ABSTRACT
In earlier centuries, artillery was commonly used to destroy the fortifications around towns and cities. The specialization of ‘siege artillery’ became distinct in most armies from the ‘field’ and later ‘horse’ branches. Once the defences of a town or fortress had been breached, there was little role for siege artillery in subsequent fighting. Lighter artillery was successfully employed on occasions to reduce strong points, but street fighting was a relatively unimportant aspect of artillery operations (1).
