Someone mentioned chariots in the succesor wars following Alexander.
>From what I've read various people tried "suicide" scythed chariots
as shock vehicles. Mount some spears on the front, big nasty blades
sticking out the sides and scythed blades whirling on the wheels,
whip the horses up to a charge directly at the enemy heavy infantry,
then bale out just before impact. The idea was that you'd charge a
few of those at the enemy line and throw it into enough dissary that
your infantry charge would route it. It seldom seemed to really
work, however. If the driver jumped out too early the horses might
veer off or slow down (not being keen on impaling themselves on the
hedgehog of a phalanx), and they damage they caused was fairly
limited, so that good troops would recover quickly, so it was hard to
hit them quickly enough to really take advantage of the situation.
They mostly seemed to be used by people who were short on elephants
(not that elephants were all that much more reliable, but when they
did succesfully charge they tended to cause a more enduring problem).
I'm not an expert, but I don't really recall the ancients using chariots much after the Assyrians and that era. One of the groups that conquered Egypt were known for their chariots, and the Egyptians used them quite a bit after kicking them out. I think the real value was that they were fighting mostly light infantry, and without training it is probably hard to hit a swiftly moving chariot, so they could swoop in, fire, and depart before being hit back, as well they would have the speed to outflank opponents. Homer probably also had it right, however, in that they let warriors wear heavy army and get to the field without being overly exhausted (or surrounded by swifter, lighter, opponents). I'd imagine delivering a smallish number of well trained warriors in heavy armor to the enemy rear could have been devestating to those not expecting it, as you'd have a good chance to take out commanders unless they fled in their own chariots.
I don't know that the size of the horse may have been the impediment, it may have been an evolutionary thing. Horses were tamed and used to pull things. Some bright general figured that they could pull things quickly, which would let his warriors be more mobile, and this was good. Eventually someone showed that you could ride the darn things, and others figured out how to guide them with your knees, even at a gallop. From there cavalry is a natural inovation, but somebody had to be stupid enough to try galloping along using no hands first!
--Bryan
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