Super Bombard

"War without fire is like a sausage without mustard."

— Jean Juvénal des Ursins

In game

Bombard — Vital statistics
	Heavy gunpowder artillery unit, highly devastating if used against buildings, siege weapons or slow-moving units. Strong versus siege weapons, infantry, buildings Weak versus cavalry.
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed
	16.9s (200t)	120	14	58	5s (75t)	17
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 200; : 200	: 8; : 8; : 8	2		None	2–18	Strong attack bonus versus buildings. Added attack bonus versus units, especially infantry Can't be built by Japan and Serbia.

Overall strategy

A Bombard is the most powerful of all gunpowder units. Although it has a higher cost, lower accuracy and reload speed, and rather poor mobility, it is sufficiently destructive enough that it is used primarily as a siege weapon against static targets — commonly, buildings. Culverins can do the same, but are not as effective. With the Hungarians, there is no question of it: they are able to build both Bombards and Super Bombards, both units having enhanced range and LOS owing to Hungary's National Bonuses, thus it is more cost-effective to build Bombards for Hungary as opposed to muddling by with Culverins.

A bombard's range and attack also make it an effective counter to all siege weapons yet it is still vulnerable to attack by other siege weapons (provided the bombard falls into their range) and will fall apart rather quickly if attacked at melée range, thus these units cannot be simply used on their own. Bombards should be used to suppress or destroy any siege artillery that your opponent might be using and any and all fortifications, and escort them with a mix of infantry and cavalry: infantry perform the important job of protecting the bombards, while cavalry can be used to cut down the opponent's siege weapons wherever they can be found. In a defensive manner, Bombards can be deployed near key littoral installations to protect them from the threat of bombardment by enemy fleets.

If you are fighting people armed with Bombards, it is always wise to remember that they are slow and weak when moving, so you should keep a picked body of cavalry, either heavy cavalry or ranged cavalry, and try to isolate the Bombards from the rest of your opponent's army before moving in for the kill. Ultimately however, the best defence will still be a good offensive, so it might be better to just tech up, and build your own Bombards.

Unit summary

• More Bang for Your Buck— Bombards are costlier and don't always shoot straight, but they are ideal as a siege weapon against buildings.
• With the Hungarians, there is no question of it: they are able to build both Bombards and Super Bombards, both units having enhanced range and LOS owing to Hungary's National Bonuses, thus it is more cost-effective to build Bombards for Hungary as opposed to muddling by with Culverins.

A bombard's range and attack also make it an effective counter to all siege weapons yet it is still vulnerable to attack by other siege weapons (provided the bombard falls into their range) and will fall apart rather quickly if attacked at melée range, thus these units cannot be simply used on their own. Bombards should be used to suppress or destroy any siege artillery that your opponent might be using and any and all fortifications, and escort them with a mix of infantry and cavalry: infantry perform the important job of protecting the bombards, while cavalry can be used to cut down the opponent's siege weapons wherever they can be found. In a defensive manner, Bombards can be deployed near key littoral installations to protect them from the threat of bombardment by enemy fleets.

If you are fighting people armed with Bombards, it is always wise to remember that they are slow and weak when moving, so you should keep a picked body of cavalry, either heavy cavalry or ranged cavalry, and try to isolate the Bombards from the rest of your opponent's army before moving in for the kill. Ultimately however, the best defence will still be a good offensive, so it might be better to just tech up, and build your own Bombards.

History

Gunpowder first emerged in China possibly around the Tang period, eventually reaching Europe in the 13th century with the oldest European account of a formula being a letter from Francis Bacon to Pope Clement IV in 1267CE. By 1275, Albertus Magnus described a formula of four parts saltpetre to one part charcoal and one part sulphur.

As an instrument of war, its first application was as handheld grenades, but eventually it was discovered that if loaded into the bottom of a vessel of considerable robustness, it could be used to launch a projectile outwards through its mouth. These were the first guns to be created and as mediaeval knowledge of chemistry and engineering advanced, so did the size of the projectiles and the weapons that fired them.

The mediaeval cannon developed into a thing of many parts. Iron strips were placed round a wooden cylinder and welded together Two layers of iron hoops were then forced over the strips to hold them in place and seal any gaps. The wood was then burnt out. Whilst this method of manufacture allowed for larger weapons than the first rudimentary castings, they were still almost as dangerous to their operators as to the enemy, as they often blew up.