Let’s talk about China, starting from the Western Han Dynasty.
(1) Western Han Dynasty:
(1)Central Army:
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there were eight captains:
① The captain of the middle base commanded the inner gate of the northern army base and the outer gate of the western region;
②The garrison captain holds the knight;
③The infantry captain stationed troops at Linyuanmen in the palm of his hand;
④The more you ride, the more you ride with the captain's palm;
⑤Changshui school captain Zhang Shui Xuanqu Hu Qi;
⑥The captain of Hu Qi is in charge of Hu Qi in Chiyang, and he is not always there;
⑦The commander of Shesheng is waiting for the edict to be issued to Shesheng;
⑧Huben, the captain of the school, holds a light chariot.
These are the eight lieutenants. Among them, the troops led by the four lieutenants of Tunqi, Yueqi, Huqi and Changshui are cavalry.
The source of Chiyang Huqi is mainly the Huns who surrendered to the Han Dynasty.
Hu Qi of Xuanqu, Changshui, was a Yiqu Qiang. Gongsun He, a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty, and Gongsun Ao's ancestors were from the Yiqu Qiang tribe.
Yue cavalry originally referred to cavalrymen from the Yue tribe who moved to Hanoi, Hongnong and Sanfu after surrendering to the Han Dynasty. Later they also joined the Huns.
Tunqi refers to the knights of the Guandong County. The main source is the cavalry from the land of Yan. In the later period, it was mainly from the land of Yan, which is Youzhou in the Tang Dynasty. The ethnic composition is complex, including Han people and the Donghu tribe who were destroyed by the Xiongnu.
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(2)Local army:
①Bianjun soldiers are composed of Yan people from Youzhou;
② The vassal soldiers are composed of Donghu tribe soldiers who have taken refuge, such as Wuhuan;
That's basically all.
(3) Equipment and tactics
The cavalry tactics in the Western Han Dynasty were actually those of infantry, or more accurately, mounted infantry. Because there were no double stirrups, the saddles were not perfect, and their riding skills were not as good as those of the Huns, so the main tactic was to "dismount and fight", and they carried light crossbows.
, carry infantry combat weapons, and when attacking, quickly maneuver on horseback to the enemy's flank or behind, dismount and fire crossbows.
The armor coverage of cavalry is very high, much higher than that of infantry. They are completely used as infantry. Riding horses is for maneuverability.
At the same time, the Huns had better riding skills and could complete horseback movements better than the Western Han cavalry, so their main tactic was mounted shooting.
As Chao Cuo said, the cavalry of the Western Han Dynasty "dismounted from their horses and fought on the ground, with their swords and halberds touching each other. If they go away, they will be weak, and the Huns will not be able to give them enough."
The Huns cavalry, on the other hand, "went up and down mountains and slopes, in and out of streams, on steep and steep roads, galloping and shooting."
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu cavalry who were mounted archers were actually destroyed by the mounted infantry of the Western Han Dynasty.
The Huns' cavalry had good riding skills and good shooting skills, but had poor equipment and weak hand-to-hand combat capabilities.
The cavalry of the Western Han Dynasty had relatively poor riding skills, but they were well equipped and had strong hand-to-hand combat capabilities.
This kind of grassland and the inherent difference of the Central Plains cavalry continued until later, and gradually grew apart, developing into two cavalry schools, namely, mounted archer cavalry and shock cavalry.
But generally speaking, the combat effectiveness of both the grassland and Central Plains cavalry during this period was weaker than that of the cavalry of later dynasties. This was mainly because equipment such as double stirrups had not yet appeared, such as shooting from the left and right, turning around to shoot back, shooting from the prone position, shooting from the back, etc.
Advanced skills are difficult to use and cannot be used by those who are not talented.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo had extraordinary arm strength and could shoot left and right. He was "feared by the Qiang and Hu". In fact, this level of cavalry and archery was not seen by the cavalry of later dynasties. Many people could do it, but you have to consider the limitations of the times. Dong Zhuo was indeed talented.
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(2) Eastern Han Dynasty
The cavalrymen of the Eastern Han Dynasty were called "sudden cavalry".
The sudden cavalry, whose prowess can be used to clash with enemies, mainly come from Youzhou, and both Hu and Han Dynasties have them. For example, when Wu Han attacked Chengdu, there were more than 3,000 Wuhuan sudden cavalry. This may be related to the fact that Liu Xiu obtained the support of the local tyrants in Hebei when he founded the country.
Great sponsorship.
After the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu built the Yingchuan Tuqi in addition to the Youzhou Tuqi.
In this way, two major groups were formed: the Youzhou Tuqi, which was mainly composed of the Yan people and the surrounding Hu tribes, and the Yingchuan Tuqi, which was mainly descendants of the Youzhou Tuqi who moved south to Nanyang and Yingchuan during Liu Xiu's founding process.
When groups coexist, the former is larger and the latter is smaller.
In this era, the Central Plains cavalry is increasingly taking the path of "lancer" because the invention of new equipment such as high bridge saddles allows the cavalry to perform more and more complex technical movements on horseback without having to "dismount to fight".
"Yes.
The cavalry of the Eastern Han Dynasty also adhered to the tradition of strong hand-to-hand combat ability in the Central Plains and used a large number of spears for melee combat.
It is worth mentioning that the double stirrup had not yet been invented at this time, and the combat effectiveness of the cavalry was still low. Until the Northern Wei Dynasty, practical double stirrups were generally equipped, while the rear saddle bridge of the high bridge saddle was lowered, and the front saddle bridge and the front saddle bridge were raised.
On the saddle surface, the cavalry's legs can borrow force from the front, back, left and right, which substantially improves the ability of riding a horse in close combat.
There were also mounted archers in the cavalry of the Eastern Han Dynasty, mainly from the Hu people in Youzhou Tuqi, but the cavalry equipped with iron armor and long spears for melee combat has become the mainstream.
(3) Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
Cao Cao conquered Wuhuan and moved the remaining 10,000 troops (more than 200,000 people) into the Central Plains. He selected the Wuhuan cavalry and organized them into a team. They were still led by Master Wuhuan and fought against all parties. "The three counties of Wuwan are the world's
"Famous Cavalry".
The cavalry recruited by Cao Cao were actually the tribesmen attached to the Youzhou Cavalry during the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, due to the influence of the Youzhou Cavalry during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the proportion of armored lancers had greatly increased, and they were no longer traditional prairie cavalry shooters. As for them,
The Lancers among the Han people in Youzhou were originally Gongsun Zan's force. After their defeat at the hands of Yuan Shao, they gradually disappeared and their reputation was not as prominent as it was in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Why is this so? Yuan Shao teamed up with Wuhuan to destroy Gongsun Zan. In the process, the Wuhuan cavalry became famous and was noticed by Cao Cao. Or maybe Gongsun Zan's power suffered heavy losses, and there were no Han Chinese cavalry left in Youzhou.
How much.
In fact, it is not correct to say that the Youzhou Tuqi completely disappeared.
In the second year of Chuping, Gongsun Zan sent Liu Bei to lead a partial army south to assist Tian Kai in resisting Yuan Shao. Zhao Yun followed with his cavalry.
Zhao Yun's cavalry unit should be the Youzhou sudden cavalry. Liu Bei was very envious and tried to win over Zhao Yun. Later, Zhao Yun defected to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei "secretly sent Yun together to recruit hundreds of people."
For the hundreds of people recruited by Zhao Yun, Liu Bei warned Yuan Shao not to know the details. They were all called "General Liu Zuo's tribe" so that "Shao could not know".
What shouldn't Yuan Shao know? Probably these hundreds of people are the remnants of Gongsun Zan's Youzhou tuqi (white horse Yi Cong).
During the Western Jin Dynasty, Youzhou Tuqi was rebuilt as "Youzhou Tuqi Governor".
The Sima family did not avoid the Eastern Han Dynasty's military establishment like Cao Wei did. They generously restored the designation of Youzhou Tuqi, the glorious unit that Liu Xiu relied on to rule the roost.
At this time, the Youzhou Cavalry was still divided into two parts, just like the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Han Cavalry members in the border counties were selected into the Central Forbidden Army, and there were also attached tribal soldiers in the border areas. They were Wuhuan in the Eastern Han Dynasty and Xianbei in the Western Jin Dynasty.
But how can I put it, the Western Jin Dynasty Forbidden Army only had a thousand troops, and the Han troops from Youzhou border counties were greatly damaged during the Three Kingdoms period, and there was a serious shortage of talents. The Western Jin Dynasty had to select a large number of Xianbei troops to join the Central Forbidden Army. These Xianbei people arrived
After joining the army in the Central Plains, the princes of the Sima family realized the power of the Xianbei cavalry. Later, during the Eight Kings Rebellion, they sent people to Youzhou to recruit Xianbei people to fight as mercenaries in the Central Plains.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were frequent wars. The Youzhou Tuqi were mainly attributed to the Southern Yan and Northern Wei Dynasties, while the Southern Dynasties formed the Huaiying Tuqi based on the descendants of the Yingchuan Tuqi during the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Youzhou Cavalry, whether it is Cao Cao's Wuhuan Cavalry, the Youzhou Cavalry Governor rebuilt in the Western Jin Dynasty, or the Xianbei Cavalry of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, its armored lancery attributes are very strong, and it follows the path of melee combat of the orthodox Central Plains cavalry.
There are also mounted archers, usually nomadic tribes who have recently entered the Central Plains, and they still use the traditional fighting style of the grasslands.
Generally speaking, the closer the Hu people have with the Central Plains, the more cavalry they take the Central Plains armored lance cavalry route, and the fewer they take the traditional steppe light armored cavalry and archery route.
There were frequent wars between the Northern and Southern Dynasties. From the Northern Dynasties, cavalry was the most valued because of the legacy of the grasslands. The infantry were mostly Han Chinese and were not taken seriously. Moreover, they were often hungry people with insufficient training and poor combat effectiveness. They were repeatedly overwhelmed by the cavalry.
However, as the fighting continued, the Hu people were fighting less and less. Each political power had to use a large number of Han people as soldiers, and even used them as the main force. Therefore, the infantry received more and more attention, and the army construction made great progress, and its combat effectiveness became stronger and stronger.
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In order to deal with these increasingly difficult infantry, the Northern Dynasties regime had to embark on a pathological path of heavy cavalry. The large number of armored cavalry can be said to be the largest in Chinese history. Both the Northern and Southern Dynasties had huge armored cavalry.
As the cavalry was organized, the armor became thicker and thicker, the spears turned into thick horse shafts, and the diameter and length of the horse shafts became more and more outrageous.
Armored Lancers have reached their peak development. It can be said that the heavy cavalry that later Jin Dynasty relied on for their fame, the armored cavalry is completely inadequate in front of their sick counterparts from the Southern and Northern Dynasties. If they fight head-on, they will probably be blown away by the armored cavalry from the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
No one is richer, no one has better guns. They have practiced armored cavalry tactics for hundreds of years and are considered experts. The Wanyan family's golden soldiers are really not comparable to others.
The armored cavalry did have a powerful impact on the infantry, and they were victorious at first.
However, as they have been abused for a long time, the infantry has become more and more professional. Governments have invested more and more in infantry training, equipment, and tactics. Heavy armored infantry has appeared in large numbers. As a result, the armored cavalry cannot find its way.
During this period, the combat effectiveness of the infantry in the Northern Dynasties reached its peak, and the armored cavalry, which was too cost-effective, completely withdrew from the battlefield because it was useless, could not deal with the infantry, and was very resource-consuming.
After learning from the painful experience, various regimes began to reduce the weight of armored cavalry to improve mobility. At the same time, they explored whether the cavalry could return to bows and arrows. The cavalry of the Northern and Southern Dynasties who used large horse spears could not use bows and arrows because the horse spears were too heavy and required both hands.
Holding in hand.
During the Battle of Mang Mountain in the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, He Basheng of the Western Wei Dynasty pursued Gao Huan. The horse blade in his hand almost reached Gao Huan several times, but in the end he failed to hit him and Gao Huan ran away. He Basheng regretted it afterwards and said
If you have a bow and arrow, you can kill Gao Huan, it's obvious.
During this period, a weight-reduced version of the tiger-spotted cavalry appeared. This weight-reduced version of the armored cavalry achieved unexpected results when dealing with the full version of the armored cavalry, because it was more maneuverable and could effectively deal with bulky iron cavalry.
There are advantages when canning.
This discovery set off a wave of lightweight cavalry. The tiger-spotted cavalry was initially equipped with iron armor, and later became leather armor. Later, some people gave up the big horse and switched to using short weapons for cavalry combat so that they could carry bows and arrows while riding and shooting.
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It must be said that history is a cycle.
By the Tang Dynasty, lightweight cavalry had become the mainstream, and the cavalry in the Central Plains also began to differentiate. There were lancers who adhered to the tradition, and there were also cavalry who began to use short weapons and bows and arrows, but the proportion of lancers was larger. This may be related to
The Central Plains cavalry needs to assist infantry in combat. The ability of cavalry and archers to deal with infantry is too weak. The power and range of cavalry bows are not as good as the infantry's infantry bows. They also have no deterrent effect when using short weapons to attack infantry formations.
On the other hand, although the cavalry using the horse can't use bows and arrows, the horse is very powerful and heavy. When it rushes into the infantry formation, it has the effect of sweeping thousands of troops. It is very helpful to one's own infantry. Strictly speaking, the horse cavalry is not
Bows and arrows cannot be used at all, that is, when shooting arrows, you need to stop your horse, pause on the ground, and then shoot the arrow. Of course, it is not as convenient as the cavalry who use light short weapons to gallop and shoot.
(4) Sui and Tang Dynasties
It’s past one o’clock and I can’t write anymore. I’ll revise and update it when I have time later.
When I write this, I mainly find that many readers still have a too general and too labeled understanding of cavalry. They are not very clear about the development history and genre of cavalry in ancient my country, as well as the traditions of cavalry equipment and tactics.
Many people may have an impression of cavalry as Mongolian cavalry, but that is really not the tradition of the Central Plains cavalry.
The Central Plains cavalry has never been separated from the shadow of infantry since it was essentially a mounted infantry in the Western Han Dynasty. The development of armored lancers is a clear proof.
For cavalry and infantry who have the same formal training, the cavalry's frontal combat capability is not as good as that of the infantry and cannot be defeated.
The advantage of cavalry is mobility. They can fight when they want to and leave when they don't.
The advantage of infantry is their powerful combat power. Humans are animals with upright legs. The weapons they can use when their feet are on the ground and the martial arts they can display are far beyond what people on horseback can compare with.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, cavalrymen who dared to charge infantry head-on were basically in vain. Even when the number of cavalrymen exceeded that of infantrymen, they could not defeat them head-on. There were many such battles.
I'm going to sleep and I'll write again when I have time.