pike or halberd

[timber_wolf899]

Greetings all.

I am setting up an army of conquistadores with soldiers split evenly between melee and harqbus weapons. <using flintlocks for the firearms unless someone has a better idea>

My question. Would the melee weapon used be more likely a halberd or pike, and why?
thanks

[OverLoad]

After doing a quick search, I think using a pike would be better. It's been stated that conquistadors with pikes would stab and disarm enemies, and then ones with muskets would run up and shoot them to finish them off.

Just my opinion.

[quaraga]

ditto
so far as i can tell the halberd came along and then they invented guns and it was one of the meelee weapons that went away.

[timber_wolf899]

interesting.
thanks!

[legokilt]

Pikes were considerably more common. Halberds were used by guards at state functions, on estates and later on by NCO's.

[Heir of Black Falcon]

Hmmmm. Not sure where all this info is coming from. The Halbard runs about late 13th-early 14th ... hard to make a real firm start as to when a spear mixed with an axe may be quite old. Needless to say by the early 14th they were a mainstay in several armies. They are for ceremonial functions used today, but in war through the 17th century. By the 1430s more and more the pike is gaining over the halbard. I think the battle of Arras in 1422 is where the swiss decide to ditch the halbard majority for one with pikes.

The gun did not replace the halbard or remove it from use in any real way shape or form.
It competes somewhat with the pike. In the 16th into the 17th it is 2 pikes to 1 musket. By the second quarter of the 17th to middle of the century it begins to shift in the reverse. When the bayonet is invented in the late 17th the pike begins its decent into redundancy.

Basically the time frame of the conquistadores is fairly long so you'd need to decide what time frame. For example, into the 1540s and 1550s the forces often had 50% crossbows to 50% harquebuss. Later it is more firearms, earlier less.

My guess is that pikes would have not been as common as other smaller melee arms as pikes are of very limited use in small numbers but great in large armies. As well they are of limited use unless your enemy fights in pitched battles which does not seem to be the primary method of warfare among Americas indigenous population with the Europeans. I had a few lists of equipment brought to the Americas by conquistadores so I will try to find one for you.

Heir

[quaraga]

what i meant was that where swords and various variations (that sounds odd) of spears (i'm including bayonettes) stuck around for a good while halberds seem to have gone away much faster. although this doesn't make any sense to me because the halberd is obviously more versitile.

oh yeah i just got a solution, make musketeers instead everyone knows they used swords

[Heir of Black Falcon]

Here is a list of what one such force had in 1540. Note that lances/spears are very common and that guns are near equal to crossbows still.

http://www.nps.gov/cabr/historyculture/ ... othing.htm

Heir