04-04-2006, 09:39 AM
Re-enactors have established that formation can be maintained very well at a steady trot. I'm interested in how far we can push the pace.
However, it strikes me that a group tasked with removing archers need not approach said task in the same way they would approach smashing infantry. It would depend on how the archers themselves are formed and supported, of course, but it's possible that they could be dealt with by a more open formation than a rim-to-rim phalanx. (We've had people argue that the phalanx itself may not always have been tightly formed).
The archers in our group said they felt they would be strongly inclined to make discretion the better part of valour when confronted by a more heavily armed opponent moving at speed towards them.
However, it strikes me that a group tasked with removing archers need not approach said task in the same way they would approach smashing infantry. It would depend on how the archers themselves are formed and supported, of course, but it's possible that they could be dealt with by a more open formation than a rim-to-rim phalanx. (We've had people argue that the phalanx itself may not always have been tightly formed).
The archers in our group said they felt they would be strongly inclined to make discretion the better part of valour when confronted by a more heavily armed opponent moving at speed towards them.
