Alternatively Armed Armies

[manunancy]

Originally Posted by jester

Targ;

That is my point on how to mount a defence. Force the attackers to come in at close quarters and break up their cohesion as well as limit their numbers which will reduce their effectiveness. And in the end if you have to rat through a maze while under the eye of even the greenest of folks they will be able to take a pot shot at you. And if they are using ALOT of buckshot well, they will take casualties.

Then if the stronghold is on a raised section nothing like a vault over an open area which sucks for you and gives you the same danger and chances if you are a seal or a member of the local boys chior. The risk is the same.

And the same goes if you want to STOP! Crawl to the EDGE to get a view and a shot. You will stand out, you will be a target and most likely have some lead thrown your way which is usualy an unhealthy proposition.

Even worse here would be grenades - in that sort of trench warfare situation they get really nasty and care even less about aiming. They also have th neat feature that you can lob them over your cover without exposing yourself. Even better, inculde some inclined pipe drains sections into your earthworks to get your grenades in place without the need for even minimal throwing experience.

Here a well equiped attacker relying on grenade launchers would be be worse off as they can'tbe used at that sort of range. thoough they would probably have hand greandes of their own.

No matter what, it(s going to ne messy.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by manunancy

Here a well equipped attacker relying on grenade launchers would be be worse off as they can't be used at that sort of range.

That's where indirect fire comes into play - launch almost straight up into the air and line of sight distance doesn't matter so much with regard to arming distances.

[WallShadow]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

That's where indirect fire comes into play - launch almost straight up into the air and line of sight distance doesn't matter so much with regard to arming distances.

Just make sure that's _almost_ straight up into the air, otherwise, you'll be having a Wiley Coyote moment when the z-coordinate meets back up with X=0 and Y=0.

[bobcat]

and again the SCA would have a very real advantage here.
infact while we're getting medieval on raiders throw in some heavy guage small ID welded ring chainmail. done right i can stop a bullet(i've tested this in a non laboratory setting and while it is tedious to make it works decent enough).

[bobcat]

oh and for cheaply made weapons i found this low maintenance weapon. it would work for those of you displeased by the M16EZ in the source book.
http://weaponsman.com/?p=4032

[pmulcahy11b]

If you troll the net here and there and read magazines like Small Arms Review, you'll find a lot of firearms that can be easily made, though some are dangerous to their shooters. Almost every war that has featured asymmetric warfare has has one side armed with makeshift weapons or weapons built in garage shops. Oh, and I'll say it again, a $9 a month subscription to Scribd will net you a gold mine, of such things and others.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by bobcat

and again the SCA would have a very real advantage here.
infact while we're getting medieval on raiders throw in some heavy guage small ID welded ring chainmail. done right i can stop a bullet(i've tested this in a non laboratory setting and while it is tedious to make it works decent enough).

I used to be in the SCA in high school and part of college. Chainmail takes a LOT of getting used to, but once you get used to it (and are in good shape), you eventually don't really notice it too much. And proper use of a medium or large shield is a great workout for the arm, torso, and legs -- with that type of shield, you actually use your torso and legs more than the arms -- you twist your body to block blows.

[WallShadow]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I used to be in the SCA in high school and part of college. Chainmail takes a LOT of getting used to, but once you get used to it (and are in good shape), you eventually don't really notice it too much. And proper use of a medium or large shield is a great workout for the arm, torso, and legs -- with that type of shield, you actually use your torso and legs more than the arms -- you twist your body to block blows.

Somewhere (and I have located several places) you would find basic aramid fabric--Kevlar, etc. A shield built of plywood layers with a kevlar/epoxy sandwich or spall liner might make the best of both worlds--hand-to-hand and some unexpected defense against projectiles and fragments. A liner might be better, as the plywood will degrade into wood mush after enough impact, but the liner could be designed to be removable and reusable.

And speaking of medieval armor, the latest and greatest in personal defense armor looks an awful lot like scale mail.