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Comment by paleotrope | Hacker News Reader

When was the last recorded javelin volley? I think there is a suggestion of a historical transmission from the late Classic era to the early modern era and it was possibly archery. Not to mention crossbows.

One thing that I don't enjoy from COUP is he often demolishes ideas that approach strawman territory (is a barely coordinated order to start shooting a volley? or does it have to be something else), but I understand that from his perspective as a teacher, he has to disabuse his students of all the nonsense tropes they pick up from tv shows and movies.

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> I think there is a suggestion of a historical transmission from the late Classic era to the early modern era and it was possibly archery. Not to mention crossbows.

The most obvious reason they practiced volley firing for muskets is the large amount of smoke they produce, once one person shoots the rest can't see where they would fire so you want everyone firing at once so they don't block each other.

So there is no reason to believe the practice evolved from anywhere, they is no world where they didn't volley fire with muskets that produce a lot of smoke since its the obvious thing to do.

Volley fire wasn't employed for the earliest uses of the arquebus.

Well, you aren't really aiming with early firearms. You are just shooting in the general direction of the enemy. So I don't think smoke really explains it.

Javelins continued to be used around the Mediterranean until the gunpowder era, so there's no reason volley tactics could not have been transmitted directly.

Really? That's interesting, I can't recall ever coming across that myself. I have some research to do.

>When was the last recorded javelin volley?

After photography for sure, the Zulu used them extensively when beating the British.

Fair point. I hadn't considered them within the context here. I suppose a call out to New world natives' atlatls as well is necessary.

> he has to disabuse his students of all the nonsense tropes they pick up from tv shows and movies.

Where do you think current students get their misinformation? A lot from TV?

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