Re: [FT] (LONG) The Balance of Power -- Fighters and a Defense

John Atkinson wrote:

>Actually, no.	Crossbows were an adjunct to armored
>warfare and added no more complexity to the situation
>than existed before (Willie the Bastard managed
>combined arms tactics without it, for instance).

He did? He seem to have used them at Hastings, though - they're not
shown on the Tapestry, but William of Poitiers recorded the use of
crossbows in that battle in his chronicle.

>Actually there was much moralizing on the unfairness
>of infantry standing up in front of heavy cavalry. 
>However most of it was done by armchair strategists
>(hmmm. . . do we see a theme?). The actual soldiers
>were out buying wheellock pistols to shoot pikemen
>with.

Um... considering that the edict against crossbows was issued some four
centuries before the wheellock pistols were even invented, I kinda
doubt that last statement <g>

Regards,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."