They Laughed at His Tactics, Then Watched Their Entire Army Get Destroyed
Prof Tavakol
230,364 views
In October 1688, at the fortress of Philippsburg on the Rhine, defenders learned a terrifying lesson: cannonballs don’t have to fall from the sky to be lethal.
This episode tells the story of Vauban’s ricochet fire—a deceptively simple artillery technique that turned the geometry of a siege into a weapon. Instead of firing high, arcing shots that slammed into walls and buried themselves in earthworks, French gunners began firing low, shallow trajectories with carefully reduced charges. The result was shocking: solid round shot would skip and bounce forward, sweeping along trenches and gun lines in a way traditional bombardment couldn’t match. One shot could threaten multiple positions—and the defenders suddenly had nowhere “safe” to stand.
The bigger picture: why Philippsburg mattered
The siege takes place at the opening of the Nine Years’ War (1688–1697), when Louis XIV’s France moved aggressively on the Empire’s frontier. Philippsburg was a strategic Rhine fortress—an essential bridgehead and a symbol of who controlled the corridor between France and the German states. To take it, France brought:
a massive siege force,
heavy guns and mortars,
and the era’s most famous military engineer: Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
Vauban is often remembered for his star forts and trench “parallels.” This video focuses on something else: how he hacked artillery physics to break stubborn defenses faster.
What ricochet fire actually changed
Traditional siege fire had limitations:
It was inefficient against troops and guns protected by parapets.
It often wasted energy—balls shattered, buried, or flew past protected targets.
Defenders could “ride out” bombardment in positions designed to stop overhead fire.
Ricochet fire flipped the logic:
Lower angle + controlled charge = the shot stays low
The ball enters the defensive zone and keeps moving
It can travel through lines rather than just hitting one point
It’s an early example of what modern militaries would call “effects-based” thinking: not a bigger cannon—a smarter shot.
Why this battle is so fascinating
This isn’t a story about a new invention being built in a lab. It’s a story about using the same cannon differently—and changing siege warfare for decades. After Philippsburg, ricochet-style round shot becomes a standard concept in 18th-century artillery doctrine until explosive shells gradually replace solid shot as the dominant battlefield tool.
The lesson is timeless: sometimes the biggest leap isn’t more power—it’s better geometry.
Chapters
— A cannonball that doesn’t “fall”
— Philippsburg and the opening of the Nine Years’ War
— Vauban’s siege system: trenches and parallels
— The artillery problem: wasted energy and protected defenders
— Ricochet fire explained: angles, charges, and skipping shot
— Why it worked psychologically and tactically
— The siege outcome and the technique’s legacy
Vauban, ricochet fire, Siege of Philippsburg 1688, Nine Years’ War, Louis XIV, early modern siege warfare, artillery tactics, round shot ricochet, French military engineering, fortress sieges, 17th century warfare, cannonball bouncing technique
#History #MilitaryHistory #Vauban #SiegeWarfare #Artillery #LouisXIV #EarlyModernHistory #Engineering #Tactics #EuropeHistory
20 Comments
I keep learning about more underrated Goated Mfs & unknown epic battles🔥
The principle of bulwarks and outer warks made in star shapes already existed 48 years before this Vauban even enhanced the already improved designs of the Dutch, go and check out Naarden Vesting City built in 1644 in the Netherlands.
Menno van Coehoorn mastered this building techniques and Vauban used his work to improve the designs even further.
The Dutch improved the basic ideas from the Italians who been starting to use these star shaped fortresses and towns in the 15th century because of the heavier gunpowdered guns starting to emerge on the battlefields, Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo Buonarroti were the two most famous Italian constructors/designers of these early star shaped fortresses in Italy.
They Laughed at His Tactics, Then Watched Their Entire Army Get Destroyed
Prof Tavakol
230,364 views
In October 1688, at the fortress of Philippsburg on the Rhine, defenders learned a terrifying lesson: cannonballs don’t have to fall from the sky to be lethal.
This episode tells the story of Vauban’s ricochet fire—a deceptively simple artillery technique that turned the geometry of a siege into a weapon. Instead of firing high, arcing shots that slammed into walls and buried themselves in earthworks, French gunners began firing low, shallow trajectories with carefully reduced charges. The result was shocking: solid round shot would skip and bounce forward, sweeping along trenches and gun lines in a way traditional bombardment couldn’t match. One shot could threaten multiple positions—and the defenders suddenly had nowhere “safe” to stand.
The bigger picture: why Philippsburg mattered
The siege takes place at the opening of the Nine Years’ War (1688–1697), when Louis XIV’s France moved aggressively on the Empire’s frontier. Philippsburg was a strategic Rhine fortress—an essential bridgehead and a symbol of who controlled the corridor between France and the German states. To take it, France brought:
a massive siege force,
heavy guns and mortars,
and the era’s most famous military engineer: Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
Vauban is often remembered for his star forts and trench “parallels.” This video focuses on something else: how he hacked artillery physics to break stubborn defenses faster.
What ricochet fire actually changed
Traditional siege fire had limitations:
It was inefficient against troops and guns protected by parapets.
It often wasted energy—balls shattered, buried, or flew past protected targets.
Defenders could “ride out” bombardment in positions designed to stop overhead fire.
Ricochet fire flipped the logic:
Lower angle + controlled charge = the shot stays low
The ball enters the defensive zone and keeps moving
It can travel through lines rather than just hitting one point
It’s an early example of what modern militaries would call “effects-based” thinking: not a bigger cannon—a smarter shot.
Why this battle is so fascinating
This isn’t a story about a new invention being built in a lab. It’s a story about using the same cannon differently—and changing siege warfare for decades. After Philippsburg, ricochet-style round shot becomes a standard concept in 18th-century artillery doctrine until explosive shells gradually replace solid shot as the dominant battlefield tool.
The lesson is timeless: sometimes the biggest leap isn’t more power—it’s better geometry.
Chapters
— A cannonball that doesn’t “fall”
— Philippsburg and the opening of the Nine Years’ War
— Vauban’s siege system: trenches and parallels
— The artillery problem: wasted energy and protected defenders
— Ricochet fire explained: angles, charges, and skipping shot
— Why it worked psychologically and tactically
— The siege outcome and the technique’s legacy
Vauban, ricochet fire, Siege of Philippsburg 1688, Nine Years’ War, Louis XIV, early modern siege warfare, artillery tactics, round shot ricochet, French military engineering, fortress sieges, 17th century warfare, cannonball bouncing technique
#History #MilitaryHistory #Vauban #SiegeWarfare #Artillery #LouisXIV #EarlyModernHistory #Engineering #Tactics #EuropeHistory