Horse archer

A horse archer (or horsed archer, mounted archer) is a cavalryman armed with a bow. Because using a bow requires a horseman to let go of the reins with both hands, horse archers need superb equestrian skills. Horse archery is typically associated with equestrian nomads of the Eurasian steppe. Peoples known to have employed horse archers include the Scythians, Sarmatians, Parthians, Huns, Hungarians, Mongols, Turks, Armenians and Bulgars. In Japan mounted archery is called Yabusame.

Horse archery is the earliest form of cavalry altogether. The Iron Age horse was not strong enough to bear an armoured rider, little larger than modern ponies. Horse archers replace the Bronze Age chariot which allowed mobile attacks even with horses too small to bear a man. Other light cavalry saw only limited use in Classical Antiquity (the Roman Equites), and heavy cavalry was introduced only in Sassanid times (3rd or 4th century).

Appearance in history

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. Due to the superior speed of mounted archers, troops under fire from horse archers were unable to respond to the threat without ranged weapons of their own, resulting in casualties, morale drops, and disruption of the formation. When retreating after each shot to avoid return fire, horse archers were generally proven to be effective against heavily equipped infantry, especially in arid regions where heavily armoured troops were at a severe disadvantage when confronted with mobile forces of mounted archers. In fact, the only threats to horse archers were arrows and other light cavalry forces. A famous tactic was the Parthian shot, turning away from an enemy while continuing to shoot (for this reason, the term parthian arrow can also apply to a particularly nasty parting remark).

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. Due the heavy armour worn by Western troops, they had difficulty facing the more mobile, ranged cavalry of Eastern nations, as shown by numerous examples during the Crusades. The medieval Battle of Hattin, for instance, is an example of horse archers contributing to the defeat of armoured troops via demoralization and continued harassment.

Technology

The weapon of choice for horse archers was the recurve bow, because it was compact enough to shoot from a horse and retained sufficient range and penetrating power. A drawback of horse archers 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 skill required to shoot effectively while performing maneuvers took extensive practice. The Mongols were known for the value they placed on this, and Mongol youths took part in frequent training in horsemanship and archery for this purpose. To this day, advanced horsemanship and associated skills are practiced in central Asia, and are displayed at festivals.

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. Considering that 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 fired from horseback, in the same manner that the recurve bow was a development over earlier bows. The 16th century Dragoons and Cuirassiers were heavy cavalry equipped with firearms.

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Appearance in history

Technology

See also