Multifactorial analysis of the composition and organization of Chinese artillery during the siege of Albazin

One of the most relevant areas of research in the history of the Albazin fortress is the detailing of the qualitative and quantitative composition of medieval artillery used by the warring parties during two successive sieges of it. In turn, if the information about Russian guns looks quite acceptable, then neither their specific technical types nor the actual number have actually been identified for Chinese guns. In this paper, the authors propose to use a detailed list of actually used Chinese cannons as part of the historical description of two successive sieges of Albazin, respectively, in 1685 and 1686. One of the features of the period under review is that it actually coincided with the completion of the modernization of the Chinese army, undertaken by the second representative of the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor. At the same time, European Jesuit missionaries made a significant contribution to the development of national artillery systems, which at first only copied and then surpassed the original Western models. In turn, starting around 1670, the Chinese began to strive to gradually fill the entire niche of traditional European siege weapons, completely stopping the production of obsolete copies. At the same time, they used their original casting technology, which made it possible to rationally increase the length of cannon barrels against the background of a minimum increase in their final weight. Having additional background information about the actual tactical and technical parameters of Chinese artillery, it is possible to identify specific types of siege and field guns directly used by the Lantan army on the battlefield. At the same time, drawings of the first and second sieges of Albazin fortress provide invaluable assistance in solving the current task. Which also give every reason for a fully justified statement about the actual accuracy of the display of the real composition of the Chinese artillery by these graphic documents, bearing in mind not only its qualitative, but also its quantitative composition.

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