# Outfit a Foot Soldier with the Best Pre-firearm Arms and Armor from Around the World **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outfit-a-foot-soldier-with-the-best-pre-firearm-arms-and-armor-from-around-the-world/573120 "2011-03-01T22:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outfit-a-foot-soldier-with-the-best-pre-firearm-arms-and-armor-from-around-the-world/573120/41 "2011-03-07T17:07:14Z")
What sort of battlefield will we be fighting on? If it’s anywhere other than an open flat plain, I’m sure I can find some pre-firearm culture from somewhere in the world that used effective camouflage. When one side is using camouflage and the other isn’t, and there are no enhanced-senses devices available beyond crude spyglasses, that’s going to be a huge advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outfit-a-foot-soldier-with-the-best-pre-firearm-arms-and-armor-from-around-the-world/573120/42 "2011-03-07T22:46:00Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Meh, depends on your point of view. There were better performing steels available but the quality of the swordsmithing was quite hit and miss. Well made Japanese blades were, and still are high works of metal craft. I’ll take a lower quality material with a consistent high level of workmanship over a better material with a mediocre track record. Don’t take that as knocking the great European swordmiths BTW, there are plenty of masters there as well. > > Anyhoo, > > I’d have two sets of archers, Horse mounted with mongol recurves and on foot with crossbow, longbow combination. Different archers for different situations. All archers would be fitted with a spanish style breastplate, a lightweight helm and hardened leather laminate armour. They are valuable and to be kept at a distance. They are allowed whatever hand to hand weapon they favor as a back up and will be grouped into units that can fight together efficiently. > > Heavy cavalry shall be outfitted with Steel plate, spear, sabre and mace or seax. Well, if we are allowed cavalry - make mine mostly steppe nomad in equipment. As far as I can see, they mostly dominated any other combo of troops pre-gunpowder, however equipped. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outfit-a-foot-soldier-with-the-best-pre-firearm-arms-and-armor-from-around-the-world/573120/43 "2011-03-08T01:34:17Z")
Flammenschwein. For those who know. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outfit-a-foot-soldier-with-the-best-pre-firearm-arms-and-armor-from-around-the-world/573120/44 "2011-03-08T02:17:11Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Well, if we are allowed cavalry - make mine mostly steppe nomad in equipment. As far as I can see, they mostly dominated any other combo of troops pre-gunpowder, however equipped. Whoops. forgot about that, still I’ll stand by my OP in this thread for footies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outfit-a-foot-soldier-with-the-best-pre-firearm-arms-and-armor-from-around-the-world/573120.md?page=2)