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Bad ideas in military history

Ys, I've seen that before, so not quite what the OP says.

Also at the very tail end of archery. Bows were already obsolete by the time this was published.
 
Andy_Ross said:
Ys, I've seen that before, so not quite what the OP says.

Also at the very tail end of archery. Bows were already obsolete by the time this was published.
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"Speaking of dubious military ideas in the 16th century it was proposed, in England, that archers with longbows hold pikes while shooting arrows."

That's exactly what he says, albeit clunky and got the century wrong.

England was very nostalgic for the longbow, and it was used in the Armada fights.
 
Wudang said:
Then a reference should be easy. Archery used to be a hobby of mine and I see no way to hold a pike while also releasing an arrow properly.
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Ummm, you see that blue text? That is a link. A reference if you will as it goes to a page discussing the treatse.
 
kookbreaker said:
It was the 17th century and the pamphlet is actually moderately famous in modern times;

The Double-Armed Man.
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I believe, technically, that is the 'pike-longbow' a combination weapon, well the two are joined. I remember it described in a study on weapons thusly (approximately).
In the field of combination weapons, sanity is represented by the sword-stick, and raving psychosis by the pike-longbow.
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There's always someone with an impractical invention that will revolutionise warfare.
 
catsmate said:
I believe, technically, that is the 'pike-longbow' a combination weapon, well the two are joined. I remember it described in a study on weapons thusly (approximately).
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The Double-Armed man is a running joke among English Civil War reenactors. It may have been tested and abandoned or it may have just been outright ignored. Either way it never saw battlefield use.
 
First I may be influenced by more modern sport archery but I was told to hold the bow loosely to let the arrow fly straight on release. How can you do that when your fingers are supporting the weight of a pike?
 
Wudang said:
First I may be influenced by more modern sport archery but I was told to hold the bow loosely to let the arrow fly straight on release. How can you do that when your fingers are supporting the weight of a pike?
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From the engravings he used it would seem he intended it to be an indirect, mass-fire weapon. The images show the bow aimed at a 20-30 degree angle, with the pike at more of a port position than for charge. The end of the pike would be pressed against the back foot to reduce strain.

The whole thing was part of the desire for military minds to give the pikeman a ranged attack of some sort. You could argue the Swedish "Swine Feathers", of the 30 years way held to this idea. It (according to some versions) combined a musket rest on a short pike. However, some claim it was just a short spear to be driven into the ground much like English Longbowmen had with their carried spikes. Either way, it was not kept around for very long (although some minor German states may have tried it later in the century).
 
kookbreaker said:
The Double-Armed man is a running joke among English Civil War reenactors. It may have been tested and abandoned or it may have just been outright ignored. Either way it never saw battlefield use.
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Well it was a war, and many of those participating didn't know what they were doing. Lot at WW2 lots of weird ideas there.
 
catsmate said:
Well it was a war, and many of those participating didn't know what they were doing. Lot at WW2 lots of weird ideas there.
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The Pederson Device from WW1 springs to mind, and that was seriously considered for wide adoption

(very long)

Short one minute version.
 
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A brilliant way to turn a battle rifle in to a weak, unreliable , massive pistol.
 
kookbreaker said:
"Speaking of dubious military ideas in the 16th century it was proposed, in England, that archers with longbows hold pikes while shooting arrows."

That's exactly what he says, albeit clunky and got the century wrong.

England was very nostalgic for the longbow, and it was used in the Armada fights.
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Well I was relying on my memory and yes I got the century wrong. So thanks for the correction. I did look for a picture to illustrate the idea but obviously didn't use the correct search parameters. Seeing again the idea in illustrated format convinces me even more the idea is - well bad.
 
The Infographics Show saw this thread and decided to make its own version. You can see what they think the biggest military mistakes made were.


Sorry you need to go to YouTube to see the video. But the link is ok.
 
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