Unit Browser for RTR: Imperium Surrectum

Short description

These beasts of war are best used in flanking manoeuvres, well out of range of enemy missiles - a true tactician can utilize them to bring even Rome to its knees!

Description

"The Greek shall come against thee,

The conqueror of the East;

Besides him stalks to battle

The huge earth-shaking beast,

The beast on whom the castle

With all its guards doth stand,

The beast who hath between his eyes

The serpent for a hand."

(Macauley - The Prophecy Of Capys XXIV [1825])

These famed beasts of war are Indian elephants, dressed for war. A light-weight tower covered by protective shields, the thorakia, is strapped onto them with chains, capable of holding a few missile throwers. The chief weapon, of course, is the ferocious beast itself. Even though they might look unstoppable, these elephants are a glass canon unit. Be sure to keep them out of javelins range and away from fire arrows, lest they run amok and ruin your own infantry lines! If employed with skill and care, however, they are the real tank of the ancient world. In order to truly master the beast in a tactical sense, one must ensure to use them as a ‘hammer’ in an encircling strike, clear of enemy projectiles.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The successors to Alexander's empire, the Diadochi, used hundreds of Indian elephants in their wars. This subspecies of Elephas Maximus, which is on average about 2.40 to 2.75 meters high at the shoulder, has the longest history of being tamed and trained (Çakirlar & Ikram, ‘When elephants battle’ [2016]). As Ammianus Marcellinus put it, "the human mind can conceive nothing more terrible than their noise and huge bodies" (Amm. Marc. 19.7.6).

Pyrrhos of Epeiros was the first commander to employ the famed war beast from the depths of Asia in Western Europe, when he used 20 Indian elephants in his campaigns throughout Italy and Sicily from 280 to 275 BC. Since the war was mainly centred in the region of Lucania, the Romans nicknamed the beasts ‘Lucanian cows’ (Connolly, ‘Greece and Rome’ (2006), p. 74). Historians disagree how he would have obtained them. It has been suggested that he either captured them from Demetrios in Macedon, or was given the elephants as a present by his Greek neighbours, who were all too happy to see him leave the region to seek glory on another field of battle. Ptolemaios Keraunos would even have loaned Pyrrhos 9,000 men and 50 elephants (Kistler, War Elephants).

Pyrrhos’ elephant tactics were especially innovative. The Diadochi had mainly utilized them as anti-cavalry screens, as horses were frightened by the elephants’ smell. No early battle among the Successors had seen the use of elephants to break up the enemy phalanx. Pyrrhos, however, held them back until the decisive moment in battle (Jones, The Epirote War Elephant). At Herakleia and Asculum, Roman armies of increasing size where beaten when the phalanx held firm, while Pyrrhos skilfully moved his elephants in for the kill from the flanks. These were the infamous "Pyrrhic" victories. As Plutarch relates:

"[...] they began to be driven back at the point where Pyrrhos himself was pressing hard upon his opponents; but the greatest havoc was wrought by the furious strength of the elephants, since the valour of the Romans was of no avail in fighting them, but they felt that they must yield before them as before an onrushing billow or a crashing earthquake, and not stand their ground only to die in vain, or suffer all that is most grievous without doing any good at all." (Plut. Pyrrhos. 21.7)

Over time, however, the Romans learned how to deal with war elephants, diminishing their use on the battlefield:

"Down they came from their strong places, and hurling their javelins at the elephants compelled them to wheel about and run back through the ranks of their own men, thus causing disorder and confusion there. This gave the victory to the Romans." (Plut. Pyrrhos. 25.5)

Combined with the difficulty of obtaining the ferocious animals, this led the later European Diadochi to seldomly use war elephants. They never again played such a significant part in a military campaign as under Pyrrhos (Connolly, ‘Greece and Rome’ (2006), p. 75).