spears/pikes against axes

[Carlton Bach]

Supposedly, the two-handed battleswords used by landsknecht troops in the sixteenth century were used for this purpose, and I suspect they would be more useful fopr that end than axes (you need to brace a piece of wood against something to chop it, after all). But it should be remembered that those called upon to use them to break gaps into the enemy pike front were effectively considered dead men walking. Using an axe (or really any weapon) to create a gap in the wall of spear points probably was a viable tactic, but you wouldn't live to tell the tale.