Post by dpd on Dec 5, 2022 16:46:21 GMT
Camels and elephants both have a frightening effect on horse cavalry because of their size, smell and strange appearance (such as the Battle of Thymbra where Cyrus the Great of Persia used camels with great effect against the Lydian cavalry, or when Burmese elephants initially frightened off Mongol cavalry, forcing them to dismount to use their bows).
And unlike horse cavalry, camelry and elephants can form a solid defensive wall (again see the battle of Thymbra) - a living "war wagon".
So can we stop equating 2cm and 3cm with 2lh and 3kn?
Horses and camels were simply not used the same way tactically and their battlefield strengths and movement rates were completely different (horses being much faster than camels except on BG/sand dunes).
We should also stop treating elephants as if their only weapon was shock action stomping on opponents. Most elephants came equipped with saddle towers that held up to a dozen archers, javelin and pikemen. They were mobile weapon platforms. As such, elephants are more like cavalry instead of knights. Unless they panicked and stampeded (which rarely happened) then they would be more like a behemoth "warband" or "expendable" equivalent.
For a start, I would suggest that elephant combat factors be reversed to +4 against foot and +5 against all horse types.
We could also increase 3cm combat factor against mounted to +4 and increase its BG movement rate to 2 (if the BG is desert terrain). In any case stop equating 2cm to 2lh (with similar changes the combat and movement).
P.S. Any historical examples of camelry facing war elephants?
And unlike horse cavalry, camelry and elephants can form a solid defensive wall (again see the battle of Thymbra) - a living "war wagon".
So can we stop equating 2cm and 3cm with 2lh and 3kn?
Horses and camels were simply not used the same way tactically and their battlefield strengths and movement rates were completely different (horses being much faster than camels except on BG/sand dunes).
We should also stop treating elephants as if their only weapon was shock action stomping on opponents. Most elephants came equipped with saddle towers that held up to a dozen archers, javelin and pikemen. They were mobile weapon platforms. As such, elephants are more like cavalry instead of knights. Unless they panicked and stampeded (which rarely happened) then they would be more like a behemoth "warband" or "expendable" equivalent.
For a start, I would suggest that elephant combat factors be reversed to +4 against foot and +5 against all horse types.
We could also increase 3cm combat factor against mounted to +4 and increase its BG movement rate to 2 (if the BG is desert terrain). In any case stop equating 2cm to 2lh (with similar changes the combat and movement).
P.S. Any historical examples of camelry facing war elephants?
