Unauthorized?

This is coolbert:

Here from the book "Dien Bien Phu" another instance of the crossbow as used in modern warfare.

As employed by the French irregular fighting force in Indo-China, the GCMA.

GCMA analogous to American Special Forces ["Green Berets"], fighting an unconventional war against the Viet Minh, often employing weaponry chosen for stealth, to include the crossbow:

"The GCMA was fighting a unique type of warfare, calling for a special type of soldier. Capt. Deodat Puy-Montbrun was one of them. Four times wounded, holder of nineteen citations and a commandeur de la Legion d'honneur at thirty-six, Puy Montbrun led his mixed-race command group on innumerable hazardous operations behind enemy lines. Slipping ashore on moonless nights or dropping into jungle clearings armed with silencer-equipped weapons, infrared night scopes, handguns, and fighting knives."

. . . .

"Puy-Montbrun's men, the ultimate masters of stealth, sometimes used a crossbow. 'Imagine,' he recalls with a laugh, 'if I'd told the headquarters' operations division that!'"

Crossbows as used by the montagnard tribesmen of Indo-China. Crossbows described in the Robin Moore book "The Green Berets" as used for hunting monkey. Also could be used for HUNTING HUMANS AS WELL!

Fighting knife tactics and methods as employed by a variety of martial arts forms and practiced by the GCMA troopers or their montagnard charges?

Keep it simple and keep it quiet!

[I recall reading of American Huey helicopters in Vietnam returning from a low-level mission and finding crossbow bolts stuck in the bellies of the "choppers"! Apocrypha or otherwise I cannot say.]

coolbert.

Use?

This is coolbert:

Here thanks to the astute and observant reader to the blog, Edward, an occurrence of the crossbow as used in modern warfare!

An archaic weapon finding surprising usage!

"British-made crossbows 'used by Serb soldiers'"

"Whitehall [the British foreign office] has launched an investigation into reports that British-manufactured crossbows have been used by Serb soldiers against the Kosovo Liberation Army" [this particular archived entry from the Guardian dated 1999]

"[crossbows] were not covered by export restrictions. 'They are not on the military list,' a spokesman said yesterday."

"the foreign office [British] has asked the department of trade and industry and HM customs to launch an inquiry . . . and whether they should be covered by a European Union or United Nations embargo."

Who would ever think to embargo them? Who would ever think the crossbow would be used in modern warfare?

"crossbows and 'other exotic weapons' were used by Arkan, the Serbian paramilitary leader"

Arkan led the MOST [?] savage of all the Serb paramilitaries in the various Balkan "episodes"! NOT conventional fighters but better termed IRREGULARS, a mercenary-type of para-military organization for which "spoils" were an important part of the fighting. [among the Ottomans, such persons were referred to as bashi-bazooks!]

"Crossbows are believed to be used for hunting deer by poachers in Britain"

Right - - exactly! Crossbows are used in the U.S. ILLEGALLY for hunting! Give the hunter too MUCH of an advantage and are not considered to be "sporting"! BANNED for hunting in most states?

And are DEADLY IN THE EXTREME! A father thinking that giving his son a crossbow as a present and a "quaint" way of amusing the son will rue such a decision, such is the damage the weapon can cause.

Too, I am attempting to find out more concerning those Degar crossbows and combat use of same during the Vietnam conflict!

Thanks again to Edward!!


coolbert.

Crossbow - - Again.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to the blog:

"Anonymous said...
This analysis has been entirely ripped from an outdated Wiki page which in turn was ripped from research carried out on survivalistboards.com. Either is a much better resource than this page and it is deplorable that this comes in at no. 1 under military crossbow google search"

Hey, all I do is present the material and let the chips fall as they may.

This is all referring to the previous blog entry of mine dealing with modern military uses of the the crossbow. An archaic weapon still finding application?

And it has been noted by another subscriber that my post including the picture of the MARCOS troop equipped with crossbow was out-of-date by several decades [?].

Perhaps it is better to consider that instance where I mention the last [?] real-world USAGE of crossbows in warfare. The collection of montagnard [Degar] crossbows as found at the War Museum, Pontiac, Illinois. Real-honest-to-GOD hand-made crossbows of different shapes and varieties, AS WOULD HAVE BEEN WIELDED BY VIETNAMESE MONTAGNARDS IN COMBAT DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND INDO-CHINESE WAR!!

I merely present the material for perusal by one and all. Expert and lay person alike. It does surprise - - that in the modern age - - the crossbow is still a "weapon" alive and well and finding application?

More comments on the topic are invited.

Can anyone suggest other instances of where the crossbow has found actual usage in modern combat other than by the Vietnamese montagnard?

coolbert.

Commentary - - Crossbow.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to the blog by an astute and informed reader:

"I don't know if you read comments but crossbow is not used by marcos any longer. The photo you put up is about 20 years old I believe. Now they are equipped with silenced pistols."

Thank you anonymous. YES, I read and moderate all comments. I just wish that there were MORE!

Your point is well taken.

1. Even from twenty years ago, the average-everyday-man-in-the-street would still be amazed and perhaps even puzzled that a modern military force would find an application for the crossbow?

2. Do you have info as to what sort of silenced pistol MARCOS now employs? Indigenous Indian design or of foreign manufacture?

Thanks.

coolbert.

Crossbow.

This is coolbert:

"They are not only a silent killer, they also have a psychological effect".

Recall that photo of the Indian MARCOS [Marine commando] with crossbow? From a previous blog entry. An archaic weapon perhaps not so archaic? Definitely NOT so!

Here from Suvorov on the crossbow, the deadliness of same, and the potential use by Soviet/Russian special operations forces [Spetsnaz]!

"In spetsnaz the most up-to-date weapons exist side by side with a weapon which has long been forgotten in all other armies or relegated to army museums. One such weapon is the crossbow. However amusing the reader may find this, the crossbow is in fact a terrible weapon which can put an arrow right through a man at a great distance and with great accuracy."

[AND IS NOISELESS, AS COMPARED TO EVEN A SILENCED OR MUFFLED FIREARM!!]

"that noiseless action is exactly what spetsnaz needs today. The modern crossbow is of course, very different in appearance and construction from the crossbows of previous centuries . . . It is aimed by means of optical and thermal sights . . . The arrows are made with the benefit of the latest research in ballistics and aerodynamics. The bow itself is a very elegant affair, light, reliable and convenient To make it easy to carry it folds up."

Crossbows, the modern version, ARE a deadly weapon! Advancements in technology, cranking devices to "cock", optical sights, bolts of ingenious variety for killing [the "arrows" fired from a crossbow are technically referred to as a "bolt"!!], high-tech material for stock, etc. All make for a deadly combination. The recurve variety is the crossbow of choice for the military?

"Recurve crossbows are still used by elite military organizations when stealth and accuracy are required for assassination missions."



AND SILENT TOO!! Especially useful for special operations units when stealth is a factor!

And from the wiki entry on crossbows, we find:

"Indian Navy's Marine Commando Force were equipped until the late 1980s with crossbows supplied with cyanide-tipped arrows, as an alternative to suppressed handguns."

NO! This is a violation of the Laws of Land Warfare! Using poisoned weapons in this manner is illegal!

In fact, the militaries of a whole host of nations in addition to the Soviets/Russians and Indians still use the crossbow to some extent. Militaries to include:

* Peru.
* Brazil.
* Serbia.
* China.
* Greece.
* Turkey.



The above photo shows Peruvian troops with crossbows. Those objects carried diagonally across the body in the manner of a haversack are ropes for a zip-line!

"A zip-line (also known as a flying fox, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide or tyrolean crossing) consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline."

coolbert.