heavy cavalry engaging heavy cavalry

[Mark Hygate]

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Imagine a squadron of two ranks, knee to knee galloping at the charge. One horse in the front rank hits a pothole or is felled by a missile, it goes down, it may take out one or both of the horses on either side, and also one or more horses in the following rank - as they cannot swerve aside because they are hemmed in. Not an efficient way of making a charge - charge knee to knee at the trot, or at the gallop in a more open order..............

........often charged in just one rank of horsemen, NOT two ranks...............

Other ranks of horsemen waited in reserve, while only one rank was engaging the enemy at once. They were replacing each other and charging in turn. After charge and impact, each rank was withdrawing, soon after that another rank was charging.............

Only when enemy formation was finally broken, all ranks were charging to help finish off the enemy................

I'd particularly like to link these elements to discussions we've had before, particularly when it comes to cavalry formations and Asclepiodotus, Arrian, Aelian, et al.

For later periods we do have the detail that is missing in ancient manuals - how troops actually fought. So, whilst it is reasonable for multi-rank deep formations of cavalry to form up on parade and even manouever en masse, charging and actual tactical use simply has to be in single lines. Hence still my contention that a Roman turmae most probably fought in 3 individual ranks of 10 - and the square, rhombus and other multi-rank formations in some of the manuals do not detail how they actually fought.