Talk:The Order/@comment-1636709-20200120222412/@comment-26419174-20200121154704

It was not  an aversion as much as it was understanding that ranged troops will not be sufficient to defeat the enemy or even cripple them. That,  like it or not,  the battle will end up in melee and that it is the number and quality of melee troops that would ultimately win the day. Don't get me wrong, ranged troops were useful and important, but at the end of the day, until roughly the reforms of Maurice of Orange introducing Linear tactics, ranged troops were the support and melee troops the main force. Even the battles such a Crecy or Agincourt ultimately ended in melee and in some cases suprisingly close one. And keep in mind those were the battles where the ranged troops held every advantage possible. When the longbowmen were caught outside of prepared positions, they were overrun and defeated  like it happened at Patay or Formigny