5 Most Creative Uses of Shield Walls in Movies

[@GenerationFilms]

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[@deepspace1335]

How is this 3 days ago?..

[@pyeitme508]

No!

[@heathward9239]

I love you Allen

[@JoaoSoares-rs6ec]

Check your facts

[@FirstNameLastName-tg3rc]

Yeah. I think it's less toxic masculinity and more soldiers procreating with prostitutes and/or starting families was seen as a distraction. (Edit). Jon also had one Lyanna in the camp who can be used as a reserve. Also, Rickon nitpick time. Yes, it was a battle and emotions and the like and Rickon was only a kid but he did run straight and not zigzag. Also, a question: Would letting Rickon run to Jon or Jon riding to Rickon have been a better move?

[@Maribro4]

Shield walls are so badly used in films it hurts. But when they're done properly its soooooo satisfying

[@Marveryn]

so far the best shield wall i seen been in the tv series Last Kingdom.

[@jackychen6261]

Vikings also have good use of shieldwalls

[@braixendon5496]

Nah the best shield walls are used in total war :)

[@kuoh13]

@@Marveryn yes! My man! Last kingdom's shield wall scenes are freakin beastly! They're in my opinion the best ones ive ever seen.

[@providedyeti1518]

@@Marveryn don’t get me wrong I love TLK, but their shieldwalls are pretty sloppy, Anglo-Saxons had round shields, not squares and they aren’t set up the correct way either

[@arthurbriand2175]

And you have Wakanda, who break the lines, lower their shield and charge to fight close quarters with monsters from space

[@GenerationFilms]

Yea we’re not fans of that fight

[@arthurbriand2175]

@@GenerationFilms I really liked your Fantasy and Sci-fi battle analysis, do you plan on doing more? You could analyse shingeki no kyojin battles or that kind of things. Also I know you don't do comics but could you please take a look at the Über comics serie. The military tactic analysis of superhuman fighting in this is awesome and would probably fuel many videos from you.

[@Torlik11]

It's like, why give them shields if they're not gonna use it.

[@sirhenry9313]

@@arthurbriand2175 Wakanda is...unusual. You have city with no fortifications and civilians behind the army, with an energy shield protecting the lot. Also protecting Vision who is injured. From dialogue, the shield cannot hold against the aliens throwing themselves against it (hence why they're worried the aliens are going around). We also see a huge plain around the Wakandan army, so being flanked inside the shield is also a real possibility. There is a real risk of being flanked and taking massive casualties as well as losing the city and Vision if you allow the enemy to flank. So....in that sense, given the priorities of the characters (protect Vision, protect Civilians) it does actually make some sense to goad the army of aliens into attacking straight-on, keeping your army between them and the city. You can't do that without moving forward because, as said, there's a huge, flat plain around them. They would simply flank and ignore the defenders. What makes 0 sense to me is A) where are the Wakandan aircraft and why aren't they doing strafing/bombing runs over the outer perimeter, and B) why aren't Falcon, Bruce in Hulkbuster and Rhodey there as soon as the shield drops to bomb/repulsor/explode the army ASAP.

[@arthurbriand2175]

@@sirhenry9313 I was referring to the border tribe and their cloak which allows as shown in Black Panther to form a pretty high shield wall. And it was a mistake to deploy their lines that far from the dome, especially considering they didn't deploy any air force and their range weapons do not seem that efficient. Breaking the lines against 2.3 meters high space monsters that are way stronger than you is a mistake. If you are an Avengers you might survive, but the Wakandan soldiers were at a big disadvantage. They had to lure the enemy into a fake gap in their defenses, not create an actual gap. They should have opened the gap into a shield wall, possibly curved to allow the maximum amount of firepower, and with Avengers level type of fighters to fill the gap or to break any enemy force with too much momentum. Also to continue with your two points the Outrider force did not seem to have any air force, so essentially just bomb the big spikes from above into oblivion.

[@matthewjarche5531]

As a guy who is kinda a military history geek the dwarves look like a professional army and as such if that was their shield wall formation their shields would be designed ti overlap and work in that way

[@marsmacmurchy4305]

Also considering the dwarves a renowned for their smithing and crafting skills, it makes sense that they would have highly effective and uniform shields custom-made for this tactic

[@MiguelSanchezDelVillar]

I liked the dwarves in that movie, not the movie itself but i allways like a Big battle

[@plymouth5714]

Basically the same as the Romans - mass produced shields all to the same specifications designed to fit together into a solid wall (with a roof in the case of the Testudo or tortoise formation). Most 'warrior' societies would be based on individual fighters with their own personal weapons and shields which wouldn't fit together as well. Romans, Spartans and Elite Persians (Immortals) would have had identical equipment, the Greeks were essentially individuals who provided their own gear but it would have been pretty similar in shield size as their Hoplite Phalanx tactics would have required near uniformity to work!

[@koreancowboy42]

The elves had a pretty decent amount of formations and flexibility of their army themselves.

[@marcguidetti3081]

Elves are Middle Earth's equivalent to Dolphins

[@Deridus]

(Cough) Purge the Xenos! (Cough cough)

[@michaelhowell2326]

Miami or bottlenose?

[@johndavis2905]

As long as they don't grow thumbs, we're good! Er, dolphins that is.

[@aztecklover69]

@@johndavis2905 welp that scenerio that happened in the sipmpsons, don't seem as farfetched now😏

[@luisdominguez2048]

So they engaged in necrophilia and were known to attack their females if the mood strikes them?

[@thetaker6086]

The dwarves shield wall from battle of the five armys was awsome. Also there is a deleted scene that shows that the dwarves had cavalry and also alltilary that would counter arrows and when it made impact with the ground it made a small explosion they could have easily destroyed over half of the orcs army if the dwarves didnt fight the elves.

[@commissardamian]

Too bad the elves jumped over it and the dwarfs then broke the formation and charged.

[@jasonreed1631]

@@commissardamian That one move basically should have seen the elves slaughtered between the orc charge and the dwarf shield wall, the the dwarves slaughtered shortly after as there was no one left to watch their flank.

[@commissardamian]

@@jasonreed1631 yeah the orcs should of won. They outnumbered the elves men and dwarfs as well as beating them up until thorin and co decided to charge out. Cool scenes but a bit stupid. Dwarfs should of held the line whilst the elf archers took out the orcs.

[@jasonreed1631]

@@commissardamian Exactly.

[@thetaker6086]

@@commissardamian I think they should have done is have 4 arrow lines behind the wall then they should have flanked after which would allow the dwarves to move up the only thing that could have broken the formation was a troll.

[@Zagoreni02A]

Elves piss everyone, with their stoicism, immortality. They are immortal vulcans.

[@DraconimLt]

was it the ears that gave it away? lol

[@bigglesbiggles1]

Immortal Vulcans but without the sense of fun

[@GenerationTech]

I would gladly fight in a shield wall with some of you (3% of our viewers are non human)

[@sambeck2510]

3% canon fodder.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

unfortunately 3% of your viewers identify as "other"

[@HispAnakin42]

Modern day shield wall made me laugh.

[@bogart9981]

Count me in

[@Connor.SG-1Ring]

The 3% consists of Dolphins, Aliens, and Lizard People.

[@thebajanbots7131]

I'd give props to Zulu with Michael Kane just because its an example of a shield wall against ballistic weapons. Plus no one can kill Michael Kane, Batman knows what qualities to look for in a butler.

[@AscendantStoic]

Never forget who ruined GoT ... Never FORGIVE!

[@GenerationFilms]

DEATHHHH!!! (As the rohirim would say)

[@Not_An_Alien]

Kathleen Kennedy?

[@AscendantStoic]

@@Not_An_Alien D&D and their laziness and greed.

[@benjaminmayer6152]

The North remembers

[@darkleome5409]

@@Not_An_Alien Lucasfilm filmed game of thrones, apparently? Discovering new things every day, eh?

[@douglascox9996]

In ancient warfare, the battle force that broke to run away first suffered massive casualties when compared to the victors, often almost total, with predominance of wounds in the back. Too often, the defeated side broke formation in overzealous, undisciplined attacks. That’s the prime reason that well-disciplined armies like the Romans gave the death penalty to soldiers who broke ranks in the attack.

[@Atourq]

Roman discipline also made it incredibly scary for other forces to face them. They were uncharacteristically quiet when getting into formation.

[@joaosoares-rr5mj]

acctuly it is very rare to find a battle where everyone from one side dies, most of the times, casualities wuld be kept around 20% - 30% the rest of the force would disband and regroup somewhere else. of course, there is also the number of prissioners that the enemy force would make but that also varies a lot on who you're fighthing... some dont keep prisioners.

[@johnlavery3433]

It’s not just ancient warfare. From the middle ages to the mid 19th century the side that broke would be pursued by the other’s cavalry, and torn to shreds. The loss of Napoleons army is Russia was less crippling than the loss of his horses. After that he won several battles, but they never did much damage to his enemies because he couldn’t pursue them with cavalry

[@androth1502]

this is simulated perfectly in the game fields of glory 2. the best strategy in that game is to target and rout the undisciplined units of the enemy force then the rest of the formation will crumble.

[@coling3957]

@@Atourq and the Romans had a system of the front rank falling back and replaced by man behind who would then fight for a while and then he too would step back and be replaced by legionary behind. so they didn't tire and were less likely to be casualties . discipline won the day

[@eNoble-US]

The Bolton shield wall tactically made no sense either. They let their pike heads get too close to the enemy, which if this was something like real life, the enemy could’ve grabbed the pike and pulled the pike man either out of formation, or force him to drop it to remain behind the shield line. Pike walls are effective because there are ROWS and ROWS of pikes, so if you pass one pike, there’s seven more waiting for you. The Bolton pikewall was three pikes deep I think? And they could barely support each other due to visibility. Those shields may be great and all, but they reduce the units visibility to almost zero and I guarantee a majority of the pikewall couldn’t even see what was happening when it was charged by cav, until they rolled up the line and it was too late.

[@JABelms]

The cavalry charge was massively unexpected though. Just like the Phalanx that shield wall was was inflexible as fuck and is easily defeated by flanking maneuvers. The phalanx was practically outdated when the Romans innovated their battle tactics. Also, "pulling the pikes off pikemen" doesn't really work, you are assuming that pikeman have a weak grip and you don't play tug of war in a battlefield and expect not to be killed. Due to pike wall being slow as fuck, there is really a good chance for faster enemy like legionnaire to get close...the phalanx was originally used by the Greeks to fight other Greeks who are using the same tactics...it is easy to defeat with logic

[@justarandomtechpriest1578]

@@JABelms pull the pikeman out of formation to break it and make him vunerable is what he said

[@eNoble-US]

@@JABelms Yes, the pikewall either way was hard to pivot towards sudden threats, that’s a good point. But unit awareness or visibility could’ve allowed them to pull pikemen from the flank that didn’t get hit, and form a new pikewall to try and repulse the cavalry. But since the leaders on the ground couldn’t see or communicate until it was too late, all they could do is sit there and die. And yes, pulling pikemen out of formation would work fairly well in this situation, I wish I could link a video displaying it. Even if they couldn’t pull them out of formation, they could hack away at the pikes, as the Romans did against the Macedons, and that would be amplified due to the pikemen being able to not see anything infront of them. It would work extremely well actually considering multiple fighters could’ve grabbed onto one pike if they coordinated and used logic. Once again, pikewalls are effective in depth, this pikewall was not effective because it didn’t have enough depth. Due to the shields also, they could’ve gotten very close to the pikewall by moving in between the pikes (due to the shield preventing the pikes moving left/right) and gotten even more leverage to pull them away from the pikemen. TLDR; Bolton pikewall was ineffective and dogshit. Shields prevented the formation of a proper pikewall, and even if they didn’t have shields, they did not have enough depth to the pikewall. Google “Sarissa” and see the difference between reality vs the Bolton Pikewall.

[@edlaprade]

Or you could use the tactic that spelled the end of pike formations. Slowly walk up to them with a small shield and chopping weapon. Push the pike head aside (easy to do because of long length and leverage) and chop it off. Rinse and repeat as needed.

[@JABelms]

@@eNoble-US "Chopping off pikes" is not an easy tactic as well though, nor is it PROVEN to be at a majority successful...pike formations later on were incredibly hard to break even with larger and heavier weapons. Great swords or landsknechte were paid top dollar by militaries because their sole purpose was to deflect polearms or by sheer luck cut them in half. Nobody wants to take the job because they DIED A LOT I'm pretty sure Romans used different tactics other than go in and pulling on a pike and cutting it (with a Gladius, imagine that), that is unrealistic and a waste of time. Greeks were a one hit wonder, all they had were the phalanx and shitty infantry protected their flanks. Kill the weak mercenary flanks and surround the phalanx and it was done Flexibility>>>>>1 tactic

[@Maribro4]

The elves in the hobbit really pissed me off. It was a beautiful shield wall and would've been devastating to the orc charge, and they ruined it!

[@KillerNetDog]

Because the elves had an arrogant leader who apparently cared more about not letting the dwarves upstage them in battle than he did about the lives of his men. Ego kills.

[@joevenespineli6389]

If they were trying to show that the elves and dwarves are finally cooperating, they couldve just shown a volley of arrows impacting the first ranks.

[@xarglethegreat]

my head cannon is that elves being effectively immortal some must get tired of life, i figure throw in a suicide taboo and you have elves looking for death in battle. otherwise it was simply the stupidest possible course of action for the elves

[@pmpowalisz]

I am sure the dwarves didn’t mind to much.

[@snakeman830]

Best thing the elves could have done there was unleash volleys from behind the shield wall.

[@somecallmeTim-wi6pr]

The elves charge looked cool, but was really stupid. The dwarves would have held the orc charge pretty well...I guess having two armies just pushing each other doesn't make for a good movie battle though.

[@grukk4051]

Imagine if instead the elves had broken out their bows and timed a barrage to hit the orcs just as they met the wall. They wouldn't just be running into the dwarven pikes, but they'd do so tripping over their own dead too. With the right shots and editing you could even make it look like the elves were about to shoot the dwarves in the back until the reveal

[@somecallmeTim-wi6pr]

@@grukk4051 the dwarves should have kept using those crazy anti-arrow thingies too. Just changed the angle a little, and they could have mowed through the orcs.

[@lostsoul2508]

Here would be a better tactic, using Troy as an example, the Dwarves would've handled the brunt of the orc charge well enough but if the elf army divided into two divisions, archery and flank then using the same tactic the trojans used in Troy the elves could've unleashed salvos into the orc lines giving the shield wall time to breath between strikes. The flanks would then still be covered by the second division. But no we had the same 'elf great' attitude in the movie, hell Legolas wasn't even IN the Hobbit books.

[@eruiluvatar7155]

I once heard of an explanation: The elves jump over and start cutting down orcs, easily weaving between them with their superior agility, which then allows the dwarves to charge into the remaining, disorganized ones. Essentially, the Elves jumped in to make the impact of the orc charge less severe which allowed the dwarves to then counterattack as well

[@JackPhoenixCz]

@@eruiluvatar7155 To use that "superior agility", elves would need space. Which is something a dense horde of charging orcs on one side, and wall of shields and spears on the other doesn't provide. They would make the impact less severe, though, as the charging mass of orcs would use the elven bodies to make the dwarven spears less dangerous to themselves. Essentially, the elves totally ruined the perfectly good plan dwarves had.

[@mrmacguff1n]

Lord of the Rings is *Still* the Pinnacle of the Fantasy/War genre. At least til Peter Jackson discovers what Warhammer is lol

[@thedyingmeme6]

*Robute Gulliman wnats to know where on Terra you are*

[@rat161]

@@thedyingmeme6 you mean robert girlyman

[@timesof44]

Yes please, give that man Warhammer 40K

[@starcraft2own]

I love how we're all super critical against the elves in the battle of the five armies but completely ignore the shitshow that was the battle of the bastards. With the magically appearing piles of bodies with more mass than both armies combined threefold and the perfect little slits the pikemen could march out on both sides to surround Starks forces who had conveniently clumped up in a very small moshpit. Not to mention the whole staring as an enemy encircles you. We even have the pikewall refusing to react to the incoming cavalry. To be honest, the elves handled themselves lightyears better than anyone in the battle of the bastards. I'm surprised people still bring up the battle of the bastards ever outside "It has some flashy shots." considering it rivals the battle of winterfell in single digit IQ when it comes to battlefield tactics. I feel like that's the case with a majority of the battles from GoT to be honest.

[@houndofculann1793]

Not to mention the fact that for the battle to happen, Ramsey would have had firstly to equip his entire army with extremely cumbersome equipment like that, severely hampering their fighting capability in any other situation, and secondly to somehow manage to put his enemy in the only situation where the equipment even could be useful. All in an extremely open field against a more lightly equipped and therefore much more manouverable enemy, who even have a giant that could literally swing a tree at them and break the line. Sure, Jon was an imbecile in that situation as well, but that doesn't excuse the absolutely moronic battle plan Ramsey had since Jon's idiocy was the only reason it even worked. And in-universe, Jon is supposed to be a capable commander so there's no reason to plan for the opposite

[@michaelsandy2869]

My all time favorite shield wall in the Movies was right at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring, recalling the Last Alliance of Men and Elves. It showed what a truly disciplined and well trained and equipped army vs an absolute horde, and why that elite and well led unit won. It was a very short scene, but it gave me a lot of hope for the series, sadly dashed later.

[@rc59191]

We dodged a bullet when D&D lost their chance to make Star Wars there's already enough incompetent people holding it back.

[@albertocruzado2899]

Dont know man. I would prefer the first GoT seasons D and D, adapting an already done (and ended) book or comic, than the "originals" creators of Geode the block, or JJ copying and rebooting the original trilogy.......or JJ copying the original trilogy, and rebooting JJ.........or JJ again just rebooting everything to oblivion. Man, the level is so low. I would glady put there anything else. At least we know those guys were kinda competent once, years ago. That is not worst that what we have now, i think.

[@GenerationFilms]

Check out our realistic shield walls video here >>> kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2OQcpWGpZx1jtE

[@EmpperorThor2211]

In battle of five armies what always pisses me off is we go from like hundreds of dwarves and elves to only like a handful.

[@anonymousrex5207]

The main reason Alexander the Great was so successful in his battles was because his tactics were focused on breaking the enemy shield wall/front lines using an overloaded cavalry charge to one side. Once the enemy lines broke it was pretty much a slaughter from there because the predominant tactics of the day were not prepared for attacks from the side or rear once the front shield wall went down.

[@toby1061]

I feel almost revert shield wall in GOT was effective, even the Lannister shield wall was effective until a fookin dragon came and burned all of those poor westerlanders.

[@johnlavery3433]

Not really, that Lannister shield wall was two ranks thick, the Dothraki archers could have broken that easily, then it would have been all over. The Lannisters were spread far to thin to win

[@starcraft2own]

@@johnlavery3433 I don't remember seeing horse archers in that battle

[@johnlavery3433]

I watched it two days ago, rewatch it

[@joevenespineli6389]

@@starcraft2own There are literally horse archers charging the lannister ranks, even standing up to loose some arrows.

[@providedyeti1518]

@Lord Gaylord Ondor not every, battle of the bastards almost made me remove my eyes

[@KCsGamingPub]

The plot armor is the best shield wall

[@lordceleborn4021]

You really need to do a part 2 just for all the amazing shield walls in Red Cliff

[@detaineepyramid]

I was really hoping that would be one covered. I was surprised and impressed by that so much. I also enjoyed the slow realization of where I recognized everyone's names from... :D

[@peterbrickwood3204]

There are lots of Asian historical war movies that are really superb.

[@jeremyleonjonas7657]

Yes. Yes. More love for Doom and his boys. Heavy infantry with shields and heavy blaster canons. I love those guys.

[@SPatrickRoss]

I'm surprised left out the scene in Gladiator, where they use the shield wall to take out the chariot by forming a ramp to flip it.

[@peterbrickwood3204]

Or Rome where the the Centurion goes out to bring the soldier back into the line.

[@attilathehun5067]

My favourite is the dwarves, the elves totally should have at least waited until the orcs hit the wall, it would have killed a good many of them.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Worst use of a shield wall? Peter Jackson's Battle of Five Armies when the dwarves set a shield wall then the fruity elves leapt over it and got turned into hamburger by a sea of orcs. - Ah, two scenarios in and I realize by "creative uses" you mean "dumb but visually pretty". - The Uruk-Hai tortoise at Helm's Deep was actually soundly done. Which makes it even more infuriating that the same director who gave us that also gave us elves leaping over an interlocked and deeply reinforced dwarven shield wall.

[@myplane150]

A picture of 300 is your background but no mention? Sure, basic wall, but it was soooo damn cool! ☺

[@brianpembrook9164]

And unlike most described here was actually used. With the exception of the clones i would of called the video "5 useless or unused shield walls"

[@majorhawker4776]

The Phalanx is still used today by armor. It was also the best defense against any type of offensive formation outside a Roman Square. I did an entire thesis on how prehistoric Army Tactics through current Modern Tactics. A lot of research but I enjoyed every minute of it.

[@marinuswillett6147]

Didn't the Spartans in that film fight bare chested? That's kinda dumb

[@shakymcjitters5882]

The Roman shield wall from the beginning of "The Eagle" was a good one, the "Testudo" formation, into a circle to protect their buddies. Also the Trojan Shield wall from the movie "Troy" was a really good example too, but you still get that goofy "lets jump over the wall because were morons" moment from the Apollonian Guard.

[@haggus71]

Vikings did the same Hedgehog defense. they would also open a point in the circle and let some of the attackers into the circle, then close the wall and hack them apart. The only guys who broke the wall were Berserkers like Rollo, but there was a purpose. As both lines were struggling, the berserkers would jump over to hack apart the line from behind.

[@shakymcjitters5882]

@@haggus71 There was also the Scottish Schilltron (I think I spelled that right) Same exact concept. They used it against the English.

[@sealog8316]

@@shakymcjitters5882 but with only pikes

[@shakymcjitters5882]

@@sealog8316 that makes sense, for some teason i thought they had bucklers or targes too.

[@sealog8316]

@@shakymcjitters5882 the bucklers and targes were probably used by some in the formations but I think rarely or not at all.

[@paulpierce1001]

10:05 Elves just cant let the dwarves have any glory xD

[@DomainOfCybersmith]

>5 Most Creative Uses of Shield Walls in MOVIES I'm 8 minutes in, and we've only covered television so far.

[@Kyle7885]

Episode 8 of the first season of Last Kingdom had the best shield wall scene I’ve ever seen.

[@thetalantonx]

13:10 - That sarcasm was delivered so dryly it came off as sincerity. I love it.

[@kainslegacy78618]

9:16 Dawi: "Elgi can wait, down with the Urks!"

[@korbin58]

Okay so, there's a few things I need to bring up about what's said here because it feels like there's a bit of misconception about soldiers of the medieval and ancient periods. Firstly most soldiers, and when I say soldiers I do mean soldiers and not a provincial levy who are raised for a few months to a year at a time, were given decent training and a wage for the time. Now they did not get nearly as much as pay as Knights or a Man-at-arms or training, but it was sufficient for what they were expected to do. They could afford very nutritional food, given they didn't drink it all away or spend it on other needs, and in some instances soldiers had as good of a nutritional diet as we do today. Under the best set of circumstances, that being they aren't on the march and have plenty of supplies, Roman Legionaries ate everything from bread baked over an open fire to vegetables and meat roasted alongside one another. Maybe not in as great of a portion size to what we have today, but more than enough. Also in regards to the Boltons using those massive shields, there's another pretty glaring problem with that set-up and that is that there is only one shield per line. If you have a formation set up that's five or six men deep in your line, and 3 of the 6 six have spears and 3 of the six have shields, if one of you die there is suddenly an inconsistency in that part of the line that turns into a weakness. If your shieldman dies, you have a spot that's completely open and you don't have a shield in front of you. If the spearman behind you dies, suddenly the guy in the third row back has to reach all the way forward to stab out in front of you and even then he'll have a significantly shorter reach than the guys around you. Shields that large were never used for a reason, and it's just that they were too damn heavy for someone to carry on one arm for any length of time. But it's a world that also has dragons and magic, so what can you do?

[@DraconimLt]

'Even an armchair general realizes the entertainment value in this scene' (BotB) - maybe they do (I doubt it, but maybe), but I don't, stupid is stupid and DnD had already stopped caring about GoT by this point; 1) Jon had a GIANT, armour the giant, give him a weapon, even an uprooted tree and he would have been almost unstoppable. Also, even as it is, that pikewall would have failed, get the giant to kick a hole in it and everyone rush at it, 4 lines deep could not hold that many men back, looked like the pikewall had LESS men than Jon did! Even without the giant, grab the pikes, yank them UP and the guys with the shield become targets for over the shield strikes. That is why actual historical phalanxes were dozens of men deep and they ALL had pikes. I can see this, why couldn't the producers? 2) Many Northen Houses refused to join Jon and Sansa (an actual named Stark), whereas in the books they don't even have a Stark and they are already plotting against the Boltons, Manderly and Glover especially! 3) AND WHERE THE HECK ARE THE MOUNTAIN CLANS?! They fight for Stannis in the book, because JON told him how to win them over, to avenge Ned and rescue 'arya', so they would have fought for Jon and to save Sansa! AROUND 4,000 men right there! (Though the fact that Sansa was in the North at all shows they don't care about actually telling the story correctly, and don't get me started on that trash parody set in 'Dorne') 4) THEY MADE THE UMBERS DISLOYAL! In the Books Smalljon DIED FOR ROBB at the Red wedding and DnD spat on his memory by making this character hand Rickon over, he wouldn't! Also, Greatjon Umber, Galbart Glover and Maege Mormont are all still alive in the books as are 4 of Maege's 5 daughters, in the show we get 'awesome Lyanna dying as the last of her house wtf', in the books she has had 1 line in a letter, an awesome 1 line yes, but 1 line all the same!

[@iblisthemage]

“this is why I don’t like elves”

[@marinuswillett6147]

I haven't seen GOT, but I've read the books that it's based on. The Unsullied aren't regular Mercenaries. They're slaves trained as soldiers and sold to the highest bidder. Losing their dicks is as much to take away their independence as anything else. Any loss of courage or strength is made up for with drugs, specifically a drink called "Milk of Courage, " or somthing like that. I guess the show must've forgotten to mention that, which is why Allen is confused

[@selectthedead]

Classicly you did not show the most awesome shieldwall, always teased right behind! Where are the heroic greek Spartans? :P

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

have they forgotten the Sons of Dorn and their continued use of Breacher Squads brother Astartes welding Adamantine Shields & Bolters in tight formation also known as Bulwark Squads 😊

[@nicholaspratt8473]

The Dwarven formation is by far the best and would be the most effective if the flanks were reinforced by the elves

[@derektakeno2192]

In star wars, on an open battlefield, blaster fire comes from many angles, and the shield could become more of a hinderance. However, in ship corridors and other narrow areas, it can give a huge advantage.

[@hyakushiki4406]

someone get shadiversity to react to this.

[@auto27user]

he already did some of them though?

[@GenerationFilms]

check out part 2 here >>> kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6DFqHSambGZg68

[@Lucivius27]

In Chinese movie "Curse of The Golden Flower" the empire army literally have a moving wall as a shield against the besieging golden army.

[@detritus23]

Take a look at Eisenstein’s “Alexander Nevsky” for the the cinematic phalanx that rules them all.

[@lukasbocker6740]

Dwarven shield wall: Why don't the elves just start shooting arrows over the wall to slow down and thin out the lines of attacking orcs? Also like you said, the elves carrying swords should just flank the orcs from the sides.

[@Indubidably0]

"Elves friggin piss me off so much..." Yes. "Except for Liv Tyler. She's pretty." Also, yes.

[@peterbrickwood3204]

and Tauriel.

[@WildWhiteNorth]

Great content AND great sense of humour. Thank you.

[@atrioxairsoft5413]

I really want to see a movie that has the visuals of the Hobbit but is directed or at least assisted by someone with actually ancient battle knowledge

[@CZEPolice]

"Red Cliff/Chi bi" has great scenes with shields.

[@godzy323]

As my name suggests, I am not human. However, I do admire your human tenacity for conflict and creativity with shield combat. I thoroughly enjoy these videos and wish you make more "most creative combat tactics" videos =]

[@GenerationFilms]

leave our cities alone!

[@johndavis2905]

Don't do it, Allen. It's a trap!

[@charlescaine6022]

Anywhere Captain America is standing. Until he throws his mighty SHIELD, but then evil has to yield, so I guess that's the battle won.

[@BillyBOB-sm3rl]

Remember back 20ish years ago. A little movie called Gladiator, opening seen, they did a good job making a shield wall. But that was based on real events not fantasy.

[@peterbrickwood3204]

And it had a fire ditch. Sometimes I think all producers are pyromaniacs.

[@blindoutlaw]

Read the book series (skip the TV show) for “The Last Kingdom” Vikings vs Saxons in shield wall battle in the 8th century are amazingly bad ass.

[@ObviouslyNotXenrek]

"Eunuchs are terrible soldiers" I mean, just to be objective here, the purpose of shield walls, and formations in general, is to provide a force multiplier so that you *arent* relying on simply having the beefiest dudes to win a bunch of 1v1 duels. It's also why disciplined armies can fight undisciplined armies despite being outnumbered. It's why in some hema-esque tournaments, even women have won team-bouts, despite doing poorly in duels compared to male competitors

[@evenstarelectricrailway3281]

The Urukhais are part of Sauron's war plan aiming essentially at wiping out everyone that stands in their way, yet you still talk about prisoner treatment.

[@jhonathangonzalez7468]

Men, take it as it is A joke

[@Connor.SG-1Ring]

The Phalanx formations from 300 and Hercules (2014).

[@thecountofmontecristo2796]

"Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today."

[@barrybend7189]

Not a live action movie but Gundam Char's Counter attack with Amuro's beam shield use.

[@crisr.8280]

Loving the fair and critical analysis sprinkled with humor and sarcasm.

[@MauledSeal]

If you haven't seen it I would recommend checking out Red Cliff there is a couple parts in there with shield wall formations. It was the first Movie to come to mind for me when I saw the title.

[@omganotherun]

All those medieval Chinese movies love their giant shield wall formations. Red Cliff comes to mind. Lots of fancy shield wall work in that one. Practical, I dunno, but definitely very fancy.

[@terminusest5902]

Using the shield wall was also used by very highly trained soldiers. And over the ages close formations dominated battles. The main problem in movies is the random, confused melee where lines are broken and people fight 1 to 1. In real life that type of fighting would lead to massive casualties. The most capable forces in European history all fought in tight formations and shield walls. The Greeks had the famous phalanx formations and became some of the best fighters in the world. The most elite Greek unit was called the sacred band of 300 men that where paired as 150 loving couples. But the Romans ended Greek superiority. The Romans were the best at fighting in formations for many centuries. They usually had very good training and a variety of tactics. And all had engineering skills. In tight, close combat the combination of shields and short swords could be devastating. After the Romans came the Vikings that fought with shield wars and dominated much of Europe for a number of centuries. Standing in the wall was highly praised by the Vikings. There was a period when the Swiss were among the best fighters in Europe and used lines of halberds but no shields. The could defend themselves against the highly trained and armored knights. When people started firing muskets the Swiss lost interest in fighting as mercenaries and turned to neutrality. The pikes and halberds were finally replaced by muskets and bayonets. The bayonets still gave protection against cavalry when in tight squares. If infantry units failed to use effective formations they could be devastated by cavalry. And fighting in formations remained in use until after the US Civil War. Game of thrones failed to use formations in combat effectively. The mounted Dothraki should have been used to attack the flanks of the white walkers rather than a head on charge. And the unsullied could have been used better behind the flaming trenches.

[@kuoh13]

Ya gotta check out the shield walls in the first couple episodes of last kingdom on netflix. Its freakin nuts!

[@edi9892]

From what I've heard, the Bolton tactic did exist historically in the middle East in ancient times. Just like later Roman battle formations with their puny Gladius, it requires a lot of discipline and training to work...

[@lordav6960]

I would've brought up the early spanish tercio... But good point

[@lukasbocker6740]

My favorite just because it looks fantastic and it perfectly uses the traits of this fantasy race, is the dwarven shield wall. It fits perfectly to those sturdy, bulky, heavily armored dwarves and makes perfect use of their expert level of craftsmanship when it comes to weaponry and armors. Also I give a lot of credits to the Bolton infantry, just because they use those long, heavy pikes. Those things are just brutal and dominated the battlefields of the late middle ages for a good reason. Also those giant tower shields look fantastic. Just like a mixture of the roman scutum and the medieval pavise, just a lot taller and heavier. Also, great idea to give those shields the small spikes at the end to anchor them in the ground. Fantastic idea, very creative and for a situation like the surrounded Starks and Wildlings a neraly perfect solution, but they lack adapatability, so the riders of the vale could just demolish them. Another good idea would have been to deploy the Bolton infantry just in a high medieval formation with everyone carrying a pike. With the lines behind protecting the front line, they would have been pretty efective against the Starks (even without the protection from the shields) and could easily protect their rear against the incoming cavalry.

[@houndofculann1793]

The shields actually made the entire thing quite ridiculous, as they would actually also protect the enemy from the pikes since soldiers next to each other wouldn't be able to manouver their pikes through those shields to cover any potential attempt of breaking trough the pike line. On top of that, it was only a couple of pikes deep so penetrating it would have been extremely easy, and the shields are so heavy that they would be extremely hard to utilize at all in a battle if your enemy isn't an absolute idiot that manages to gather into a single small clump in the middle of an open field. That entire plan only worked because Jon's army had less brain function that the wights, and preparing for your enemy doing the most stupid things possible is a terrible battle plan for Ramsey. That battle was just a travesty, even if a decently cool looking one.

[@YourFriendKrea]

I loved the dwarf shield wall not only because it looked so cool, but because of whatever awesome dwarf words they said. Also that scene in the last kingdom when the English finally learn a shield wall and fight a Viking shield wall and they back up is dope ass hell 👌

[@coltonpatterson7632]

If I was in say game of thrones i want a shield wall of northerners cause they can fight strong

[@Colonel_Overkill]

Who needs shields when you have 300 meters of plot armor....

[@kaneslives]

In defense of the Unsullied. There main strength comes from the robot like discipline from the training they go through. Also they,like many things from the show, are waaaay better in the books.

[@peterbrickwood3204]

Those spears seemed to be throwing spears and would be an impossible weapon in a confined space, yet their only secondary weapon seemed to be a knife.

[@grendelkahn]

The urukai prison camp would have been funny with "...and after two to three weeks meat is back on the menu"

[@rufustb8314]

The tv show The Last Kingdom does great shield wall battles

[@soluslupus8383]

Really awesome video great job I really enjoyed it.

[@grukk4051]

I think The Last Castle is worth a mention

[@Deridus]

Love that movie. Best use of a "bazooka" ever.

[@Fred-eg9sx]

That Gwent reference earned u a like.

[@gokuissuperman5590]

About the Five Armies scene, I learned in a different review something I hilariously missed: Those elves who jumped the dwarven shield wall should have all been turned into shish kebabs on the dwarven spears when the orc horde hit them like a tidal wave on jagged rocks- win-win for the dwarves I guess, lol.

[@3RAN7ON]

The nordvpn advertisement on internet historian was much more entertaining

[@mattlewandowski73]

If you want a more effective shield wall, equip your shieldmen with romanesque or similar large shields, and a hand axe with a lanyard. Behind them place your spearmen and glaives, then some archers/crossbowmen. The shieldmen use the axes, not to kill enemies, but to fowl their weapons and shields making openings for the polearms and archers to pick off exposed individuals. Behind this hold the reserve forces, both those who are to replace those on the line if any member falls, and those waiting to charge in when your line breaks their line. If you want to make it stronger, place shieldmen among the polearms and archers to serve as umbrellas to protect the troops from incoming arrows. Meanwhile have additional ranks of archers behind your formation lobbing arrows into the enemy ranks continually. You could take it a step further as there where compact ballista that essentially sat on tripods being spear throwing crossbows that you could set up safely in the back ranks. Keep pikemen, skirmishers and cavalry to the back to protect both back and flank from enemy forces.

[@KanuckStreams]

Dwarves: "Let's get stuck in, lads! Kick these elves in the shins!" *they fight, Orcs show up* Dwarves: "Hold on, knife-ears. Sorry, but we hate these shits more than we hate you. We'll kick yer asses after we're done with these maggots!"

[@jacobgebhart7550]

The hobbit really got me the dwarves are a super heavy shieldwall and the elves are master marksman they could've easily taken the orks but they ignore the shieldwall entirely and throw away their lives for a single shot of good cinema

[@ewok40k]

Bolton's tactic is basically what Hannibal did to Romans at Cannae...

[@tjk3430]

I'm guessing the Romans weren't saved last minute by a cavalry charge?

[@ewok40k]

@@tjk3430 exactly... Romans never were big on cavalry, well it was a time before stirrup and high saddles so apart from few examples like Alexanders companions ancient battles lacked the shock cavalry at all

[@maxmagnus3793]

Just my 2 cents on the Battle of the Bastards' Bolton shield wall: First of all their shields are so ridiculously big that they would be really heavy to carry on the battlefield, which makes it even less believable that the entire phalanx was able to quickly run around the flanks of Jon's army. The huge shields also make it impossible for the pikemen to see what's going on in front of them and accurately thrust at the enemy. Second, only one rank of spears reaches past the shield wall, so it should be very easy for the enemy to push in between the spears, force the spears into the ground or chop off the spear shafts with axes. This is opposed to the iconic macedonian phalanx of history where 5 ranks of pikes were able to reach past the shield wall, thus making it much more dangerous to approach the formation.

[@maeror1022]

A massive volley of arrows flying over the dwarves to slaughter the orcs would have been equally as cool. If the Elves really wanted to charge into melee they could also have taken both the flanks, leaving the Dwarves to hold the centre.

[@kainslegacy78618]

You seem to forget that Uruk-hai just love to eat that man-flesh...

[@Angry_Squirrel555]

C’mon, no Spartans at Theomopolis against Xerxes’ forces? But alas no. We get a couple of clone troopers with riot shields.

[@AttiliusRex]

Hows that creative from the moviemakers side :'D

[@100joshtowner]

“Or a modern day protest”😂😂

[@corporategunner5972]

I'd say the Gundam Phalanx from Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower is a good example. Even though it was basically overkill for only a single Royal Guard Zaku II.

[@IronWarhorsesFun]

My lord our scouts have discovered an area of stark territory protected by a massive shield wall. the wall is believed capable of deflecting any bombardment. THE STARKS ARE ALERTED TO OUR PRESENCE, that Bolton's bastard made the little stark scream too loudly.

[@mattgrandich3977]

Any roast of D&D is greatly appreciated, but I do really like Battle of the Bastards. Best battle of the show.

[@ParryThis]

I wouldn't describe the unsullied as merceneries, more as slaves. They don't get payed for their services, they are bought, and used until death.

[@avaraxxblack5918]

6:34 ahhh yeh. The "big problem" is there's a mythological gaint that could have almost single handedly annihilated the enemy. Especially once they stopped shooting a thousand arrows at a time. So under utilized to be honest. It's like having a tank and not using it.

[@khahinmetameta7826]

Comics Roman shield Wall +Asterix and obeliks + whole village who drank magic potion= flying Romans

[@softg3849]

GOOD VIDEO MATE!

[@leonardogiuliani6148]

That Helms Deep battle is so good and so bad at the same time. Its like a perfect fortress in many aspects, for example the citadel entrance isnt alligned with the main wall entrance. Advanced medival castle desing. Yet, the citadel has no gate or the forgot to close it... and the main gate for the wall, has a thin bridge... but thats it, no porticullus, no second gate and no killing ground. Its worst when they fail so close to get it right

[@TheSlamburger]

I think an honorable mention should go the The Dragon Prince (Yes, it’s a cartoon, not a movie but still) Remember the final battle where the Sunfire elves locked shields and did the cool shockwave thing? Yeah

[@AxeBearWhoCares]

I wouldn’t call the infantry generally poorly trained. Most nations throughout history had laws demanding men train a few times a month.

[@daralic2255]

Allen in a tank top....the highlight of the video

[@randomlygeneratedname]

The Bolton sheild wall is actually pretty effective in static defenceive positions but would have 0 mobility places like defending choke point with unscalable terrain would be great for it.

[@houndofculann1793]

It would, but it would be pretty damn terrible in an open field like the battle was in. The plan only worked because their enemies also fought like idiots

[@randomlygeneratedname]

@@houndofculann1793 that and the sheer numbers advantage