11-10-2004, 02:36 PM
I don't think the gauls and germans always fought as rabble. I wrote this before: Ceasar describes his battle against the german shield wall of Ariovistus!<br>
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Evidently the romans fought against shield walls early in their military history (phalanxs ring a bell) and they evolved their way of fighting once they noticed how these rigid formations could broken (choice of uneven ground, missile barrage, poking holes into it by stabbing at the rigid enemy). The gladius was used for many centuries evidently because if fit well with their standardized ways of breaking up shield walls or anyone else so foolish as to fight a set battle with them.<br>
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Of course every battle is a story of its own but the best way of winning a battle is to take the initiative and then keep it. Aggressive fighting for poking holes and churning deep into dense formations favors short stabbing weapons. Longer weapons are best used at some distance and maybe only after fencing with a spear. The emphasis is different.<br>
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I don't think being up against a shield wall explains development of longer swords. The eariler romans did just fine in breaking up rigid formations with pila and aggressive swordmanship. <p></p><i></i>
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Evidently the romans fought against shield walls early in their military history (phalanxs ring a bell) and they evolved their way of fighting once they noticed how these rigid formations could broken (choice of uneven ground, missile barrage, poking holes into it by stabbing at the rigid enemy). The gladius was used for many centuries evidently because if fit well with their standardized ways of breaking up shield walls or anyone else so foolish as to fight a set battle with them.<br>
<br>
Of course every battle is a story of its own but the best way of winning a battle is to take the initiative and then keep it. Aggressive fighting for poking holes and churning deep into dense formations favors short stabbing weapons. Longer weapons are best used at some distance and maybe only after fencing with a spear. The emphasis is different.<br>
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I don't think being up against a shield wall explains development of longer swords. The eariler romans did just fine in breaking up rigid formations with pila and aggressive swordmanship. <p></p><i></i>
Jeffery Wyss
"Si vos es non secui of solutio tunc vos es secui of preciptate."
"Si vos es non secui of solutio tunc vos es secui of preciptate."
