![]() ![]() ![]() Later in the same year, Froissart records French men-at-arms using mauls at the Battle of Roosebeke, demonstrating that they were not simply weapons of the lower classes. During the Harelle of 1382, rebellious citizens of Paris seized 3000 mauls ( French: maillet) from the city armory, leading to the rebels' being dubbed Maillotins. The use of the maul as a weapon seems to date from the later 14th century. It is similar in appearance and function to a modern sledgehammer, it is sometimes shown as having a spear-like spike on the fore-end of the haft. Maul Ī maul is a long-handled hammer with a heavy head, of wood, lead, iron, or steel. This is the same penetrating force as a rifle bullet. A powerful swing from a war hammer can hit its target with a force of several hundred kilograms per square millimeter. The blunt side of a war hammer was usually used first to knock out and stun an enemy and, once they were on the ground, reversed to punch a hole through the helmet and deliver the coup de grâce. If against mounted opponents, the weapon could be directed at the legs of a horse, toppling the armored foe to the ground where they could be more easily attacked. ![]() The spike end could be used for grappling the target's armor, reins, or shield. Later war hammers often had a spike on one side of the head, making them more versatile weapons. War hammers, especially when mounted on a pole, could in some cases transmit their impact through helmets and cause concussions. Long war hammers were pole weapons, or polearms, meant for use on foot, whereas short ones were used from horseback. The length of the handle may vary, the longest being roughly equivalent to that of a halberd (five to six feet or 1.5 to 1.8 meters), and the shortest about the same as that of a mace (two to three feet or 60 to 90 centimeters). ![]() Design Detail of the head of a war hammerĪ war hammer consists of a handle and a head. The war hammer could inflict significant damage on the enemy through their heavy impact without the need to pierce the armor. It became somewhat of a necessity in combat when armor became so strong that swords and axes were no longer able to pierce and ricocheted upon impact. The war hammer was a popular weapon in the late medieval period. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the war hammer became an elaborately decorated and handsome weapon. It is a very old weapon and gave its name, owing to its constant use, to Judah Maccabee, a 2nd-century BC Jewish rebel, and to Charles Martel, one of the rulers of France. Either way, these weapons are strange.Indo-Persian war hammer, heavy iron head with a hammer in front, a 4.5-inch (11 cm) curved spike on the other side, cut channel decorations, hard wood shaftĪ war hammer (French: martel-de-fer, "iron hammer") is a weapon that was used by both foot soldiers and cavalry. Other weapons, while impractical, were inventive and innovative attempts to give soldiers a unique advantage. Some of these weapons are so absurd, it's funny to think that anyone ever thought they could work. A few items on this list are modern weapons that are actually in use today.What are the weirdest military weapons ever built? From weaponized animals to square bullets, engineers and weapons designers have come up with some crazy stuff over the years. In all historical fairness, there were also no shortage of stupid weapon ideas during The Civil War. The United States, Japan, Germany, and the Soviet Union all had their fair share of oddball ideas they each thought could help win the war. Most of these strange weapons are from World War II, when desperate countries threw together whatever they had to rally their people. These spectacularly ridiculous weapons systems, vehicles, and concepts all made it at least to prototype, though whether they proved to be effective is up for debate. Many of these ridiculous, odd, and exceptionally weird weapons were developed by militaries all over the world, but either proved impractical, or never even got past the prototype stage. But when it doesn't, it's quickly added to the dustbin of bad ideas. When a weapons system works, it's made by the thousands, and sometimes used for decades. From homemade tanks to nuclear land mines kept warm by chickens, war brings out the engineers in people. ![]()
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