this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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Archers also didn't usually shoot upwards to arc their shots. It loses power, reduces accuracy, and makes it more likely for them to hit armor, not less.
If they're using indirect fire they certainly would. Such as shooting over friendly formations.
Guess what you also didn't usually do?
It's not that it never happened, but generally speaking it was a bad idea. You'd only get archers using indirect fire at long ranges.
There are however accounts of infantry kneeling so the archers can fire over them. Otherwise archers would be employed in skirmish lines in front of the main formations and then fall back into the main body as the lines approached.
There's only one way to solve this, you both need to shoot arrows at each other.
Yeah, but raining thousands of arrows on to an approaching army is intimidating as fuck
That’s a pretty expensive war you got there
Just need to fill a boat with straw figures.
Just need a supply train of camels to keep your archers stocked
context
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_CarrhaeValid