnerable to enemycavalry . The etymology of the word "tabor" may come from the Hussite fortress and modern day Czech city ofTábor which itself is a name derived from biblical Jezreel mountain Tavor (in Hebrew תבור).The Hussite tactic of the "Wagenburg" was used throughout the
Hussite Wars . This version of a corral was invented by the imaginative commanderJan Žižka . The tactic was used by theHussites to combat the heavily armored knights of the armies brought against them and would be used successfully for many years. The Wagenburg was a huge fortification of farmwagon s converted into war wagons. The crew of each wagon consisted of 18-21 soldiers: 4-8 crossbowmen, 2 handgunners, 6-8 soldiers equipped with pikes or flails, 2 shield carriers and 2 drivers. The wagons would normally form a square, and inside the square would usually be the cavalry. There were two principal stages of the battle using the Wagenburg: defensive and counterattack. The defensive part would be a pounding of the enemy with artillery. The Hussite artillery was a primitive form of ahowitzer , called in Czech a "houfnice", the word the English word howitzer comes from. Also, they called their guns the Czech word "píšťala", meaning that they were shaped like a pipe or afife , from which the English wordpistol is possibly derived. When the enemy would come close to the Wagenburg, crossbowmen and hand-gunners would come from inside the wagons and inflict more casualties on the enemy at close range. There would even be stones stored in a pouch inside the wagons for throwing whenever the soldiers were out of ammunition. After this huge barrage, the enemy would be demoralized. The armies of the anti-Hussite crusaders were usually heavily armoredknight s, and Hussite tactics were to disable the knight's horses so that the dismounted (and slow) knights would be easier targets for the ranged men. Once the commander saw it fit, the second stage of battle would begin. Men withsword s, flails, andpolearm s would come out and attack the weary enemy. Together with the infantry, the cavalry in the square would come out and attack. At this point, the enemy would be eliminated, or very close to it.Another use of this tactic would be very similar to the
infantry square s used by Wellington at theBattle of Waterloo and theSouth Africa nlaager . The Wagenburgs would form into squares that would support each other. Whenever an enemy charged between two Wagenburgs, marksmen from both Wagenburgs would easily exploit the advantage and kill many of the enemy. The Wagenburg was later used by the crusading anti-Hussite armies at theBattle of Tachov . However, the anti-Hussite German forces, being inexperienced at this type of strategy, were defeated. The Hussite Wagenburg would meet its demise at theBattle of Lipany , where theUtraquist faction of Hussites defeated theTaborite faction by getting the Taborites inside a Wagenburg on a hill to charge at them by at first attacking, then retreating. The Utraquists would reunite with the Catholic Church afterwards. Thus ended the Wagenburg's effect on Czech history. The first victory against the Wagenburg at the Battle of Tachov showed that the best ways to defeat a Wagenburg were to either prevent it from being erected in the first place, or to get the men inside of it to charge out of it, by means of a feint retreat. Thus, the fortification would lose its prime advantage. Another tactic that may have worked to defeat it that was never used was the use of fire, which could burn the wood sidings of the wagons.The Wagenburg's effect on Czech history was lost, but the Czechs would continue to use the Wagenburg in later conflicts. After the Hussite Wars, foreign powers such as the Hungarians and Poles who had confronted the destructive forces of the Czech Hussites, hired thousands of Czech mercenaries. At the
Battle of Varna in 1444, it is said that 600 Bohemian handgunners defended a wagon fortification. The Germans would also use wagons for fortification. They would use much cheaper materials than the Hussites, and they would have different wagons for the infantry and the artillery. The Russians also used a type of moveable fortress, called aguliai-gorod in the 16th century.ee also
*
Gulyay-gorod , Russian pre-fabricated mobile wooden fortificationGallery
References
Footnotes
Notations
*"The Hussite Wars (1419-36)", Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing (ISBN 1-84176-665-8)
External links
* [http://www.allempires.com/articles/hussite/hussite1.htm Hussite Tactics]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/matthaywood/main/Warwagons.htm War Wagon Tactics]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/matthaywood/main/Warwagons.htm Warwagons]
* [http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/horsemusket/korsun/default.aspx The Zaporozhian Cossack Battle at Korsun]
* [http://www.allempires.com/articles/hussite/hussite1.htm Hussite Tactics]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/matthaywood/main/Warwagons.htm War Wagon Tactics]
*"The Hussite Wars (1419-36)", Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing (ISBN 1-84176-665-8)
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