The Scottish Highlander Versus the Duppelsoldner LandsknechteThe Scottish Highlander
The background:
Scotland is known for many things. Its nature, the monster of Loch Ness and ofcourse, the Scottish Highlanders. The highlanders are known nationalists who wear their kilts with pride and glady tell you about their heritage.
The Scottish have a good reason to be proud because since long before William Wallace came into view, they were fierce and dangerous fighters.
It all started with the Picts who troubled the Romans and forced the Romans to build Hadrians wall. During the medieval ages, there were the wars of independence with England that showcased some of Scotlands most famous figured like William Wallace and Robert de Bruce.
With this match, I will focus on the Scottish from the early modern period, around the 16e /17e century.
They fought against the English for freedom and against each other for religious purposes. It was during that time, that the Scottish Highlanders seeked their own place and fought everyone who opposed it. Armed with gunpowder weapons and melee weapons, the Highlanders really showed what they could do on a battlefield.
To talk about the reasons the Highlanders lived and fought, I have to get into social, economic and political reasons and writing that would both be boring and would cost a lot of time.
I will therefore keep my story short and only militairy. I will also provide links so that you can read these things yourself if you feel the need.
During the late medieval ages and the early modern age, the Highland clans fought only to protect their land and claim independence. This battle was a lost cause and they soon had to give up.
The British then got the idea to use the Highlanders in Highland regiments and let the Scottish fight for the English in foreign wars.
The Highlanders accepted fighting in English wars because they were allowed to wear the traditional Scottish attire and wield Scottish weapons. They could gain honour in battle and practise their culture.
If you guys wonder why the Highlanders had to join the army to do these things, the answer is that England forbade the Scottish tradition and those who broke this rule were send to prison.
This tactic worked very well and the Highland regiment became some of the best regiments in the British army.
From this point forward, it got worse with the Highlanders. They got treaded poorly by english and some moved to the new america. They got poor, abused and tortured. From the proud Highlanders, nothing was left anymore.
The weapons:
The Highlander carried a lot of weapons and I have chosen four of them that I found most suited for this battle or for the warrior. I will give descriptions of other weapons that I did not choose but were used by the Highlander. Note that the highlander would not carry all these weapons at the same time but thats where squads come in handy.
This broadsword has been in Scotland as early as the 16e century and was quickly adopted as one of the main fighting weapons of the Highlander. The sword thanks its name to the baskethilt that covers and protects the swordhand that could be decorated with Scottish motives. The sword is around 35 inches long and weights between three and five pounds. Obvliously a close combat weapon, the sword had two edges to cut and a tip to thrust the sword into a opponent. It was widely used in combat and there are many manuscripts on how to fight with this weapon.
On its own, the weapon was very deadly in the user's hands but many Highlanders combined the sword with the targe for more defence. These combination made the sword even more feared and dangerous.
As most pole-arms, the lochaber axe consisted out of two parts. The first one is the shaft. Made from wood, it was around 5 or 6 feet in total. The other part is the blade, which was around 18 inches. The blade resembled a bardiche in looks and the point at the top end was usually sharp.
As if this is not enough, the lochaber axe also had a a hook next to the blade to hook a opponent to the ground or take down opponents from horseback. It also had a buttend spike as a alternative weapon and counterweight. The blade itself could be used in two different ways. Ofcourse, they can be used to cut a opponent down, using two hands to deliver a powerfull blow. The other way the sword could be used is in a thrusting motion, using the sharp end of the blade.
The Scottish musket was a costly weapon and therefore only used by the wealthy Highlanders. This weapon was often decorated with Scottish figures and altough pretty, lethal on the battlefield.
This flintlock weapon shot small lead balls and had a accurate range of 100 to 150 yards.
The musket weighted around ten pounds and could only fire one ball at a time before it needed to be reloaded. I would like to say that because only the wealthy could get this weapon, it was not used much on the battlefield but one of the more powerfull weapons.
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The claymore, or claidheamohrmor as the Scottish named it, is a big one and a half weapon used much by the Highlanders.
The claymore had the size of a one and a half sword, being 55 inches and weighting 5.5 lb. The sword had a cruciform hilt to protect the hands and a metal pommel to use as counterweight and blunt impact weapon. Altough the sword has had different shapes and sizes, this is the look the sword had while the Highlanders fought in clanwars and against the English.
The sword had two sharp edges and could slash and cut with lots of power when the highlander swung it with two hands. It could also thrust to inflict damage and even the crossguard could be used to attack if the opponent was really close by.
The claymore was the proud and joy of the Scottish and altough it was also used by the lowlander mercenary's, The Highlanders used them up to the 17e century.
Other weapons used by the Highlander were the Bowis bow and dorcholis arrow, the culveringis cannon, the dirk dagger, halberds, glaives, axes and the dag pistol. A lot of weapons that I did not choose but which were all very lethal in combat.
Protection:
The brigiantifilis was light armour that looked like a padded jacket and was lined with metal plates. This armour covered only the chest of the user but did its job very well. Not only did this armour protect against the bladed weapons, it is also said that it could protect against musketbullets, flatting the small balls as they touched the armour.
The picture is not the best one I could find but it shows two underofficers.
The targe is a round shield made out of two layers of wood, leather, hide and a metal boss in the middle. It was around 21 inches in diameter, usually had one or two leather straps on the back and hads either metal studs or other bosses on it as decoration and protection.
Sometimes, the shield could be upgraded with a spike that would be placed in the middle boss. When not used, the spike would be carried in a small sheath.
It is a good protection that could enable a small spike for extra damage but the shield can only be used in combination with the basket hilt sword during this battle.
X-Factors:
The motivation of the Highlander was his Scottish Pride. They fought against each other because they were Scots, They fought against the English because they were Scots and they fought for the English because they were allowed to stay Scot. The Highlanders were really nationalistic and were proud to be Scots.
These battlehardened warriors were proud to wear the Scottish garb as a badge of honour and and loved to play the bagpipes. This loyalty to Scotland was fueled by the clans.
The highlanders in clans of big families. The clans usually fought together in clanwars against others and when they fought against the English, a unit existed out of one or more clans.
Having a heritage to be proud off is one thing but when you are fighting in battle with your family beside you, you will not back down.
This Scottish heritage combined with fighting in a clan structure made for a really good motivation to fight others.
Now for the Scottish tactics.
There was only one tactic the Scottish Highlanders used in battle and altough it was very simple, it was also very effective.
The Highlanders, who fought in clans, would peform a mass charge from as high ground as possible towards their opponent. They screamed loudly and when near the opponent, they would fire the muskets. When these ranged weapons had ben fired, they would throw them down and keep on running to take the opponents down using their melee weapons.
This masscharge would bring the battle in melee very soon and the screaming/yellling men also caused fear in their opponents.
It should be noted that because every clan had a different number of warriors, the groups had never the same number of soldiers and it could differ a lot how much men were fighting.
Finally, there is the experience to take into account. I could not find anything on training but I can assume that each clan trained the warriors in that clan.
The opponents of the Highlanders can be devided into three groups. The first group consists of other Highlanders. Clan warfare was very commen and the clans fought each other a lot, usually to show which clan was bigger and more dangerous but it could also be because of a feud or to take land.
The second group is the English. The Highlanders have fought a lot against their neighbours who seeked to take Scotland. This was the first time that they actually fought against non Scots. They were succesfull in a lot of their fights and the English quickly adopted them in their army.
This brings me to the third and final group. The opponents of the English.
English had a lot of opponent in the early modern age and the Highlanders quickly proved to be lethal units that dealt with the English opposition. They usually fought in America for the English but they also fought against Napoleon, Canada and Australia against English opposition.
Links:
Here a few links for the Highlander
http://www.scottish-history.com/clearances2.shtml
This site gives a lot of history on the Scottish Highlanders and explains the background way better then I ever could.
http://www.tartansauthority.com/highland-dress/highland-weapons
This site gave me lots of info on the weapons and armour that the Highlanders used in battle. If you are interessed in one of the weapons I named but not used, I reccomend that you read the info on this site.
The Duppelsoldner Landsknechte
The Background:
The elite mercenary's from the German empire are known about three things. Their long pikes, their massive swords and their strange clothing. These fashionfighters are blooded veterans of several wars and some of them even got a higer rank and became duppelsoldners.
The Landsknechte first appeared around 1470. The Swabian alliance needed a army and so they created this elite german soldier. Landsknechte means servant of the country.
Partly because pikemen and halbadiers were in need during this time, the Landsknechte found their way in the european battlefield. With their massive pikes and huge two-handed swords, they were feared by calvery and other pikecompagnies alike.
Altough they are mercenary's, they never fought for opponents of the German empire and those who did were hunted down and killed. This happened to a group of Landsknechte who served the king of France and from the 4000 soldiers, none was left alive.
They fought against many opponents but the most fearsome were the Swiss. These were feared on battlefield as much as the landsknechte were but because they did not improve on technology, they were soon outmatched and beaten by the Germans in several battles.
The landsknechte fought for food, money, beer and religion. They got payed money and were allowed to take everything they could find from their dead opponents.
The landsknechte usually had only one pair of clothing and when the warriors needed replacement, they took it from the dead opponent, which resulted in their brightly coloured rags.
The landsknechte saw a lot of battle while serving the the empire and some of the people who served the Landsknechte were: the emperors Maximilian I, Charles V, Ferdinand I and Maximilian II. The Herzog Wilhelm IV, Albrecht V and Wilhelm V. Others were Georg von Frundsberg and Peter von Hagenbach Goertz.
Within a compagny of Landsknechte, there were a few elite soldiers. Within every four Landsknechte, ine was a duppelsoldner. These were the backbone of the Landsknechte compagny and were called duppelsoldners. They were the most experienced and best fighters of the the group and they took the most risks, hence the name Duppelsoldner (double pay)
The zweihander that most people associate with the Landsknechte was wielded by the duppelsoldner and also the fire-arms that got used were wielded by the duppelsoldner.
Because of the fact that the duppelsoldner was the better fighter and used a bigger arrey of weapons, I choose the duppelsoldner over the ordinary Landsknechte for this fight.
The weapons:
As a arming sword, it was a bit broad near the guard and become more narrow near the tip of the blade. Having two sharp edges to cut, it also had a sharp point to use for stabbing.
The Katzbalger was used primarely by Landsknechte as a backup weapon for pole-weapons, bows and crossbows.
Katzbalger means catfur if you translate it and so the story went that this weapon was kept in a scabberd of catskin but this is highly unlikely. Instead, most people now believe that this close combat weapon was like cats fighting and therefore might be more meant as catgutter.
Secondly, the pike works very well in a army battle but I believe that it does not work that well in a squad battle where the soldiers could easily be surrounded by the opponents.
The halberd also was used alongside the pike to push other pikes away.
Now for the weapon itself. The halberd is a versatile weapon, used in close to medium range to take out knights and fight against pikes.
This weapon could be between 10 and 14 feet long and consisted of a pole and a axe.
The pole usually had a spike on top to stab a opponent or finish a downed opponent. The axe could be used to hack or slash at the opponent and deliver powerfull blows.
The arquebus found its way all around Europe, Japan and Russia around the 16e century and it got lots of improvement. Maybe the most famous improvement was the volleyfire. This technique where the users would stand in a line and step back in the line to reload was created by the Dutch Willem and Maurice of Nassau but I did not find anything that indicated that the landsknechte used that technique and will not factor that in.
Because the arquebus was a heavy weapon, it was usually used with a stand to rest the weapon on but the Landsknechte did not use these stands. They believed that a real warrior should just keep them in his hands. Altough it is easier to shoot that way, it will cost the duppelsoldner in accuracy.
It should be noted that the arquebus was not mass produced and each one was different from the other. That means that there was no real standard.
The sword weighted around 5 lb, was sometimes blunted around the ricasso so the user could have one hand on the blade and it had parierhaken. These were small guards on the blade of the sword that would prevent the sword of the opponent slip towards the base of the sword.
The zweihander could stab, slash, cut but also by using all the power of two hands, deliver powerfull blows. If that was not enough, the landsknechte could also use halfswording techniques and they could use the pommel and crossguard as weapons.
Other weapons used by the Landsknechte were the pike, glaive, broadsword, short sword, axes and maces. All very known weapon types that would include an arrey of weapons themselfs. However, I chose the weapons most commen used by the Landsknechte but they would be dangerous with the others.
Protection:
As for armour, the Landsknechte wore something named Almain rivet. It was armour that found much use by both the Swiss and the Landsknechte mercenary's because this armour gave protection as well as flexibility.This armour consisted of a breastplate with backplate that included tassets (tightguards) and shoulderprotection.
The metal plates overlapped each other, which gave good protection altough the armour was of low quality because it was a cheap set of armour.
The soldier would also wear a helmet of iron or steel for good head protection. The helmet did let the face free for optimal vision.
Over the armour, the Landsknechte would wear the colourfull clothing, made from all sorts of materials. Over their helmet, they would wear a big hat with feathers on top.
X-Factors:
I have already touched upon the motivation of the Landsknechte. They would fight for money and even take risks to earn more money. Altough the main reason to fight was to get paid, the Landsknechte also fought because of religious purposes and for the German empire.
The Landsknechte were true christans and would have no problem slaying others because they did not have the same faith.
They also found fighting for the empire very important. Its fine to get paid to fight but not as long as it was against the Holy roman empire and those who did got brutally slain.
Finally I would like to say that altough they got paid to fight, honour was important also and they have shown to keep fighting to the last man, not fleeying when the battle went souer.
As for tactics, the Landsknechte usually used pikes in army battles where a lot of pikemen would stand close together, with some duppelsoldners wielding zweihanders and the arquebus. Now that they do not fight in army on army but in squad level battles, the Landsknechte would keep the same sort of fighting where they would all keep close to each other apart for one duppelsoldner who would attack from another point.
Finally the point of experience.
As with the Highlander, I was unable to find any comment on their training and will go into the opponents they fought.
The Landsknechte fought a lot of battles all over europe. Examples are the swiss, the french, the Italian, the dutch and the Spanish. They would also fight each other on rare occasions.
Links:
And here are some links if you want to research these warriors any further. I would suggest that because the Landsknechte are very interesting.
http://www.landsknecht.com/html/history.html
This Link goes more into the history of the Landfsknechte and if you liked the tiny little bit I wrote, you guys will like this. It also describes some of the weapons used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almain_rivet
This wiki entree is good to see the armour without all the clothing over it so you guys have a good idea what the armour consisted off.
A nice german song about the Landsknechte is in this youtube video. For you guys with a nice video and english subtitles.
Edges:
As always, I will jugde the weapons based on three things: Weapon for weapon, weapon against armour and skill. But this time, I will add something else to it. To make it easier for me to decide who wins the match, I will be adding something to the edge given.
There are three sort of edges that I can give. The first one is the small egde. With this, the egde is narrow and the two weapons are very close. The second one is the medium egde. With the medium edge, there is a good difference between the weapons on some points but nothing big. This brings me to the last one, the large egde. As the name says it, one weapon is completely overpowering the other weapon.
Now my judging system works very well when comparing weapons but when I will try to compare x-factors, things won't work out that well. For the x-factors, I will only look at the x-factors and how well they will peform against each other.
Now I have explained all that, I will start with the edges.
Baskethilt sword Vs. Katzbalger
- The Scottish sword is 35 inches and weights between three to five pounds. Its lethal in both cutting and thrusting and has a basketshaped hilt that fully protects the swordhand. To make things worse, the Highlander has a targe to aid him with the baskethilt sword in battle in defence and a small bit in offense because of the spike.
The Katzbalger is around 33.5 inches long. It can both thrust and cut, using its narrow egde it can get into the flesh easily. This arming sword can have either a s-shaped or a 8-shaped crossguard. It gives good protection against slashed to the wrist.
Both swords can thrust and cut with devastating effects. They are almost as long as each other, with the baskethilt being 2 inches longer. The Scottish sword also has a baskethilt that cover the whole hand while the katzbalger does not have that protection and only has a S or 8 shape for protection.
Lets also not forget that the Highlander has his targe to help him in the battle while the German fighter has to only his sword to fight the duel.
- Weapons against armour is the next part to look into. The baskethilt sword is a great sword but I expect that it cannot penetrate the armour of the Landsknechte. This means that the only targets its has are the legs, arms and face. The spike on the targe will not be able to penetrate the armour either.
The katzbalger also has armour to deal with but of a different sort. The Highlanders worde padded jackets studded with metal plates. This armour was said to be very tough and would stop any bladed weapon. I am shure that it would stop the sword as well. But the jacket only covers the upperbody, leaving the rest of the warrior bare. The Scottish warrior does have a shield to help himself. The targe can block any attack, the opponent throws.
To me it is hard. The German warrior is slightly more armoured while the Highlander has a shield to aid him. There is one more thing I have to account for. I found that the almain rivet was in poor condition because of the use of cheap metals. This will make me think that it will break down faster then the brigiantifilis if the fight drags on. If i consider this last piece of information and think about the fact that the shield can block attacks that are aimed all over the body and can protect parts that are not covered in armour.
- Now comes the skill. Both warriors were great swordsmen who had a lot of training. Usually I cannot see much difference in this part but this time, there is a difference. Altough both warriors had training, the Landsknechte used the katzbalger as a backup weapon. This means that the would spend less time training with it then the Highlanders did with the baskethilt sword, as the highlanders used this sword as main weapon. Not only the training is less, but the fighting with the weapon itself will be less then his opponent.
- To conclude this all, I can be rather simple. The katzbalger is a great and dangerous weapon. It is very good in close quarters and will be very functional when the duppelsoldner looses his weapon but the sword of his opponent is just better. The baskethilt sword itself is already better but the combination with the targe is just overwhelming. This first edge is already a large edge and I think I do not need to explain more about that.
Large egde: Highlanders
Lochaber axe Vs. halberd
- The Lochaber axe is a weapon to be proud off. It is around six to seven feet in total and has some lethal potential. It looks likes a big axe and can be used as such. But the top point is very sharp to enable thrusting attacks and it has a hook to take a opponent to the ground. If that is not enough, this weapon has a buttspike as counterweight and backup use.
This weapon could be used to take down both infantry and calvery using powerfull attacks. This weapon is two handed, that allows for striking with more power but disables the use of a shield.
The weapon of the doppelsoldner was the halberd. 10 to 14 feet in total, it was a destructive weapon that could take out a opponent in different ways.
First of all, there is the axe that could slash and hack any opponent down with ease. Then there is the hook on the other side to take somone down or pull shields away. Lastly, there are the two spikes. One on top of the weapon to thrust and one at the bottom to be used as backup weapon and counterbalance.
Altough the two look nothing alike, they are very similair. Both weapons have a axe at one side and a hook at the other. Also both have the buttspike. But where the lochaber axe has a big axehead, which is sharp at the top, the halberd has a small axehead and a spike on top of the weapon. also the hook is completely different in both weapons. Now the halberd is a good 7 feet longer then its counterpart and that is a very usefull advantage. The other good advantage is that the halberd has a spike to stab a opponent. Altough the lochaber axe can use the pointy end of the axe to stab as well, it is not as good as a real spearpoint.
The lochaber axe has its advantage as well. It has a bigger axehead, which means it can give a stronger punch.
- Now for the weapons against armour. First of all, I would like to say that i can see that both weapons will be able to defend as well as attack. Ofcourse both weapons have hooks to take weapon of the opponent out. Not only could the hooks pull weapons away, they can also pull on armour and bring the opponent down.
Both weapons can thrust but I doubt with much effect. However, since the halberd does have a actual spike and the lochaber needs to use the upperpart of the axe i can say that the halberd will be better at thrusting into the body of the opponent. It should be noted that both warriors can hit the face, while stabbing and kill instantly.
Each weapon has a axe head that can deal much damage. Altough I believe the cutting egde will not do much damage in against either set of armour, it is interesting to note that both weapons can deal blunt damage with the great power that is delivered by the hit. I should say that the armour will still protect well and the blunt damage will not kill on itself but it can take out the armour of both warriors after several hits.
Now to ask, which axe head will destroy the armour of the opponent earlier? This question is easy to answer by looking at the axe heads. The Lochaber axe is clearly bigger then the axe of the halberd and therefore, it will have more of a punch behind it and can destroy the armour of the opponent sooner.
- Here comes the skill. Both warriors were good in using these polearms and could take out a opponent with them. However, the halberd was used as one of the many weapons by the landsknechte. And altough they were used a lot, the duppelsoldners tended to use other weapons a lot also. The Highlanders were proud of their Scottish weapons and they used the lochaber axe as one of their main weapons.
Because the Scottish warriors used their midrange weapon more then the Germans did, I believe that the Highlanders have a tiny edge in skill.
- Now for the hard part. I have made a good comparison between these two weapons and it is very close. The halberd scored points because its longer and it is better at killing, considering that the attachments work better. But the lochaber axe works slightly better at armour and it has more skill behind it.
If I picture a fight between these weapons, I think that the halberd has a slight egde, just because the better hook and the spike work in its advantage. Also, it has more lenght.
Because it was such a close comparison, I think I will surprise nobody by saying that it is a small edge. The reason why it is a small edge and not a medium edge is, because lochaber axe has somewhat more power behind it and nobody will suspect the sharp point on the axe for actually being able to thrust.
small edge: Duppelsoldner landsknechte
Flintlock Musket Vs. Arquebus
- Now for two firearms in this battle between giants. I should say directly that the flintlock musket is the more modern weapon. That it is the more modern weapon does not mean that the musket has the egde.
First of all, the ways of fire. The musket uses flintlock while arquebus used a matchlock. The flintlock is obvliously more modern but that is mostly in the technique. it would fail less then the matchlock. Both have a trigger to fire but with the flintlock, the gunpowder was ignited in the weapon while the match for the matchlock was outside of the weapon.
Both weapons had the same problems though. They could only fire once before being reloaded, they could misfire or fire by accident. Loading each weapon took a long time and everything had to be done carefully, which is extra hard in a combat situation.
The musket had a maximum range of 150 yards while the arquebus had a maximum range of 130 yards. This means that the musket could hit the opponent earlier. The musket seems to be the better weapon now but I will remind you that only very few Highlanders could afford such a weapon and it was very rare in battle. That means that only one Scottish Highlander will be able to use one in this fight.
- Now for the weapons against armour. I can be very short about this because i found some very good sources on this. The Scottish brigiantifilis is a jacket with metal plates and it was meant to stop musketballs. This means that the arquebus has little chance of killing when the germans aim at the chest and that they will need to fire at the head directly for a kill.
The almain rivet was a good defence and if you count the helmet, the plates will protect well. The problem is that the quality of this armour was less then perfect and I'm shure that if the armour would stop one bullet, a second would kill. That is if the armour stops that one bullet at all. The helmet will protect the German against headshots but i suspect that it will work little better then the body armour.
- Now the skill. First of all the Scots with the musket. The musket it a hard weapon to master. Loading, aiming and shooting is very hard if you are not trained enough, especially in a warzone. Now I have said that only the most wealthy of the highlanders could afford this weapon, which means it was treasured and cared for. But that also means that this weapon saw little action on the battlefield and because of its price, I doubt there will be a lot of practice with it. On the other hand, the user of the weapon does have a certain pride with the weapon and will try his best to prove the worth of the musket in battle.
The accuracy of the arquebus is not good either. It does not have a good aim on it and usually, it would be shot from a standard but the landsknechte shot it from the hand, making the accuracy even worse.
Now i do think that the landsknechte practised with their weapons. The arquebus was cheaper and they would have more of them but considering that each arqebus was different from the other, I think that if one warrior had learned how to use one of them and got another one in his hands, he would begin training with it again all over.
- Overall, even though these are the most advanced weapons, they are less then impressive. These early firearms misfired a lot and one small messup in loading or aiming and you can start over again without having fired a single bullet.
Now for these two weapons, it is clear that the musket is the better weapon. It is more advanced and it will do better against the armour of the Germans. There is however one small problem. They were very rare on the battlefield.
Now it is obvlious that the Musket gets the edge but i need to see what kind of edge it gets. Under normal conditions, I would give the musket a big edge but because it was rare on the battlefield, it will only recieve a medium egde.
Medium edge: Highlanders
Claymore Vs. Zweihander
- This may be the battle between the most famous and most dangerous weapons of these two warriors. Both the claymore and the zweihander were big swords that could kill a opponent with ease and may be the most famous one.
The claymore was very simple in design. This one and a half sword was 55 inches long and weighted 5.5 lb. The sword consists of a blade with two sharp edges and a tip for thrusting. Then there is the crossguard that protects the hands and can dish out some damage as well. Finally, we have the grip and the pommel. The pommel was used as a counterbalance but could also be slammed into the opponent for some blunt damage.
The zweihander is a lot the same, with a few differences. The zweihander is around 6 feet long and weights around 5 lb. It also has a small guard on the blade that prevents from the opponent sword slipping towards the handguard. it can also be used to push the blade of the opponent away to create space.
I should also note that because the claymore is a hand and a half sword, it can be used with one hand and even used with a targe. Having said that, I have found no evidence that this sword was used with in combination with the targe but it is possible and I will keep it in mind.
- When we put these weapons against the body armour of both warriors, we see the same results as earlier. Both warriors will be protected against cutting and thrusting but with the power behind these weapons, the sword can crush both pieces of body armour. And again, because the armour of the duppelsoldner is weaker, it will fail first. As for the helmet of the Landsknechte, it will hold on for some time but fail and break in the end.
Now there is the possibility that the Highlander will use the targe along with the sword. The targe is a good defence but will not work that well against the big zweihander.
First of all, If a Scottish warrior would hold both the claymore and the targe, he cannot get as much power behind the blow as when he would use both hands for the swords. Furthermore, the targe is rather small the sword can attack past the targe with ease. It does provide some defence though and it will not break down.
- As for skill, i can be very simple. Both warriors had a lot of skill wielding these weapons. There is a reason why both warriors were famous with these weapons. They trained with them and used them in almost every battle. Both types of warriors would have know how to wield these weapons expertly and I cannot honestly say that one would have mastered his weapon more then the other.
- Now to decide which weapon gets the edge. Both swords do a great job at that what they are meant for: killing. But which of these great swords does its job a tiny bit better.
Overall, the zweihander has a advantage. It is longer, it weights less and the guards on the blade does not do it any harm either. However, claymore can take care of the armour of the opponent better and has the possibility to be used with a targe.
I have talked about all the advantages and disadvantages, so I will not repeat myself. It comes down to what i think is more important: weapon or armour. For this instance, I will be going with weapon. Armour is great and that the german armour is weak will hurt him badly but these swords are very good at blocking and especially with the zweihander, there are some nasty techniques. If the sword blocks good, then the claymore will not be able to reach the armour. I also have talked about how the targe can get overwhelmed by the lenght of the zweihander.
I will be giving my edge to the zweihander but it is a rather close edge and the claymore follows not close after.
Small edge: Duppelsoldner Landsknechte
X- Factors
Motivation:
Pride, loyalty to Scotland, heritage and family Vs. Religion, honour, money and the German empire
Both warriors have good reasons to fight. Both fight for their country, with the Highlanders fighting for Scotland and the Landsknechte fighting for the german empire. They both have honour and pride while they fighting but where the Highlanders fight with and for their family, the duppelsoldners fight also to gain money.
Now it might seem a bad thing to fight for money, but the duppelsoldners actually got extra money for taking extra risks. Both warriors have clearly good reasons to fight this battle.
As for who gets the edge in motivation, I have to ask who would keep on fighting to the last man. Who would keeps the spirit up when the battle turns souer.
This question is harder to answer then it looks since both groups are known to fight to the last man.
Hoewever, if i take into consideration that the Highlanders fought in clans, which means that they fight with family and they knew that the family back home was in peril if they lost then the Higlanders have a very strong case. The Landsknechte have good reasons to fight but The Scots just have a edge because they fight for their family and the safety of their country.
Medium Edge: Highlanders
Tactics:
Charge Vs. keep together and surprise
- Both warriors use a totally different tactic when they fight. The highlanders keep their faith in charging ahead while screaming loudly, while the Landsknechte group together and wait for the assault, to counter it and have one man apart from the rest to inflict damage.
Now it is directly obvlious that the tactics of the Highlander will fail when when its facing the Landsknechte.
While the Scottish warriors will charge towards their opponents, the Landsknechte will simply wait and allow their opponents to get closer while keeping in formation. The landsknechte then can start killing while their enemy's are running towards them.
When the Scots are close by, the Germans can keep in formation and support each other while fighting.
Large Edge: Duppelsoldner Landsknechte
Experience:
Clan warfare, English and opponents of English Vs. opponents of holy roman empire
Both warriors fought all over europe and have encountered similair foes. They will know most of the weaponry and know how to deal with it. The same goes for the armour altough the Scottish do get a few pointers extra because they carry two weapons that is not very well known outside of Scotland, the lochaber axe and the targe. This is only a very tiny edge though, because the lochaber axe has similarities to other poleweapons and the targe looks very similair to a buckler, only bigger.
Small edge: Highlander
The fighters
Highlanders:
Malcolm (leader)- Claymore
Bruce (son of Malcolm) -Baskethilt sword, targe
Ewan (son of Malcolm) -Lochaber axe
Alan (Brother of Malcolm)- Musket, baskethiltsword
Angus (Brother in law of Malcolm)- Claymore
Duncan (son of Angus)- Lochaberaxe, baskethiltsword
Duppelsoldner Landsknechte:
Hans (Leader)- Zweihander, katzbalger
Gerhard- Arquebus, katzbalger
Johan- Arquebus, katzbalger
Frederick- Halberd
Herman- halberd, katzbalger
Andreas- Zweihander
The fight:
The rain and thunder came down over the small group of men. These six soldiers had set up camp near the english coast two weeks ago and were still waiting for the strangers to show up. England was close to war with the Roman empire and the king had convinced some of the best warriors of this empire to come and fight for the English. Now the king had send these Scottish Highland warriors to guide the these men towards London where they would be fully installed as new soldiers.
'Will they ever show up?' Alan asked Malcolm as the man entered the main tent. Malcolm had been assigned the leader of this welcoming party because he was the head of the clan of the Flying Swines. 'Not shure.' was all Malcolm could say. 'We just have to wait a few days more and otherwise send word to the king that nobody has shown up yet.' Malcolm disliked sending a negative message to the English king, the Clan of the flying Swines had always furfilled their duty's and shown loyalty to the crown, hence why they got this special job.
Just as Angus was about to say something, the tent got pushed open and the wet face of the young Duncan appeared. 'A man is coming up the narrow pass.' The three men inside the tent quickly got out and allowed Duncan to bring them to the pass. 'Armed?' Angus asked his son. 'No father. I could not see any arms, nor any other men.' At hearing this, both his father and Malcolm cursed, hoping that it was just a lost farmer and nothing else.
As the four men arrived at the pass, they saw a bloodied man in ripped clothing walking towards them. Malcolm could spot a few wounds from away and as the man walked closer, more damage on the man got visible. 'Are you English?' The stranger asked. 'Close enough.' answered Alan with a bitter smile. The stranger got a surprised look on his face and Malcolm decided to add: 'We fight for the English. We are Scottish.' Now the man showed relief on his face and he started speaking. 'I am persued. Our group was towards you when we were ambusss... attacked by some of our former friends.' The English of this man was not good but the Scottish got the general idea. ' They follow me.' The man continued. The stranger then was about to speak again when he collapsed on the ground.
Malcolm saw the unconcious man on the ground and knew they had to take action. 'Alan and Duncan. Bring this man into the main tent and then come back here. I think we have a fight on our hands.' The two highlanders moved to obey orders as Malcolm set a horn to his lips and blew a loud deep sound. This would call his two sons from their guardingposts. The Clanhead knew he would need all his men now.
'Why couldn't they leave for a hot country?' Gerhard asked out loud after he spat some rainwater in the grass. Nobody answered but Hans gave a soft grunt. They were following the last of the traitors and Hans knew that he had to be taken out quickly. Just before their emperor was about the start this war against England, some Landsknechte had decided to turncoat, probably for the money. Hans hated these type of cowards. You either fight for the holy roman empire or you do not fight at all, was his idea. He hated this bunch especially considering that they had belonged to his group and he felt responsible.
After finding out the turncoats had left for England, Hans had collected his five best duppelsoldners and started the hunt against his former friends. Most of these traitors were dead now but one still lived and was trying to reach England.
The group of six walked another few miles without saying anything, when Frederick called out. 'Tracks in the mud.' Hans looked at the tracks that obvliously belonged to a man and considering the blood that was all around the footsteps, he knew they had the last traitor in sight. 'Speed march.' He commanded and the others doubled their speed instantly.
The duppelsoldners ran, following the trail of the traitor when they saw men on a hill above. 'Halt.' came the command and the other stopped. Two men were standing up the hill and neither man looked like the traitor. These men were armed but considering the Landsknechte were with six and these men only with two, Hans was ready to take these down. Then Hans saw how two others joined the first two on the hill and a few seconds later another pair came to join in. It would now be six against six and Hans now knew that it would be a tougher fight.
'Men stand close. Johan, up in the bushes.' Hans commanded. 'Weapons on ready.' he added. If they were gonna fight, he would let those strangers get to him.
(Highlanders 6- Landsknechte 6)
The Scottish charged. A few moments after Duncan and Alan had left, the opponents that the stranger warned aout had shown up and Malcolm had waited patiently for his sons to join and for his brother and nephew to come back before he gave the command. When they were all collected on the top of the hill, he had given the command to run downwards. The Scottish yelled and screamed as they ran down like mad swines. When they were nearly down, Alan stopped and fired is musket at these German opponents. He then drew his baskethilt sword and ran on.
The landsknechte were ready for the attack and they were only a little surprised by the chosen methode of attack that these opponents used. Clearly, running headlong into them was not the best of ideas but Hans did not mind. The Germans stood ready to recieve this attack as a gun was heard and Herman suddenly fell on the ground. Hans saw a bloody mess in the neck of this duppelsoldner and ordered his gunmen to shoot.
Gerhard aimed his arquebus and fired it at one of the young fighters. None of them was wearing a helmet and he aimed at the face but his shot was off and instead hit the chest of this young fighter. The young fighter fell backwards on the grass but no blood was visible.
Before Gerhard could load again, he saw that the opponents were to close and he dropped his gun in order to draw his katzbalger.
The battle then really started as the men clashed against each other. Gerhard immidiatly faced Bruce, who blocked a attack using his targe and slashed the german at the swordarm. Gerhard dropped the sword in pain and could not avoid a thrust that pierced his throat. As the young clansman drew his sword back, a weapon went off and he fell backwards in pain as his face teared open. Johan, who had missed his first shot had managed to reload quickly and keep his gunpowder dry in order to kill one of the opponents. He did not have time to enjoy the kill as he saw that someone with a big sword that looked much like their zweihanders was running towards him.
( Highlanders 5- Landsknechte 4)
Johan dodged the attack from Malcolm by stepping backwards. Another step backwards made shure that the blade only hit the cheek of the duppelsoldner lightly and when he stepped away another time, he hit a tree. He knew he was lost when the Scotsman attacked him with fury and the big sword ended his life.
On the other side of the battlefield, Hans was fighting Angus. The two big beared men fought with all their power. The rain was still pooring down heavily and it clouded their sight.
Hans slashed at Angus but missed his attack. Angus then countered and rammed his sword against the chest of Hans. The colourfull clothing teared away and the dented armour became visible. Angus saw that this armour could become a weak point and aimed another attack. This time he was the one who missed and Hans countered with a blow to the head that the Scottish could block just in time. Both men attacked and the swords locked in a powerstruggle. Neither appeared stronger then the other and the two men tried to force their way into the defence of the other, when Hans suddenly used his crossguard to push the blade of his opponent away and he landed a solid hit in the face with his pear shaped pommel.
Both men heared bones crack in the face of the Highlander and Hans moved to the side. Angus shook of rain and blood and could not spot the german, who then used the zweihander to slash into the back of the skull of Angus. The man died before his face hit the mud.
On another spot, Frederick and Duncan were fighting for their lives. Both men used polearms and tried to gain on his opponent. Frederick used his longer halberd to get more into range while the younger Duncan moved around and slashed the weapon of his opponent away. Another stab from Frederick was countered by the axe of the lochaber axe and Duncan pushed on, hoping to use the sharp point on his axe-head to finish the fight. Frederick stepped out of range and slashed with his axe but missed completely as Duncan moved away. Duncan then used the hook on his weapon to try to pull the halberd away but he only managed to pull his opponent towards him. As Frederick almost collided with Duncan, he moved his halberd in front of him. He then used the buttspike to stab his opponent in the foot. Duncan screamed in pain and before he knew what was happening, he got pulled down by the hook on the halberd. Frederick then stabbed Duncan with the spike on top of his weapon and ended the life of the young Scotsman.
Frederick was used to killing and did not take a second notice as he stepped over the body, looking for another opponent. That opponent found him and before he knew what was happening, he felt the cold steel of a axe in his neck and his vision became black. Ewan, who had been shot in the chest earlier had stood up, thanking his brigiantifilis for stopping the bullet.
He had then watched the battle unfold and as his nephew was losing, he came into action. He had been unable to save Duncan but at least he had killed the murderer.
As he turned to watch the battle again, Ewan saw how his uncle Alan was fighting a man with a sword that looked alot like a slightly bigger claymore.
Alan knew he was at a disadvantage with his one handed sword and at this point, he wished he had invested money in a targe. The german slashed with the big sword and Alan was just able to block the attack, altough the blade glided over his handguard. He then jumped into the guard of his opponent, seizing the moment to kill his opponent but his sword hit the helmet of the German and before he could land another blow, he recieved a crossguard in his stumach. He stepped backwards, where he had to block another powerfull attack. His sword almost broke in half but it survived. Alan then stepped aside as quick as he could and attacked the German with one of the most powerfull slashes he could pull off. The man simply blocked the attack with the zweihander and turned the block into a stabbing attack. Before the Highlander knew what was happening, the big sword rammed itself into his mouth and throat. He fell on the ground, where he tried to breath but failed and in seconds, he was dead.
( Highlanders 2- Landsknechte 2)
Now only four fighters were left, on either side two.
Malcolm was fighting Andreas. The two men with their big swords kept each other on a distance and hit either each others weapons, armour or nothing at all.
While they were busy, Hans was fighting Ewan. The sword of the duppelsoldner was as long as the polearm of the Scottish and the two kept each other at bay. Ewan attacked and Hans blocked the attack. The then tried to push the lochaber axe of his opponent away with his crossguard but Ewan retreated just in time.
The two looked at each other, both faces having a white colour. The two then clashed again Ewan retreated after this. He swung his weapon around him, which Hans mistook for a opening. Hans jumped in to deliver the final blow while Ewan stepped backwards and used the force of the swing to ram the zweihander out of his opponents hands. Hans looked surprised for a second but reacted as Ewan came to kill the disarmed opponent. Hans stepped away from the axehead and grabed the wooden pole in his hand. The two then started to pull on the lochaber axe but Hans was clearly stronger and was winning. Ewan let go of his weapon and stepped towards Hans. The landsknechte was ready for such a surprise attack and he let go off the poleweapon also. He blocked a punch dealt by the young Scotsman and delivered a vicious blow in the face himself. Ewan felt how his nose broke and he stepped backwards, only to stumble over a rock and fall down.
Hans grabbed his zweihander again to finish this fight as he glanced to the other two combatants. He saw how Andreas slided over some mud and lost his balance. The seasoned warrior fell down on the ground and Malcolm used that moment to kill him. Hans let the young Scotsman be for the moment, planning to finish him off later. He stepped towards Malcolm and as the older Scotsman turned to face this new foe, Hans slashed at his legs, cutting the hamstrings. Malcolm fell on the ground as he screamed in pain and Hans swung his sword, decapitating the leader of the Scots.
Ewan saw how his father died and considered running for a moment. But he knew that with running, the battle was lost for shure and that he had to avenge his family and protect the family at home.
He ran towards the body of his fallen brother and gathered the sword and targe, trying not to look at the missing face.
Hans walked confidently to the younger opponent and launced several attacks that Ewan was just able to block.
Another attack pushed the baskethilt sword out of the hand of the young Scot and Hans made ready for the killing blow. Instead of stepping away, Ewan stepped towards the German and rammed the spike on the targe into the left arm of the Landsknechte, hitting both muscle and nerves. Hans dropped his sword in pain and Ewan drove the spike into the chest of Hans. The armour gave way the spike struck flesh. Enraged and in pain, Hans pushed his opponent away and then threw the targe on the ground. While Ewan grabbed the baskethilt sword, Hans chose the katzbalger. Due to the damage on his left arm, he was unable to use the twohanded weapon anymore and had to fight with his backup weapon, now wishing he had trained more with it.
The two exchanged blows again and it was now Ewan who was superior. He moved around his opponent and dealt some harsh attacks bot recieved them as well. The two fought on for a few seconds, when Ewan managed to get past the blade of his opponent and slashed at the fingers of Hans. The attack worked and Hans lost grip as he lost two of his fingers. He tried to grab the sword with his pained left hand but Ewan put all his power in a thrusting attack that got past the armour and hit the chest, close to the spot where the the targe had hit earlier. Hans fell down in pain, his eyes watery. He struggled to stand up and continue and failed. Ewan walked up to him and spoke the last words that Hans would ever hear. 'This is for my family!'
(Highlanders 1- landsknechte 0)
Ewan walked away from the body of his opponent and made it straight towards his father. 'I will continue our family and bloodline father. People will remember the clan of the flying swines.' After these words, he took the claymore from the ground and walked towards the camp. There was no time to bury the bodies now. He still had to finish the task set out by the king and as new head of the clan, he had to do it.
As he made it into the tent where the german lay, he noticed the man was dead. He had died from his injuries.
Winner: Scottish Highlanders
The aftermath
In this battle, I used a new system of deciding the winner. I have explained my small,- medium an large edges already but what I did not explain yet was that i coupled these edges to a number of points.
A small edge is 0.5 points. A medium edge is 1 point and a large edge is 1.5 points. Then it was easier for me to count the points and decide on a winner.
The highlanders recieved
Large edge: 1.5 points
Medium edge: 1.0 points
Medium edge: 1.0 points
Small edge: 0.5 points
Total: 4.0 points
The Landsknechte recieved:
Small edge: 0.5 points
Small edge: 0.5 points
Large edge: 1.5 points
Total: 2.5 points
This conclusion actually makes sense to me because altough the landsknechte had a far better tactic, they come short in weapons. When they got a weapon edge, the highlander was close behind and when the highlander got such a edge, the Landsknechte could not get close behind enough. What hurt them as well was their cheap armour. If the Landsknechte would have bought good almain rivet, this battle could be completely different.
The targe helped the Highlanders a lot in this battle, as did the baskethilt sword. In my opinion, they deserve the victory.
Next battle:
The next battle will be one of bending versus technology as Avatar Aang faces Robin the boy wonder in battle
