well I have no clue as to how much of that story is true, but I think you could do quite the damage with a longbow if you know how to use it properly and if you have modern arrows. The range of a british longbow used to be around 200m. + they arent as loud as guns, so I guess they could be used in assaults.
Also, imagine the faces of anyone seeing someone get hit by an arrow while walking besides to a tank. Thats some avatar shit right there!