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and deadliness of the great Welsh bows, paid well. Only one man was wounded badly enough so that Simon directed he be carried down. Many others were lightly hurt; with their injuries bound they were able to continue to fight. |
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Those among the attackers struck by the wide, barbed head of a longbow shaft were not so fortunate. The narrower head of a crossbow bolt could be drawn out with little further hurt; the longbow arrow had to be pushed through or cut out. If it was pulled out, the flesh was torn in a wide swath because the broad back-sloping barbs caught and held wherever they entered. |
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Despite the efforts of the archers on the walls, the spanning devices were set and ladders began to rise. Two out of three of Simon's men laid aside their bows, picked up stout, hooked poles, and began to try to push the ladders over. This was tricky work, since the crossbowmen shot as hard and fast as they could to prevent it. Fortunately, as the defenders bent low in the crenel openings, they exposed less of themselves as targets. Those who had retained their bows continued to shoot at the men trying to raise the ladders. |
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As rapidly as the ladders rose, they were tipped over. Here and there one remained upright long enough for some men to mount. When they were about halfway up, the crossbowmen in that area began to slack their fire. That permitted more daring efforts to overturn the ladders, and Simon could hear the cries when the efforts were successful, the ladders tipped, and the men fell. |
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Now Simon could see that some of his men were deliberately waiting until the ladders were half-full. He weighed the danger and the profit and then shouted for the other teams to do the same. There was a chance that the men would misjudge their timing and so many would get up on the ladder that it would become too heavy to overturn; however, the few assaulters that |
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