First use of hand guns in war

The English were said to have used guns, called “crakys”, in King Edward III’s campaign in Scotland in 1327, but these early weapons are thought to have been experimental and unreliable. It wasn’t until the Hussite Wars of 1419–1434 that the hand gun became an effective tool of war. In this conflict between the followers and opponents of Jan Hus of Bohemia, a prototype of the pistol was used by Hussite battle units as part of an established defence and counterattack strategy. Hand guns also proved decisive at the Battles of Formigny (1450) and Castillon (1453) during the French Hundred Years War (1337–1453).