>>63913560
>To me naval combat has seen arguably more horrific deaths than ground combatants
Don't underestimate the terror of being in melee, especially on the losing side. I remember reading that when they dug up skeletons from the Battle of Towton, they found the men's teeth had been broken by the sheer force of how hard they were gritting their teeth due to the stress. And this was in the age before sugar, when people had healthier teeth.
Towton was during a period of armor ascendency as well, so it was pretty hard to kill men in full plate. Most of them were probably chased until they collapsed from exhaustion, then surrounded and smashed in the head with bills till their helmets came off or gave way.