Quote:Ancient images of slingers (rare are they are) don't show people going into the fight with huge backpacks and sacks of stones and bullets, but the neat "tactical" packs I'm imagining for the "sling fight" (and which I think Shumate should have given his slingers). Will post a pic. later, but there are, of course, the slingers on Trajan's column.
Right - pictures of 'wheelbarrow men' (for want of a better term for ammo haulers
are not romantic.
Bear in mind that ancient illustrations are not the equivalent of contemporary war photographers. They were - for the most part - purely decorative. Realism didn;t get much of a look in.
And a wwII analogy for ancient warfare is just wrong lol
Mostly wars weren't fought between entrenched armies.
Plus the armies involved were considerably smaller so logistics would have been very different.
And as far as warfare goes logistics determines 90% of what you can and can't do.
But the side who could put themost sling ammo in the air for the longest period of time - would ahve stood a better chance of coming out on top.
I like the agincourt analogy. 3000 bowmen versus 20,000 men at arms.
Logistics determined the outcome. We didn't run out of arrows before they ran out of bodies. Had it been the other way round - we'd have lost.
In a battle where muscle power rules (ie: nothing remotel;y resembling contemporary warfare) the side who has missile superiority will always hold the upper hand. And for that you need slingers slinging hard and fast for long periods of time.
Each individual slinger will only carry the ammo he is comfortable with. But there would undoubtably have been provision made to 'reload' the ammo bags.
I'm not a professional slinger - but I could easily sling non-stop for several hours.
If that's what your slingers can do - why would you as a commander - then limit yourself to only using them sporadically.
Simple you wouldn't.
Every enemy you put down with a long range attack is one less to close and risk harming your own troops.
have a butchers at sun tzus The Art Of War. It's pretty basic tactics.