Fire Nation trebuchets[1] are large weapons used by the Fire Nation to conduct long-range artillery warfare. They come in different sizes, from huge set-piece weapons on Fire Nation ships, to portable light artillery that can be mounted on cavalry or moved with infantry. Manned by imposing, muscle-bound trebuchet operators and capable of launching flaming munitions over great distances,[2] these trebuchets were the scourge of city walls throughout the world during the Hundred Year War.[3]
History[]
Older Fire Nation cruisers like Zuko's ship were outfitted with catapults, but the newer and larger warships in the Hundred Year War's last stages instead employed the more advanced trebuchets.[1]
Trebuchets were used during the Siege of Ba Sing Se to help the Fire Army breach the Outer Wall.[4] Five years later, they were employed by Zhao and his commanding fleet in an attempt to strike down Appa and Team Avatar as they flew across the Mo Ce Sea into Fire Nation territory. Despite his precision and constant barrage of munitions, Zhao was unable to defeat them.[5] During the Siege of the North, Admiral Zhao enlisted several ships with trebuchets in his fleet. They were stationed at the front, so that the trebuchets could be used to breach the mighty wall of ice that protected the Northern Water Tribe city. Aang destroyed at least five of these emplacements and stated later that he must have destroyed "a dozen Fire Navy ships", thus implying that he disabled more of these trebuchets.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan & Ehasz, Aaron (September 19, 2006). "The Siege of the North, Part 1" commentary. Book 1: Water, Volume 5 DVD.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 O'Bryan, John (writer) & MacMullan, Lauren (director). (December 2, 2005). "The Siege of the North, Part 1". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 19. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. Encyclopedia now broken, archived at The Lost Lore of Avatar Aang - Gear: Fire Nation Trebuchet.
- ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy of the Fire Nation, page 22.
- ↑ DiMartino, Michael Dante (writer) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (April 15, 2005). "Winter Solstice, Part 2: Avatar Roku". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 8. Nickelodeon.