Did you know

  • The crossbow was used as far back as ancient BC China; the Romans also used it.
  • The Combat Master Di Grassi considered the halberd to be an effective weapon to break up pike formations.
  • Mail armor was on average composed of between 35,000-40,000 tiny metal rings
  • By the 1500s the halberd had entered the realm of ceremony; nobility throughout Europe equipted their newly formed personal guards with ornate halberds.
  • Up through the American Revolution and even the American Civil War halberds were used in Europe and the Americas and became a symbol of sergeants and other officers of similar rank.
  • Pikes could be found used as late as the American Civil War by the South, as they were cheap to produce and reliable.
  • The halberd allowed the common folk (especially in Switzerland) to stand up against trained knights and directly contributed to the downfall of the feudal system and the knights replacement by the professional soldier. Knights trained from when they were young boys until they were around 21; footsoldiers in this time period often had little more training than a monthly drill. For comparison, soldiers today are brought to a battle ready state in about six months from the day they are recruited.
  • The halberd was known to be "capable of splitting a man's head from pate to jaw in one blow, even through armor."
  • The pike was used as a weapon for infantry up to the 1700s, both in Europe and the American Colonies.
  • Pikes ranged in length from 15 to 24 feet.
  • Short pikes, called "Boarding Pikes" were used in combat on vessels up through the late 1800s to keep the boarding enemy at bay.