Why didn't you pay attention to cavalry and chariots in the pre-Qin period?

Stirrups are only part of the reason. Early horses couldn't ride at all. At the latest, around 1200 BC, horses specially designed for people to ride were finally bred successfully, creating conditions for the emergence of cavalry. In the early days, cavalry was only used for communication and reconnaissance, and later it replaced chariots with mobility advantage. The advantage of cavalry in mobility mainly lies in its flexibility and ability to pass through complex terrain.

Cavalry is a long-term dominant arm in the era of cold weapons, and it can even be said that it is in a dominant position. In the era of cold weapons, they can be seen in all important battles. Even in the First World War at the beginning of the 20th century, you can still see thousands of war horses and their riders on all fronts. Until the tank stepped onto the war stage as the successor of cavalry, cavalry units can be said to be stubbornly sticking to their positions. However, we have noticed an interesting phenomenon, that is, some netizens around us are questioning the dominant position of cavalry, thinking that cavalry is only the same role as infantry auxiliary team on the battlefield, or it is at a disadvantage in the battle with infantry. And according to some examples and game settings to prove their point of view.

This is a contradiction. Why is the choice of cavalry in history inconsistent with some understanding of cavalry now? In order to find out this question, it is necessary to find out the answer to another question, why cavalry is dominant in the cold weapon era. In order to answer this question, it is inevitable to go back to history and make a simple and comprehensive review of the rise, development and decline of cavalry.

Humans tamed wild horses around 2500 BC, much later than humans tamed cows and donkeys. Because the speed of cattle is too slow and the size of donkey is too small, domestication of these two animals has not had a great impact on the development of human military skills and tactics. However, horse training not only changed the culture of nomadic people, but also changed the comparison of military strength between farming people and nomadic people in ancient civilization. The balance of military power tended to the nomadic side, which led to two large-scale invasions by nomadic people on the farming people in BC 1700 and BC 1200, ending the ancient civilized moderns. Because the size and strength of the early domesticated horses were not enough to support the riding of armed knights according to the current standards, the early nomads invented the carriage with the help of the invented wheel technology, so there appeared the horse-drawn chariot specially used for war. However, nomadic people have always insisted on the breeding of horse breeds, which makes the speed and strength of horses increase continuously and their bodies become bigger and bigger. At the latest around 1200 BC, the riding horse specially for people to ride was finally successfully selected, which created conditions for the emergence of cavalry. This is basically consistent with the earliest cavalry recorded in history, which can be traced back to around 1000 BC. Around 1700 BC, nomadic people riding chariots invaded agricultural civilization, and at the same time spread chariot technology and tactics to agricultural people in all directions. After learning and improving the tactics and techniques of chariots, the indigenous people who were not eliminated in the invasion immediately drove the nomadic people out of their homes. In fact, except for the Middle East, the center of the birthplace of civilization, almost all other civilizations in Eurasia were destroyed in this invasion. Aside from the topic, there is a miraculous exception, that is, the Chinese civilization in East Asia still exists (which led to the debate on the origin of Shang Dynasty and the disagreement on the technical origin of Chinese bronzes and chariots). This can explain why in the existing historical documents, ancient civilizations regarded chariots as superior weapons in wars, and even in the terrain that is not suitable for cavalry activities like the Greek Peninsula, there are records of using chariots. Different nationalities use chariots in different ways. Like nomads, Egyptians used to use bows and arrows in chariots, but Hittites preferred to use spears, while warriors in Shang Dynasty used both bows and arrows. In BC 1200, nomadic people on horseback once again broke into the center of agricultural civilization, bringing about major military changes. Although the duration of this invasion is shorter than that of the first invasion, it determines the basic trend of human military history in the next 3000 years, and also indicates the arrival of the cavalry era. Since then, it has become an important factor related to the future of civilization for the farming people living in the plain area with flat terrain and no danger to defend. Perhaps due to the limitation of the source of excellent horses, or out of respect for tradition, chariots have existed in agricultural civilization for quite some time. In this period, except nomads (to be exact, most of them), the task of cavalry in the early stage of agricultural civilization was to cooperate with chariots. The earliest cavalry of agricultural civilization were nobles with lower status but richer status. Their wealth is enough to support horses and better weapons. In addition, hiring cavalry from nomadic tribes is also a common method to obtain cavalry in this era. The general situation of cavalry use in this period can be obtained from the changes of Assyrian army.

Around 3000 BC, ancient Assyrian tribes appeared in the northeast of Mesopotamia plain, and Assyrian cities were built on the west bank of Tigris River. The northwest is threatened by Hittites, and the southeast is threatened by Sumer-Babylonians. On a flat plain, Assyrians have no danger to defend. Facing the threat of powerful foreign enemies, Assyrians can only maintain their independence and sovereignty by constantly innovating military technology and perfecting the military system. Therefore, Assyrians are the first people in the world to fully realize that iron weapons are superior to bronze weapons, and they are also the first people in the world to establish a real military system. Assyria chose chariots and cavalry for the same historical reasons.

Around 2030 BC, after the collapse of Sumerian Empire, Assyria entered the ancient kingdom. We know that at this stage, the Assyrian military strength, like other farming civilizations, is mainly infantry. This infantry tactic is not much different from contemporary troops in application. Due to the lack of information, I can only speculate based on the military system of the Central Asian Empire and the Roman Legion, which are also mainly infantry. Because the situation of Assyrian militia in the ancient kingdom was similar to that of the earlier Romans, and the military service system of reservists was implemented, and they were all free peasants. When the war required, some were recruited from reserve soldiers, and the early weapons were also equipped by the soldiers themselves. The concept of light and heavy infantry should have appeared in this era. Because in this era, archers and stone throwers have become a kind of specialized arms because they have to undergo special training. In the battle, they will stand at the forefront of the team and attack the enemy from a long distance. Then when the heavy infantry starts to attack, they will retreat behind the heavy infantry and continue to attack with long-range weapons such as bows and arrows, while protecting the flanks of the phalanx. In this period, fighting is no longer a disorderly group fight. In order to facilitate the use of weapons in hand, the space concept of phalanx has been recognized by people.

From BC 18 13 ~ 1785 (or from BC 18 15 to BC 1783), the strength of the ancient Assyrian kingdom was in Wang Sha, the third generation country of ancient Assyria. In the inscription, the king claimed to be "the king of all directions", but this did not last long. With extraordinary wisdom, Babylon under the command of Hammurabi quickly replaced the hegemony of Assyrians and almost unified the two river basins. Shortly after the death of Hammurabi in BC 1749, nomadic people began a large-scale invasion. In front of these nomadic drivers' chariots, the farming people were beaten with no strength to fight back. This history shows one thing at a glance. In the past, infantry-based tactics were rarely effective against weapons systems such as anti-Japanese chariots. Nomads use bows and arrows in chariots, suppress the firepower of infantry phalanx before launching assault, and start assault when infantry formation is chaotic. And at this time, the mobility of the chariot is stronger than that of the infantry. This mobility can not only alleviate the fatigue of long-distance marching, but also be reflected in saving yourself faster through enemy fire. In fact, cavalry also inherited these advantages and tactics. From this point of view, cavalry can be said to be the successor of horse-drawn chariots.

While the Babylonians stubbornly resisted the gasset people, the Sikorso people (mainly Semitic people) belonging to the nomadic people were driven away by the Hittites and also broke into the Middle East. Relying on the advantages of chariots, they conquered Egypt and ended the ancient kingdom of Egypt. Hittites also entered the Middle East from Asia Minor. Around 1590 BC, the Hittites captured and destroyed Babylon, while gasset took the opportunity to establish the gasset Dynasty on the ruins of Babylon. Assyrians succumbed to the threat of Mitan, a country founded by Julian, another invading nation. Greece was conquered by the Messinians. Although the Greek aborigines did not drive away the invaders like other civilizations, Messina people completely accepted the primitive lifestyle and national customs of the Greek aborigines. The invasion continued intermittently until BC 1500. In the contest with the invaders, the farming people gradually learned the enemy's technology. At the beginning of the counterattack, their skills and tactics in using chariots have been superb.

The reflection of this invasion is that all ethnic groups attach unprecedented importance to chariots, and the number of chariots has even become a standard to measure the strength of a country. Countries are trying to expand the number of chariots. During the Middle Kingdom, King Assyria, who attached great importance to military achievements, even recorded the increase in the number of chariots as a major achievement during his term of office. The tactics of this period have been greatly improved compared with the previous stage, and most ethnic groups have chariots and infantry mixed in the phalanx. In the process of engagement, after the bow and arrow and the trebuchet kill each other, the chariot will begin to assault. If the assault is successful, the enemy will collapse and the chariot will begin to pursue. If the first shock doesn't work, the heavy infantry will go into battle. During this period, it was more difficult to escape and retreat from the battlefield because of the use of chariots.

In BC 1200, nomadic people changed their tactics. Those nomads on horseback are more flexible and threatening. Nomads constantly invaded the Assyrian kingdom by taking advantage of speed. Chariots can't catch up with the retreating cavalry, and even can't reach the place where the cavalry needs to be guarded when they appear, and they can't escape the pursuit of the cavalry. Moreover, when the local conditions are unfavorable, the chariot will not be used. Taking advantage of this, the nomads adopted the tactics of ending the robbery and retreating before the Assyrian army arrived. When the Assyrian army is exhausted, they will suddenly surround the Assyrians for siege. In order to fight nomadic cavalry, the only effective way is to have more and better cavalry than nomadic people. Because we don't need cavalry, we just want to risk our troops by increasing our strength. The increased burden is unbearable for all countries after 2000. After the collapse of the Middle Kingdom, Assyrians began to reform the military system, and cavalry appeared in the Assyrian army sequence. Although the number was small at first, it was the most disciplined group in the army. Discipline is like a multiplier for cavalry. This point was ignored in medieval Europe.

The invasion of nomads led to the temporary decline of the Middle Assyrian Kingdom. But the Assyrians soon made their teachers pay the price. Assyrian cavalry first appeared on the battlefield during the reign of Ashuna Chirpaz. Like nomadic cavalry, the main weapon used by Assyrian cavalry is bow and arrow. But the discipline of Assyrian cavalry is not only much stricter than that of nomadic cavalry, but also the most disciplined arms in Assyrian army. According to records, cavalry appeared in the Assyrian army around 1000 BC. But the chariot is still the main weapon. Like China in East Asia, Assyrians prepared their troops in chariots. During this period, an Assyrian chariot was equipped with 10 cavalry and 200 infantry. However, on the battlefield, cavalry has formed a phalanx as an independent unit. In a battle, Assyrian archers will first attack the enemy with intensive fire and be ready to fire. When the enemy formation is chaotic, the chariot troops will attack from the front, and the Assyrian cavalry will attack the enemy from the two wings. The enemy usually collapses immediately under the double attack of chariots and cavalry. If the enemy's formation is still in order in the first round, the Assyrian heavy infantry phalanx will immediately go into battle (similar to the tactics of earlier times). However, there are not many opportunities for Assyrian heavy infantry to perform. When the enemy began to break up, Assyrians would pursue the enemy with cavalry as the main force. Although Assyrian is a genius of siege machinery, Assyrian military theory attaches great importance to destroying the enemy's effective forces in the wild. So this pursuit is not so much a battle as a unilateral slaughter of the enemy by Assyrian cavalry. Few people can survive the pursuit of Assyrian cavalry. This is also a small change in the form of war after the cavalry entered the war stage. In the 8th century BC, King Sargon II of Assyria carried out a new round of reform of the Assyrian army. After 200 years of development, cavalry finally replaced chariots and became the main force of Assyrian army. Compared with chariots, cavalry is not only more mobile, but also the only unit that can carry out mobile operations on the battlefield. Before the cavalry appeared, it was almost impossible to change the formation temporarily. The emergence of cavalry gives military commanders more choices, which not only enables them to quickly put in the right forces to attack and defend where they are most needed. This also expanded the scope of the battlefield. This makes war more like an art, during which each Assyrian governor can assemble about 1500 cavalry and 20,000 infantry (mainly archers). There are always 20 viceroy jurisdictions in Assyria, which means that there are always 30,000 armed cavalry in the new Assyrian Empire. These figures do not include the cavalry provided by the Assyrian king's guard and vassal States. Relying on the excellent military system and under the command of the outstanding commander-in-chief, the Assyrian army with cavalry as the main force conquered this western Asia and even occupied Egypt. But the land in Assyria is not suitable for growing the feed needed for raising war horses. For a long time, the Assyrian army had to rely on the Medes to buy war horses, and the feed was mainly imported. This seriously restricted the development of Assyrian cavalry. What's more, when the Medes fought the Assyrians, the Assyrians lost the source of horse supplement. This is another important reason for the sudden decline of the Assyrian empire, except for the fatigue of Assyrian soldiers caused by long-term belligerence. (In the data collection of the last battle of the Assyrian Empire)

Another representative of the early development of cavalry is the development of cavalry in China. Horse-drawn chariots appeared in China from about 2 100 BC to 1600 BC. In the next thousand years, China's army used chariots as its main weapon system. Around 1523 BC, semi-nomadic merchants defeated Xia Jun in the battle of Mingtiao. This time, the commercial army used about 70 carriages. In the battle of Makino in BC 1053, Zhou Jun used more than 300 chariots. Compared with the Assyrian chariots with two horses, China's chariots are bigger, and generally need four war horses. With the increase of vehicle load, the number of vehicle-mounted weapons increases. From the physical objects unearthed in the Spring and Autumn Period, the weapons unearthed with chariots can be divided into three categories: long-range shooting, fighting and defense. Long-range shooting category: three bows and arrows and 54 arrows. Fighting category: Team 7. Three short and four long, the spear length is more than 3 meters, and the length distribution of seven bronze spears is similar to that of spears. Guard: Four bronze swords. A spear is mounted on the top of the axle to kill the infantry. The area occupied by a single chariot (including war horse) is about 9 square meters. In order to facilitate combat, the minimum distance between two vehicles is1.65m.. Chariots are usually arranged in a horizontal line and rarely deployed in depth. In addition to the convenience of using bows and arrows, the large body area of the chariot is also an important reason. Confrontation between chariots usually occurs when two cars are at the wrong hub, killing the enemy on the side with weapons. These are two characteristics of chariot fighting, not only in East Asia, but also in other regions. However, chariots can only be used in plain areas, and it is difficult to use them when encountering complex terrain. Moreover, in the battle with the invading nomads, the shortcomings of poor mobility of chariots are exposed. These situations are very similar to those encountered by Assyrians. In 307 BC, King Wuling of Zhao's riding and shooting in Khufu opened the curtain of cavalry history in China. Although there has been a phenomenon of riding alone before, there are also records of cavalry as signal soldiers, and even the armed knights of the Fruit Shang Dynasty have been unearthed. As an independent arms, cavalry also started from this moment. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to fight against tarquin, cavalry became the main force of China's army. The role of cavalry in Qin dynasty is very similar to that of cavalry in early New Assyrian period, because the application of strategy and tactics in New Assyrian period is not perfect. Cavalry is widely used as a unit with mechanical advantages. This shows that the cavalry's tactics of raiding and encircling the enemy are often mature. By BC 128, the Han Empire had been able to dispatch more than 65,438+10,000 cavalry for large-scale cavalry fighting.

Although in the war between Chu and Han, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang was deeply impressed by the tenacity and long-distance attack tactics of the cavalry in Western Chu. Realizing the powerful role of cavalry, Liu Bang established Langzhong Banner, which was commanded by Guan Ying. In the battle with Xiongnu, the Han Dynasty had a deeper understanding of cavalry. During the period of Qin Ershi, the Huns completed the transformation from tribal alliance to slavery country. Almost all Huns are soldiers except slaves. Fighting as a soldier and plundering slaves and wealth became the main occupation of Huns. The Huns had 6.5438+0.5 million free men, and 300,000 of them served in the army. Xiongnu freemen began strict military training at an early age. Adult Xiongnu men have become excellent cavalry after nearly 12 years of riding and shooting training.

In 202 BC, the Han Empire completed the war of national reunification. Han Wangxin was renamed Dai Wang (located in the northern part of Shaanxi Province), responsible for defending the border areas and preventing the Huns from invading the south. But Wang xin took the opportunity to collude with the Huns to launch a rebellion. And as a guide of the Huns, he captured Taiyuan City. Liu Bangsui led the main force of the Han army, 320 thousand, to the north to crusade against the king. After defeating Dai Wang's troops, the Han army pursued the victory and contacted the Xiongnu. Xiongnu's plan is to take advantage of the underestimation of the Han army and suddenly surround and annihilate the main force of the Han army. In addition to taking the initiative to show weakness, Xiongnu led 1000 cavalry to carry out guerrilla attacks near Taiyuan, luring the main force of the Han army into the ambush circle, while Modu led the main force of Xiongnu to station in Daigu (now north of Datong). Because the Han army, with infantry and chariots as the main force, was limited by machine power, it could not catch up with the Xiongnu army for war. Xiongnu lured the enemy to take advantage of this and constantly lured the Han army forward to avoid actual combat. When the Han army marched to Deng Bai near the city of peace, the Han army was already very tired. Seeing that the time was ripe, tarquin's long-awaited main force quickly set out from the station and attacked the Han army. Han army rushed to meet. After fierce fighting, the Han army was divided and surrounded by tarquin. Among them, Liu Bang's imperial camp lost contact with the main force for 7 days and 7 nights. Apart from modu chanyu's final retreat, this war is an eternal example of cavalry fighting. Even the later Mongolian cavalry can still find the shadow of Xiongnu tactics. Many years after the Battle of Pingcheng, even if the Han army won on the battlefield, it could not hit the Xiongnu hard. Because when Dantard Kan decided to retreat, the Han army could not pursue it effectively. Huns, on the other hand, can choose another place to regroup at will on the long border and continue to try to break through the defense of the Han army. The reason why peace can last is mainly because the Huns are not mature enough to attack the city and have to make peace on the wall, which is very similar to what happened to the Romans later. Due to the limitation of Xiongnu siege technology, another reason is probably that the slow-moving siege column can't keep up with the cavalry speed. Since then, the system of the Han army has undergone great changes, and cavalry has become the main force in the army.

The soldiers are very expensive, but it's been a long time. This is also the main reason for the rise of cavalry. Even after the train came out for a period of time, space distance has always been an insurmountable obstacle for both sides of the war and an unavoidable enemy. And cavalry is the only means for human beings to solve this problem for a long time. From the new Assyrian Empire to the end of the cold weapon era, there were only two ways to restrain cavalry on the battlefield. First, have stronger cavalry than your opponent and kill more cavalry than your enemy. Second, limit the mobility of enemy cavalry as much as possible. Almost all people who have had contact with nomadic tribes on horseback choose the former, while the second option is usually used in emergencies.