French troops might have a better chance in the battle of Agincourt against England when they were not encumbered by heavy armor. A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, mid-July, showed that soldiers who wear armor in medieval times had to spend twice the power than if they do not wear it.
heavy armor's blamed as main factor of French troop defeat
The study provides the first experimental evidence that really shows that the metal protective clothing that restrict the performance of the soldier. During the wars in the 15th century, the troops must wear a metal plate, which generally weighs 30-50 pounds. Clothes are meant as a protector of the body of the enemy's weapon is probably one of the factors that determine whether a troop won or lost in battle.
"We found that the load-carrying scattered throughout the body needs energy far greater than the carrying backpack weighs the same," said the study's lead researcher, Dr Graham Askew School of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds. "When wearing armor, limbs burdened with the weight, which means it takes more effort to swing the feet high when walking. If a soldier carrying a backpack, weighs a total of at one place and they can move more easily. "
The study showed that people who wear armor had to take many short breaths. "Wrapped in a tight armor might make the soldiers feel safe," said Dr Federico Formenti of the University of Auckland. "But you can not breathe when it begins to move in medieval armor, and this will limit the endurance of soldiers to fight."
Experts assisted the Royal Armouries in Leeds, a joint team of researchers from several universities in Leeds (England), Milan (Italy), and Auckland (Australia) were tested replicas of four different types of armor from Europe. They tested the ability of people ran and walked while wearing the garment as well as measuring the use of oxygen by mask respirometry to determine how much energy is used.
