Chapter 1749
Words:779Update:22/12/25 09:09:44
The kinetic energy formula in physics tells us that if you want to increase the kinetic energy of an object, you have to work on speed and mass.
For heavy cavalry, the warhorse's speed is relatively stable. Thus, if you want to increase kinetic energy, you have to work on mass. For individual cavalry, the way to increase mass is to increase armor. This way, you can increase both the impact and defense. It can be said to be killing two birds with one stone. Moreover, heavy cavalry was developed according to this train of thought.
However, compared to cavalry as a whole, the way to increase mass is to increase the number of cavalry. The impact of a massive heavy cavalry formation is not inferior to a modern armored formation!
Thus, regardless of east or west, heavy cavalry formations are shockingly similar. China's "Armored Cavalry" and "Iron Stupa" all pursue a powerful impact to crush the opponent. In the Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty's heavy cavalry unit, "Guzi Ma", in order to increase the impact of the heavy cavalry formation, they were even connected by iron chains.
As for the west, due to the importance of cavalry's impact, they placed far more importance on their mobility. Thus, the greatest characteristic of heavy cavalry tactics is their cohesion. Cavalry battles are the same as infantry. Both sides are arranged in a neat formation to charge at each other. In order to demonstrate this simple tactic, maintaining a neat formation is extremely important for heavy cavalry. This is extremely rare in light cavalry tactics.
The heavy cavalry group charging tactic was the key for an army to form a powerful first assault force. Under normal circumstances, the attacking side would use the heavy cavalry formation to directly tear apart the opponent's first or second defensive formation, providing the conditions for the following troops to join in the battle.
As early as the 8th century AD, the heavy cavalry of the Carolingian Dynasty started using cavalry formation to charge. Ever since the fall of the Roman Empire, Charlemagne established the Carolingian Army with heavy cavalry as the core. In every battle, they have performed well. The Carolingian Cavalry was the first recorded unit to use heavy cavalry to charge. The classic charging action is to hold the javelin horizontally, using the warhorse's speed to imbue the javelin with great impact, causing great damage to the opponent.
Therefore, a strong shoulder and arm strength was absolutely necessary for a heavy cavalry! Of course, in addition to this, heavy cavalry also had to have a certain level of close combat skills. This was because when the impact tactic tore apart the enemy's defensive line, the heavy cavalry needed to engage in close combat with the scattered enemy. Regarding this point, the western heavy cavalry history was especially crazy.
According to records, during the Middle Ages in France, where heavy cavalry tactics were prevalent, one of the qualifications for a knight was to fight with a wild boar bare-handed without any armor. Only by killing the wild boar could one pass. This was also the reason why the cavalrymen of Abba tried their best to avoid close combat with the crusaders. Due to the almost crazy pursuit of individual combat skills, the western heavy cavalry used a large number of competitions to maintain combat skills when there was no war. This kind of competition later developed into an important social activity, an important means to win honor, solve disputes, and even attract the opposite sex.
Li Zexuan had referred to the charging tactics of the Western heavy cavalry in the Middle Ages and combined them with the current situation of the Tang Empire. He had come up with a training manual for the Black Armored Army. It might not be the best, but it was definitely the most suitable for the current Black Armored Army!
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