I used to have the impression that the ancient cavalry was not just a horse, a spear, a bow and a knife, which was very simple.
However, after looking at the cavalry establishment and armament written by the Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang, I realized that since ancient times, as long as it is a regular army, it is a very complex system, and there has never been a simple one.
For his words, see "Liutao", a discussion of the comparison of the combat effectiveness of cavalry and infantry.
King Wu asked the prince: "How many foot soldiers can be used as a foot soldier when fighting with a horseman?" ”This phrase can be understood as: in ancient times, every cavalry was a skilled man in the army, and each individual soldier's combat strength could be worth eight infantry.Taigong said: "One horse can be used as eight foot soldiers, and eight people can be one horse." ”
But the cavalry battle against the infantry is by no means like today's film and television works, which are used to defeat the infantry with a hard-hitting charge.
The cavalry is a detached soldier, and the method used is flickering and scattering, and the clutch is uncertain.
With 1,000 cavalry, you can use the advantage of mobility and speed to contain 8,000 or more infantry. In the course of maneuvering, the enemy infantry is fatigued and the formation is unstable. Then find a gap in the enemy line, take advantage of the situation to break through, and crush the enemy army with one blow. This is the correct use of cavalry.
On the contrary, if the cavalry gives up its advantage of mobile annihilation of the enemy, and goes to "attack the long with a short attack", and hit the infantry formation formed by strong armor and spears, strong crossbows and hard bows, then such an infantry formation will become a cavalry nemesis again.
At the same time, the saying that "one cavalry is worth eight steps" can also be understood as follows: the cost of raising one cavalry is worth the cost of raising eight infantrymen.
The battalion is the largest first-class unit of the cavalry of the Ming Army, and the officers and soldiers of the battalion are as follows:
Each battalion has a battalion commander; (adjutant general) one member of the Chinese army; There are two chief and deputy generals.
Each battalion is composed of three divisions: left, center, and right, and each department has one thousand, and a total of three thousand.
Each thousand headquarters has two headquarters (divisions), and the three thousand have a total of 6 people.
Each total consists of 400 general (bureau), and there are a total of 24 100-person combat teams in the six hundred total, with a total of 24 100 people.
There are three flag teams under every hundred. In this way, there are 24 100-person teams, with a total of 72 flag teams and a total of 72 flags.
Each flag team consists of three 12-person squads, 72 flag teams, a total of 216 squads, and a total of 216 squads.
The battalion had a total of 2,160 combat cavalrymen below the total squad level, and 216 firemen in charge of cooking.
In addition, there are 288 non-commissioned officers and cavalrymen directly under the battalions of the Chinese Army, such as Qigu, Claw Tan, Jialiang, and Kailu.
In this way, a cavalry battalion of the Ming army has a total of officers and soldiers in the standard establishment of the whole battalion: 2,699 people.
The battalion owner, deputy general, and the family members of the general manager are not counted.In addition to the standard establishment of the cavalry battalion, each battalion has a tiger squat artillery team under its jurisdiction, and the name of the artillery team commander is: Commander of the Artifact Team. The artillery team has 90 mules and horses, a number of vehicles, unknown personnel, and 60 tiger squat cannons as standard.
After Qi Jiguang's training, the cavalry battalion of the Ming army increased a large number of firearms and equipment. In addition to the Tiger Squat Cannon, which can be used in mobile field battles with the team, the cavalry hundred-man combat team has also added a large number of bird guns and fast guns.
The formation diagram of the Ming army's horse battalion in the "Actual Record of Military Training".
The hundred-man team of the ancient army is the modern company, which is the backbone of the army's combat effectiveness and the backbone of the assault force.
And each hundred-member team has a flag team and a squad, that is, a platoon and a squad. The squad leader, the flag general and the hundred general are the core of combat effectiveness, and the so-called head of the soldiers is also the tail.
As mentioned earlier, each cavalry battalion had the same strength of the left, center, and right divisions.
Each thousand general manager has 2 general teams (division of 100 people.
The battalion has a total of 24 100-man combat teams, 72 flag teams, and 216 12-person combat teams.
There are always 72 combat squads in each thousand.And the ** configuration of the cavalry team under the three thousand general departments on the left, center and right is slightly different.
* Configuration, there is a difference between pure team and flower team.
Pure team: refers to a team of soldiers and horses with the same **.
Flower team: refers to a team of soldiers and horses with different configurations**.
In the second year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang was promoted to the governor of the right capital and the chief military officer of Jizhen, guarding Jizhou, Yongping, and Shanhai, and thus began a drastic training in Jizhen, carried out military reform of the Ming army under his jurisdiction, and sank the configuration of the flower team into the 12-person combat squad of the cavalry battalion.
A 12-man squad with 11 soldiers. The squad has a total of 1 + 10 soldiers, and the firefighters only cook and do not participate in battles.The configuration of the cavalry team mainly depends on the cavalry squad, and the 100,000 army is composed of 10,000 squads.
Diagram of the formation of a 12-man cavalry squad.
Squad Total (1):
The total number one in the squad must be the most proficient in martial arts riding and archery in the whole team. The armament is as follows:
The team always carries a flag and a flagpole.
A sharp one-handed waist knife. A pair of bows and arrows, a force bow, two bowstrings, and 30 large arrows.
A bright helmet, a pair of armor, a pair of iron arms, a belt, and a coconut scoop.
The Iron Arm is only equipped to the overall level of the squad.Left and right):Coconut scoop: that is, the ancient military kettle.
Belt: Standard for soldiers in ancient times, it is a belt that binds armor.
A cavalryman with a bird-on-his back and a sword on his shoulder.
There are two commanders on the left and right, both of whom are bird guns, not worthy of bows and arrows.
In battle, the bird gun is used as a long shot, and the two-handed long knife is a short soldier.
Each person has a bright helmet, a pair of armor, a belt, and a coconut scoop.
A two-handed long knife, (arquebus) a bird gun.
Spare parts for birds: one rod, one tin turtle (used to hold gunpowder), five arquebuses.
Carry ammunition: a lead bag, three coins weigh **300 pieces.
There were 30 medicine tubes, 300 quantities of gunpowder, three coins per ration, and six taels of gunpowder, a total of six catties of gunpowder.
Qi Jiguang unified the caliber of the bird's gun in the army, took the firing of three coins as the standard type, and stipulated that the shooting charge was two cents for each penny that was specific to the weight of the lead.Fast Gunner):The Sharpshooter is the first in the squad.
3rd and 4th place. The quick gun is an extended version of the long-handled three-eyed gun.
In battle, the gun is used as a long soldier, and after the firing is completed, it can be used as an iron rod to smash the enemy in melee as a short soldier. Therefore, the fast gunner is also not worthy of a bow and arrow.
Each person has a bright helmet, a pair of armor, a belt, and a coconut scoop.
A sharp one-handed waist knife, a quick gun.
Quick gun spare parts: a rod, an awl, an iron scissors.
Ammunition: one lead bag, **300 pieces.
One gunpowder bag, 30 medicine tubes, and 500 medicine wires for each medicine tube, each of which had to be dipped in sulfur at two ends.
Three hundred gunpowder were fired, and each of them was five cents. The specific gravity of the fast gun firing charge, according to the example of the bird.
The "fast gun" is six feet five inches long and weighs five pounds.
Palladium boring hand):
11 men in the cavalry squad.
Five or six soldiers were palladium boring hands. Boring palladium is the proverbial three-strand steel fork, which is a unique weapon of the Ming army.
The palladium boring hand was not equipped with a waist knife or a bow, but carried a rocket that could be launched from a palladium boring machine.
In battle, the point release of rockets is used as a long soldier, and the boring and palladium stabbing is a short soldier.
Each person has a bright helmet, a pair of armor, a belt, and a coconut scoop.
A handful of boring palladium. Carry 30 rockets, 1 arrow basket, 1 oil cover cloth, and 30 spare rockets.
The boring palladium is eight feet long and weighs four pounds.
Knife and stick hand):
Clause. Seven or eight soldiers, who are knife and stick bearers, do not wear waist knives, and are equipped with bows and arrows.
When fighting, he shoots long shots with bows and arrows, and fights with knives and sticks in short combat.
Each person has a bright helmet, a pair of armor, a belt, and a coconut scoop.
A clamping knife stick.
A joint bow, thirty large arrows, and a pair of **.
The knife and stick are five inches long and weigh three catties.
Big Sticker):
Clause. Nine or ten soldiers are big stickers, and they do not wear waist swords, but are equipped with bows and arrows.
In battle, he shoots with a bow and arrow, and swings a stick as a short soldier.
Each person has a bright helmet, a pair of armor, a belt, and a coconut scoop.
A big stick. A joint bow, thirty large arrows, and a pair of **.
From the above, there are a total of 144 combat squads (72+72) on the left and right of the Ming army cavalry battalion, and all combat squads have the same configuration, unified as:The ** equipment of the central thousand is different from the left and right thousand generals.Bow and arrow + bird gun + fast gun + boring palladium rocket + knife stick "flower team" configuration.
As before, the Central Thousand General Administration has two general (divisions), each of which has four bureaus and 100 teams.
The hundred-man team of the Ming army was based on the bureau.And these four rounds of 100 teams are divided into:
One round of the 100-man combat team of birds, and three rounds of the 100-man killer team equipped with cold weapons.
Among them, the 100-person team in the first game is the Bird Gun Team, and the 11 soldiers in each 12-person team are configured as follows:
The first team is the same as the left and right thousand squads, carrying flags, flag guns, armor, iron arms, etc.
* For waist knives, bows and arrows**, not with birds.
Ranked first in the squad. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th soldiers were all bird-bearers.
Clause. Nine or ten soldiers were boring palladium players.
The personal ** equipment of the bird hand and the boring palladium hand are the same as those of the left and right thousand headquarters.
Clause.
II. 3. The 100-man team in the fourth game is unified into the "killer team", and the 11-member fighters in the subordinate combat teams are equipped as follows:
The Ming army called the team equipped with pure cold weapons the killer team, and the language is described in the "Actual Record of Military Training".The 11-man soldiers of each combat squad under the Killer Team are equipped as follows:
The total ** configuration of the squad is the same as above, and all departments are the same.
Squad. The first, second, third, and fourth soldiers, all with the same armor, are equipped with bows and arrows, waist knives, and are mounted archers.
Squad. Five, six, seven, and eight soldiers, with the same armor, are uniformly equipped with hook guns and cavalry guns, and are also equipped with bows and arrows**, and 30 large arrows, which are trap assaulters.
Squad. Nine or ten soldiers, with the same armor as above, without bows and arrows, are boring palladium fighters with rockets, and provide fire support for the whole team.
Characteristics of cavalry equipment of the Ming army:
The combination of artillery, arquebuses, three-eyed guns, rockets, bows and arrows, knives, guns, boring, palladium, sticks and other cold weapons has been realized.
The cavalry teams on the left and right, in the first-level units of the 12-man squad, realized the long-range and close-range attacks of muskets, bows, arrows, knives, sticks, and cold weapons, and the long and short groups fought together.
The Central Cavalry was composed of a musket hundred-man team and three cold hundred-man teams.
From this point of view, Qi Jiguang is worthy of being called a cross-era tactical master with advanced thinking.
The data comes from the "Actual Record of Military Training" and is only partially listed.60 tiger squat cannons; Bird guns (arquebuses) 432 shots.
Rapid gun (three-eyed gun) 432 shots.
24 sets of lead molds for cast arquebus projectiles.
24 sets of lead molds for casting quick-gun projectiles.
A total of 25,920 boring palladium hand-carried + spare rockets.
2,790 bright helmets; 2790 pairs of armor.
There were 1,152 bows and 34,560 arrows carried by individual soldiers.
1,152 one-handed waist knives; 432 two-handed long knives.
432 boring palladium; 432 hook guns and knives and sticks; 648 sticks.
216 copper pots for firefighter cooking.
648 sets of wooden cabinet horses.
In addition, when the cavalry battalion of the Ming army went on the expedition, it often fought in coordination with the car battalion.
Therefore, in addition to its own firepower, the cavalry battalion can also be supported by the fire of the car battalion.
Each battalion is equipped with 256 Wolf guns and 512 arquebuses; Rockets 15360 branches.
The rocket is three to four feet long and weighs three or two.