Nic FieldsBronze Age War Chariots (New Vanguard, 119)

Author Nic Fields has covered the subject reasonably well and provides comfortable reading. There is discussion of the domestication and breed development of the horse, speeds of yoked horses, as well as the composite bow. The author has provided a good bibliography.Brian Delf's plates are good, but not exceptional. The poses are well chosen and the proportions are excellent (compared to McBride's sometimes stocky figures.) However, the colors are not as lifelike as McBride's work and consequently the plates are not as crisp. Plates include Sumerian battlewagons, Egyptian chariots, Hittite chariots, and both box and rail types of Mycenaean chariots. The discussion of the progression of Mycenaean and Hittite chariots definitely adds value to this inexpensive work.As with most Osprey works there are a few things that might have been covered more fully. One thing that could have been added is some sort of depiction of Mitanni or Canaanite chariotry of the period. Mitanni was the initial master of Bronze Age two-wheel chariotry and training.While I recommend this book to those interested specifically in Bronze Age chariots, I should also note that much of the same information is available in several other Osprey works, though not all in the same place or to the same depth. For example, "The Mycenaeans" covers their chariotry well; while "New Kingdom Egypt" discusses Egyptian, Hittite, and Mitannian chariotry, and "Ancient Armies of the Middle East" has Egyptian chariots and Sumerian battlewagons. I guess the main complaint about the work is that I've read too many studies of the battle of Quadesh already, so I was hoping for even broader coverage of chariots in this.

The first Osprey title to examine exclusively chariots and their horses and passengers, this book focuses mostly on the three best-known chariot fighting Bronze Age civilizations-Ancient Egypt, the Hittites, and the Mycenaeans, though mention is also made of those of the Syrians and the Celts. The book examines the construction of the chariots, as well as the domestication of the horses and the training and tactics of man and beast alike. The text is accompanied by a worthy set of plates and a detailed commentary.

great transaction, everything went as expected and advertised! A+

interesting booklet and it even came two weeks before time.

It must have been a rush getting into combat, knowing you can get out as fast as you got in to it. Well written which makes for interesting reading.

I am always a little irritated when an author presents his conjectures as proven fact. There is some of that here, but aside from that this is an interesting little book, and the illustrations are quite good, even cool.

I have to say this title was a disappointment both in terms of the text and art work.The main discussion is of Hittite, Egyptian and Mycenaean chariots, all better covered (in my opinion)in other Osprey books. I was very disappointed that a book on Bronze Age chariot warfare had little mention of the Hurrian system which created an aggressive contemporary empire based on new chariot techniques which formed the basis for horse training, organization, chariot construction, and the arming of the warriors for all to follow. As for the art work, other books in the series are far superior. I am a storng supporter of Osprey with some 60+ of their books, but this one was not among their best. Actuially, I would hope this title would be re-done as it has such potential.Mark

nice book

This is a very good basic introduction to Bronze-Age war chariots. The author gives a clear description of their history and development, from 4-wheel battlewagons to the elegant 2-wheeler we think of as the `proper' chariot; and of the development of the horse (and asses, onagers, and the `anse.dun.gi', as the Sumerians called the donkey). Early horses were fairly small and weak animals, actually kept for their meat, and were not suitable for riding until stronger breeds were developed, which then led to the replacement of the chariot by cavalry (see  New Perspectives on Ancient Warfare (History of Warfare)  for articles on the development of cavalry, and other subjects related to this volume). In the meantime, chariots ruled the battlefield - providing it was reasonably flat; another reason for the development of cavalry, so the chariot crews could go in to terrain unfavourable to chariots. In fact, the earliest cavalry were pairs of riders, one - the former charioteer/shield bearer - to hold the reins of the mounted archer's horse. Anyone remember the retention of British Rail firemen (stokers) on diesel locomotives?The chapters and sections are:P03: IntroductionP04: ChronologyP05: The Horse.Origins; Into Egypt; Driven, not Ridden; Proto-horsemen.P10: Battlewagon.Traction; Wheel; Carriage; Armament; Two-wheeler.P12: Proto-Chariot.Construction; Horse-drawn; Traction.P14: Egyptian Chariot.Beginnings; Development; Construction; Organisation; Deployment.P22: Hittite Chariot.Construction; Crew; Deployment.P22: Mycenaean Chariot:.Numbers; Box-chariot; Rail-chariot; Tactical changes.P38: The Chariot in Action.MegiddoP42: ConclusionP43: BibliographyP45: Colour Plate CommentaryP48: IndexAs you can see, the chapters on the individual chariot types are not identical in format, but follow the development of the chariot through time.I found some minor problems with the text: there is no Glossary for instance, which would help with references to horse anatomy, and the author frequently quotes museum reference numbers for artefacts, which seems fairly pointless to me in such a basic introductory volume, at least without an explanation of what they mean. Also, there are many references to chariot types not illustrated, except occasionally on photographs of artefact fragments. For the purposes of this volume, some line-drawings would have been much better than photographs of some of the occasionally hard to decipher artefacts. The author uses some line drawings from 19th century volumes of chariot manufacturing - maybe some of these showing the chariots themselves could have been used.The colour plates are:A. Sumerian BattlewagonB. Egyptian ChariotC. Hittite ChariotD. Mycenaean Box Chariot (two-pages)E. Mycenaean Rail ChariotF. Battle of Megiddo, 1457 BCG. Chariot Clash at Qadesh, 1274 BCThese are very clear and informative plates; I was quite surprised to see Egyptian chariot crew wearing armour, almost identical to that of the Hittites (though the drivers were unarmoured) - we are just not used to seeing them depicted so, I suppose. New Perspectives on Ancient Warfare (History of Warfare)

Exactly what I was looking for. Detailed and well illustrated.

Very useful information, pictures and diagrams. I'll be using this a lot.