Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire

Rate of fire

Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...

, which describes cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system

Weapon system

Weapon System is a United States military term that designated, along with a weapon system number , military experimental systems prior to official naming Weapon System is a United States military term that designated, along with a weapon system number (e.g., WS-110), military experimental (MX)...

. It involves the whole range of potential weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

s. The concept is taught as one of the key principles of modern warfare

Modern warfare

Modern warfare, although present in every historical period of military history, is generally used to refer to the concepts, methods and technologies that have come into use during and after the Second World War and the Korean War...

 wherein the enemy forces are destroyed or have their will to fight negated by sufficient and preferably overwhelming use of force as a result of combat operations.

Through the ages firepower has come to mean offensive power applied from a distance, thus a ranged weapon

Ranged weapon

A ranged weapon is any weapon that can harm targets at distances greater than hand-to-hand distance. In contrast, a weapon intended to be used in man-to-man combat is called a melee weapon....

, as there is an immediate dissonance with the thought of one-on-one close quarters combat. Firepower is thus something employed to keep enemy forces at a range where they can be defeated in detail

Defeat in detail

Defeat in detail is a military phrase referring to the tactic of bringing a large portion of one's own force to bear on small enemy units in sequence, rather than engaging the bulk of the enemy force all at once...

 or sapped of the will to continue.

The term firepower also commonly describes the collective offensive capabilities of a military force.

History

The earliest forms of warfare that might be called firepower were the slinger

Sling (weapon)

A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone or lead "sling-bullet". It is also known as the shepherd's sling....

s of ancient armies(a notable example being the biblical story of David

David

David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

), and archers

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

. Eventually, the feared Huns employed the composite bow and light cavalry tactics

Cavalry tactics

For much of history , humans have used some form of cavalry for war. Cavalry tactics have evolved over time...

 to shower arrows on the enemy forces, a tactic that also appeared in a less mobile form in Britain, with its famed longbowmen, used during the various Anglo-French conflicts collectively known as the Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

 during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. The Battle of Crécy

Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...

 is often thought of as the beginning of the "age of firepower" in the west, where missile weapons enabled a small force to defeat a numerically superior enemy without the need for single combat. Firepower was later used to dramatic effect in a similar fashion during the Battle of Agincourt

Battle of Agincourt

The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...

.

Later examples

The use of firepower in achieving military objectives became one of several conflicting schools of military thought, or doctrines. The Battle of Vimy Ridge

Battle of Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...

 used massed artillery to help win an Allied victory, but dramatic improvements in siege weapon technology had also gone hand in hand with small scale infantry tactics. Operation Desert Storm also relied on massed firepower as did the 2003 Invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

, but firepower was integrated with advances in small-unit training.

Man portable weapons, such as the M249 SAW, have been employed on a squad level to provide an overwhelming volume of fire in relatively close quarters situations (within 100-300 yds). The idea is that a large volume of accurate fire will immobilize the enemy ( Suppressive fire

Suppressive fire

In military science, suppressive fire is a fire that degrades the performance of a target below the level needed to fulfill its mission. Suppression is usually only effective for the duration of the fire. Suppressive fire is not always a direct form of fire towards targets; it can be an effective...

 ), degrading their ability to perform. In addition, grenade launchers such as the M79

M79

M79 or M-79 may refer to:* Messier 79, a globular cluster in the constellation Lepus* M79 grenade launcher, an American grenade launcher* M79 rocket launcher, a Yugoslavian rocket laucher* M-79 , a state highway in Michigan...

, and particularly those that can be under slung on an assault rifle, such as the M203 or M320, are used to provide units with a disproportionate amount of firepower. These weapons are very useful in situations where a unit is outnumbered and needs to respond immediately with fire superiority, such as in an ambush.

Further reading

• Bidwell, Shelford and Graham, Dominick. Fire-Power: The British Army Weapons and Theories of War, 1904-1945 (ISBN 978-1844152162)