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It Beats WalkingBy Gary LyonThroughout history the PBI has sought to make life easier by finder alternative transport arrangements. He first used chariots which were no more than carts - can you imagine trying to charge the enemy of a chariot drawn by donkeys? For this is what the onagers were that were used to pull the first chariots. I have visions of units of these drawn up in lines with three crew each (driver, warrior and man with carrot on string). Once horses had replaced onagers as the motive power the chariot became a much more potent weapon but was still most often used as a means of transport (by Britons, no scythes here with the warriors dismounting to throw spears, and by Trojans etc.) or as a firing platform (Egyptians). Some races used heavier chariots as a shock weapon (Assyrians) whilst others used them in as a suicide weapon with scythes and a bailing out crewman (Persians, Gauls). As horses were bred for more size and strength cavalry began to be used and became a dominant arm until the development of weapons such as the longbow, pike and musket. This did not mean the loss of the chariot completely - as late as the Byzantine era there was a weird combination known as the "currios dreponi" which was a spiked beam towed by armoured cavalry. But the advent of better infantry weapons meant that any battle transport had to well protected - hence the Hussite war wagons which were filled full of armed men and protected by chains and baulks of timber. By the time of the Crimean War railways were in use to speed the transport of men and supplies, many battles of the American Civil War were fought for control of vital railroad junctions. Armoured trains began to appear and balloons were used for the first time (at first just for observation). Motor transport was to come by the time of the First World War - France was saved at the Battle of the Marne by the arrival of reinforcements in Parisian taxis (though history is silent on how much the fare was and if the drivers went the long way round) and the first tanks appeared.Trucks were used to ferry the PBI to the front line but they still had to walk when they got there, so much for progress. Progress did arrive in the form of the APC by the time of the Second World War - at last the PBI could travel in safety and comfort. But it was still easier to prod PBIs forward than build lots of APCs and few countries made extensive use of them or could afford them (the Americans of course, not only had loads of APCs but, rumour had it, also had a jeep each). It was only after 1945 and in the cold war that it became normal for the PBI to be carried in APCs. So whats next? As battlefields become more technological APCs become easier targets and the PBI has to resort to footpower again. Will we see the advent of individual jump packs or motorised battle suits? Or will the PBI once again be on foot? |