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Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2019 8:29 am
by Andrew Beer
Can someone answer the question - Why Numidians have the option for 4 Elephants but their cavalry aren't used to elephants?
This must have a massive -ve affect.

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 9:22 am
by MartinG
There are various configurations for Numidian armies, reflecting the practices of different tribes and times. Elephants are best used with the later, partially Roman-trained armies with a lot of infantry, not the earlier cavalry-heavy forces.

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 3:13 pm
by Andrew Beer
Cheers, that makes sense, thought a cavalry list would be difficult.

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:16 am
by Andrew Beer
Reviewing the list and the requirement that elephants to be present for Guard Cavalry to be fielded, would the option for "used to elephants" be appropriate here?

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:38 am
by MartinG
If you want to point me to some historical evidence of interactions between Numidian cavalry and elephants on the battlefield I will gladly review this for you.

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 1:27 pm
by Andrew Beer
I'll goggle it lol

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 2:15 pm
by Andrew Beer
Initial findings for the battle of Zama is that the cavalry wings were able to operate in the presence of elephants.

Re: Numidians not used to Elephants

Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 6:50 am
by lero
Used to Elephant means a special training, for example Macedonian successors put in the same stable Elephants and Horses to get acustomed with smells, and they used trumpets for the sounds. This is very specific. In Zama, on Carthaginian side, Elephants were young so not well-trained to battle and easy to panic. The simple fact that you have Elephants in an army list do not give an automatic "used to Elephant" to the cavalry. And if I rememdered, at Zama, Elephants were put in front line in a very basic strategy... they charged, romans were not in their usual formation and let spaces between manipules to let velites harrassed Elephants who were also panicked by the roman trumpeters. Cavalry fought on each sides of the army but not at the centre.