French Crossbowman

Command flanked by crossbowman on either side.

These figures represent my French Crossbowman, the pervasive missile weapon of the French during the 100hyw. It's 25 figures strong in total, and is constructed using the Perry plastics, with metal figures interspersed for some of the command and rank and file.

While in general the Longbow is generally considered a superior weapon given it's strength, and moreover speed of fire, there were none the less certain advantages to the crossbow. In the immediate practical sense once wound a crossbow is then held in place until you're ready to fire and isn't reliant on your strength like a bow (thus is more useful in a siege where the opportunity to take an opportune shot is more useful than in the field). Strategically they also don't rely on years of training (both to develop the requisite build and skill necessary) for operation. Thus it's a more immediately accessible weapon, which doesn't rely on a pre-defined pool of people like the longbow with the requisite strength/skill to use them.

There is a tendency to also see the bow/crossbow as either exclusively English or French, or at least in the HYW period. In both cases there is some degree of truth in the assertion given both countries tended to use one or the other predominantly, and indeed with the English the Longbow was a key element of their mode of warfare. With that said both weapons as noted above had their uses and it wasn't the case that either the French or English used either weapon exclusively. Certainly some French could and did use a Longbow, or at least the Scottish did when in their service (most famously in Verneuil). For the English according to muster rolls taken after Agincourt for example a lot of Crossbows were taken, and many crossbowman were employed for use in garrison duty to defend new English conquests. In fact in the book I got this information from (Mike Loades - The Crossbow) he goes on to state that soldiers role in this period often changed over time, with versatility being a key requisite. So they may be listed as an archer one year, then be listed doing garrison duty as a crossbowman a few years later. So soldiers were obviously expected to change their role as and when required, based on the task at hand.

Siege of Orleans, note both French and English using both types of weapon. Care should be taken with any pictures from this period though, given many of them weren't contemporaenious with the era they were depicting.

Anyway as with any weapon or suject in history whole essays can and are being written on such topics, so I won't continue any longer. But it does give me intriguing questions about the role of soldiers, and what trajectory their careers actually followed.

 

Harfleur 1415

The whole unit.

 

Close up of one half of the unit.

Siege of Paris 1429

   

Crossbowman in various stages of firing.

The perry metals (chap on on the far right) really help add a little variety to the unit.

Tufts I mostly use to hide where basis are overly exposed.

rear of one of the units.