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M108 - Swiss horse crossbowman

ref. EK Castings Zinnfigur M108

EK Castings - M108 - Swiss horse crossbowman - 1460-1495
Switzerland was a confederation of lands (cantons) and had neither a common state authority nor a common army. Political issues were dealt with in the representative Diet, and wars were fought either jointly, or by the unions of several cantons. The mountainous and wooded landscape did not contribute to the development of cavalry, so the Swiss acquired the glory of skilled infantry. 
Horse crossbowmen of the Burgundy Wars period were mainly accompanied by advanced detachments as scouts. In the battle they usually entered on foot. During the movement of the marching column, 12 horse crossbowmen always rode ahead. The main forces of the column were closed by the captain commanded by the detachment, and 12 crossbowmen were also among the horse suite.
Clothing and equipment of the Swiss correspond to the generally accepted European standards. To distinguish the Swiss arrow from his opponent - a Burgundian could only be on a cloth white cross sewn on clothes. On the head, a German salad with a movable visor is put on top of the hood with fringe. According to the fashion of that time, the helmet is decorated with ribbon and feathers. Hands are protected by steel arms with elbow pads. The main armor is the brigandine, which is a cloth jacket, covered with rows of rivets from steel plates located on the underside. An additional protection is a steel bib-placard. On the legs are high leather boots with turned upside-down boots. As a cold weapon - a large one-and-a-half sword. Outside of the battle for the main weapon - a crossbow, a leather case was put on to prevent wetting. Crossbow arrows (bolts) are stored in a fur-lined box case. To the belt hung the necessary item of equipment of each crossbowman - a mechanism for string tensioning. The Kranekin or the German gate was a round metal case with a handle and a rack. To cock the crossbow, it was necessary to get off the horse, to restrain the staple-stirrup of the crossbow into the ground and press it with the foot. Connect the gate to the butt of the crossbow with the help of loops. Then it was necessary to rotate the handle, which by means of the system of gears brought in the forward movement the rack, pulling the bowstring. The flight of an arbalest bolt did not exceed 600 m. A good shooter at a distance of 400 m could get into a man, and from 50 m into a hen's egg.