@GingaBomber this is a better example for Guns vs Melee :P
https://youtu.be/GEj0I_lTWio?t=7s

But... Musket lines

And sexy british uniforms

bit of a one-sided fight that 1h clip is 😛

Eh, so was the war

Well, zulus lost almost 7k vs 2k europeans.

Then again, might have a point, europeans would retreat earlier.

Still thoguh balance wise, sure, you have cannons, and musketlines, but youd encounter waves of a 100 at once. They will drop like flies, but once they get close, your firing line is screwed.

true, though in most cases they wouldn't all just stand undefended they'd have ways to keep the people on distance
walls, dem spike barriers, pits etc

Im talking the game tho.

IRL, well, they had volley fire formation.

Had some fortified positions that funneled the zulus.

yeah

I like the volley fire formation. Pike and shot period to shot and bayonet period has to be my fourth favourite moment in war

When it comes to war history

Worst thing to hear in this mod? Your commander yelling "affix bayonets"

haha

Well, cause spears are actually better than bayonets. In close range. Rifles wernt long enough to be used as conventional spears that time.

I mean whys that?

for the non-spear people i'd imagine?

Well, spears were better than swords in general

yeah

but i always figured bayonets were for a last moment stab when you're still shooting and don't have time to draw another weapon

well, with fire rates that slow, youd only get one chance in close range.

So you switch to a melee range. A bayonet just happened to be the most cost effective way to get everyone cheap bladed close range weapons.

Unlike calvary that would get cutlasses.

Like what? Club them to death with the stock?

well if you're on your own yes, but wouldn't you get a bit more time to reload when your squad fires too?

Well, unless you have some form of volley fire.

Thats an issue.

Also, if you are firing alone, you are already doing something terribly wrong.

maybe you're Chuck Colonorrist?

I mean, those muskets create so much smoke that the field is a mist after a half dozen volleys.

And you only have enough time to fire a few times.

Not sure how common melee ended up, but it was understood that you either shot from afar with a unit, or were close up in their faces.

makes sense yeah

With bayonets.

Like said, just happens to be the nuance of the period. Ranged weapons with innate armor piercing simply made metal armor obsolete.

One shot + a canister of cotton and gunpowder is easier to transport than arrows/crossbows despite both being more accurate than shot.

Bayonets + pistols for close range. Since shots take so goddamn long to reload and fire.

maybe africa should demand a rematch