Were Polearms Pointless? Halberds, Spontoons, and Pikes in Linear Warfare Ft. The Far Off Station
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- On my last trip to New England, I met up with my friend @TheFarOffStation, who alongside having an awesome channel is also a sergeant with the recreated 10th Regiment of Foot. And that means that he gets to carry a Halberd (or, a halbert, as it was sometimes spelled back in the day!) rather than a musket or fusil into battle!
But...if you're going up against an army of muskets and guns, is bringing what is basically just a long pointed stick really such a good idea? In this video, Jon and I talk all about the glory that is the Polearm!
Also hey, check out Jon's channel here: / thefaroffstation
Learn more at:
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Thanks for stopping by, old boy! We almost make it look like we know what we’re doing!
Almost!
...Nearly
Excellent presentation
Excuse me, sir. This whole look, this whole... ensemble you're wearing...my good man...
May the contents of your glass be as endless as your drip. Good form.
@@joeytodd795 thank you for the kind words!
I can't begin to imagine the horror of everyday passerby's on their afternoon stroll seeing a crazed menace holding an 6ft spear-axe
Cringe
If that thing is 6ft then the men carrying it are dwarves.
@@lassekankila3807 well it's a 1:16 replica and brandon is like 5'8 and the thing is like 5 or 6 inches longer than him so it's not 6ft exactly but more like 6'4 inches
@@lassekankila3807 that's just 5'11 vs 6'
@@theaman42069 haft of the halberd is easily 6 " above his head the head is at least 9" if not more would say it's very close to 7 feet all in all on the short side for halberds
Anyone who claims a pike is pointless are clearly looking at the wrong end of it.
>
Get out
Retort: Many polearms have butt spikes.
So I guess they are looking at the shaft.
...stop giggling.
@@theultimatederp3288 same, tbf
Very useful in a formation, not so useful if you are the only one carrying one.
Ooh, multi-cam coverage? We fancy, now.
it did take two youtubers to do it....
No, no, no! Multicam is far too modern for the 18th century. That camouflage pattern was only adopted in the 21st century!
@Filip Olczak My response was also a joke. The OP meant 'multi-cam' as in multiple cameras from different perspectives.
They were a hangover from the days we still had monstrous troops, like Minotaurs, Trolls or Dragons, but since those fell out of military use due to the massive adoption of firearms, so did the halberd largely.
However if a Troll, Minotaur or Dragon did appear, sure, your gun line will probably deal with it, but that’s because these beasts are more distractions then actual weapons. So, we put our strongest men as The Halberdier, and his job was to defeat the terrible beast, while the rest of the line dealt with the actual enemy, with the halberdier using his skills and excellent weapon, to dispatch the foe.
this is 100 % totally accurate based on all the original sources I have read starting with 1st edition and even OD&D
I was so mad they didn't have poleaems in Skyrim
I'm stealing this for my dnd campaign! Thanks my friend
From the quartermaster's returns, it appears that General Washington had several trolls and a few goblins available for service. However, these were undisciplined and unruly, and were just as liable to turn on the Americans as to attack the British.. As a result, they were kept with the baggage train and never deployed in battle. They were kept on inventory for a short period of time prior to being quietly discharged in the Summer of 1778. It appears the British got wind of this, for shortly afterward the last British regiments equipped with halberds and spontoons in America retired them.
Is there somewhere on the internets a 30 point list titled "Signs one played Warhammer Total War too much"?
Or had this lists died back in early 2010s?
18:37 Jon, EVERY Brandon F. playlist is a cringe compilation.
I’m happy to have been here with you then, old boy 🤣
It's a long sharp stick, it's obviously superior to a musket. FACT
But a musket is a long sharp SHOOTY stick!
@in desperate need of a scotch the halberd is always loaded.
@@TheFarOffStation FACT, see what Im talking about??? Obviously better than a musket
@@spiffygonzales5899 only sometimes
@@yellingyank1862 💯
It seems the use of polearms was a bit more persistent in the Continental Army. At Valley Forge in December 22, 1777, right at the end of the year John mentions the British had fully abandoned their use, Washington writes in the General Orders: "As the proper arming of the officers would add considerable strength to the army, and the officers themselves desire great confidence from being armed in time of action, the General orders every one of them to provide himself with a half-pike or spear, as soon as possible-firearms when made use of with drawing their attention too much from the men; and to be without either, has a very aukward and unofficerlike appearance-That these half-pikes may be of one length and uniformly made, the Brigadiers are to meet at General Maxwell’s quarters to morrow at 10 o’clock in the forenoon and direct their size and form."
British foraging and logistical crises may have distracted them, because in the General Orders of January 17, 1778, GW writes "The Brigadiers and Officers commanding Brigades are to meet this evening at Genl Varnum’s Quarters...The General desires that they will likewise agree upon the most proper and speedy measure to have all the Officers in their Brigades furnish’d with half Pikes agreeable to the General Order of the 22nd of December last."
Two years later in Morristown, April 4, 1780: "All battalion officers, to captains inclusively are, without loss of time, to provide themselves with Espontoons...None are to mount guard or go on detachment without being armed with Espontoons."
I did Civil War living history with the final rank of sergeant. The records are still available for the regiment we represented and the returns show that sergeants were issued with 2 banded muskets rather than the 3 banded muskets issued to the other ranks. The idea was that the sergeants would have a lighter weight firearm available for self defense or other combat purposes, but their main duty was to help pass along orders, dress the line, and maintain control rather than actually participating in the line of battle. As a result, they were issued with a potentially less effective firearm, and one that wouldn't hinder them in the performance of their duties. I bring this up because, even in the American Army of the 1860s sergeants were issued with distinctive weapons that set them apart from their men.
The same was true, 110 years earlier: Sergeants were issued fusils; shorter, smaller caliber muskets, than the standard Long Land Pattern muskets issued to the regular troops. The fusil is also a LOT easier to carry in the field; and yes, I've gotten it caught in branches, too! Still, it makes it a LOT easier for the men AND the command officers to see where the Sergeants are.
@@buzzmooney2801 Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to carry 2 band muskets because they were against the reenacting community's rules. Apparently, you can't fire a 2 banded muskets from the rear rank without blowing out the front rank's eardrums. Not that we sergeants were firing anyway.
I can't remember getting my muskets caught in the trees. :-)
Officer weapons are fun. Officers sometimes carry that sort of personal defence weapon which would look silly in the hands of the men contributing to the volume of fire. They carry something that would be useful if things go wrong and some of the other blokes end up right in their face. A revolver or an SMG or such.
do you know if they were more like carbines or full infantry rifles with bayonete
Damn Brandon truly has the power of god and anime on his side!
Theses were used during the Irish rebellion of 1798 and are used by the Pontifical Swiss Guard
This is a useful video. I'm trying to put together a fantasy tabletop game and at least 3 factions will be combining polearms with guns.
Awesome! I'm glad it will help out!
@@BrandonF your channel has long been an informative source and for that I thank you.
Same here. Halberds and pikes are still dominant but I’m mostly basing it off of landscknect tactics
@@thekinginyellowmessiahofha6308 I've got one faction that is Landsknechts inspired and another that is Streltsy inspired. A third is employing mostly large axes and Kalthoff style repeaters.
I’d suggest looking into the Pike and Shot era.
You can tell at one glance that polearms indeed weren't pointless...
Brandon saying "I've got god and anime on my side" while wielding a halberd was the last thing I was expecting to witness today
Pikes saw use in the American Revolutions for defensive use from atop redoubts.
I mean I can see the point right there, it's on the metal end.
On the getting caught in trees part. In the 16th and 17th century you often see halberds carried with the shaft on the shoulder and the head in the hand.
This removes the hooky bits from the top so it dose not get caught and if the man might stumble the man behind him wil not get a face full of axe but at most a bonk with the shaft.
That makes a lot of sense! I suppose it speaks to the nature of halberds in this time period being more of a representational piece than anything practical.
Nice video! As a HEMA practitioner, I would highly recommend the channel of Bjorn Ruther, who has created a series of videos on halberd fighting techniques based on the 16th century treatises of Joachim Meyer (maybe you have already seen these). Bjorn has amazing technique and is a formidable fighter, so his interpretations effectively convey the martial potential of this weapon. I suspect that due to advances in firearms technology and battlefield tactics, the halberd would have no longer been trained in a serious or structured way by the 18th century, and so devolved into nothing more than a cumbersome staff of office and elaborate pointer, which is why it fell out of use (when other items could easily fulfill the same purpose).
In Spain the Royal Guard still uses halberds to this day for ceremonial purposes because they look cool.
Awesome video! 5:42 it's kinda funny I just uploaded a video going over this exact topic of Victorian rifle and bayonet drills lol
(i write this before getting into the main meat of the video btw)
while its probably not stupendously historical, one of cornwalls sharpe books paints a intruiging picture of the colours being ringed by sergents with their spontoons as a last ditch defence
similarly, 16th century drill roles put the zweihander wielders as being placed in the same rank as the standard, i.e the rank thats about halfway down
which, not a bad idea that if the formation collapses, anyone trying to take the flag is gonna find a few dozen angry armoured men with 5ft greatswords protecting it.
"How often is it actually going to enter into that melee fight to justify their presence as oppose to say another firearm?"
Carolean army : Hold my bible..
Although about 75 years earlier, we still used the pike as a main battlefield weapon for the common soldiery, not just NCOs and such because of our aggressive army doctrine at the time. We would prefer to close into melee with pikes and rapiers because we couldnt take the manpower losses in a prolonged firefight between line-infantry, acting as shock melee infantry would cost us less casualties because the enemy would usually break pretty quickly if forced into a melee engagement. Another big plus, the enemies we faced at the time wasnt as drilled in melee as we were so it would give us actually tactical advantages, not just less casualties. #GlassCannon #GåPå #FattaPiken
As I said, my example is from the great northern war, not the american war of independence as you talk about in the video but since we are talking about polarms in the 1700s I thought it might be worth a mention. Cheers!
I feel that halberd would be pretty easy to wield if you've been to the gym once in your life. Alas, poor Brandon.
Or atleast Having more testo than a preeteen dutch woman
You mean like this guy?
ua-cam.com/video/0_hEX6PRgW4/v-deo.html
@@Movetheproduct How…eerily specific.
@@BrandonF yep, sry man. true though,
@@Movetheproductwhy you hate him so much
At 03:50, that's Phillopteaux's painting of the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, The War of the WAustrian Succession, not the 7YW. As ever, interesting & original video.
Should collaborate with Britishmuzzleloaders to talk about bayonet in more detail.
An officer or NCO carrying a big halberd or pike just makes sense from a military point of view.
If I'm the average regular, the battlefield is full of smoke, screaming, and gunfire. The Halberd is a big "I'm your NCO!!!" Marker.
It's a show of authority I can look to in times of chaos.
I've seen paintings of Sgts using polearms to level the men's muskets, and to stand behind the men to keep them in line and push them forward in a charge situations 🙂 Not really used as a melee weapon per se
Alternative title: small wannabe british man holds giant stick and acts cringe while talking about polearms with far off station
Well duh
I dont think Lindybeige or Shad really do that much Hema, but Matt Easton is instructor. Obviously Lindy, and Shad makes sort of hema related content, but im not sure if they practise actively any martial art. Lindy for example to my understanding mainly does reactment combat occasionally
Yeah, Skallagrim is the biggest HEMA youtuber.
About Halbeard i think Björn Rüther is the best !
Love how this video is equally useful for flintlock-fantasy novelists and Dungeon Masters as well as for historians. While my setting is very much a D&D style setting brought into the 18th century, knowing how the weapons were used historically helps me world-build and extrapolate how they might be used in my own setting.
(I am currently trying to bring the 5e D&D equipment list into the flintlock era, and between the real world use as a signaling tool and the fantasy use against fantastic beasts and monstrous enemies, I can totally justify keeping halberds and spears in the arsenal for my game.)
The British used/issued the pike widely in ww2. It was given to the LDV/Home Guard when rifles weren’t available. When General Hobart was sacked by Wavell in 1940 he joined LDV as a lance corporal and was issued a pike, and set about preparing to defend his home town. No wallowing in self pity for him. Luckily for Britain he was able to rejoin the regulars and made a huge impact on D Day with 79 Armd Div.
Wasnt that home guard only? It would be incredibly stupid to issue spears to your men
In my reading, I ran across a reference to Stonewall Jackson ordering a quantity of polearms. The war was over before they were delivered. Not sure of final outcome of this story.
Having done English Civil War re-enactment (1640's) for the last 20 years, during that period the polearm is pretty much the best melee weapon, if you are in a musket block clubbing butts and drawing swords the polearm is devastating and halberd so versatile enough to counter both musket butt or sword and unless you have some really good fighters in your block it has to be countered by either another polearm or it will take 2 or 3 people to take down an experienced polearm fighter. I used to be really good at taking them down by myself but I'm getting too old and fat now and taken to carrying one myself lol
I own three original halberd’s from the late 1600’s to the mid 1750’s all American. Two appear to be black smith made one is English and much more refined. I believe American halberd’s are among the rarest do to the fact they were not used very long in America.
Short answer: No
Long answer: No, but situationally yes.
Edit: OHHH in linear warefare. Lol Helps to read the whole title.
Hearing Brandon say "God and Anime on my side" was not something I was expecting to hear nor something I believed necessary to help make my life more whole, but there you go: a most welcomed surprise indeed!
One of the most interesting things I like about this era is how prevalent melee weapons remained even with the wide adaption of firearms.
You could make that same point today! Bayonets can be shockingly relevant, especially in modern close quarters environments.
@@michaelmurdock4607 To some degree. Swords were almost exclusively used for self defence and are well suited to minimal harm while something like a bec de corbin is so damn lethal it's not really very practical to try and only injure with it.
@@michaelmurdock4607 have a mate who was a Finnish recon guy for a bit (I don't remember Finnish terms too well) but he always mentioned that their main role was to hide, spot and wait for Finnish artillery to remove their target from existence. They *were* however trained on how to deal with rear support or command units, soft vulnerable targets that you might encounter behind enemy lines. If they were ever to take out bayonets as anything other than a tool, there wasn't much intent on taking prisoners.
Not a war crime necessarily, but forward recon units can't exactly handle prisoners and are not intended to be get into big fights.
Thank you both so much for this! I am used to seeing halberds and other polearms described as poor weapons that focused more on quantity than quality, generally given to the lowest ranked/least trained soldiers -- to the point I was quite insulted when I was recommended polearm training by my HEMA friend. I am glad to have been proved wrong.
Oh my goodness is that ever not how it went. The primary weapins of samurai were the spear and the bow, with the katana as a side arm, like a pistol. It only became their primary weapon durring theong time of peace. If you look through much of history for Europe, that was true too. I beleive it was king Gustav who once popped down and joined the pike ranks. There is also refrence to a young Henry Morgan (yes, as in Captain Morgan's rum, though I find captain an odd way to remember him) as being more used to a pike than a book. Spear is cheaper and easier to train on, but also in many (by no means close to all) cases more effective. weapon.
Spears are Chad weapons
The phrasing "Are polearms POINTless?" allows for SO many opportunities for puns...
Pikes were used massively in Ireland during the 1798 rebellion, made in secret by local blacksmiths who were hanged if caught making them, they proved to be very effective once the rebels were able to come to close quarters but were no match for cannon and musket vollys, unfortunately for the rebels the pikes were usually the only weapon available to them
Thought I saw some of the Scottish Regiment carrying these in the Waterloo movie when they were ordered forward to halt the French Infantry advance (when Napoleon looks through his telescope and comments "Does Wellington have nothing to send me but these Amazons")😀
in conclusion; polearms are not pointless because they are pointy.
POV: you have God, Anime, and the British Empire your side
The pun in the title gave me a stabbing pain.
Nice,video chap keep it up ive been hoping you'd cover these sorts of weapons at some point, Pole-arms utilized throughout the 18th century have always fascinated me and so im really pleased you're covering this and glasses up to the far off station too.Thanks again chap.
Not pointless at all once you get close enough to slash, hack or stab your foe with when he is trying reload or whatever, not a bad weapon to have when troop formations collide in a bayonet charge and things get back to really old school hand to hand combat.
5:33 = While true, IIRC around the time of the Seven Years War, although there weren't any formal treatises on bayonet fighting, there were apparently attempts to adapt older pike techniques to the firelock. I know I've seen contemporary illustrations showing the techniques (including something similar to 14:19), but I'll be darned if I can find them right now, so I can't really cite my source.
I am a reenactor myself, A Lieutenant of Colonial Militia, I carry a spontoon. I made my own, actually...We have a couple halberds too.
Brandon wielding his long polearm on onlyfans, when?
Good vid..didnt realize these would be on battlefield after pike and shot era and ive gotten spammmed by your channel in algorhythm (not complaining) so youtube is feeling quite generous to you right now.
Nothing was ever done with 0 reason, people aren't generally that stupid when their own lives are on the line.
BUT the British were about to get a crash course on guerilla warfare in unfriendly country so the big shiny thing, probably a bad idea to keep getting caught in the trees.
US used half pikes for NCOs.
Really, they got that lesson 20 years earlier, during the French and Indian War.
dang, it's still in 360p! g'evening all! :) Edit: Typing as I watch: Why so? 1, Tactical gesticulation device 2, it's long, and "it's got a choppy bit, a hitty-bit, and a stabby-bit" 3, make them break first in the charge, 4, officers are to lead, not to bleed, 5, "I have the Talking Stick" 6, "Where's Sgt. Waldo?" Why not? 1, George, George, George of Hanover watch out for that Tree! 2, too long to trail.
2:37 - The Sgt of my reenacting unit uses his sword for this exact purpose!
End of video-
Brandon's mate: *Tries to have actual conversation with Brandon*
Brandon F: *Dares everyone to generate Brandon F memes with him dancing around with a polearm*
I highly agree with your point about a Sgt paying more attention to his suroundings than firing. I remember doing a section attack in training where my Sgt commented on not having fired a single round. Admittedly I am reffering to modern combat, and a Sgt has changed over the years, but there is overlap. If the Sgt is shooting, he is not doing his job, and giving him a musket encourages him to shoot. Much like why the naval supply ship my father worked on did not have guns. Supply ships are to avoid combat. Giving them a gun encourages an ambitious or hot headed captain to fail at their duty.
I also feel that a halbard goung forward would be nice and long, so easy for the men to see (in a rather loud and confusing situation) that it was time to get ready to charge or brace for being charged. The crowed control makes sense, and I would be entertained to see a HEMA group try mock ups of musket with bayonet vs halberd.
8:12 - Most realistic fake death ever.
Ive remeber reading about how seargents would push a polearm behind soldiers, keeping them in rank and preventing breaking
Remember, kids: never confuse a spontoon for a spittoon unless you want to lose an eye.
If i get to pew pew i can stab stab
I will always consider the pole arm to be the most superior pre-gunpowder weapon.
4:35 My good sir, there is a poking bit at the top. You use that to annoy your enemy from a slight distance until he either leaves or has lost too much ketchup to put on his burger so he lays down for a nap.
"God and anime on my side" 😂
In movie "The Crossing" we can see Hessian sargeant trying to tell soldiers where to form line using a spontoon (or halberd).
One thing I notice is the polearms make it easy for a sniper to pick out a person of rank and target them.
I am 100% sure sergeants wouldve used polearms to align men. It just, like, its a very NCO thing to do.
That fellow looks like he could be your brother!
my dad was in the 10th regiment during the bicentennial
Looking at the background I can't stop the silly thought: "At least with the advent of overhead power lines the use of pole arms became quite unpopular."
4:34 God and Anime on my side
Redcoats vs Colonials be like
The German army has this concept called “Kompaniefeldwebel” (sergeant of the Company) it’s usually the oldest NCO of the company, and his job is basically to take care of and discipline the soldiers. He usually is the guy that gets the food when in the field and shouts at you for ur boots being dirty.
And the nickname for that guy is „Spieß”, which is German for pike. Nobody knows where it come from (there are some theories, but there is nothing proven), but that video sounds plausible
Great content, Brandon. Always enjoy this kind of stuff.
Some Infantry Regerment during the Nepolieonic time had a section of men normaly from the Grenadier company's as a Colour party these were to defend the kings colour and Rgemental Colour namely agenst Calvary some had four and some six men pluss the Sargent Majour two sublitens and one Captain normaly the 2 IC and one Lieutenant to break that down three Grenadiers with halberd one subliten holds the flag Captain for the kings Colour Lieutenant for the Regermental colour Sargent Majour to the kings colour and a staff Sargent Colour Sargent to the Regermental Colour
TRULY HISTORY! Glad to see two of my favorite UA-cam Historians working together. Godspeed, my friends, Godspeed.
Thanks for watching, mate!
@@TheFarOffStation You two did well on informing us viewers what the Halberd was used for. Thanks for that!
@@Broski1318 I’m happy to to hear you took something positive away from it and that you made it through our shenanigans!
@@TheFarOffStation I'm glad you two made it. I found multiple points in it very funny.
you know, there is one question that I have looked your entire playlist for the answer and didn't find a response yet...
where did the Regiment's money come from?
now, the obvious answer would be "from the king" or "from the parliment", but not long before Regiments became a thing, in the era of Pike & Shot, many military companies were, well... companies... privately owned and selling their service to their king or whoever payed enough for them to abandon any sense of loyalty. And with how Regiments are expected to recruit - including negotiating pay with the recruited - train - which could mean founding and running their own Military School specifically for their Regiments and yet not all Regiments had them - and admnister their own forces in terms of uniform design and pretty much everything beyond the kind of weaponary they had to(could?) field, it often sounds to me like the Regiment had to pay for most, if not all, of it.
Otherwise, why wouldn't all Regients have formal military schools or offer good pay if the money was coming from the government, and not themselves?
Well, then again, some Highlanders Regiments did recruit saying the lands of the rebels in North America would be divided among their troops and every soldier wold be made a Leird, so perhaps the money did come from the government since the recruities were offering things they had no way of paying.
Anyway, much of the inner workings of the mercenary companies of the 15th and 16th century seen to still be at work at the Regimental system (well, at least on the time period that you cover), and I wonder how much they were private companies or statal organs... you mentioned in a previous episode that they had officers that stayed at Britain to take care of the financies (among other things), would that include making investments, "selling" conquests of specific locations on the frontiers, the eliination of this or that "rebel" tribe that had being causing too much problem for privately owned business, selling the spoils conquered by the Regiment in battle and whatnot, or was it more like the paperwork one can expect on modern armies?
in particular, the following idea seen to be stuck at my head: a privately owned business try to exploit lands in one of the colonies, perhaps in Africa or Southeast Asia, and run into trouble with one (or more) of the local tribes, that see them as violating treaties stablished with the Crown; the business owner learns what have being getting in the way of his profits and negociate refines society until he finds the Colonel (or staff) of a Regiment stationed of said colony, and proceeds to negotiate for the "pacification" of said tribe in exchange of a cut of the profits; a few weeks later a letter arrives from the Colonel to his Regiment with orders to crack down on said tribe. Could such things have happened? were Regiments free to take on private contracts that didn't contradict their oath to the Crown? or did their money come directly from a government that also prohibited them from taking private contracts, perhaps in fear of exactly the situation I ilustrated escalating tensions in the colonies?
Could another potential reason they were not used for much of the american revolution be due to patriot forces often targeting officers such as at bunker hill?
I know that this was one reason many NCOs in ww2 actually preferred to carry a rifle over a sten, because they'd look more like just a common soldier and so not a target for snipers.
First things first, the spirit of the infantry is the bayonet! You don't own the ground until you occupy it, to attain this objective, you must close with and destroy the enemy.
The uses of the pole arm/pike are to identify NCO's, to maintain discipline of formation, and to provide an effective defense in melee combat. You're really asking the wrong question, pole arms are tools that obviously have uses. The man who yields such a weapon has the duty first and foremost of leading. Even in modern times, the same leadership role applies. In my own experience there have been a couple instances when I haven't fired my weapon at all, being engrossed in directing small arms and indirect fire responsibilities.
Hey Brandon have you ever read Eric's Flint 1632 the Ring of fire it takes place in the 1600s in the middle of the 30 years war with a Virginian town of coal miners and their Union leader by the name of Michael sterns
Think it was issued due to tradition as opposed to practicality (in line combat). If marching into line combat give your soldiers a musket/rifle. They will be more useful.
It's okay, Shad and Lindy aren't HEMA either lmfao. Shad is a fucking terrible archer too but acts like he is the end all source of knowledge for bows.
Damn 360p prime quality witness. The video sounds too interesting to wait though.
Polearms were absolutely used by NCOs to dress lines by holding them sideways against the backs of the ranks.
If people in line start shuffling backwards in line when the enemy approach it can be used the same way to remind people that they aren't going anywhere.
The Halberd like a modern sword worn on a uniform became a symbol of authority more than a weapon over time but its still was a Pike. The era of every soldier carrying a firearm came slowly and the Pike Square was still as formidable when mixed with those firing for maximum effect. Indeed the reach of the weapon meant it could pull mounted Calgary of a horse by hooking them and for those with what ever farm tool or other such hand implement were at a disadvantage. One thing people forget that it was also used at both ends like a quarter staff not just lodged into the ground hoping an enemy would impale themselves. Indeed occasionally someone will be filmed swinging a pipe or using something like it as a weapons towards others and as a thrusting device ite length gives an advantage for awhile but not long...
Why do Americans speak English like chipmunks????
In a gun fight, yes, unless the halberdier had a pistol with him. But the case of the officers holding them, they would work well when being charged by the cavalry or combating other bayonet armed infantry (which is all the time). However I do see them stand out more as a target compared to an officer without one; despite officers standing out on the battlefield in general.
I was always of the impression the halberd was specifically designed to pull knights off their horses hence the hook shaped side. This was used to hook into a knights armor and yank him down where he could then be dispatched. Its also obvious they could be used as makeshift pikes and even swung at an adversary using the hatchet side. Probably not much use in more modern wars but likely very useful when swords , arrows , and armor were the dominating tech used.
A Brandon F. cringe compilation, I'm definitely down for that!
The seargent don't really have time to load a musket anyway. At least not in the heat of battle. He needs to pay attention to his men, the battle field, and any commands coming from his senior officers.
Maybe that's why they didn't bother with muskets and kept the polearm.
The Americans abandoned that way of fighting with rank firing, so it made more sence for them also abandon the halberd.
The sheer madness of line infantery exchanging volleys at each other at 50-100m (sometimes closer) is mindboggeling.
there are uses of pikes halberts, and bayonets in the american civil war. it could be a reference because of the strict adherence to nepolianic fighting especially in the early war.
for example the state of Georgia specifically made pikes as a last hold out to arm the militias.
It was probably a really good third rank complement to bayonets in saving powder in riot supression roles...
So in a way they developed into the pace stick and baton used by nco's now? Why do drum majors have a mace
Weren't spontoons also still used by civilians for hunting?
Drive a counterweight in to the base of the pole so it is more practical to carry and faster in a fight.
Brandon how the fuck is your channel so small? Its bullshit cause you kick ass man im tellin you
If it was best used for orgnastion and Identfcation... Why does'nt it have a flag/banner on it? I mean a small simple one that denotes their unit? Yes it would make it more ungamly but also more usefull as you could drill different flag movements to mean different things and well it would do all but fighting and daily carry, better.
Well there wasn't a specific need for that- every unit has different colour facings, etc. It's more a matter of identifying the Sergeant at a glance, rather than whole units.
How did they unload there guns back then other thank just fire them?
you should get shad and others to help you with that matter. :) a colab will work.
Because you would totally kick ass in melee if it was longer than a musket with bayonet
This is what happens when people didnt move out of their 1600s pike and shot phase.
Wait is he the “I’ve got the power of god and anime” guy ??? 👀