The spear is without question the GOAT of weapons used throughout history. Nothing else comes close, I suppose every aincent society ever mained it for a reason.
The spear is without question the GOAT of weapons used throughout history. Nothing else comes close, I suppose every aincent society ever mained it for a reason.
Just did some research and we still use them now 0.0. In a limited capacity sure but we still use it, WOW. Our ancestors sure knew what they were doing
KipchakVibeCheck on
Spears are overrated and their prominence is primarily due to cost and simplicity.Â
Bows are better for hunting, sieges and cavalry use.Â
Knives are more useful as a daily tool.
Halberds and glaives are more effective compared to spears of the same length.
Well trained swordsmen such as Roman legionnaires or Spanish Rodelros were the hard counter to pikes. Roman legionnaires destroyed Macedonian pike phalanges in direct assaults, that is closing in with swords and shields.
AgrajagTheProlonged on
Every ancient society had bows or something equivalent, and arguably bows are better weapons than spears. After all, bows have a further range and put you further away from your opponent’s weapon than do spears
coriolis7 on
The way I’ve heard it explained, is that for European middle age combat spears / lances / polearms were the main weapons. Swords were the equivalent of a modern soldier carrying a pistol – a backup weapon that is usually carried by officers.
Level_Hour6480 on
The history of lances and how they relate to pikes/bayonets is funnier: Due to the effectiveness of integrated pike-and-shot formations, armored lance cavalry fell out of use, everywhere except Poland: Poland just used giant 20′ hollow lances that could outrange pikes. Then because of the lack of lances to protect against, bayonets replaced the much longer pikes. Then during the Napoleonic wars, Polish armored lancers impressed everyone so much that they all commissioned their own lancer units.
Charles12_13 on
“Nothing comes close” how about guns? Sure, bayonets were a thing, but they were notably useless basically ever since modern rifles have been a thing. You can put a bayonet on an M4, but in all likelihood you’ll never use it because a literal machine gun is always better than a spear
LaughingHiram on
I prefer throwing goats.
FaxMachineInTheWild on
Dude, spears are just the best. They’re weapons you can use from a distance, and if you’ve got a relatively good sidearm, you can use your spear from a REAL distance by throwing it and charging. It’s large enough to defend yourself against multiple opponents, it’s small enough to defend yourself against a single opponent, it’s balanced enough to throw at an enemy you can’t reach in 3 seconds of running, and it’s solid enough to use both sides of the weapon even if there’s no metal on the bottom.
Full-Examination1690 on
Shoes and spears are the only necessary technology.
Shadowborn_paladin on
Counterpoint:
A _greatsword_ is fucking sick.
JurassicParkTrekWars on
The M16s and M4s in the army still had the bayonet piece to fix one. I don’t recall being issued one, but who knows.
DefTheOcelot on
the bow would like to have a word if horses are involved
12 Comments
Just did some research and we still use them now 0.0. In a limited capacity sure but we still use it, WOW. Our ancestors sure knew what they were doing
Spears are overrated and their prominence is primarily due to cost and simplicity.Â
Bows are better for hunting, sieges and cavalry use.Â
Knives are more useful as a daily tool.
Halberds and glaives are more effective compared to spears of the same length.
Well trained swordsmen such as Roman legionnaires or Spanish Rodelros were the hard counter to pikes. Roman legionnaires destroyed Macedonian pike phalanges in direct assaults, that is closing in with swords and shields.
Every ancient society had bows or something equivalent, and arguably bows are better weapons than spears. After all, bows have a further range and put you further away from your opponent’s weapon than do spears
The way I’ve heard it explained, is that for European middle age combat spears / lances / polearms were the main weapons. Swords were the equivalent of a modern soldier carrying a pistol – a backup weapon that is usually carried by officers.
The history of lances and how they relate to pikes/bayonets is funnier: Due to the effectiveness of integrated pike-and-shot formations, armored lance cavalry fell out of use, everywhere except Poland: Poland just used giant 20′ hollow lances that could outrange pikes. Then because of the lack of lances to protect against, bayonets replaced the much longer pikes. Then during the Napoleonic wars, Polish armored lancers impressed everyone so much that they all commissioned their own lancer units.
“Nothing comes close” how about guns? Sure, bayonets were a thing, but they were notably useless basically ever since modern rifles have been a thing. You can put a bayonet on an M4, but in all likelihood you’ll never use it because a literal machine gun is always better than a spear
I prefer throwing goats.
Dude, spears are just the best. They’re weapons you can use from a distance, and if you’ve got a relatively good sidearm, you can use your spear from a REAL distance by throwing it and charging. It’s large enough to defend yourself against multiple opponents, it’s small enough to defend yourself against a single opponent, it’s balanced enough to throw at an enemy you can’t reach in 3 seconds of running, and it’s solid enough to use both sides of the weapon even if there’s no metal on the bottom.
Shoes and spears are the only necessary technology.
Counterpoint:
A _greatsword_ is fucking sick.
The M16s and M4s in the army still had the bayonet piece to fix one. I don’t recall being issued one, but who knows.
the bow would like to have a word if horses are involved