In the days of the development of navigation, when water open spaces plowed rowing or sailing ships, the main types of battles between flotillas of different countries were ramming strikes or boarding.
“Boarding” - means an order to come up close to the enemy ship, grapple with the sides and engage in hand-to-hand combat on its deck in order to capture. But not so simple. In the history of navigation, the word changed meaning and was used in different senses, and the phrase “boarding” can be used not only on board a ship.
Who was the first
So, the main semantic content of the phraseology “boarding”, “boarding” means a desire to attack an enemy ship by assault or capture.
For the first time, tactics of warfare in this way were applied in the Roman fleet in the 3rd century BC. Then it was called the assault or ram of an enemy ship. Guy Douille invented it during the first Punic war between Rome and Carthage.
The main weapon of the Roman ship was the Marine Corps (manipularii), military tactics - decisive boarding.
The ships were equipped with so-called ravens.
How was it necessary to “board”, and what does the use of “crow” in an attack mean?
- Boarding or attack aboard the enemy was carried out with the help of an assault ramp to which the "raven" was attached. These gangways were ten meters long and about two meters wide.
- An iron hook in the form of a raven's head fell sharply onto the enemy ship, pierced the deck and clung tightly to it.
- The ladder behind the raven fell and mated with the side.
- And then the Roman marines entered the battle, they climbed the stairs, unleashed a battle with the sailors of the Carthaginian ship, trying to become heroes.
In the photo: the raven boarding device mounted on the bow of the vessel.
How to board, and what does such tactics mean
Such attack tactics gained wide popularity among sailors. As a rule, the battle took place before dawn and in calm weather, otherwise the wave did not allow approaching the enemy ship. The ship boarded was called a prize.
- The approach to the "prize" was carried out on sails, usually from the flank and at high speed.
- During the battle, oars were used, the sails were folded.
- To capture, a flank maneuver was used or crashed into a string of ships at full speed, ramming one of the central ships, interfering with ships moving at the end of the chain.
- Forwards with a close approach clung to the side of the enemy boat with hooks, dreks or "cats."
- The ship was boarded, which means it was attacked from the sea.
In the photo: the gun for coupling the ships - “cat”.
Types of weapons when taking a ship on board
With the hitch, the boarding reserve was ready. An armed detachment rushed onto the enemy ship with axes, swords, bows, muskets. They did not spare forces, because in the case of the death of the captain, the commander leading the people into battle himself became the captain.
What types of weapons were used when boarding? What do peaks and broadswords mean in close combat, and what does such a weapon look like?
- The peak used when taking the ship by attack from the sea was shorter than the land one. Weight is about three kilograms, length - 1.7 meters. She hit the enemy in the distance.
- Boarding peaks were also effectively used to protect the ship, especially against cold weapons - blades and knives.
- Broadsword - a wide and long blade for close combat.
- Abardiny differed from scaffold swords. He refueled in leather scabbard, while drill mounted in wooden or metal. The length of the blade of the boarding broads reached 80 cm, width 3.5–4 cm.
Battles in the Berber Seas
The Berber Seas in the spoken language of sailors were those where pirate ships sailed.
It was there that the call “Boarding!” Sounded most often. What did this mean for the pirates?
- Capture of a ship that usually carried aboard various valuables.
- The ship was considered the most important prey. A well-equipped ship is a pirate's dream.
- Hand-to-hand combat on both sides was not for life, but for death, because after hijacking a ship, pirates usually did not spare anyone.
- Any ship, even a pirate, could become a victim of an attack.
- After capture, the prize ship was drowned or captured, appropriating it to itself and transported to a suitable seaport.
What could serve as protection against pirates? Naval crews tried to prepare in advance for an attack:
- To protect the premises where the ship’s controls were located, barricades were erected from barrels filled with iron, and logs were used.
- On a bulwark (fencing along the edges of the outer deck), sleeping mattresses were attached like embrasures.
- Hooks were placed on the shafts (horizontal beams of the masts) to break the rigging of the enemy.
- On Mars (mast sites) sat Mars arrows to open fire on the attackers and bring down the attack of the pirates.
Boarded submarine
It would seem that the story of the taking of ships for boarding should have ended with the pirates and the widespread use of firearms and artillery in the Navy. We can say that it was so.
However, there are known cases of the application of this decisive attack with the capture of an enemy ship during the Second World War.
So, the Canadian Oakville corvette with the support of aviation discovered a German submarine going to Cuba. The corvette team decided to attack the boat. After the use of depth charges, they rammed the German submarine several times, preventing it from going into the depths.
The damaged submarine was forced to emerge, then the Canadian sailors jumped on the ship and captured the crew. The submarine itself sank from the damage.
In the photo below, a poster about the exploit of Canadian sailors. The poster says:
Men of valor. They are fighting for you. Two crew members of the Canadian Oakville corvette capture the crew of a German submarine in the Caribbean.
Boarding: the meaning and application of the phrase on land
At its peak, boarding tactics were used not only for military purposes, but also for peaceful purposes:
- with the help of the hitch loading and unloading operations were carried out for merchant ships;
- passengers were transplanted, for example, from a sinking ship to a rescue ship.
In modern life, one can often hear the colloquial use of phraseology “boarding” in the literal and figurative sense. In everyday life you can sometimes hear “Boarding!”, Which means, for example, the massive seizure of something, an object by the whole crowd.
In a number of countries you can not only hear such a phrase, but also see it in action, for example, at rush hour in the Japanese subway.
In our country, too, people often have to use a mass attack on vehicles.
At bus stops, people tossed around waiting for buses, at the bus station, passengers boarded any vehicle ... T. Bulenko “These linden buses”
Also, the phrase “boarding” means a desire to act decisively and assertively in relation to someone or something. For example, this is how brokers on exchanges act, some politicians.