Unit Browser for RTR: Imperium Surrectum

Short description

Terror inflicting mounted javelin throwers protected with large shields.

Description

Celtic chariots were a form of warfare that the Romans had serious problems with. It took them some time to find a way of dealing' with the devastating effect the chariot had. Polybius, in his accounts of the lead up to the battle of Telamon in 225 BC, reports that the Gauls had 20,000 cavalry and chariots. This was the last reference to the use of chariots on the mainland. By the time Caesar encountered them in Britain, the method of fighting against the chariot had been forgotten. Diodorus said that the chariot was drawn by two horses and could carry a driver and a warrior. The charioteer sat in the open front of the chariot and actually drove. The warrior stood behind the charioteer and threw his spears from the chariot before alighting and fighting on foot.

Caesar wrote that: "By daily training and practice they attain such proficiency that even on a steep slope they are able to control the horses at full gallop, and to check and turn them in a moment. They can run along the chariot pole, stand on the yoke and get back in the chariot as quick as lightning."

One could argue that even the well-trained legions of Rome were given quite a start by this sight. The Romans were used to chariots, it is true, but those were usually driven in contests in hippodromes, not in battlefield engagements.

Even though it was not used always and everywhere in the Celtic world, the battle-chariot is considered a very typical part of Celtic warfare. It was called a "carpentom" or similar term, and was a light, two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a pair of yoked horses, little more than four meters in length and less than two meters wide. The chariot consisted almost exclusively of organic material; the main metal parts were the iron tires and the iron fittings to strengthen the hubs. In some cases, metal rings and connectors were used to strengthen joints and flexible connections. What made the Celtic chariot so special, however, was that the chariot-platform was not fixed to the axle but hung free in a rope suspension. This made it a lot more comfortable to drive and a lot easier to fight from.

"In chariot fighting the Britons begin by driving all over the field hurling javelins, and generally the terror caused by the horses and the noise of the wheels are enough to throw their enemies' ranks into chaos." Diodorus

The advantage of the chariot, of course, was that it could move troops from place to place before, during, and after a battle. It could zoom into the thick of a battle, deposit its warrior, and then zoom back out of harm's way. If the warrior was in trouble, he could call for his charioteer, who would charge in and whisk him out of harm's way. In effect, the chariot was a primitive form of armored personnel carrier. The charioteer depended on speed as his main defense, especially since the design of the chariot didn't include an enclosed area to protect the driver.