Warfare and military strategies depend on stout defensive measures as much as they do on powerful offense. The following items, including eye-catching armors, imposing guns, and mighty fortifications, showcase some of history’s remarkable defensive innovations.
1) WWI Sniper Masks
Sniper masks, like the creepy example shown above, provided protection for gunners. These masks weren’t completely bulletproof but did offer camouflage and some protection. Their angled surfaces could also partially deflect ballistics or shrapnel.
Masks like these were generally favored by stationary gunners, as they were heavy and potentially cumbersome: they could be one-third of an inch thick and weigh nearly 14 pounds.
2) Jousting Armor
The joust has become an iconic aspect of medieval life, inseparable from Middle Ages pop-culture. A joust could earn a noble knight much acclaim, and therefore inspired the creation of some remarkable pieces of armor.
This specific suit was probably worn by a Saxon (east Germany) court officer during a wedding feast in 1719. Jousts in Saxony remained popular longer than elsewhere.
3) The Gun-Shield
Some inventions are more practical than others, yet others instantly capture one’s attention. The 16th-century gun-shield is instantly noteworthy for combining a wooden shield with a breech-loading matchlock pistol, which was said to penetrate armor.
The wooden shield is fortified with iron plates and has a small metal grill for sighting. The item is Italian-made and comes from the armory of King Henry VIII.
4) Armor of Henry II
Jousting armor like the one detailed earlier was designed to protect its wearer against the impact of a lance; but the finest armor wasn’t for use in battle.
The armor of Henry II, who ruled France from 1547 to 1559, was covered in grand foliate (leaves and other vegetation), scrolls, fantastical creatures, and scenes from mythology. Such “parade armors” were made to flaunt for the masses and further a ruler’s mystique.
5) Ingushetia Towers
The people of North Caucasus built some mighty fine medieval towers for residence and defense. There are over 120 towers dotting the mountainous terrain of the Ingush republic, and building each one required precise workmanship.
Masons first poured milk onto the ground. If it was not absorbed by the Earth, it meant the ground showed stability and could support the tower. The towers can be about 100-feet-tall and are often strategically located at valley entrances or crossroads. They are also within eyeshot of each other to work as signal posts.
Each tower would have been completed in 365 days. If it caved, or the deadline was missed, it could spell the ruin of the builder and their family.
6) Wall Guns
Wall guns acted as an intermediary between personal firearms like muskets and the much-larger artillery pieces. The behemoth-gun pictured weighs more than 30 pounds and is 72.5 inches in length (6+ feet), with a 1-inch bore.
Its 54-foot barrel was built for accuracy at range, able to hit a piece of paper at 600 yards. Given their immense size, these guns would have been affixed to a wall or rampart using a steel yoke. Other than its scaled-up size, it has the same features as contemporary muskets.
7) Ned Kelly’s Armor
Bushrangers were robbers and outlaws living in the Australian bush. The most notorious of these was Ned Kelly (1854-1880), an irascible gang leader and murderer. Ned led the Kelly gang composed of himself, his brother Dan, and friends Joe Byrne and Steve Hart.
After various terrible crimes, including the murder of police officials, the gang had a final shootout with officers in Glenrowan in June 1880. The gang wore suits forged of farm equipment, possibly smithed by sympathizers. Ned was the only one to survive and was afterward executed by hanging.
8) Jailer’s Key-Gun
Self-defense is essential in any station, but especially in the station of a jailer. As such, clandestine “key-guns” were invented. Otherwise known as key-pistols, they were mostly employed in the 17th through 19th centuries, both for defense and to sound an alarm.
In addition to jailers, individuals working in armories or banks would also wield these items, which are exceedingly rare today—especially with the accompanying locks.
9) War-Horse Armor
The horses of yore bore a heavy burden. First and foremost, the stress and terror of combat. On top of that, the physical stresses of carrying a rider as well as up to 90 pounds of armor. Still, war horses remained an integral part of battle across continents. As a result, various parts of armor were designed for the different body parts of war horses, whether in battle or in joust.
10) The Stone Towers of southwest China and Tibet
The landscapes of southwest China and Tibet are dotted with 250 towers in various shapes, including stars with numerous points. Tibetans believe the towers were established between 200 and 1400 CE, though their purpose is somewhat mysterious.
However, such towers could have served as defensive posts or lookouts. They’ve also survived earthquakes due to their innovative design: their builders intelligently placed wooden planks and beams between the stones to dampen the seismic impact.
11) Native American Rod-Armor Vest
Armor was rare among North American Native peoples, and extant examples are extremely uncommon. Among Native Americans, the Northwest Coast tribes, such as the Tlingit, were most likely to use personal protection.
One surviving example is a rod-armor vest of the Karuk, from along the Klamath River in California. Combat among the Karuk could begin as a way to settle family-based transgressions, then lead to retaliatory violence among multiple villages. This armor comes from a time of peace, dating to around 1900.
12) Aztec Padded War-Jacket
The Mexica warriors, now better-known as Aztecs, wore an armor called ichcahuipilli. It was a cotton-made, padded jacket that proved quite effective at protecting its wearer—it’s even likened to the “ancient equivalent of a bullet-proof vest.” It would have allowed great mobility and was the perfect armor for hot climates.
13) Atlatl
The atlatl (spear-thrower) is a prehistoric invention that completely changed spear-throwing mechanics, allowing throwers to attack from defensive ranges.
The atlatl is a curved piece of material, usually wood, bone, or ivory, that hooks onto a spear. It gives additional leverage, allowing the wielder to throw the spear farther, more accurately, and more forcefully. This is one of the oldest hunting and combat innovations, as it’s thought to have appeared as far back as 17,000 years ago.
14) Great War Body Armor
The Great War was also the first that truly necessitated personal armor use. Better, deadlier, more explosive weapons started an arms race. American troops’ most common armor was the M1917 steel helmet, made to “resist penetration by a 230-grain caliber .45 bullet with a velocity of 600 f.p.s.” Additionally, since modern-style body armor was generally not used or available, troops innovated. In its place, some employed chain mail to resist shrapnel and other projectiles.
15) War’s First Armored Vehicle
Armored vehicles are used in most skirmishes, battles, and wars today. Yet the first practical armored vehicle dates back more than 100 years. This wartime milestone was achieved by the Belgian Army around 1914.
The Minerva Armored Car was built in Antwerp, Belgium, and it owed its use to its birthplace. By this time, Belgium had a good road network setup, and its flat terrain made driving easier. The car was comprehensively armored and equipped with a “air-cooled 8mm Hotchkiss model 1912 or 1914” protected by a shield.
