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Donnchadh Beag mac Griogair wrote:
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That being said, I don't think volley fire is quite what we want. Most
people think of volley fire as a large group of un-aimed arrows shot in
an arc. I think what would work well is coordinated direct fire shot
en mass or in waves. If we are getting ready to make a big push to
take a flag, then an archery unit (say around 10 archers) could work
with the local area commander to mass all fire to a certain area right
before a charge. It's a tactic that I would certainly be willing to
look into, but it's going to take good coordination between the
different commanders.<br>
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<br>
I think a <i>very</i> good tactic would be to have groups of archers
that can be massed on the battlefield to hit a specific target. So, if
the commander wanted a particular part of the enemy line to be pushed
back he could send one or two of these archer units to that part of the
field to fire into the flanks of the units he wanted weakened. Remember
as you discuss the ravine battle that an archer can only carry 15
rounds at a time into the battle. So, you'd have a squad or 2 of
archers get their assigned target (ie, 'go support the attack on the
middle flag' or 'go shoot up Calontir'), they'd move into position
slightly to the sides of the enemy (ideally) and fire into them, as
quick as possible while their ammo lasts. Then they'd fall back to
reammunition while another squad gets sent in behind them. <br>
<br>
An individual archer with just 15 rounds may not have too much effect
at a given time of the field. But 5 archers can probably pour their 75
rounds into the enemy in 5 minutes, a much more telling weight of fire
if it's placed well. And shooting up the flanks of a unit while it's
engaged in the front can be devastating, especially in conjunction with
a push by the infantry. The enemy will be less likely to be watching
the archers on their flanks if they're getting pressed in the front.
The archers can help the infantry attack by picking off spears and
polearms, the infantry can help the archers by fixing the enemy's
attention to the front. Everybody wins, except the enemy.<br>
<br>
Charles<br>
BG<br>
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