Ocak Cannon

"Fourteen batteries thundered at once on the most accessible places; ... one of these ... was mounted with one hundred and thirty guns, or ... discharged one hundred and thirty bullets."

— Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

In game

Ocak Cannon — Vital statistics
	Unique Turkish light gunpowder artillery unit that is an upgrade of the Culverin and is cheaper than the same. Strong versus infantry. Weak versus siege weapons, melee units.
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrade of
	10s (150t)	100	14	40	4s (60t)	17
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 60; : 60; : 60	: 9; : 1	2		None	2–16	Decent attack bonus versus buildings. Added attack bonus versus units, especially infantry.

Overall strategy

A harbinger of modern warfare, the Ocak Cannon is an upgrade of a normal Culverin, available only to the Turks. An Ocak Cannon is cheaper and produced faster, meaning that it is the best field gun in the game.

Even so, the Ocak Cannon is by no means a game-winner. Although being easier to proliferate compared to the normal Culverins of other nations, don't take this for granted as it also suffers from the same drawbacks — and that is that if limbered, and moving without an escort, it is always going to be easily ambushed. Thus, don't deploy these guns alone as they can easily be attacked and taken out with melee cavalry: keep a contingent of Billmen and Kapkulu Marksmen on hand to man and protect the guns. Use this gun in tandem with the powerful cavalry arm of the Turks, and you can easily take the field.

Unit summary

• Field Guns — As light artillery, Ocak Cannon are highly effective against massed infantry.
• Rush Crush — Ocak Cannon are vulnerable against point-blank attacks, so watch out for enemy melee cavalry and keep them well-defended at all times.
• I Don't Like To Slay Alone — Heavy siege weapons will destroy your Ocak Cannon, so be wary. You might want to bring your own Trebuchets and/or Bombards to deal with them.

History

Following the taking of Constantinople and Greece with the help of cannon in the 15th century, the Ottoman Turks had begun to raise modern-styled armies with firearms. These units were the terror of Europe, and were also highly skilled in their trade.

Although the Ottomans were enthusiasts of gunpowder, records of how exactly effective they were as regards to other remains debatable: some say that Turkish gunpowder was of better quality than that produced in the West; accounts coming from Europe however dismiss the effectiveness of Ottoman guns, stating that it was the skill of their gunners that mattered more. What is definitely established is that this mastery of artillery and a strategic position in the Middle East ensured that the Ottoman dynasts would be able to project their power from the Atlantic all the way to Southeast Asia and the Horn of Africa well until the 19th century, when Western rifled guns and steamships could out-perform smoothbore cannon and galleys.