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I've seen TV docs demonstrate chain-driven crossbows, & read about Greeks having the ability to pressurize & store air in cylinders. I've also seen diagrams of ancient Chinese "arrow battery" shields (one guy with a tall shield & 3-5 crossbows).
How much impact on ancient, & up to Medieval (or later?), warfare would this tech have, had it been commonplace? Is it even practical? (I picture a two- or three-man team carrying a shield with bows plus a couple of airbottles & a few hundred arrows.)
Does the proliferation of rapid-fire archery drive the need for *armored cars, or even *tanks? (That does seem to follow.)
What would this do to naval warfare? What do ships look like if they can "rapid"-fire arbalests? Do they end up much like cannon-armed ships?
Does this make castles enormously harder to capture? Or easier? Or does it balance out?