Bohemia. Their
appearance was not displeasing; they wore Turkish armour, a sabre, and
a targe, but they were wild robbers, and in the worst repute. Gustavus
Adolphus brought to Germany only Cuirassiers and Dragoons. His
Cuirassiers were more lightly armed than the Imperial, but far superior
to them in energy of attack. During the whole war the endeavour of the
cavalry was to lighten their heavy armour; the more the army separated
into military companies the more pressing was the necessity for greater
activity.

In the sixteenth century the heavy guns were very varied in calibre and
length of barrel, and had divers curious names. The sharp metz, the
carronade, culverin and nightingale, the singer, the falcon and the
falconet, the field serpent and serpentine, with balls from one hundred
pounds down to one pound, besides the organ,[2] mortars large and
small, rifle-barrelled guns and rifles. But in the beginning of the
Thirty years' war the forms were already simplified; they cast
forty-eight, and twenty-four pounders, twelve and six pounders, with
forty-two, twenty-four, twelve and six pound balls;[3] the first were
fortress and siege guns, the last were field guns; besides these,
disproportionately long culverins and falconets, also chamber pieces
for throwing shells, or bomb mortars which were soon called howitzers,
smaller mortars for throwing fire-balls, stinkpots, &c.; and in the
beginning of the war bombarders, which fired pieces of iron, lead,
small shot, and stones. Lastly from forged pieces they fired half-ounce
bullets, double, single, and half-hooks, or grappling irons. But the
length of the barrels of the guns was too long for balls; the powder
was bad, and the aim consequently uncertain. Gustavus Adolphus
introduced shorter and lighter guns; his leather cannon, made of copper
cylinders with thick hemp and leather coverings[4] held together by
iron hoops, soon ceased to be used, probably because they were not
sufficiently durable, but his short four-pounders, two of which were
given to every regiment, and which worked best with grape shot, lasted
over the war. These field pieces fired not only from position but were
moved with tolerable rapidity during action, but the bombardes and
petards were unwieldy; the last were twisted round with ropes more like
a sort of cannon than our bombs and grenades, but were of uncertain
effect because the locks were badly prepared and they did not measure
the time for the ex