Addressing its technical evolution as well as its military and social impact, this comprehensive reference shows how historic leaders such as Dionysus of Syracuse, the Ottoman sultan Mohammad II, Oliver Cromwell, and Napoleon Bonaparte were successful in battle because of their innovative use of artillery. * Includes case studies of the wars of Louis XIV, the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War, and the Franco-Prussian War illustrating the impact of specific technical and strategic innovations in artillery * Dozens of photographs and illustrations show various types of artillery, artillery mechanisms, and projectiles