I'm glad Mike Loades is using a 75lb bow and not a weak 30lb LARP bow. 75lbs might be on the lower end of draw weight for what would typically considered a medieval warbow, but it is still strong enough to be considered a warbow draw weight bow. For example, the lower draw weight English longbows used in war in the late middle ages were 80 lbs in draw weight, and Manchu Qing Dynasty records from the 1700s stated that ~80 lbs was the minimum draw weight required for military archers. Of course, heavier warbows could be double that draw weight. In other timeperiods, there were heavier or lighter requirements (eg. 93-104 lbs in draw weight being the minimum requirement for horse archers of the Tang and Song Dynasties respectively - or as low as 65lbs minimum for the Ming Dynasty), so this 75lb bow is a sufficient representation.
@@shinystars2475 What era of Egypt? For ancient Egypt, I'd assume it would be very hard to figure out. My numbers are based on written records and modern estimates of surviving examples of bows. From what I understand, we don't have either for ancient Egyptian bows. For medieval Egypt under the rule of Islamic Arab-Persian-Turkic dynasties, it would probably be much easier to estimate. For example, we know the draw weights of Ottoman Empire bows and the Ottomans controlled Egypt. So plenty of Ottoman bows could've made their way into Egypt during Ottoman rule. Most Ottoman bows ranged from 60s to 140 lbs in draw weight, and while exceptional heavy bows could reach 160-170 lbs. IIRC, the absolute heaviest bow could be even heavier close to the low 200s, but I forgot where I read that source from so don't quote me on that. These ranges would be reasonable considering the contemporary Qing Dynasty Manchu bows (according to Qing era writings) ranged from 80-170 lbs, with an absolute heaviest ever recorded bow being a 240 lb bow used by 1 elite champion archer.
@@micahbush5397 Yeah this is a lot more realistic. Even when they developed composite bows they still used fairly rudimentary selfbows concurrently (quite awkward from chariots due to their length).
@@CoffeeFiend1 Yeah, it's become a pet peeve of mine when people default to judging armor based on how it holds up to an English longbow, which wasn't common on the battlefield until the 14th century (around the same time that Europeans started transitioning to plate armor). The effectiveness of armor should be judged based on how it performs against weapons like those it would have actually faced.
Andrew Snyder then they'd have to admit black people/Egyptianss invented TOUGH armor without the help of europeans and thats not someonthing the racist egyptologists will do
+JJoh4040 What, you mean the kushites who ruled for maybe 200 years out of the entire 3000+ year history of ancient egypt? That's about 7% of their history. Why skip the other 93% percent? Why not cry racism against brown people, or the white ptolomies? Oh, because they aren't entitled, I get it now. Thanks for clearing that up.
The primary egyptian ruling families, And the egyptian peoples themselves, Were of Aryan/Caucasian descent, They first immigrated from Iran Thousands upon thousands of years ago. There have been genetic tests of the egyptians that prove this. Despite being caucasian, However, The egyptians looked a fair bit different than modern Caucasians, Primarily because of the climate they lived in. Tanned skin was indeed common among them. And to any who are unaware, The aryans and caucasian peoples were white. Now, Back to the subject at hand, Egyptian armour is rare to find because the most raw examples of it, Prior to foreign conquests such as that of Persia and alexander the great (Which resulted in the egyptian peoples adopting the armour of their overlords) Are so ancient that most of said raw examples are no longer functionable. The egyptians primarily used Bronze, Leather, Or padded gambesons. They often use armour in the Lamellar/Scale fashion, As was common in the ancient world. Though they did possibly use plated lamellar similar to the Mycenean greeks.
The 'order of the golden fly' was more likely based on the ichneumon wasp, which attacks an ant's nest directly and alone. The ants have a fiery sting, but they are helpless against the wasp's bold attack. After laying its eggs in the egg-chamber, in deepest part of the ant's nest, the wasp departs. How does the wasp survive its apparently suicidal attack on the ant nest? It is able to release an ant pheromone, which sets the ants fighting against one another, while it goes about its business.
I think he is full of crap. I have looked at numerous reliefs of Ancient Egyptian war scenes, and the pharaohs and charioteers are not wearing anything. Armor is not a African concept, that is why. To hot for it.
Lamellar armor overlaps too. See the lamellar armor of the Qin terra cotta warriors or other East Asian kingdoms and empires. But you are correct that this is scale - scale plates are attached to a backing while lamellar plates are attached to each other.
@@legioxciicorvus5917 Armor existed in Africa. Egyptians, Carthaginians, Numidians, Nubians, etc all had armor. There was literally hide-scale armor found in the tomb of King Tut. Most Egyptian carvings are not detailed enough to reveal finer details like armor, but some carvings do portray people wearing armor/armor like garb: lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/BZl8ZyIvfkXHSqHQtnej237CAqVqNlqpXSuZa4TqMwh1LpCWxkwkMCMYomgZo_2jMO-U4qN_95MT1TCgtAtWO_d35Yv00krpbx04qKjwGvdumTIwOf62JPkqu5VULdnAfRKAqTcnaM83tPa6PaRHsfQ Since your name comes from the Roman legion, look up the Roman legions that were used to invade Egypt and the Roman soldiers that were garrisoned in Egypt. It's believed that the Egyptians had, and later Persian, Greek, and Roman rulers of Egypt adopted fabric armor that was similar to medieval gambeson. For comparison, other people in hot climates also had armor - such as the Aztecs and Incas who lived fairly close to the equator and wore quilted cotton armor (which was actually adopted by the Spanish as it was better suited for the climate than the Spanish plate curiass armor).
@@legioxciicorvus5917 They wore less armor than people in Western Europe/East Asia, but they certainly had armor. Armor was worn all over Africa, although it was extremely rare South of the Equator. North of the Equator people wore all kinds of scale armor, chainmaille, lamellar, gambesons, coat of plates and occasionally even breastplates. The only kind of armor they never wore was full-plate, due to the heat.
That ain't lamellar, lamellar has each lame strung together with some form of cord, it doesn't have a backing, that is most assuredly scale armor, and not particularly good scale armor given that the bottoms of the scales aren't restrained at all allowing for an upward thrust to easily penetrate it.
+KageRyuuUji Lamellar does have backing (like most armor), just not scales. Also, hard to imagine upward thrusts when you're an archer on a chariot, not really intending to face continuous close quarters combat. For that, I'd imagine they had shields. It's easy to consider scale an early form of lamellar.
Considering that a blade would most likely catch on the rawhide scales even in an upward thrust, and that there are layers of linen I think that an upward thrust still wouldn't be very effective.
Egyptian army in that era was more archery focused and would manly do heavy skirmishes before engaging in a close fight ,in the ranged battle the scale armor layer is the best defense while in close combat padded armor layer (linen) have always been a decent protection for foot soldier.
That armor is made of leather, even if it stops an arrow or a sword stroke after the fight is good to throw, more than likely it is damaged. and anyway, not all the fighters, only the king, the noble guards
@@Daylon91 it's such a beauty, shame the Egyptians themselves stopped producing such bows years ago.these pieces would hve commanded good prices on the current market.
@@immortalayarna i disagree because it wouldve become a so called tourists/nationality scam like mongol and chinese bows. They use their country of origin to say that their work is traditional and authentic. I prefer to buy from real bowyers who did some research.
@@BestMods168 I own a few fiberglass bows from Ali bow , I treasure them like real horn composites , cos the performance I get is something I believe the ancients would have been proud off
You bet! It is made of heavy red deer and elk rawhide; the medial ridges were made with a chisel while the hide scales were soaked for a bit. The paint is milk paint, backing and cord made of linen!
Modern Egyptians have little in common with ancient egyptians, As the ancient customs of the egyptians were widely wiped out by the Invading Arabs. You are most likely an arab yourself, Rather than one of the few Remaining Coptic Egyptians, The last vestige of ancient egyptian culture.
donald lisberg modern egyptians are barely 18% arabic, the remaining population are mostly native mixed with nubian and hebrew genetics, of course the old egyptian customs are barely existent anymore such as tahtib
in no case as spectacular as they appear in movies, often the winning army loses at least 1/4 of the actual. At the Thermopiles the Greeks to cover the retreat all died, the Romans lost 70,000 people out of 8,000 in Cannae ,, in Trasimenius they escaped 6,000 out of 30,000.
Picture riot police, but with spears and bows and slings. Now picture them moving around and getting confused sometimes. The most organized move steadily in formation. The rest break off in groups to mill about, huddle behind shields, or just run around looking for openings, which stretches the battle thinner and thinner. All the while, everyone with javelins/bows/slings is shooting. And everyone's chanting, jeering, or just screaming like it's a stadium on fire. Now picture a valley of sand, with grass poking up in patches. The dust blows thick, sticking to your lips, your tongue, your eyes. Feet gouge out the grass and churn blood into mud. Wedges of soldiers pack the sand, and each wedge is piled up, and the air is made of hornets. Between the units are gaps like alleys, and at the end of each alley there are slingers and archers jumping around, shooting at targets of opportunity. Each slingstone sounds like an axe chopping wood. Each arrow sounds like a punching bag strike. Spears and swords sound the same against shields and armor. Bone, too. The sound of hundreds of blows is *almost* enough to drown out the screams. The wedges of men are nearly stationary, mostly just shouting support or confusion, while the front ranks and bravest men seek to flank or break each other's shields and flesh. Every fallen body is a tripping hazard, with ankles twisting and rolling, and the fallen struggle to rise (or they curl there and cover up). Most of the corpses are still alive, some screaming, others in shock, others comatose... And they might remain that way for hours, even days, but there's *nothing anybody can do for them.* There, a row of men topple like dominoes because one tripped. Here, your friend steps on your foot and breaks your toenail. Occasionally the fighting will stall out as men tire or crowd back... Or it grows fiercer as a gap opens in the shields, and men fall in piles. When the fighting stalls, men drink what water they can, or scream insults and challenges. Some move into no-man's-land to duel, in the hopes of glory or vengeance, and maybe they get shot, or maybe they inspire their comrades. When the fighting grows fiercer... Well. There are sounds people make when they're being stabbed to death. It varies between "hhhhk--..." as the breath is knocked out of their lungs, to "oofhashgalhhh aaeeeeeeeeh..." to "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" to "AH! AHHH! AH-... ahg gghfk... ah, ah. Ahhh...!" to awful, bubbling gasps. It sounds like rabbits being killed by dogs, or frogs being stepped on, but mixed with a cacophony of triumph, confusion, and pleas for mercy. Each hit to the armor is bruising and potentially organ-stopping, or bone-breaking. Muscles give out. Arms and legs turn to jelly. The mightiest of men might be able to fight for twenty minutes at a time, but their hearts will eventually burst (as happened when Argos and Sparta fought each other). The wounded shiver uncontrollably or hang limp in your arms. The blood cakes and dries and flakes. Shields twist and bend and tear, some of them like porcupines with arrows, and spears tangle like dead trees in winter. It all smells like feces, urine, sweat. You can't see what's happening two ranks in front of you, unless you're trading blows in the front lines. And if you can't see... You start to wonder who's winning. Men crowd backward into your chest. Are they retreating because you're losing, or just because they're afraid? You check over your shoulder and see some of the men behind you edging backward. If they run, you can't stay. Can you? But that's just the infantry battle. Before and during that, troops spent most of the battle just marching to positions or standing in formation. It might be the third or fourth day they've marched out to those formations, because armies didn't clash unless both sides felt they were going to win. Commanders on chariots moved around to shout orders and berate troops who weren't acting correctly. Skirmishers would zoom back and forth, using numbers or chariots and shields to dominate the no-man's-land. Most troops wouldn't target the chariot horses, because someone might punish them for destroying such valuable loot, or just as a matter of honor, but horse killings would've happened sometimes. When the horses did die, or the chariots broke, or someone fell off, infantry would swarm out to capture and kill them, or to protect them. There would've been groups of men darting out to surprise the chariots, and charioteers who reveled in fighting those attackers for fun. Most chariot wrecks would happen during turns, which were slow, as axles or wheels snapped. Some faster wrecks would've been spectacular, and entertaining to see, with men being dragged by the reins (or flipping head-over-heels). The drivers would try to cut the reins off their waists the moment their chariot broke, but jumping free would involve scrapes and bruises at the very least. And once the chariot was disabled... It either became a fortification, or the charioteers had to run. When the infantry did battle, most of the casualties would be from missiles or from the routs. Throughout recorded history, the rout is always where most of the casualties happen. It takes a long time to kill someone in hand-to-hand, especially in armor, with shields, and you might not have the luxury of a break. You might have to fight to exhaustion, covered in your own piss because you were too anxious to piss earlier, with your best friend's blood in your collar. Or, if you were willing to risk execution, you could crawl under your friends to get stepped on and have a breather. People were strict through most of history, and militaries were even stricter.
I'm glad Mike Loades is using a 75lb bow and not a weak 30lb LARP bow. 75lbs might be on the lower end of draw weight for what would typically considered a medieval warbow, but it is still strong enough to be considered a warbow draw weight bow. For example, the lower draw weight English longbows used in war in the late middle ages were 80 lbs in draw weight, and Manchu Qing Dynasty records from the 1700s stated that ~80 lbs was the minimum draw weight required for military archers. Of course, heavier warbows could be double that draw weight. In other timeperiods, there were heavier or lighter requirements (eg. 93-104 lbs in draw weight being the minimum requirement for horse archers of the Tang and Song Dynasties respectively - or as low as 65lbs minimum for the Ming Dynasty), so this 75lb bow is a sufficient representation.
Do you know how heavy an Egyptian bow would be during the time when that type of armor would be used ?
@@shinystars2475 What era of Egypt? For ancient Egypt, I'd assume it would be very hard to figure out. My numbers are based on written records and modern estimates of surviving examples of bows. From what I understand, we don't have either for ancient Egyptian bows.
For medieval Egypt under the rule of Islamic Arab-Persian-Turkic dynasties, it would probably be much easier to estimate. For example, we know the draw weights of Ottoman Empire bows and the Ottomans controlled Egypt. So plenty of Ottoman bows could've made their way into Egypt during Ottoman rule. Most Ottoman bows ranged from 60s to 140 lbs in draw weight, and while exceptional heavy bows could reach 160-170 lbs. IIRC, the absolute heaviest bow could be even heavier close to the low 200s, but I forgot where I read that source from so don't quote me on that. These ranges would be reasonable considering the contemporary Qing Dynasty Manchu bows (according to Qing era writings) ranged from 80-170 lbs, with an absolute heaviest ever recorded bow being a 240 lb bow used by 1 elite champion archer.
@@shinystars2475Egyptian chariot archers are shown using relatively short bows; modern reconstructions suggest a draw weight of 40-50 lb.
@@micahbush5397 Yeah this is a lot more realistic. Even when they developed composite bows they still used fairly rudimentary selfbows concurrently (quite awkward from chariots due to their length).
@@CoffeeFiend1 Yeah, it's become a pet peeve of mine when people default to judging armor based on how it holds up to an English longbow, which wasn't common on the battlefield until the 14th century (around the same time that Europeans started transitioning to plate armor). The effectiveness of armor should be judged based on how it performs against weapons like those it would have actually faced.
That's really cool. You don't see working examples of Egyptian armor too often.
You don't see much working Egyptian armor at all haha
Andrew Snyder then they'd have to admit black people/Egyptianss invented TOUGH armor without the help of europeans and thats not someonthing the racist egyptologists will do
+JJoh4040 What, you mean the kushites who ruled for maybe 200 years out of the entire 3000+ year history of ancient egypt? That's about 7% of their history. Why skip the other 93% percent?
Why not cry racism against brown people, or the white ptolomies? Oh, because they aren't entitled, I get it now. Thanks for clearing that up.
The primary egyptian ruling families, And the egyptian peoples themselves, Were of Aryan/Caucasian descent, They first immigrated from Iran Thousands upon thousands of years ago. There have been genetic tests of the egyptians that prove this. Despite being caucasian, However, The egyptians looked a fair bit different than modern Caucasians, Primarily because of the climate they lived in. Tanned skin was indeed common among them. And to any who are unaware, The aryans and caucasian peoples were white. Now, Back to the subject at hand, Egyptian armour is rare to find because the most raw examples of it, Prior to foreign conquests such as that of Persia and alexander the great (Which resulted in the egyptian peoples adopting the armour of their overlords) Are so ancient that most of said raw examples are no longer functionable. The egyptians primarily used Bronze, Leather, Or padded gambesons. They often use armour in the Lamellar/Scale fashion, As was common in the ancient world. Though they did possibly use plated lamellar similar to the Mycenean greeks.
Because the egyptians did not use armor very often
The 'order of the golden fly' was more likely based on the ichneumon wasp, which attacks an ant's nest directly and alone. The ants have a fiery sting, but they are helpless against the wasp's bold attack. After laying its eggs in the egg-chamber, in deepest part of the ant's nest, the wasp departs.
How does the wasp survive its apparently suicidal attack on the ant nest? It is able to release an ant pheromone, which sets the ants fighting against one another, while it goes about its business.
That's some amazing fact. Thank you! 🙂👍
You’re comment really brings a better understanding to this video
Thank you so much for this fact.
Armour works.
Mike Loades
They Need to pharaohs Medjays Armor in For Honor
One note: He calls it lamellar, but it in fact is not. Lamelae are sewn side by side, not overlapping. That is a scale mail
I think he is full of crap. I have looked at numerous reliefs of Ancient Egyptian war scenes, and the pharaohs and charioteers are not wearing anything. Armor is not a African concept, that is why. To hot for it.
@@legioxciicorvus5917 that, or they simply couldn't afford it.
Lamellar armor overlaps too. See the lamellar armor of the Qin terra cotta warriors or other East Asian kingdoms and empires. But you are correct that this is scale - scale plates are attached to a backing while lamellar plates are attached to each other.
@@legioxciicorvus5917 Armor existed in Africa. Egyptians, Carthaginians, Numidians, Nubians, etc all had armor. There was literally hide-scale armor found in the tomb of King Tut. Most Egyptian carvings are not detailed enough to reveal finer details like armor, but some carvings do portray people wearing armor/armor like garb: lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/BZl8ZyIvfkXHSqHQtnej237CAqVqNlqpXSuZa4TqMwh1LpCWxkwkMCMYomgZo_2jMO-U4qN_95MT1TCgtAtWO_d35Yv00krpbx04qKjwGvdumTIwOf62JPkqu5VULdnAfRKAqTcnaM83tPa6PaRHsfQ
Since your name comes from the Roman legion, look up the Roman legions that were used to invade Egypt and the Roman soldiers that were garrisoned in Egypt. It's believed that the Egyptians had, and later Persian, Greek, and Roman rulers of Egypt adopted fabric armor that was similar to medieval gambeson. For comparison, other people in hot climates also had armor - such as the Aztecs and Incas who lived fairly close to the equator and wore quilted cotton armor (which was actually adopted by the Spanish as it was better suited for the climate than the Spanish plate curiass armor).
@@legioxciicorvus5917 They wore less armor than people in Western Europe/East Asia, but they certainly had armor.
Armor was worn all over Africa, although it was extremely rare South of the Equator.
North of the Equator people wore all kinds of scale armor, chainmaille, lamellar, gambesons, coat of plates and occasionally even breastplates. The only kind of armor they never wore was full-plate, due to the heat.
Certainly the New Kingdom military was impressive. And this armour works.
The point is armor works :3
That ain't lamellar, lamellar has each lame strung together with some form of cord, it doesn't have a backing, that is most assuredly scale armor, and not particularly good scale armor given that the bottoms of the scales aren't restrained at all allowing for an upward thrust to easily penetrate it.
then itnshould be covered by opposite facing scales sewn from the inside
+KageRyuuUji Lamellar does have backing (like most armor), just not scales. Also, hard to imagine upward thrusts when you're an archer on a chariot, not really intending to face continuous close quarters combat. For that, I'd imagine they had shields.
It's easy to consider scale an early form of lamellar.
Considering that a blade would most likely catch on the rawhide scales even in an upward thrust, and that there are layers of linen I think that an upward thrust still wouldn't be very effective.
Braden Vande Plasse
I'll agree to disagree
Egyptian army in that era was more archery focused and would manly do heavy skirmishes before engaging in a close fight ,in the ranged battle the scale armor layer is the best defense while in close combat padded armor layer (linen) have always been a decent protection for foot soldier.
pretty interesting archery on armor display. thank yew
great work mike
thanks from egypt
It'd be nice to shoot a few more arrows at it then try some heavier weapons like javelins. I'm sure it "works" but we still want to know how well.
That armor is made of leather, even if it stops an arrow or a sword stroke after the fight is good to throw, more than likely it is damaged. and anyway, not all the fighters, only the king, the noble guards
My Ancestors 😍🇪🇬
I wonder where you got the reproduction pieces of the Egyptian composite bows and arrows from .
Do people still make them in Egypt???
He got his bow from a Bowyer in Europe. It's a 70# angular composite. Wicked bow
@@Daylon91 it's such a beauty, shame the Egyptians themselves stopped producing such bows years ago.these pieces would hve commanded good prices on the current market.
It's a 75# composite bow made by Lukas Novotny (Saluki Bows) who is based in Florida
@@immortalayarna i disagree because it wouldve become a so called tourists/nationality scam like mongol and chinese bows. They use their country of origin to say that their work is traditional and authentic. I prefer to buy from real bowyers who did some research.
@@BestMods168 I own a few fiberglass bows from Ali bow , I treasure them like real horn composites , cos the performance I get is something I believe the ancients would have been proud off
Good job
lamellar is not scale
Brilliant! Love stuff like this, more please, more, more, more.
armour works!
Where can I buy the armor ?
Hi god bless
Closed-Captioning is inaccurate & inadequate. :-[
Would you be so kind as to share leather hardening method was used please?
You bet! It is made of heavy red deer and elk rawhide; the medial ridges were made with a chisel while the hide scales were soaked for a bit. The paint is milk paint, backing and cord made of linen!
@@toddfeinman6252 I wonder what the dimensions are for the scales, most rawhide I can find seems too thin.
i really did not know that !!
even tho i am form Egypt :)
Modern Egyptians have little in common with ancient egyptians, As the ancient customs of the egyptians were widely wiped out by the Invading Arabs. You are most likely an arab yourself, Rather than one of the few Remaining Coptic Egyptians, The last vestige of ancient egyptian culture.
You may be from Egypt but you are no Egyptian, you are Arabic, your people have their own culture so don't claim ours
donald lisberg modern egyptians are barely 18% arabic, the remaining population are mostly native mixed with nubian and hebrew genetics, of course the old egyptian customs are barely existent anymore such as tahtib
Praise Kemet.
A good example of historical leather armor!
I really want to see what ancient battles really looks like.
I hear most battles weren't actually the super cool and glorious fights you see in movies. Most of them were just one sided slaughters.
in no case as spectacular as they appear in movies, often the winning army loses at least 1/4 of the actual. At the Thermopiles the Greeks to cover the retreat all died, the Romans lost 70,000 people out of 8,000 in Cannae ,, in Trasimenius they escaped 6,000 out of 30,000.
Picture riot police, but with spears and bows and slings. Now picture them moving around and getting confused sometimes. The most organized move steadily in formation. The rest break off in groups to mill about, huddle behind shields, or just run around looking for openings, which stretches the battle thinner and thinner. All the while, everyone with javelins/bows/slings is shooting. And everyone's chanting, jeering, or just screaming like it's a stadium on fire.
Now picture a valley of sand, with grass poking up in patches. The dust blows thick, sticking to your lips, your tongue, your eyes. Feet gouge out the grass and churn blood into mud. Wedges of soldiers pack the sand, and each wedge is piled up, and the air is made of hornets. Between the units are gaps like alleys, and at the end of each alley there are slingers and archers jumping around, shooting at targets of opportunity. Each slingstone sounds like an axe chopping wood. Each arrow sounds like a punching bag strike. Spears and swords sound the same against shields and armor. Bone, too. The sound of hundreds of blows is *almost* enough to drown out the screams. The wedges of men are nearly stationary, mostly just shouting support or confusion, while the front ranks and bravest men seek to flank or break each other's shields and flesh. Every fallen body is a tripping hazard, with ankles twisting and rolling, and the fallen struggle to rise (or they curl there and cover up). Most of the corpses are still alive, some screaming, others in shock, others comatose... And they might remain that way for hours, even days, but there's *nothing anybody can do for them.*
There, a row of men topple like dominoes because one tripped. Here, your friend steps on your foot and breaks your toenail. Occasionally the fighting will stall out as men tire or crowd back... Or it grows fiercer as a gap opens in the shields, and men fall in piles. When the fighting stalls, men drink what water they can, or scream insults and challenges. Some move into no-man's-land to duel, in the hopes of glory or vengeance, and maybe they get shot, or maybe they inspire their comrades. When the fighting grows fiercer... Well. There are sounds people make when they're being stabbed to death. It varies between "hhhhk--..." as the breath is knocked out of their lungs, to "oofhashgalhhh aaeeeeeeeeh..." to "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" to "AH! AHHH! AH-... ahg gghfk... ah, ah. Ahhh...!" to awful, bubbling gasps. It sounds like rabbits being killed by dogs, or frogs being stepped on, but mixed with a cacophony of triumph, confusion, and pleas for mercy.
Each hit to the armor is bruising and potentially organ-stopping, or bone-breaking. Muscles give out. Arms and legs turn to jelly. The mightiest of men might be able to fight for twenty minutes at a time, but their hearts will eventually burst (as happened when Argos and Sparta fought each other). The wounded shiver uncontrollably or hang limp in your arms. The blood cakes and dries and flakes. Shields twist and bend and tear, some of them like porcupines with arrows, and spears tangle like dead trees in winter. It all smells like feces, urine, sweat.
You can't see what's happening two ranks in front of you, unless you're trading blows in the front lines. And if you can't see... You start to wonder who's winning. Men crowd backward into your chest. Are they retreating because you're losing, or just because they're afraid? You check over your shoulder and see some of the men behind you edging backward. If they run, you can't stay. Can you?
But that's just the infantry battle. Before and during that, troops spent most of the battle just marching to positions or standing in formation. It might be the third or fourth day they've marched out to those formations, because armies didn't clash unless both sides felt they were going to win. Commanders on chariots moved around to shout orders and berate troops who weren't acting correctly. Skirmishers would zoom back and forth, using numbers or chariots and shields to dominate the no-man's-land. Most troops wouldn't target the chariot horses, because someone might punish them for destroying such valuable loot, or just as a matter of honor, but horse killings would've happened sometimes. When the horses did die, or the chariots broke, or someone fell off, infantry would swarm out to capture and kill them, or to protect them. There would've been groups of men darting out to surprise the chariots, and charioteers who reveled in fighting those attackers for fun. Most chariot wrecks would happen during turns, which were slow, as axles or wheels snapped. Some faster wrecks would've been spectacular, and entertaining to see, with men being dragged by the reins (or flipping head-over-heels). The drivers would try to cut the reins off their waists the moment their chariot broke, but jumping free would involve scrapes and bruises at the very least. And once the chariot was disabled... It either became a fortification, or the charioteers had to run.
When the infantry did battle, most of the casualties would be from missiles or from the routs. Throughout recorded history, the rout is always where most of the casualties happen. It takes a long time to kill someone in hand-to-hand, especially in armor, with shields, and you might not have the luxury of a break. You might have to fight to exhaustion, covered in your own piss because you were too anxious to piss earlier, with your best friend's blood in your collar. Or, if you were willing to risk execution, you could crawl under your friends to get stepped on and have a breather. People were strict through most of history, and militaries were even stricter.
@@jakesanchez6621 slaughters? LMAO Since when did they have grenades and howitzers?
Also, casualties =/= fatalities
Leather armour wasnt a thing
I'm finding that it was.
It was a thing
now see what it does against a gun
so clever and witty
Yeah it was a real common problem to deal with in 2000 BC
*Plot twist*, the armor resist the gun...(it could if you combine the leather with bronze)
This challenge is so relevant my appendix disappeared from existence