Previously, attacks had been characterised by long artillery bombardments and massed assaults. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Maj. The Soviet leadership also massed several armies deep behind their defences as the Stavka Reserve. Artillery totalling 572 guns was massed in the attack sector. It is less useful for armies employing massed infantry formations, or with significant conscription. Turkey then massed its troops on the border to occupy the Mosul Province by force. The inaccuracy of the weapons necessitated large groups of massed soldiers. Each side had massed troops and had exchanged charges of border provocation in this area. The Chinese had a lot of success with massed infantry attacks. Swedish troops massed along the border, and there were daily rumors of an invasion. There, the Germans had massed large forces to beat their way south of the mountains. In 1805 French invasion forces were massed on the French coast with 2,300 vessels. The division was then deployed in defensive operations against massed Soviet attacks. The Syrians had massed nearly 1,000 tanks along a front. It was seen as a "cleaner" bomb for use against massed Soviet armored divisions.