body armour and arrows

[John Maddox Roberts]

Concerning the famous victories attributed to the longbow at Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt, etc. it should be remembered that, whatever the penetrative power of the arrows against enemy armor, it was killing the unarmored horses that brought about the defeat. A horse is a target ten times the size of a man. The unhorsed knights who survived the fall were often suffocated and in any case their battle effectiveness was greatly reduced. It is only in movies that cavalry ride into storms of arrows or bullets, the riders fall off and the horses trot away unhurt. Imagine hundreds of horses collapsing with every volley and the ensuing chaos.<br>
In ancient battles likewise, superiority of archery must have just about negated the other side's cavalry, which could have been decisive on many occasions. <p></p><i></i>