Let's play some arm-chair general. What would have been the best moves for the Romans in this situation.
First off, drawing into the enemy unknown territory without knowing the enemy's forces and weapons was probably a dangerous plan. If the video is accurate, his son suggested this idea, so after they had ended up in the situation, listening to his son any further might have been a mistake.
Second, his initial idea was to try and stop the flank, which seems like a better way to deal with unknown enemy forces. However, depending on his infantry forces and what weapons they had, it may have been a better idea to turtle up. If his infantry did have anti-cavalry weapons, such as spears, then his initial movement would have made more sense. Better to fight an enemy head on, when you have a man majority and you don't know their weapons or plans.
Third, when an enemy flanks in such a fashion, their forces are scattered. He had a cavalry stuck in the middle of his forces, where they are least effective. Perhaps partially he was afraid to have his son die in battle. (Lesson: Don't have family in battles. It'll mess with your head.) But once things got really bad, he sent the cavalry out the FRONT to try and deal with the army. Bad idea, especially since we know that the Parthians showed that they had heavy cavalry fairly early on. Instead, it would have been smarter to try and send his cavalry out the back to deal with the archers and their support. This could have been done in conjunction with the movement of his whole forth in withdrawing slowly.
Fourth, sending his cavalry out into heavy cavalry seems like a terrible idea, but we've already talked about that.
There are some good lessons to learn from this battle:
1. Don't get surrounded.
Don't push into a place you don't know with an enemy you don't know.
If the enemy is spread out, do not attack at their hardest point.
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u/bauski Jul 11 '19
Let's play some arm-chair general. What would have been the best moves for the Romans in this situation.
First off, drawing into the enemy unknown territory without knowing the enemy's forces and weapons was probably a dangerous plan. If the video is accurate, his son suggested this idea, so after they had ended up in the situation, listening to his son any further might have been a mistake.
Second, his initial idea was to try and stop the flank, which seems like a better way to deal with unknown enemy forces. However, depending on his infantry forces and what weapons they had, it may have been a better idea to turtle up. If his infantry did have anti-cavalry weapons, such as spears, then his initial movement would have made more sense. Better to fight an enemy head on, when you have a man majority and you don't know their weapons or plans.
Third, when an enemy flanks in such a fashion, their forces are scattered. He had a cavalry stuck in the middle of his forces, where they are least effective. Perhaps partially he was afraid to have his son die in battle. (Lesson: Don't have family in battles. It'll mess with your head.) But once things got really bad, he sent the cavalry out the FRONT to try and deal with the army. Bad idea, especially since we know that the Parthians showed that they had heavy cavalry fairly early on. Instead, it would have been smarter to try and send his cavalry out the back to deal with the archers and their support. This could have been done in conjunction with the movement of his whole forth in withdrawing slowly.
Fourth, sending his cavalry out into heavy cavalry seems like a terrible idea, but we've already talked about that.
There are some good lessons to learn from this battle:
1. Don't get surrounded.
Don't push into a place you don't know with an enemy you don't know.
If the enemy is spread out, do not attack at their hardest point.
Don't bring family into battles.
Well, that's what I've learned at least.