From: owner-rq-rules-digest To: rq-rules-digest@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: RQ Rules Digest: V2 #194 Reply-To: rq-rules Errors-To: owner-rq-rules-digest Precedence: bulk Content-Return: Prohibited Return-Path: owner-rq-rules-digest RQ Rules Digest: Tuesday, 27 February 1996 Volume 02 : Number 194 TABLE OF CONTENTS [none] ian i. gorlick dismounted cavalry Tal Meta RQ Supplements griffy1 griffy1@freenet.edmo dismounted cavalry RULES OF THE ROAD 1. Do not include large sections of a message in your reply. Especially not to add "Yeah, I agree" or "No, I disagree." Or be excoriated. If someone writes something good and you want to say "good show" please do. But don't include the whole message you praise. 2. Use an appropriate Subject line. 3. Learn the art of paraphrasing: Don't just quote and comment on a point-by-point basis. When paraphrasing you demonstrate exactly how well you understand the point someone was trying to make. 4. There is no number 4. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Date: Subject: [none] ------------------------------ From: "ian (i.) gorlick" Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 12:28:00 -0500 Subject: dismounted cavalry Nigel Smith ponders knights dismounting to fight footsoldiers: >How much of this would be a question of chivalry? Chivalry is for the tourney field, not the battlefield; and it is for your social equals, not for lowly footsoldiers. Cavalry would dismount to attack good footsoldiers because to charge mounted was too often suicidal. Properly formed and disciplined footsoldiers could withstand a heavy cavalry charge while the cavalry was slaughtered on the pikes and polearms of the footmen. The foot formation has to be disrupted or demoralized before it can be safely charged, or it has to be attacked on an unprotected flank. Of course, if the footsoldiers can be outflanked, or broken up by missile fire, or are ill-disciplined, then the cavalry can smash through them easily. It is the ability to arrange this that detemines who is the best general. ------------------------------ From: Tal Meta Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 16:20:23 -0500 (EST) Subject: RQ Supplements Does anyone have a list of the boxed supplements Avalon Hill has produced? I'm looking to get my collection up-to-date again. ------------------------------ From: griffy1 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 16:45:56 -0700 (MST) Subject: Re: dismounted cavalry > Cavalry would dismount to attack good footsoldiers because to charge mounted was > too often suicidal. Properly formed and disciplined footsoldiers could withstand > a heavy cavalry charge while the cavalry was slaughtered on the pikes and > polearms of the footmen. This borne out by history a good example is the Swiss or German pikemen in the period during the end of armored knights and the beginning of gunpowder. > The foot formation has to be disrupted or demoralized > before it can be safely charged, or it has to be attacked on an unprotected > flank. A good example of this is the resurgance of cavalry in the napoleonic age to crack enemy formations after they had been 'softened up' with gunfire. > Of course, if the footsoldiers can be outflanked, or broken up by missile fire, > or are ill-disciplined, then the cavalry can smash through them easily. It may be that the concept of dismounting knights and men at arms during a battle started during the hundred years war when the British dismounted their outnumbered cavalry to a defensive position since the French greatly outnumbered them. After the British won a battle (or two?) like this the French decided that this was in fact how the British were defeating them (Of course it simply couldn't have been the French's indecision about committing, the muddy battle field or the British longbowmen that defeated them). So in the next two battles they attacked the British on foot and before you know it England owns most of France. This may be where the dismounting thing started but I would probably check farther back into English history since this may have been a cultural warring technique. I can sort of remember something like that happening during a battle within England during Henry IV's reign. English history is not my forte however. In other words . . . yes I agree. James. I should add that it takes very well trained infantry to stand up to cavalry, most barbarians were not able to do it as shown by the Mongols (against the Chinese levies) or the Byzantines (against the Slavs). Even the Romans when surprised were vulnerable to cavalry (most of their major defeats - Sassanid Persians were a good example). ------------------------------ End of RQ Rules Digest: V2 #194 ******************************* This is the bottom of the RuneQuest Rules Digest. RuneQuest is a trademark of Avalon Hill, and Glorantha is a trademark of Chaosium. With the exception of previously copyrighted material, unless specified otherwise all text in this digest is copyright by the author or authors, with rights granted to copy for personal use, to excerpt in reviews and replies, and to archive unchanged for electronic retrieval. Send electronic mail to Majordomo@hops.wharton.upenn.edu with "help" in the body of the message for subscription information on this and other mailing lists. WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html