Combat

[unmerged(8913)]

Well sure...which would, of course, delay the actual release of the game since he'd be reading and typing instead of creating installers and burning master CDs for distribution, but I'm sure no one would complain about that...

Yeah, but five minutes isn't going to lead to any significant delay in the game hitting the shelves....

 

[unmerged(24449)]

Chris1959

One crushing failure of dismounting knights was at Sempach in 1386 when Leopold III of the Tirol, dismounted his men at arms against the Swiss.

At first the lances of the heavily armoured Austrians discomfited the Swiss halberdiers. According to legend a single Swiss soldier then sprang forward and grab several spearpoints to his body, in dying though he created a gap for his comrades. Being lighter armoured and better armed for in close fighting the Swiss proceeded to masacre the Austrians, and unlike other battles seperated from their horses the flower of Imperial nobility could not flee in their heavy armour and were slaughtered including Leopold.

The battle secured Swiss independence, and is a salutory reminder of the kind of disaster that can overtake men at arms caught on foot by a swifter foe.