>> They struggle to make an impression against many units but that's
>> more to do with troops in formation closing ranks than anything
>> else. It's the heavily armed foot who are the problem rather than
>> horsemen though, with the latter you can always lie on the ground
>> out of easy reach of the cavalryman's weapons until the horse is
>> above you whereupon you jump up and either cut the saddle girth or
>> hamstring the horse. The more heavily armoured the cavalryman the
>> easier that is. Risky, but members of the warband are going to try
>> it.
>
>The British cavalry in India practiced "pigsticking" and "tent pegging" with
>their lances to foil just such a tactic. Any horse soldier with a spear will
>take care of someone lying on the ground. A 3' sword *probably* won't reach
>the ground (but don't try it against trick riders like the Grazers, who can
>reach down and pluck a rag stiuck in the ground...).
If they spot them, and don't assume they're dead. The heavier armoured horsemen (Knights & Cataphracts) have a very restricted field of vision so will be particularly vunerable.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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