Tarasnitze

Tarasnitze

The Tarasnitze ( Czech Tarasnice ) or "Terrabüchse" was a light gun that was used together with the heavier howitzer in the Hussite Wars to defend the Hussite wagon castle (" Tabor "). It was further developed into the Tarras rifle .

The Tarasnitze was a very simply constructed, oversized hand fire tube, which was mounted on a simple wooden mount . It had a caliber of 5 to 10 cm and an effective range of 250 to 300 m. It was used with its flat line of fire for direct fire at the enemy, while the Haufnitze or "howitzer" can also be used for steep fire similar to a mortar and could work from inside the wagon castle.