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Old 04-22-2005, 06:11 PM   #6 (permalink)
Karm_Locke
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Vikings v. Spartans

I'm not a military historian either, but I am obsessed with military history. First things first, to correct a minor inaccuracy in the thread:

Quote:
The advantages that the Vikings would have, is that of the reach of their weapons, compared to the Short swords of the Spartans(However, this, as I believe, would be countered by the spears, of the rank behind them).
While it's true that the Spartans carried short swords, they were a weapon to use when all else failed. The Hopilite's main weapon was a 8 or 9 foot pike. In contrast, the Vikings wielded much shorter spears, swords, and battle axes. Thus reach is actually in favor of the Spartans.

Now to compare the sides:

The Spartans, as mentioned, fought with long pikes in closed formation. If the pike wall was broken they fought with short swords. Their armor was helmet, breastplate, shield, and greaves. The key part of this is that all of this is made of bronze.

The Vikings fought with sword, axe, spear, and bow. The spear was most common, and was able to be thrown. The sword was a symbol of status, thus confined to the rich. The axe was a cheaper substitute to the sword, but one could not use a shield if one uses an axe. These were made of iron. Most Vikings wore leather armor, but the rich could afford iron chain. All used shields if they could.

The first key point here is the Vikings iron compared to the Spartans bronze. The iron weapons would give the Vikings a definite advantage. They could easily pierce the Spartans armor.

The other decisive point in the conflict is the difference in tactics. The Spartans fought in closed ranks, advancing till they could attack the enemy with their long pikes.

The Vikings also fought behind a shield wall. However, they would use bow and arrow and spear to bombard their foe from a distance before closing. Some Viking battles were decided without melee at all!

So this is what I believe would happen: The combatants would line up behind their shield walls. The Vikings would attack with bow and arrow and thrown spear. The iron points of these weapons would pierce the Spartans armor, decimating their ranks. At this point the Vikings would charge, mopping up the remaining Spartans using their iron swords. The battle wouldn't be much of a contest.

The clear difference here is one of technology. The Vikings have iron and used the bow, the Spartans did not. These two things easily tips the balance in favor of the Vikings.

P.S. Sorry about spelling errors.

EDIT: Spelling, spelling, spelling.

Last edited by Karm_Locke; 04-22-2005 at 06:13 PM..
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