Hate this movie trope. Especially for ranged infantry. 300 archers with burning arms holding drawn bows as their commander waits for the first salvo to be point blank.
“Sir, they’ve been in range for 100 yards. We could’ve fired three salvos by now…”
I havent seen this movie in years, but i believe these are two different events. The “HOLD” is when theyre being rushed by the calvary and they have the spears (sharpened tree branches) laying on the ground in front of them. He waits for the horses to get close enough so they can’t stop when all the spears pop up, impaling the horses, and launching their riders into the crowd to be destroyed.
The smart ones have relaxed their arms, he’s always like that and they’d have to keep adjusting their arc as the enemy approached anyway. They can raise, pull and let fly in the time everyone else takes 2 steps, since they aren’t shooting for accuracy until the battle comes right at them
Are there historical cases of archer “squad leaders” quickly adjusting their angle after calling pull and before loose? Genuinely curious, I’ve never really thought about it before
I’m pretty sure there wouldnt be independent pull and lose commands. Traditional bows are drawn and fired in a single motion. It wasn’t until modern compound bows that it was practical to hold a drawn bow.
Hate this movie trope. Especially for ranged infantry. 300 archers with burning arms holding drawn bows as their commander waits for the first salvo to be point blank.
“Sir, they’ve been in range for 100 yards. We could’ve fired three salvos by now…”
“HOLD!”
I havent seen this movie in years, but i believe these are two different events. The “HOLD” is when theyre being rushed by the calvary and they have the spears (sharpened tree branches) laying on the ground in front of them. He waits for the horses to get close enough so they can’t stop when all the spears pop up, impaling the horses, and launching their riders into the crowd to be destroyed.
Just the concept of abandoning your line and full on charge into a disorganized brawl with the enemy is a Hollywood myth.
The smart ones have relaxed their arms, he’s always like that and they’d have to keep adjusting their arc as the enemy approached anyway. They can raise, pull and let fly in the time everyone else takes 2 steps, since they aren’t shooting for accuracy until the battle comes right at them
Are there historical cases of archer “squad leaders” quickly adjusting their angle after calling pull and before loose? Genuinely curious, I’ve never really thought about it before
Honestly me neither, I don’t think historical accuracy was the goal of that movie. So I was just blethering
I’m pretty sure there wouldnt be independent pull and lose commands. Traditional bows are drawn and fired in a single motion. It wasn’t until modern compound bows that it was practical to hold a drawn bow.