"So, I ended up in a conversation about melee fighting with some folks
at fighter practice and it got me thinking about weapons mix, training
and fighter mentality. This is mostly about the armored field, but it
applies to Rapier as well, although for different reasons.

First and foremost, victory on the melee field is a function of
individual skill, unit cohesion/cooperation, and weapons mix. Like a
chess game, one needs to be able to counter the strengths and
capitalize on the weaknesses of your opponents. You can do that in
many ways.. by tactics or by overwhelming force, but it comes down to
using what you have to beat your opponent. Individual skill comes into
play. Line up 5 dukes and they'll be hard to take down. But, if they
don't work together.. it can be done, and so unit cohesion and
cooperation is also important. Being able to maneuver, bring greater
force against a weaker defense allows you to defeat skill with pure
force. That leads into the third aspect of it all: weapons mix. If
those same 5 dukes are all carrying Polearms vs a group with Shields,
my money goes to the sheildmen.

So, from there to the conversation I had about weapons mix. One of our
fighters was talking about weapons forms and motivations. Put it
simply, we don't have a lot of sheildmen, and we certainly only have a
few *good* melee shieldmen. Typically, people are given a shield for
melee and your newer fighters are taught to go out with a shield.
Then, "when they get better" they can switch up to other weapons
forms. I think that mentality limits our capabilities as an Army,
because it lends this aura to the Shield as an "easy" or "noob"
weaponsform. As newer fighters start to establish their reknown, they
want to "graduate" up to other weapons forms, like greatsword or
two-weapon. I don't know that this is a concious thought, but I do
think it plays a part in the subconcious and the mentalities of
fighters in general.

With that said, it is my opinion, that there are only 3 weapons forms
you should see on the Melee field: Shield. Spear. Archer. That's it.
Period. The other weapons forms have VERY limited application in a
melee and unless they're in the hands of a very well-trained fighter,
they're more liability than asset. Greatsword has a SLIGHTLY longer
reach than a broadsword, but at the expense of a defense. That means
that your friends must now pick up and cover the GS's defensive needs
and he really only buys him about 18-20 inches in reach. Not a
worthwhile tradeoff. The Polearm is a short slashing spear. The
thrusting capabilities are 2 feet shorter than spear and while you
*can* pound over top of the shield wall.. that really only happens in
the first initial crush and then again the lack of a defense means
that the teammates need to cover. The extra reach over broadsword is
negated in a press and open-field run and the lack of those 2 feet
mean the spears
are engaging sooner. Two-sword is the worst. It's a purely offensive
weapons form that sacrifices any defense for pure offense. In a melee,
it's pure liability. In a line.. it's a lefty with a non-existent
shield on their right arm. In the open field, its just another
incoming swat to be picked up. It's a lone-wolf weaponsform and unless
you're very very VERY good, lone wolves are just food that're fooling
themselves to thinking they're predators in a melee. A deer wearing a
wolfskin. I am not being insulting to any of those who use these
weapons forms, that is not my intent. What I *am* pointing out is that
from a pure cost-benefit analysis, these weaponsforms typically give a
weaker return on investment with regard to threat and application of
force vs support drain than any of the others. It simply takes much
more effort to support an adequate polearmsman or Greatswords man than
an adequate spearman, and the spearman is more effective in more
situations.

Spears and archers are the offensive threat of the melee field. They
have no defense to speak of, but they have the greatest threat of
force, with the longest reach/range. A spearpoint waving in someone's
face will tend to make them think. It just happens. Two or three
spears together can defeat any single target defense. You simply
cannot cover all your zones. But, for that strength, comes the
trade-off of weakness of defense. They have their mobility but that's
about it. Spears and archers need shieldmen. Shieldmen are the
groundpounders. It's like the balance between air power and infantry.
Air power can wreak havoc and rain devastation, but it cannot occupy
ground. Shieldmen take and hold ground. They blow through defenses,
they take tactical positions, they enable the spears and archers to be
more effective than they would alone. A speartip waving in the face of
an approaching wall will make them hesitate. A speartip waiving in the
face of an
approaching wall, who is supported by flanking shields will make that
wall stop and possibly even start retreating. Even in the SCA, people
don't want to get gakked. No, we're not worried about "dying".. but
the instinct of a fighter when faced with what they PERCEIVE as
overwhelming force, is to retreat to a place of safety. A spear is
force.. a spear supported by sheilds is overwhelming force.

But, the real key is that shieldmen need to be trained to PROPERLY
support their longweapons. Accept that you're rarely going to throw a
blow and you'll be constantly pounded by the enemy's range weapons. No
worries. Pulse charges, pushes, tactical fades, sidesteps, guide
charges.. they all give you the advantage *if you're working
together.* A shield charge into a wall will gain ground based on mass,
velocity and defensive capabilities. A PULSE charge at a wall, where
the spears engage just as the sheilds fade back will devastate the
entire first and much of the second ranks, and will also have the
benefit of keeping your own men alive and in formation for another
one. Recieving a charge is best done with a pulse. Etc.

I could go on and on, but the point I'm trying to make is that the
shield is not a simple weapons form to use. It's the simplest to
become "competent and safe" with quickly. But learning to be an
effective and strong sheildman takes work and dedication. I just wish
there was a way to teach that the glory of the "Team" applies to all
members of that team, and not just to the killers. My favorite weapons
form to take into a Melee is a spear. I haven't done so in almost 6
years. My Kingdom needs my shield. I wish I could find ways for others
to feel that same glory. We win when we all support each other
effectively. And we *really* need some more shields.. shields with
mass, strength, power and training. I just don't know how to encourage
it."

He asks for the caveat that this is just his rough thoughts...

In service,
Baroness Bianca