Were all the ancient cannons and shells made of solid iron balls? Ancient artillery was not only used to fire solid iron eggs. A medieval cannonball was a round stone bullet. This kind of projectile weapon is usually made of iron or copper, and pellets and gunpowder are usually filled through the muzzle. Giant catapults are usually used to bombard enemy walls.

In the17th and18th centuries before the birth of machine guns, most guns in European countries used solid bullets, that is, "iron balls". But the artillery of that era was not only a kind of ammunition, but also shotguns, grenades, shrapnel and so on. Solid bombs have the lowest cost and the widest application. When the iron ball weighing more than ten kilograms is launched, once it hits the dense line infantry formation, its lethality cannot be underestimated.

Moreover, curved artillery and mortars were just invented at that time, with low hit rate, which required the use of expensive and extremely unstable grenades to exert their power, making these new artillery less practical than flat-fire infantry/cavalry guns. So the standard ammunition of artillery in those days was solid ammunition.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of shells in ancient artillery. One is solid, unbreakable, and it is a solid bullet with a long range. Mainly used for siege and water warfare, that is, the legendary one that enters the soul. General solid iron balls and granite balls. One is fragile, solid or hollow, and the solid is mainly composed of sandstone balls and tile balls, which are mainly used to kill people.

This kind of shell is a whole when it is loaded, and it will break into pieces of different sizes when it is unloaded. It is a large sprayer with a strong range. Of course, in the early stage, it is directly filled with gravel and iron sand, and in the later stage, the iron sand is placed in a crock or directly tiled. Empty shells are usually iron shells filled with explosives, which will explode when they reach the impact point. Different from the previous solid ones, the solid ones are primary injuries and the hollow ones are secondary injuries.

But to tell the truth, the real purpose of artillery is deterrence, and the lethality is second. For example, in the late Ming Dynasty, Yuan Chonghuan defended Ningyuan and shot Nurhachi, but actually never hit Nurhachi. In fact, it was the sound of the cannon that frightened Nurhachi's horse, so the horse jumped up and threw Nurhachi to the ground, causing Nurhachi to be injured and even shocked, and Nurhachi died like this.

Therefore, before the formation of the modern army, the deterrence of artillery was far greater than the actual lethality. At that time, the horses of the most powerful cavalry units were most afraid of loud noise. If the cavalry horses are not blocked, as long as the cannon rings, no matter which horse it is, it is a bombing group. Therefore, before Napoleon, the symbolic significance of artillery was far greater than the actual utility. Napoleon brought small field artillery into the battlefield, making artillery truly the god of war.