I’ve always said that the halberd is the Swiss army knife of weapons. You’ve got an unarmored peasant side, an armored enemy side, and a mounted enemy point.
MyArmoury.com agrees in an article that explores the overlooked history of the polearm:
Most of these poleaxes, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries, had a spike on the top which allowed them to be potent thrusting weapons as well as being able to attack in both directions (axe or hammer on one side and a hammer or spike on the other). The presence of a spike(s) (or a fluke as it is sometimes called), hammer head and/or an axe head on the same weapons creates problems in classifying these weapons. A single poleaxe may combine the crushing power of the warhammer, the cleaving power of the long-handled (Danish) axe, and the thrusting capability of the spear.
I concur, mainly because it gives me an excuse to re-run this image of a boy and his best friend:
Does anyone else remember the IMAO Peace Gallery? Even IMAO doesn’t.
Michael Williams quips:
Don’t bring a longsword to a poleaxe fight.
I shan’t.