"Unloading horses from boats by the Romans et al." Topic
9 Posts
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| UshCha | 06 Jan 2021 12:21 p.m. PST |
Was it possible to unload sufficient horses from boats to make up a small cavalry contingent. If so how was it done:-
1) By beaching the boat. I did put allowing the boats to dry out but in the Med tides are not really a "thing".
2)Only at a dock so they can "easily" be walked off the boat. Why, because I want some amphibious landings so I can surprise the fort(s)I am just building (see Crenelations the Dilemma in the 3D print thread). |
| GurKhan | 06 Jan 2021 12:57 p.m. PST |
Caesar took cavalry with him on both his British expeditions; the first time storms prevented the cavalry from landing, but on the second trip they did get ashore. So it could be done, but he doesn't tell us how they were landed. Earlier, the Athenians originally carried horses in any old ship, but from 430 BC they took to converting old triremes to carry 30 horses apiece = see for instance link for instance. The Romans may perhaps have done something similar. |
| Wackmole9 | 06 Jan 2021 1:07 p.m. PST |
During the 1066 campaign the Norman just offload them and let them swim a shore. |
79thPA  | 06 Jan 2021 1:24 p.m. PST |
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| UshCha | 06 Jan 2021 1:42 p.m. PST |
Thanks folks, that's a great set of information. GurKan great link I read a lot more fascinating. |
| Rudysnelson | 06 Jan 2021 8:16 p.m. PST |
Even in the Mexican-American War, unloading horse from the ship was an issue. One Quartermaster Lt. Simply removed the rails and pushed the horses off. Some swam the right way, to shore. A few swam in circles. |
 BigRedBat  | 07 Jan 2021 11:36 a.m. PST |
Why not call them Batavians, and let them swim to land? The Batavians excelled in this tactic (Anglesey, the Medway). Then you can save the boats for your infantry. |
| Swampster | 08 Jan 2021 5:06 a.m. PST |
It is much later than your period, but beaching a galley in the Med could be done in a beach invasion – Joinville contrasts how the galleys could get up to the beach while the round ships couldn't.
They wouldn't be beached enough to disembark dry shod, but good enough to unload. He also talks about horse transports but this is probably not as relevant for you – they are following on from 1000 years of development by Byzantines and Arabs from Roman ideas. |
| jdginaz | 08 Jan 2021 11:08 a.m. PST |
Even in the Mexican-American War, unloading horse from the ship was an issue. One Quartermaster Lt. Simply removed the rails and pushed the horses off. Some swam the right way, to shore. A few swam in circles. I believe that was actually the Spanish-American war. They ended up getting all the horses ashore by having an on shore bugler blow recall. |
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