Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding
I think that is only true for TL4 and maybe early TL5 firearms. At mid to late TL5 and especially at TL6, pike formations are just pointless suicide. Most post-apocalyptic settings have TL6-TL9+ firearms, the only exception I can think of are things like the Emberverse where firearms just don't work anymore.
You don't see trained pike being fielded against even green preadolescent children armed with AKMs in the conflicts in central Africa, for example, and the suggestion that you should seems ... unsound.
During the 19th century trained spearmen like Zulus and Comanche abandoned spears for firearms all over the world. Presumably they had sound military reasons to do so.
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Which is why I deliberately specified "crude firearms", But even at TL6 the right troops will win with inferior weapons if they are highly trained and deployed properly. FWIW one of the reasons why armies adopted firearms as fast as they did was because of the difficulty in raising highly trained and disciplined troops. It is quicker and easier to raise a greater number of poorly trained men and give the firearms, even if these weapons gave no significant tactical advantage.
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