[gothic-l] Gothic Cavalry Strength

[keth at ONLINE.NO]

Hello, Bertil

you wrote:
>Even if Icelandic and Gotlandic horses were allowed to graze
>this would not have been possible for the military commanders
>of a weakened West Roman empire, where the commanders
>were Gothic and others anyway.

Do you mean the Goths use Icelandic horses?

If you are in an area with a lot of grass, it is no problem
to find grass for the horses. The winter season might
be a problem, though. But I believe I read somewhere that
campaigns usually took place during the warmer seasons.

For example from America there is rich documentation
of extensive cavalry operations during the 19th century.

And yes, Indians did in fact often steal horses if they had
a chance. And so the problem really was what to do with
the horses while you were camping. But I do not think fresh
grass was a problem.

For example in America there are plenty of wild horses,
and they manage to stay healthy without being fed by
humans [grain or whatever].

Passing through thinly populated araes could also be
solved by using special pack horses. That is, horses
without riders that only carried supplies. Of course
in dry areas water might be a problem, because horses
do need to drink quite a lot. And it is best if you
allow them to drink several times a day.

The horse came to Scandinavia during the Bronze Age.
If the Goths came from Scandinavia, they must already
have used horses then.

Hope all is well,
Keth




>The Goths learned from the Huns the use of the horse and
>could during migration let the horses graze. During military
>campaigning the natural security decisions don't allow
>grazing. Grain feeding is necessary and that was the problem
>the Romans faced. Roman cavalry had also earlier consisted
>mainly of recruits from different parts of the empire.
>
>If we turn to special works on the Late Roman Empire I would
>like to recommend Arther Ferrill, _The Fall of the Roman Empire:
>The Military Explanation_, London:Thames and Hudson, 1986.
>
>The Roman Army was under threat from the at least the beginning
>of the 4th century AD - afflicted by man-power shortages, loss
>of status, declining morale, and rampant indiscipline. These are
>well known facts. Of course, it has to be admitted, that at times
>the Roman Army fought valiantly. Roman cavalry, quite under
>strength for the task facing fighting armies based on horse culture,
>was strategically inefficient, although it could at times be
>tactically efficient. There was always the need to protect the
>horses of the small cavalry detachments from surprise raids.
>
>Thus Quigley, whose book is of course very broad because the
>large time span it covers, has a point here. It is, as he
>notes in the subtitle, _An Introduction to Historical Analysis_.
>I think it is important to bring in this broad perspective to avoid
>too much concentration on a few recent archaelogical articles
>in reviews.
>
>An important aspect of the Gothic warfare during the late empire
>was also the sociology of weaponry, how structure and development
>of society could be a reflection of the weapon system (in this case
>cavalry) and military organization among the Goths.
>
>Gothically
>
>Bertil
>
>
>
>
>
>
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