Is there any cooler unit than war elephants? I don't think so.

>unruly animal that can rek your own formation if startled is incorporated into the army
>only one survives to the final showdown

Meme platoons are the worst. Given me one example of a meme platoon that worked in history, that won a war, not some obscure battle.

>>1036004
>unruly animal that can rek your own formation if startled is incorporated into the army
Medittos never learned how to use an Ephelant in battle properly desu.

They looked at them and saw cavalry, instead of fighting platforms.

>>1036014
are there any good records and writings on persians, indians, and arabs using elephants in war?

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>>1036018
Most effective use of war elephants was in India and Southeast Asia. So read Indian/Southeast Asian sources. Kautilya's Arthashastra for example

Since 1) they live in abundance there, and 2) The dense jungles present made cavalry useles and made encountering elephants in the close confines dangerous.

One glaring mistake that Mediterraneans use in Elephant Warfare is the lack of escorting infantry. In India, 7 - 10 men were tasked to protect a single elephant. These men risked life and limb accompanying an elephant charge as they did not form up behind a formation of elephants, they ran beside the elephant of their master.

So meme Roman/Greek tactics like opening up lines to let elephants pass harmlessly through wont work in India because congrats, you just let a sizable infantry force accompanying those beasts into your lines.

>>1035981
/thread

>>1036049
did the power of an elephant charge make up for the expense of infantry tasked with escorting the elephant?

>>1036101
Power yes, but mostly shock factor. You steered clear of a charge of these beasts.

And yes it was worth it. A successful elephant charge on infantry meant you drove the enemy off a crucial point or enemy infantry ran away to avoid it and open up gaps in their line for your own infantry (usually the guys tasked to the elephants) to exploit.

>>1035966
They were cool in age of empires. But the one in 2 for the persians looks meh.

Cataphracts are ebin

>>1036049
Western powers used light troops to guard elephants, anon.

Polish Winged Hussars were way better than elephants

>>1036656
Don't summon the fucking plumbers.

>>1036135
Do you know of any battles where an elephant charge successfully worked like you're saying?

>>1036014
>>1036049
Is the problem in a difference is tactics between the west and east, or is it more in the differences between the North African Elephant used by Mediterranean civilizations and the Asian elephant used by Eastern ones? Perhaps the west would have used the tactics that the eastern Elephant-trainers did, but the differences in behaviour, temperament, size, power, etc between the African and Asian elephants made this impossible?

>>1035966
t. Hannibal

>>1035966
Sarrisas boi

>>1036049
>open up lines to let elephants through
>poke with really long pointy sticks til dead

>open up lines to let elephants and 7-10 men through
>poke with really long pointy sticks til dead, maybe bowmen crouched in front of spearmen to kill the 7-10 who might rush under spears

It's really not that hard to counter that, lad.

>>1037597
Why not just sent your cavalry after the elephants and break their tusks when they are returning from charge.

>>1036217
this. Way better than elephants in Rome Total War too

>Is there any cooler unit than war elephants
Modern infantry. A reasonable fighting force>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Le epik elephants X))))

>>1037685
Better yet spook the elephants with fire and loud noises.

>>1037597
But the elephants arent the only component of the army, like many of the armies who used them they were part of the combined arms as in the infantry creating a battle line, the elephants were ideal for flanking movements to shatter the enemy lines.

>>1036049
Were the elephants actually useful in any other aspect than instilling fear in the enemy? I mean could you actually command it to move forward and run into enemy lines or the like? Because if not it seems to me that they'd just break up into a frenzy, and at that point it would probably be better ot just have one unit of elephants that are fighting very separately from your own infantry.

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>>1037448

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>>1037716
What about modern war elephants?

>>1037943
The riders could drive a spike into their heads if they went crazy and turned on their own lines. They were something of a rich kings toy but they could be devastating if used right. Much like cataphracts

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viking berserker. probably the coolest warrior that has ever walked the earth or ever will.

>>1039576
>>reddit

Tanks.

Tanks are the coolest thing in war.

/thread

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>>1035966

>>1039576
>viking berserker
>things that were actually real
pick one

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>>1037597
>Be Southeast Asia
>Open up line guys!
>Shit we can't since lol dense vegetation.
>Oh boy I guess we just have to accept this charge then.

Also you had shit like mounting ballistas on elephants, with them just standing in the distance or acting as mobile artillery. Such as the case during the Cham sack of Angkor in which the Cham mounted imported Chinese Erlian Nu (Double-Bow Crossbows) on their elephants and punched holes in Khmer shield walls.