Timeline for Would mission command, squad tactics etc. make sense in an ancient or medieval setting?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Feb 17, 2020 at 18:48 | vote | accept | Layman | ||
| Feb 16, 2020 at 13:17 | comment | added | user1937198 | Shepherds slings where effective on an classical battlefield, when in mass and supporting a melee force which could protect the slingers from being overrun by the opponents. In a small squad, you can't provide that melee protection. Its only really with the introduction of cartridge rifles that a squad of 10 could kill more than its own numbers before being overrun. | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 13:07 | comment | added | user1937198 | The key thing to remember is we aren't talking about individual deaths. A shepherds sling is only going to get 10-20 shots of before the squad is overrun. Allowing for inaccuracy, thats at most one to two people rendered combat ineffective. Thats trading an entire squad for one or two casulties at most. Not a good trade when the phalanx is much easier to reinforce. | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 5:06 | comment | added | Layman | Hmm as far as I know shepherd's slings were pretty nasty in battle and the main reason they fell out of use is the time consuming training, difficulty of use etc. | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 2:06 | history | edited | user1937198 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 16, 2020 at 1:55 | comment | added | user1937198 | If your world doesn't have the stirrup, then that helps constrain the development of heavy cavalry, but that forces you into something more like months of hit and run slinging by small raiding parties, rather than an actual battle. If the opponent is sufficiently brutal about dealing with hiding places then there isn't much in the way of options. | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 1:39 | comment | added | user1937198 | In other words, if I have so much surplus to spend on a squad of your slingers, why not spend that on a single armored knight, who is effective on land defence as well as asymmetric warfare? | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 1:30 | comment | added | user1937198 | As for slings, they don't provide enough damage to pose a serious threat to a tortoise. You'd have to be getting into serious asymmetric warfare for that to pose a real threat, which comes down to the structure of the supply chains. Does the attacking force have a significant supply chain or are they foraging? Does the attacking force have any qualms about slaughtering entire villages because they might be harboring a squad of their opposition? Military's and their doctrine are shaped by their socieoeconomic context as much as any technology. | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 1:23 | comment | added | user1937198 | @VictorS It depends on how large your opponents forces are and how you structure the caste. Ultimately a small military caste is what early medieval knights where. | |
| Feb 16, 2020 at 0:57 | comment | added | Layman | Thank you for the well thought answer! Maybe a relatively small military caste would explain how the cultural and economic background came to be. As for the weaponry, how about slings with lead bullets? | |
| Feb 15, 2020 at 23:33 | history | edited | user1937198 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 15, 2020 at 23:20 | review | First posts | |||
| Feb 16, 2020 at 0:17 | |||||
| Feb 15, 2020 at 23:19 | history | answered | user1937198 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |