В реальном бою метали топоры или ножи?

Often in modern mass media, be it games or movies, you can see how various characters throw cold weapons, knives, axes, sometimes swords, but mostly the first two. However, will it be advisable to do something like this in a real battle? Could the warriors of the past actually defeat the enemy with the throwing of such a weapon? In short, axes and knives are metal, but not quite as you imagine. No one tried to quietly take off the watch, and almost no one tried to throw an ax through the entire battlefield to kill a random commander who stands behind the troops, but everything is in order. Yes, people threw axes. The image of the Vikings and the Indians is quite common, so that you have an idea of ​​it, but such a concept as a long-range weapon has an ambiguous spectrum of definition. Axes and axes are very different, but the above term can be applied to both. In the modern context, which is almost always under the strong influence of fantasy, a long-range weapon, as a rule, carries the meaning of such a weapon that allows you to reach the enemy at a distance. In other words, your bow does not allow you to approach the enemy too close. An arrowhead is a hold or fence of the enemy. The bow allows you to attack due to fortifications at a great distance. However, the thing is that not all throwing weapons are a factor of holding, and most of the throwing weapons of antiquity were the complete opposite, giving the opportunity to approach the enemy. The Roman saw is perhaps the most famous example of a throwing weapon, which is not a long-range weapon in the normal sense. We threw the saw in the process of preparing for close combat, not instead of it. However, many other types of throwing weapons functioned in a similar way. Throwing knives and axes is undoubtedly an exciting occupation, but in the modern world such skills are useless. 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And don't forget about the nice bonuses. In the Middle Ages, in many fencing treatises, it was proposed to throw weapons as follows. Throw a spear at a person to get a window to hit with a sword, throw a sword to get a window to hit with a dagger, and so on. These examples have never been a doctrinal system, but rather are nuances of fencing and weapon handling. That is, a person with a sword should have in mind that in case of what he can throw a sword to attack with a dagger. And the same thing he could expect from the opponent. But this category also includes a lot of throwing axes. During the shock of the emigration of the tribes, a new tribe of fierce warriors appeared in the west of Germany, which soon became known as the Franks. They were a union of Germanic tribes from the Rhine region, which was formed for mutual protection and was first mentioned by the Romans in 242 AD. As the legend goes, the Franks got their name from the Axe of Francis. From the works of Tacitus, it is known that the two tribes of the Germans split under the pressure of the Romans, and then were reborn as an alliance. Apparently, the use of the Axe of Francis was the result of a cultural metamorphosis, which was reflected in the military tactics of the Franks. Usually, this ax had an arc-shaped shape, which ended with a pronounced edge both from above and below the blade. Modern replicas have a handle length of about 40-45 cm, a cutting edge of 10 cm, and an average weight of about 600 grams. Axes found in the castles of England had a head length of 15 cm. Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea described the Franks as follows. Each man wore a sword, shield and ax. The iron head of the ax was very thick and very sharp on both sides, and the wooden handle was very short. And they were always used to throwing these axes at the signal, going into the first attack, and thus breaking shields and killing people. Procopius clearly makes it clear that the Franks threw axes only when preparing for battle in close contact. Tests conducted by Adam Saladin show that the ax can be confidently thrown from a distance of up to 10 meters, and a successfully thrown ax pierces a Roman shield, stuck dead in it. This is also very similar to the principle of work of the Roman pilgrim, when his throw should have made the shield unusable for use. Some sources describe Francis as the main weapon of the Frankish infantry during the reign of Hlodwig. Based on this, it can be said for sure that throwing axes was a normal phenomenon in battle. But here it should be understood that no one carried a bundle of 10 axes with them to throw them left and right. The warriors had one ax that was thrown to crush the enemy. It's just hard to carry axes with you. They are heavy compared to arrows, bolts or stones. Not as practical as the pilums. Actually, for this reason, the Franks also had their own analogue of the pilum. Throwing swords is a bit strange. In medieval fencing treatises, you can find mentions of throwing swords. And this is enough to conclude what it was. The sword is prepared for the throw and is thrown with an arrow forward. This is rather a way to win a small moment in time than a way to defeat the opponent. In this sense, throwing a sword is similar to throwing a knife. It's not about the attack, it's about preparation for it. Therefore, throwing a sword is somehow strange. If you threw a sword, then what are you going to attack with? If you have a spear, then you can throw it. If you threw a sword, then you have a dagger left. And this is a very risky step. After all, if the opponent dodged the thrown sword, your dagger will lose a lot in reach. However, this was sometimes done, and sometimes it could work. Otherwise, no one would write about it. In one of the earliest medieval treatises by Furid and Liberi in the early 15th century, there is a short note on the throwing of a long sword. In the treatise of Michael Hunde of 1611, numerous techniques of throwing are given. If a person is too tired to continue the fight, a throw of a rapier, although risky, may be better than continuing to fight on swords. Michael describes it this way. If, however, your lightness is tired and you cannot continue, especially when your life is in danger, then take a rapier as a cushion, swing with all your might and throw it into the group, and look around in search of advantages and take advantage of them by finding a refuge to save life and limbs, when you can't do anything else. By throwing a rapier into the group of attackers, you can win time to escape. However, if a whole group of enemies attacked your lightness along the way, then take your rapier with both hands and throw it into the whole group and see where your lightness will be able to get cover. The most interesting thing here is throwing a knife. What is the tactical meaning of throwing a knife? Well, just to save the rapier, nothing like that. If you are armed with a rapier and a dagger and met an opponent with a similar weapon, you should expect him to throw a dagger in your direction. According to Michael, this gives a short-term advantage for striking. In general, the dagger should have worked like a dagger, that is, it is not a small knife for bread. Otherwise, throwing knives in battle is practically meaningless. In Hollywood action movies, and not only in them, we see how the main character throws a knife and gets into the neck of some villain from a distance of 20 meters or so. Maybe there are several people on earth capable of such feats, but they devoted their entire lives to this occupation. In addition, the chance of missing is quite high, and a thrown knife has almost no chance of causing a serious injury, only if it does not hit the neck or the back of the head. In games, we can see how in this way they shoot watchmen at military bases or something like that. But in reality, this, too, most likely will not work. Our trained military man throws a knife and cleverly removes one watchman. Then, with the help of luck, he does this trick again. Now he has run out of knives, and he gets a very quiet pistol with a silencer. The only thought in his head at that moment is, damn it, why didn't I just get the gun from the very beginning? And this is an unrealistic scenario that simply will not exist in real life. The conclusions are that the effectiveness of throwing a weapon in copper is greatly exaggerated, and in real fights, metal is mostly a spear and an axe to crush the opponent with defenses and weaken them before close contact.