Chariots and Crossbows?

[JackDionne]

Found this very interesting


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w97cTyGvcK4


Were chariots widely used in the 3K era? I know they were in the Warring States period.


I can't find it on youtube any more but I saw a chinese battle can't remember the era, the people firing the crossbows laid on their back had the tee part of the crossbow held up with both legs, then they would use both arms to pull back the twine to fire the bolt. Did this type of crossbow exist? When I google it and I can't find it.

[Intranetusa]

Chariots were used but not as much as before. Massed chariot warfare with tens of thousands of chariots became obsolete during the Warring states era but special chariots were used during the Han Dynasty - command post chariots, field artillery crossbow chariots, armored chariots that could be linked up to create wagon forts against cavalry charges, etc

As for the crossbow, are you talking about the movie Hero? I have also read there were heavy crossbows that were drawn by the leg muscles of a person laying on their back. The movie Hero incorrectly portrays then as also shooting on their backs and holding the string without a cocking trigger. The PBS documentary Emperor’s Ghost Army talks about soldiers laying on their backs to span powerful crossbows.

[roarer]

Chariots warfare in China was slowly being replaced during the warring state period, it is only widely used during the Spring & Autumn period.

Both weapons you mentioned are expensive to produce and maintain. With the situation we had in the Three Kingdoms era, they are not economical to be used in large scale. Local military power are not that rich after years of conflict and rebellions. Moreover, when battles are conducted in mountain ranges / swamps / forest, their efficiency are greatly reduced. That's why they were rarely found in the period.

I am fine if the game includes it, just make them expensive and only viable / powerful on plains.

[Yue Fei]

Chariots in this period were relegated to command platforms. Cavalry (predominantly horse archers and some lancers) were already the norm for over 300 years at this point. Crossbows were common and prevalent, though they didn't function like European style crossbows. They most common draw weights (387 lbs foot drawn) used by troops equal to what would be considered medium crossbows in medieval Europe, however Chinese crossbows had a much longer powerstroke of 18-20 inches. European crossbows were generally about 8-9 inches powerstroke. The longer powerstroke greatly increases the power. A war bow by comparison would have a powerstroke of about 28 inches, with a draw weight that was on average in the 120-150 lb range. Shooting a 200 gram bolt, that's delivering 312 Joules at point blank.

That's a damned powerful weapon. Equivalent to a 1000 lb medieval siege crossbow, without having to use mechanical spanning devices like a cranequin or windlass.