Horse archer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A horse archer (or horsed archer, mounted archer) is a cavalryman armed with a bow, able to shoot while riding from horseback. Horse Archery was the defining characteristic of Steppe warfare throughout Central Asia, and also of the southern American prairies after the adoption of the horse.
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[edit] Basic features
Since using a bow requires a horseman to let go of the reins with both hands, horse archers need superb equestrian skills if they are to shoot on the move. Horse archery is typically associated with Eurasian nomads of the Eurasian steppe. Such were the Scythians and Sarmatians and later the Parthians, Magyars, and Turks. Scythians were well known for their tactic of the Parthian shot, but evidently it was the Parthians who give it its name.[citation needed] In this tactical manoeuvre the horsemen would make a feigned retreat and progress away from the pursuing enemy while turning his upper body and shooting backwards at the pursuer, guiding his horse with his voice and the pressure of his legs.
Horse archery was most widespread among Eurasian steppe people like the Scythians, Huns, Magyars, Mongols, Turks and so on, but was also adopted by other peoples and armies, notably Chinese and Romans who both suffered serious conflict with peoples practicing horse archery. It developed separately among the peoples of the South American pampas and the North American prairies; the Comanches were especially skilled.[1] Horse archery was also practiced in Japan, where mounted archery is called Yabusame.
Horse archery is the earliest form of cavalry weaponry. The Iron Age horse was not strong enough to bear an armoured rider, being little larger than modern ponies. Horse archers replaced the Bronze Age chariot, which allowed mobile attacks even with horses too small to bear a man.
[edit] Appearance in history
Early horse archery, depicted on the Assyrian carvings, involved two riders, one controlling both horses while the second shot. This technique did not replace the well-established chariotry as an effective tactic.
The natives of large grassland areas developed mounted archery for hunting, and for war. The buffalo hunts of the North American prairies may have been the most spectacular and best-recorded examples of bowhunting by mounted archers.[2] The typical employment of horse archers in battle was in the manner of skirmishers; lightly-armed missile troops capable of moving swiftly to avoid close combat or to deliver a rapid blow to the flanks or rear of the foe. Due to the superior speed of mounted archers, troops under attack from horse archers were unable to respond to the threat without ranged weapons of their own, resulting in casualties, morale drop and disruption of the formation. When able to retreat to avoid return shots or charges, horse archers were generally proven to be effective against heavily equipped infantry or cavalry, especially in flat, treeless regions. Horse archers were eventually rendered obsolete by the development of modern firearms. In the 16th and subsequent centuries, various cavalry forces armed with firearms gradually started appearing. Because the conventional arquebus and musket were too awkward for a cavalryman to use, lighter weapons such as the carbine had to be developed, that could be effectively used from horseback, much in the same manner as the composite recurve bow presumably developed from earlier bows. The 16th century Dragoons and Cuirassiers were heavy cavalry equipped with firearms.
Nevertheless, mounted archery was an effective tactical system in open country until the introduction of repeating firearms. An example is described from a Texas Ranger attack on Comanches "Captain John Bird rode up the Little River with fifty Rangers recruited in Austin and Fort Bend counties. Striking a band of some twenty Comanches busily hunting buffalo, he immediately attacked. The Comanches ran, and to Bird's dismay easily outdistanced their pursuers. Bird chased the Comanches for several miles across the open prairie before he noticed that the fleeing Indians were growing much more numerous. Alarmed, he halted the reckless pursuit and turned about in retreat, only to discover, too late, that he had now made the ultimate error in Comanche warfare. As the Texans turned, the Comanches, now some two hundred strong, immediately wheeled after them in a turnabout pursuit. Screaming, they filled the sky with shafts. Racing for cover, Bird's command survived only because the riders stumbled into a nearby ravine, where the riflemen could dismount and shoot from cover. Now they could stand off the swirling horse archers at long range, firing carefully, always making sure they kept a few of their muzzle-loaders charged to repel an assault.
The Comanches could easily have wiped out the whole company, but only at a cost in blood that no Comanche chief would accept. After a desultory, angry siege, the Indians soon went back to hunting. The Rangers could thus claim they had won the field – but it was a Pyrrhic victory. Seven Rangers were dead or dying, including Captain Bird. The bloodied company retreated to the east, and, meanwhile, the aroused Comanches rode on a rampage, carrying fire and death to a wide area of the frontier.” [3]
Horse archers played a pivotal role in the Battle of Carrhae and again in the medieval Battle of Legnica. In both cases, horse archers won the day because their opponents depended on direct contact for tactical effectiveness. Due to the heavy armour worn by mediaeval European troops, they had difficulty facing the more mobile, missile-armed cavalry of Eastern nations, as shown by numerous examples during the Crusades and the Mongol invasion of Europe. The medieval Battle of Hattin is an example of horse archers contributing to the defeat of armoured troops, via demoralization and continued harassment.
[edit] Technology
The weapon of choice for horse archers was most commonly a composite recurve bow, because it was compact enough to shoot from a horse while retaining sufficient range and penetrating power. North Americans used short wooden bows often backed with sinew, but never developed the full three-layer composite bow. A drawback of horse archery was that the movements of a running horse disturbed the accuracy of the shot. The horse archer needed to time his shots between the strides of the horse. After the invention of the stirrup, horse archers would stand up in their stirrups to absorb the motion of the horse. The actual aiming and shooting is done at the gallop, in the phase where the horse has all four feet off the ground. The skill required to shoot effectively while performing maneuvers require extensive practice. The Turks and the Mongols were known for the value they placed on this. Turkic and Mongol youths took part in frequent training in horsemanship and archery, for this very purpose. To this day, advanced horsemanship and associated skills are practiced in central Asia and are displayed at festivals. Horseback archery has also been revived by modern Hungarians.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ T.R. Fehrenbach. Comanches, the history of a people. Vintage Books. London, 2007. ISBN 9780099520559. First published in the USA by Alfred Knopf, 1974. Page 124.
- ^ Comanche Indians Chasing Buffalo with Lances and Bows. George Catlin 1846-1848. Western Landscape [1]
- ^ T.R. Fehrenbach. Comanches, the history of a people. Vintage Books. London, 2007. ISBN 9780099520559. First published in the USA by Alfred Knopf, 1974.
- ^ Open days in Kassai Lajos' valley http://volgy.lovasijaszat.hu/volgy/index.php?module=staticpage&id=2&lang=2
[edit] External links
- German Mounted Archery Federation Die Steppenreiter e.V.
- History of Mounted Archer Steppenreiter German Site
- Korean Mounted Archery International Mounted Archery Federation
- Chinese Horseback archery ATARN
