I have a question for /his/ since I don't know where else to ask.
Has there been an instance in history where a general had his spearmen tie oiled rags to the ends of their spears and have a rider with a torch light them as he goes by?
I can't see any downsides to having a wall of moveable fire for a frontline.
what are the upsides? surely it would warp the metal of the spike or the spear handle itself?
not to mention it would reduce the piercing power of the spike itself
>>873136
This would be a very stupid idea, I doubt anyone pulled that off.
>>873136
While that might be good for the spook factor and all, would it really function well as a weapon?
>>873145
>what are the upsides?
Aside from the smoke on the soldiers eyes, the limitation to visibility, the damage to spears, the possibility of oil going to the hands?
>>873145
Hmm
Maybe as a morale threat. Light the fires and have your troops advance on the enemy.
Having a thousand men with flaming spears charging at you would be pretty scary.
So mindgame type shit?
Doubtful. It would ruin your spear shafts and achieve nothing that lighting a fire in front of your ranks wouldn't achieve.
Hard to see past your flaming spear line too which is a problem when your unit effectiveness is dependant on keeping your flanks protected.
Probably a better question for /k/
Maybe it produced too much smoke? You already have more than a dozen men on the front line of that picture and youd have hundreds in total at your front.
Flaming spears dropped or discarded could be a danger to advancing troops and mmmmmmaybe it made life harder for retreating skirmishes?
The answer is probably some mundane reason like generals not wanting to complicate logistics though
>>873162
They wouldn't be drenched in oil, just enough to sustain a fire and they could run with the spears halfway up to allow for better infantry viability.
>>873136
Well which way is the wind blowing?
Do you mind not being able to see?
Also why not just save the oil for nighttime?
Alright so flaming spears are a no-go.
Unfortunate. I thought it was a cool idea.
I can see it being terrifying to have a horde of flaming spears coming at you. And they wouldn't be ablaze so long to ruin your spears if they are metal right?
Also are the spears primary or secondary weapons. If I'm running at foes with a flaming spear i can throw then move to my sword that'd be fucking sick. Idk. My thoughts on the topic.
There are better alternatives.
>tie oil rag at end of spear and have it be thrown 500 meters in air to the enemy and have it pierce their armor/shield
Or better yet, light a fire around hundred of spears packed in tight powered by gun powder and launch them at the enemy army formations.
>>873163
But judging from OP's picture, you wouldn't want your spearmen(phalangites actually) charging at your enemy. Instead they would either hold their ground or advance slowly and engage.
>>873367
How the fuck do you throw a spear 500 meters away genius?
>>873479
Not him, but a ballsita may be able to do that.
>>873523
>ballsita
kek, ballista*
>>873136
If you've ever actually made or used a torch you'll know how quickly they burn out, even soaked in slow burning kerosene they might last half an hour in moderate conditions (though it really depends on how big you make them or what fuel you use, a small wrap soaked in pitch might burn out in five minutes), battles would often be several hours long, sometimes from dawn to dusk, and fought in rain, mist or strong winds.
>>873523
So flaming arrows then?
>>873136
Look at your picture Opie
>front rank has cool fire spears in front of them
>everyone has scary fire spears over their heads
what happens if you need to change the formation? You probably have to hold the spear upwards so that you can position yourself properly. I don't know about you but flaming oil going down my spear is the last thing I want.
>>873523
>The ballista was a highly accurate weapon (there are many accounts of single soldiers being picked off by ballista operators), but some design aspects meant it could compromise its accuracy for range. The maximum range was over 500 yards (460 m), but effective combat range for many targets was far shorter.
Wiki says this, although I admit I'm not that educated on the subject. Plus, the ballista would throw darts, not spears.
>spears = made of wood
>fire burns wood
do i need to give anymore reasons why an army would be hesitant to light its spears on fire?
>>876160
wow, you sure are smart anon, fuck. I think this is the first post even mentioning it. Fucking smart anon, damn.
>>876160
Or just a steel head and iron haft
>>876195
>iron haft
I'm imagining a whole spear made entirely of Iron, fuck that would be heavy.
Now I'm imagining an erect penis.
Now I'm Imagining laughter.
Hmm, well that's not good.
>>876195
So the spear is 1 meter long or heavy as fuck
>>873193
>which way is the wind blowing?
Fuck off, Kongming.
FUCK OFF
