The boldness engendered by their near invulnerability, the point-blank range and their continuous rapid shooting made them as effective against most foot as much larger numbers of foot archers and more so than cavalry in formation and lacking their large numbers of spare mounts. They did not charge until fatigue, casualties or disorder made the enemy incapable of resisting. If charged, they evaded shooting behind them, ready to turn on an over-confident pursuer. They detested foot archers, who outshot and outranged them, and artillery, who made their rally position unsafe. They were unlikely to destroy solid foot with good shields and/or armour unless these had an open flank, but could greatly hamper their movements. They were often used for wide flanking movements behind the enemy, operating semi-autonomously rather than under close control, so are permitted extra movement out of contact and are rarely affected by distance from the general. Armies with very large numbers of horse archers could form up very deep, increasing the frequency of exchange and the effect of shooting effect; but on a dusty confused battlefield this could make evading a charge risky.
SCYTHED CHARIOTS (SCh), with four horses and usually a single crewman, so with a high power/weight ratio, which, with no need to conserve the horses’ energy, enabled them to charge straight ahead at a mad gallop into enemy formations early in a battle to disrupt or destroy them. Since they usually wrecked in the process, the drivers often jumped out at the last moment, offering some hope to the target that the horses might swerve away from contact. They were mainly dangerous to those troops who offered a solid target and could not dodge easily, so were often countered by psiloi.
CAMELRY (Cm), including those camel-mounted warriors who charged to close quarters or used mass archery, but not those that only skirmished or infantry transported by camel. Their chief value was to disorder those mounted troops that depended on a charge into contact. They were vulnerable to missiles and to troops closing on foot.
SPEARS (Sp), representing all close formation infantry fighting with spears in a rigid shield wall; such as hoplites, Punic African foot, Byzantine skutatoi or Saxon fyrd. The mutual protection provided by their big shields, tight formation and row of spear points gave them great resisting power, so that two opposed bodies of spears might fence and shove for sometime before one broke. Theban hoplites that formed very deep are depicted by double elements (8Sp). Steady spears could usually hold off horsemen, but psiloi or light skirmishing horse could force them to halt and present shields, and might surround and destroy an outflanked body. They are all classed as “Solid”.
PIKES (Pk), including all close formation infantry who fought collectively with pikes or long spears wielded in both hands; such as Macedonians, Scots, Flemings or Swiss. Their longer weapons made pikemen even better than spearmen at holding off charging mounted troops. When fighting against foot, the combination of longer weapons and deep formations enabled them to roll over most foot if forward momentum could be maintained, though the long shafts also made formation keeping more difficult, so that gaps resulting from movement or the stress of combat could be exploited by blades or warbands. Less effective shields made them more vulnerable than spears to bows and psiloi. They are all classed as “Solid”, except for irregular hillmen with long spears used in both hands and mostly lacking shields (3Pk), such as Hittites, Koreans or Northwest which are classed as “Fast”.
BLADES (Bd), including all those close fighting infantry primarily skilled in fencing individually with swords or heavier cutting or cut and thrust weapons; such as Roman legionaries, huscarles, galloglaich, dismounted knights, halberdiers, billmen, clubmen or later samurai. They often had better armour or shields than other foot, weapons that could more readily defeat armour, and often added supplementary missile weapons or closed quickly to avoid missiles. They were less safe than spears or pikes against charging mounted troops, but were superior in hand-to-hand combat to any foot except pikes in deep formations. Generals in command positions (CP) or carried in litters (Lit), surrounded by bodyguards, and standard-bearing wagons with guards (CWg) of the Khazars and Italian city states are also treated as Blades except that they cannot move into contact with enemy. Blades are classed as “ Solid”, except for those more lightly equipped but faster moving (3Bd), such as Dacian flax-men, Roman lanciarii or medieval Indian swordsmen, who are classed as “ Fast”, as are also Swiss halberdiers acting offensively in columns (6Bd), but not dismounted knights mounted 3 to a base to match mounted numbers.
AUXILIA (Ax), representing javelin-armed foot able to fight hand-to-hand but emphasising agility and flexibility rather than cohesion. Irregulars (often mountain peoples) such as Thracians, Spanish scutarii, Armenians and Irish kerns (3Ax) are classed as “Fast”. These were outclassed in open country by other close fighting foot and more vulnerable to cavalry than Spears, but useful to chase off or support psiloi, to take or hold difficult terrain, as a link between heavier foot and mounted troops and occasionally as a mobile reserve. Those that acquired regular discipline (4Ax) such as Hellenistic thureophoroiand Imperial Roman Auxilia were an ideal counter to Warbands and are classed as “Solid”.
PSILOI (Ps), including all dispersed skirmishers on foot with javelin, sling, staff sling, bow, and crossbow or hand gun. These fought in a loose swarm hanging around enemy foot, pestering it with a constant dribble of aimed missiles at close rangeland running out of reach if charged. They rarely caused serious casualties, but were very useful to slow and hamper enemy movements, to protect the flanks of other troops, to seize, hold or dispute difficult terrain, to co-operate with cavalry, and to counter elephants or scythed chariots. Unsupported psiloi in the open were vulnerable to cavalry. Archer’s integral to units of close fighting foot are not classed as psiloi, but assumed to be included in their elements. Psiloi are all classed as “Fast”.
BOWS (Bw, Lb or Cb), representing foot formed in bodies who shot at longer range than psiloi, often in volleys at command. Weapons that often penetrated armour at very short range, such as longbows (Lb) or crossbows (Cb), are differentiated by effect. Troops unhappy to stay and fight hand-to-hand (3Bw, 3Lb, 3Cb) are classed as “Fast”, those that defended themselves with light spears, heavy swords or clubs and sometimes behind stakes or pavises (4Bw, 4Lb, 4Cb) are classed as “ Solid”; as also are mixed units with several ranks of close-fighters (rather than a single rank of pavisiers) in front of the shooters and depicted as double elements (8Bw, 8Lb, 8Cb) with close fighter figures in front and bowmen behind.
WARBAND (Wb), including all wild irregular foot that relied more on a ferocious impetuous charge than on mutual cohesion, individual skills or missiles; such as most Celts and Germans. Enemy foot that failed to withstand their impact was swept away, but they were sensitive to harassment by psiloi and to mounted attack. Those that charged most impetuously, moved most swiftly, were used to woods, but were brittle in defeat (3Wb), such as Britons or Glaswegians are classed as “Fast”. Those that kept a shield wall in adversity and fought it out toe-to- toe (4Wb) are classed as “Solid”.
HORDES (Hd), representing unskilled and unenthusiastic foot levied from peasantry to bulk out numbers and perform the menial work of sieges and camps and typically huddling in dense masses whose inertia provides a kind of staying power allowing them to be classed as “ Solid”, if only by comparison (7Hd). Others (5Hd) such as rioters, street gangs, revolutionary mobs, religious fanatics and Aztec militia were more enthusiastic, so “Fast” but equally incompetent.
ARTILLERY (Art), whether tension, torsion, counterweight or gunpowder. This could annoy the enemy at long range, destroy war wagons or elephants and counter enemy artillery, but was relatively immobile once deployed, so is “Solid” foot.
WAR WAGONS (WWg), including Hussite mantleted wagons, mobile towers, and other wagons that fought mainly by shooting and could move during battle, but not laagered transport wagons. They are “Solid” because, except for mobile towers which can assault a city, fort or camp, they had great resisting power to blunt attack, but could not themselves charge. They were vulnerable to artillery. Since they could fight all-round, they count the first edge in contact as their front edge when in close combat and can choose any one edge each bound to shoot from. They could not shoot effectively on the move. In DBA they are usually depicted without draft animals, simulating the removal of these before combat, and so can be on square bases.
