03-05-2013, 03:07 AM
Quote:Technological level of Ancient armor was nowhere near that of Late Medieval and Early Renaissance plate armor. Also horses used by heavy cavalry in the Middle Ages were larger and of better breed.
...
You would have to precise which exactly period and area of the Middle Ages do you mean.
- This has nothing to do with the average cavalry contingent of most if any medieval armies. Showing the armor worn by 5 men out of a hundred or more means nothing at a tactical level. All the way up to the 15th century, which to me is a turning point because of the introduction of effective gunpowder arms, (and later) there were very few armies that could boast to have homogenous units of men uniformly equipped, trained and disciplined. There is no way to compare the overall effectiveness of a cavalry unit in a regular army to that of an army based on the whims of the counts and dukes of medieval Europe. Everything that had to do with the logistics and support of medieval armies was also usually much inferior. Of course, as always, exceptions existed, like certain Byzantine units in some eras.
- Infantry in Medieval Europe, and this is what is most important as to why cavalry was more ready to charge massed infantry, albeit in "feint" charges, was generally much inferior in all aspects to that of the major ancient powers we occupy ourselves when making such comparisons. Certain elite contingents were an exception to this rule, but these were usually relatively small in number and only a part of armies that comprised low-quality foot easily intimidated by charging cavalry. The uniformity, professionalism, discipline and quality of the state infantry of antiquity was very very rarely rivaled throughout the medieval years.
- I "tore" a small part of your post, because this is what I wanted to comment on. Why should I want to comment on your unlucky WWII comparison? My answer included all I wanted to say about your post. If the Parthians wanted to risk their "nukes" they would have.. as a matter of fact, they did not, so what is your comparison about?
