Page:LA2-NSRW-1-0134.jpg

ARMOR

they were killed almost to a man, Varus taking his own life. Rome was filled with shame. The Emperor Augustus kept crying for days: "Varus, give me back my legions!" Germanicus marched against the Cherusci, but accomplished nothing. The next year he marched again with 80,000 men and a fleet; Arminius artfully led him into narrow passes, then, falling upon him, cut off his cavalry, almost destroyed four legions and forced him to retreat. The next year the undaunted Germanicus came with 100,000 men and 1,000 ships. On a plain called No-man's Meadow a great battle was fought. The Germans were beaten, but the next morning they fought again and compelled the Romans to retreat. No Roman army ever again marched beyond the Rhine, and Arminius is therefore justly called the German Liberator.

Ar'mor, a protection once used for the warior in battle. Armor of some sort was used by almost every nation from the earliest times until the gradual improve-. ment in firearms made it useless. Except in very early times, when skin was used, armor has always been made of metal, usually brass or bronze. This was the sort used in the contest between Goliath and David, which is the most ancient

ROMAN CUIRASS            GREEK ARMOR          ROMAN CUIRASS    CHAIN ARMOR

(Art Armor)                               (Scale Armor)

whole   body. They   also    clothed    their horses with this armor.

But it was in western Europe, in the middle ages, that complete defensive armor was brought to its greatest perfection. The earliest armor was made of metal rings, then sewn closely together upon leather, or simply of rings woven together like the modern curb-chain. But this mail, as it was called, could be driven by a hard blow into the flesh, and so, piece by piece, plate armor was adopted. For 200 years this change went on, until, by the time of the reign of Henry VII of England, the best and most beautiful armor ever wrought was worn. The whole suit of armor, completely covering the body, was fluted, the helmet fitted the head, and, with the plates guarding the neck, adapted itself to every movement. Every part of the body was protected, and yet motion was comparatively free. The shields were of various shapes. The heads and bodies of the horses were also protected by solid steel. So hard was it to pierce these splendid suits of armor, that at one time two armies in Italy fought from 9 o'clock in the morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, without a single person being killed or wounded. After firearms were in-vented, armor was discarded as useless, until at the beginning of the i Qth century the only troops still wearing armor were the heavy cavalry of the Austrian, Russian and French armies, whc were all cuirassiers. Ships-of-war are now covered with plates, c a-1 led armor-plates. See NAVY. Armor-Plate, the metallic sheathing of a ship-of-war or of a fortification, used as a protection against artillery fire. It is claimed that John Stevens of Hoboken, New Jersey, was the first to suggest the use of armor, but the first practical use was in 1855 by the French on their ships-of-war. Armor-plate manufacture has gone through several stages. The first plates were made of wrought iron, but the invention of rifled cannon made it possible to pierce any single thickness of wrought iron that could be then made. In 1873 C. Cammell & Co. invented the compound plate, which was prepared by pouring liquid steel on to hot iron plates. Then Schneider & Co., of Creusot, France, demonstrated that steel plates are preferable.

allusion in history to armor. The armor of the Greeks consisted of a crested helmet, which could be drawn down so as fully to cover the face; a small breastplate worn so low as to leave the throat and neck exposed; a plated waistband from which hung a short kilt of cloth or leather covered with metallic plates; and greaves or a sheath of solid metal for the legs from knee to ankle. The shield was a round one, at first large enough to cover the entire body of the warrior, but later a small one was used of the same shape. The Roman soldier's armor was much the same, except that his shield was oblong, and he often fought without greaves. The earlier nations used armor made of overlapping scales of metal sewn upon leather, fitting the