Abus Gun

The Abus gun is an early form of howitzer created by the Ottoman empire. They were large and heavy, and many were equipped with a type of tripod. They had a caliber between 3 and 9 inches and fired a projectile weighing 4.25lb. [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:zTsWhW0wlJ8J:magweb.n1uro.com/sample/sdra/sdr12gsi.htm+ottoman+abus+gun&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=uk&client=firefox-a] Abus guns, despite being a form of howitzer, were primarily used as an anti-infantry weapon. William Johnson, "The Sultan's Big Guns." "Dragoman" v.1 no.2, Obtained March 4, 2007 from [http://www.magweb.com/sample/sdra/subdrag.htm] ] .

Military History

Background

The Ottomans were the first European power to employ artillery in their armies. As this gun was one of the first artillery weapons ever to be used in battle, its origins are not known. Early artillery such as this gun opened the way for the developments in artillery that we have made across the ages, and spawned more recent and familiar types of artillery. They continued to develop it; by the Napoleonic era,

Each regiment of foot artillery was made up of l0 cannons; four of the older, heavy Balyemez and Sahi cannons, two of the older, lighter Abus guns and four of the new French-designed field guns... each of which came in a bewildering range of sizes. The "Balyemez" were massive, long-range guns..."Sahi" was the Ottoman word for "field," and therefore Sahi artillery meant simply field artillery... The Abus guns were a form of howitzer and came in 10- and 7centimeter diameter bores. The French-design guns were known as SuratTopcusu (speed artillery) because of their greater mobility."

Mechanics

Abus guns were a short-barreled artillery machine that fired shots about the size of a human fist. [http://picasaweb.google.com/ArabicWithoutWalls/Tourism#5199621619826292658 Picture of a Turkish howitzer] They also had many varieties of artillery, from large siege Bombard to the mobile Abus guns in question. Though light enough to carry, they needed to be equipped with a tripod of sorts. This movability was opposed to locating them in a guarded artillery emplacement, where versatility of the weapon would have been considerably restricted.Fact|date=September 2008 The design remained unchanged until 1830 when the Prussian military advisers appointed by the sultan made a few minor improvements, standardising the weapons in order to improve efficiency. [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:zTsWhW0wlJ8J:magweb.n1uro.com/sample/sdra/sdr12gsi.htm+ottoman+abus+gun&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=uk&client=firefox-a]

Usage

Abus guns were a significant part of the Ottoman empire's artillery, and could perhaps even be referred to as the signature piece of artillery during the height of their power, in the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries, for no other civilization used a gun quite like this gun. [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:oKA6NXG-XAMJ:magweb.n1uro.com/sample/sdra/sdr12gun.htm+ottoman+abus+gun&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=35&gl=uk&client=firefox-a]
While the Ottoman Empire employed other forms of artillery, the strategy of the moveable abus gun would have contributed to their rise during the Napoleonic Era. Indeed, at one point in the said time, after the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, a great achievement for any empire at that time, the Ottoman force was greatly comprised of artillery. [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=A6ABAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=ottoman+howitzer&source=web&ots=xFTh62ItqJ&sig=m4M8J9U9S9G2M1px-5QRtjJRgnE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result]

Appearance in Age of Empires III

In Ensemble Studio's PC strategy game, "Age of Empires III," abus guns are used as Ottoman light artillery as a anti-infantry unit. The gun becomes available at approximately the correct historical time. [http://aoe3.heavengames.com/php/units/units.php?n=AbusGun "Abus Gun"] ]

References

See also

*Ottoman Empire
*Napoleonic Era
*Howitzer
*Age Of Empires III

External links

* [http://www.magweb.com MagWeb] Online Archive of Military History and Related Magazines. War, Warfare, and War Toys from the Ancient Era to Modern Times. (Subscription access)
* [http://www.magweb.com/sample/sdra/subdrag.htm "Dragoman"] covers the military history of the Ottoman Empire. (free sample access)