长弓（武器）

长弓的射击速度直到19世纪末才在英国人手中出现，它是1340年后英国军事优势的核心武器。长弓能够让敌人遭受致命的炮弹袭击，集中的弓箭手手中的长弓使英国军队在克雷西和普瓦捷取得了超越优势兵力的非凡胜利，并且在整个玫瑰战争和其他战争中仍然是一种重要的战场武器；它还在突袭、围攻和海战中发挥了主导作用。它的影响力和用途扩展到勃艮第、苏格兰和其他大国的军队，而且它作为一种成本效益高、易于生产的武器而享有盛誉，因此，早在17世纪70年代，就有人呼吁在美国新生的军队中广泛采用它。
长弓由英国人、威尔士人和其他人使用，它满足了历史上所有步兵导弹武器的要求——它是一种制造精良的武器，适合大量生产，能够以可持续的、相对较快的射速在适当的距离投射拦截导弹。长弓是一种“自弓”——也就是说，它是由一块木头制成的，通常是红豆杉，弓的“腹部”是“心材”，更薄的一层“边材”是弓的“背部”。它的箭通常由白杨木制成，白杨木是一种轻而结实的木材，虽然也使用了灰烬和其他木材，但根据预期用途，有多种金属头可供选择。长弓箭是一种需要大量资源和技能才能制造的复杂弹药，如果条件合适，长弓箭可以穿透板甲；然而，这项研究认为，对目标造成的“钝性创伤”，无论其装甲多么精良，都会造成令人虚弱的伤害，在战场上的影响要大得多。
这项生动的研究以专门委托制作的全彩艺术品为特色，并以对这种有趣武器的最新研究为依据，揭开了挥之不去的神话，为赢得战斗胜利的长弓带来了新的曙光。长弓是一种致命的导弹武器，使英国人得以在14世纪和15世纪的一系列著名战斗中战胜困难。
The Longbow (Weapon)
Boasting a rate of shooting not seen again in English hands until the late 19th century, the longbow was the weapon at the heart of the English military ascendancy in the century after 1340. Capable of subjecting the enemy to a hail of deadly projectiles, the longbow in the hands of massed archers made possible the extraordinary victories enjoyed by English forces over superior numbers at Crécy and Poitiers, and remained an important battlefield weapon throughout the Wars of the Roses and beyond; it also played a leading role in raiding, siege and naval warfare. Its influence and use spread to the armies of Burgundy, Scotland and other powers, and its reputation as a cost-effective and easily produced weapon led to calls for its widespread adoption in the nascent armies of the American Republic as late as the 1770s.
Wielded by Englishmen, Welshmen and others, the longbow fulfilled the requirements of all infantry missile weapons throughout history – it was a well-made weapon suitable for production in quantity that projected a man-stopping missile over a suitable distance at a sustainable, relatively rapid rate of shooting. The longbow was a ”self-bow” – that is to say, it was made from one piece of wood, normally yew, with the ”belly” of the bow being ”heartwood” and a thinner layer of ”sapwood” being the ”back” of the bow. Its arrows were normally made of aspen, a light and strong wood – although ash and other woods were also used – with a variety of metal heads available, depending on the intended use. A sophisticated piece of ammunition requiring many resources and skill to manufacture, the longbow arrow could penetrate plate armour if the conditions were right; this study argues, however, that the ”blunt trauma” inflicted on the target, however well armoured, resulted in debilitating injuries and was far more significant on the field of battle.
Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and informed by the latest research into this intriguing weapon, this lively study debunks lingering myths and casts new light on the battle-winning longbow, the lethal missile weapon that enabled English victories against the odds in a series of famous battles of the 14th and 15th centuries.

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