Celtic warfare

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Tribal warfare appears to have been a regular feature of Celtic societies. While epic literature depicts this as more of a sport focused on raids and hunting rather than organised territorial conquest, the historical record is more of tribes using warfare to exert political control and harass rivals, for economic advantage, and in some instances to conquer territory.

The Celts were described by classical writers such as Strabo, Livy, Pausanias, and Florus as fighting like "wild beasts", and as hordes. Dionysius said that their "manner of fighting, being in large measure that of wild beasts and frenzied, was an erratic procedure, quite lacking in military science. Thus, at one moment they would raise their swords aloft and smite after the manner of wild boars, throwing the whole weight of their bodies into the blow like hewers of wood or men digging with mattocks, and again they would deliver crosswise blows aimed at no target, as if they intended to cut to pieces the entire bodies of their adversaries, protective armour and all".[1] Such descriptions have been challenged by contemporary historians.[2]

Contents

[edit] Chariots

Being relatively isolated from the more 'civilized' regions of the Mediterranean, the Celts were not part of the gradual revolution in military tactics which saw the mounted cavalryman replacing the chariot in battle. The typical Celtic chariot or a "Carpentom" was a two-wheeled device pulled by a team of two horses yoked to the vehicle. At about 4 meters in length and 2 meters wide the vehicle was not large (certainly smaller than earlier Egyptian war chariots). Celtic chariots featured iron tires and iron fittings to add strength to the vehicles' hubs. What made the Celtic chariot truly unique was that it did not feature a platform attached to an axle, but to a hung rope suspension. This made the ride much more comfortable and the vehicle much easier to fight from. Some Celtic chariots featured metal rings and connectors to add strength to flexible parts.

Typically the crew of two (driver and warrior) would ride together to the battle, the warrior would throw his spears and then dismount to fight on foot. The driver would take the chariot just behind the lines (likely out of missile range as well) and wait to come forward and fetch his warrior if he were to be injured, killed, or simply unable to continue fighting. A steadfast driver might even be counted upon to come forward for his warrior in the event of a rout (if not the warrior has no recourse but to use his own feet).

[edit] Infantry

To say that there was a 'typical' Celtic warrior may be a bit of a misnomer, as they were not a unified culture and would have been equipped by themselves and their families there would have been little uniformity amongst the ranks. In as much as a standard emerges Celtic warriors probably would have gone to battle with 1-4 spears of varying weights for varying purposes. The long "Lancea" was designed for more traditional spear fighting, while the shorter "gaesum" was used more as a javelin. Others would have carried the infamous Celtic short-sword, which by the 1st century B.C. was replaced by a long slashing sword. Most warriors would have a large leather-covered wood shield with a metal boss. Among the rank and file there would be little armor in evidence as only the most prosperous nobles could afford a bronze or Iron helmet, in extremely rare cases a mail coat may have been worn by especially well-off nobles. Celts use large amounts of slingers in battle, to support their spearmen and to weaken the enemy before a close-quarters encounter. Some tribes also had large numbers of archers in their army, for example the Ruteni, Welsh Silures and possibly also the Gallic Eburovices. In parts of east Britain, infantry seems to have been almost non-existent, and chariot crews played the role of slinger and spearman combined in one. Most Celtic armies though, contained a large infantry contingent.

[edit] Battle tactics

The Celts, like many other 'barbarian' tribes, employed the use of "scare tactics" before a battle, this consisted of yelling, screaming, shield banging, horns being blown, and possibly drums. Celtic war chiefs would also march before their troops before a battle and exhort them through the proclaiming of their own heroism, more yelling, or the challenging of the enemy commanders to a duel. Fighting was initiated by chariots and slingers hurling missiles at the enemy, the chariot-fighters then dismounted to fight with shield, sword and spear as infantry. Clans and sub-clans followed standards and in Britain, fresh units would often be held in reserve to fight, when another unit needed to rest. Among Gallic and Spanish Celts Chariots were replaced by cavalry which fought mounted instead of dismounting like chariots. Gallic and Spanish Infantry ofted used very effective infantry tactics such as the shieldwall, also common among Germanic armies and more importantly the boar's snout; where the infantry arrayed themselves in a series of wedges and attacked the enemy shieldwall. Celts also employed wild charges when the situation lended itself to it, which could smash even the most well disciplined armies when used effectively.

Accounts vary as to how the Gauls handled the failure of their initial attack to collapse enemy lines, the Romans would have us believe that if the initial attack could be withstood then the Gauls could then be easily routed. This seems to run contrary to what we know about the Celtic mentality, more than likely they would have fought bravely until they were killed (like the Nervii at the battle of the Sabis, the Gaesatae at Telamon and the Cimbri).

Organization

Historical sources indicate that Celtic warriors were sometimes organized less around formal "armies" than as "war bands" who would congregate around a particularly strong leader or a certain religious cult. Certain bands seem to have enjoyed high status in Celtic society for their heroic deeds in battle, members of the Gaesates were known to fight naked in battle (stated reasons for this vary; possibly it was as a display of courage or maybe it was motivated more by the practical concern of not wanting the risk of infection caused by clothing being forced into the body if they were stabbed).

[edit] Variations and Evolution

The Gauls preferred set-piece battles on the Greek model, and this is the stereotypical Celtic military way. But the majority of Celtic peoples seem to have preferred a more guerrilla style of warfare (such as the Celtiberians, Brythons, Irish and Belgae. Also, during the Middle Ages, Celtic warfare underwent radical changes. In Britain, armies composed entirely of cavalry (such as Rheged, Cornwall and Gododdin) became common. In North-Wales, a long, two-handed spear wielding infantry predominated with little use of missile weapons, whereas in the south, armies were composed almost entirely of archers (who used the famous Welsh short elm-bow). The men of the kingdom of Gwent in South Wales were renown for their prowess and use of bow and arrows. In Ireland and Scotland, similar changes occurred. Cavalry replaced chariots (though they still dismounted to fight on foot with a long-spear like the Welsh). Small darts replaced the long Celtic throwing spears known as Sleagh. Also, when the Dal Riada clan crossed over into Scotland, naval warfare became increasingly common as the Dal Riada were having to fight the Irish Ulaid and the people of Orkney over control of the various islands and seaways. With this emphasis on naval warfare, bows and arrows entirely replaced both spears and slings in Scottish warfare. The Scots became an all-archer army by the 7th century and the preference for archery spread to Ireland where combined with darts the bow was the primary missile weapon. Infantry was common in Ireland and Scotland with a general 4-1 or 3-1 Infantry-Cavalry ratio. Later, units of Axe-wielding armored infantry were introduced into Ireland and Scotland from Norway and Denmark, these were mercenaries known as Galloglass and continued in use till the 16th century.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities p259 Excerpts from Book XIV
  2. ^ Ellis, Peter Berresford (1998). The Celts: A History. Caroll & Graf, pp.60-3. ISBN 0-786-71211-2. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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