Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt managed to fire a Parthian shot on his final day in office when he cemented a massive loophole for some of the dirtiest, most polluting trucks on the road, allowing manufacturers to build even more of them.
|
|
The Parthian shot is another example of a feint retreat, where mounted Parthian archers would retreat from a battle and then, while still riding, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy.
|
|
Stanley Noyes. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 1993 p. 221-222. In the tactic of the Parthian shot the rider would retreat from the enemy while turning his upper body and shooting backward.
|
|
The Parthian shot used by the Parthian cavalry was most notably feared by the Roman soldiers, which proved pivotal in the crushing Roman defeat at the Battle of Carrhae. On the other hand, the Parthians found it difficult to occupy conquered areas as they were unskilled in siege warfare. Because of these weaknesses, neither the Romans nor the Parthians were able completely to annex each other's territory. The Parthian empire subsisted for five centuries, longer than most Eastern Empires.
|
|
Since using a bow requires a horseman to let go of the reins with both hands, horse archers need superb equestrian skills if they are to shoot on the move. Horse archery is typically associated with Eurasian nomads of the Eurasian steppe. Such were the Scythians and Sarmatians and later the Parthians, Hungarians, and Turks. Scythians were well known for their tactic of the Parthian shot, but evidently it was the Parthians who give it its name.
|
|
Many times the arrow fire and start of a charge were enough to cause the enemy to run without the need to close or melee. A favorite tactic when confronted by a strong enemy cavalry force involved a feigned retreat and ambush. The Numeri on the flanks would charge at the enemy horsemen, then draw their bows turn around and fire as they withdrew (the Parthian Shot). If the enemy horse did not give chase, they would continue harassing them with arrows until they did.
|
|
Surena, with an army entirely on horseback, rode to meet Crassus. Surena's 1,000 cataphracts (armed with lances) and 9,000 horse archers were outnumbered roughly four to one by Crassus' army, comprising seven Roman legions and auxiliaries including mounted Gauls and light infantry. Using a baggage train of about 1,000 camels, the Parthian army provided the horse archers with a constant supplies of arrows. The horse archers employed the "Parthian shot" tactic: feigning retreat to draw enemy out, then turning and shooting at them when exposed.
|
|
Due to the mass of the weapon, there was a greater armour-piercing ability, and they thus caused fatal wounds more frequently. Usage is reported for both light and heavy cavalry, for example, by Numidia and the Mongols' light cavalry and the heavy cataphracts, Celtic cavalry and the Mamluks during the Crusades. The Celtic horsemen's training was copied by the Roman equites. A significant element learned from the Celts was turning on horseback to throw javelins backwards, similar to the Parthian shot in archery.
|
|
Ottoman horse archer The mounted archer became the archetypal warrior of the steppes and the composite bow was his primary weapon, used to protect the herds, in steppe warfare, and for incursions into settled lands. Classic tactics for horse-mounted archers included skirmishing: they would approach, shoot, and retreat before any effective response could be made.Maurice's Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. George T. Dennis (Translator) The term Parthian shot refers to the widespread horse- archer tactic of shooting backwards over the rear of their horses as they retreated.
|
|
For defending the Central Asian front, a different strategy had to be used: one of maximum concentration of forces in large strongholds; with Marv acting as the outer bulwark, backed by Nishapur. The defense line was based on a three-tier system that allowed the enemy to penetrate deep into the Sasanian territories and to be channeled into designated kill zones between the tiers of forts. The mobile aswaran cavalry would then carry out counter- attacks strategically positioned bases, notably Nev-Shapur (Nishabur). Kaveh Farrokh likens the strategy to the Central Asian tactic of Parthian shot—a feigned retreat followed by a counter-attack.
|
|
In this last of his novels, Bernhard uses repetition to achieve a cathartic effect while delivering himself of a parthian shot at the very language without which his own literary achievements would have been inconceivable. There’s something utopian in this novel, underscored by the ending, where Wolfsegg’s entire estate is donated to the Jewish community of Vienna. It’s a radical and destructive utopia, a utopia that annihilates Murau himself, and which is at any rate overwhelmed by resentment and hate for his birthplace.Although it must be said that legally Bernhard was born in 1931 in Heerlen, Netherlands as an illegitimate child to Herta Fabjan (1904-1950) and the carpenter Alois Zuckerstätter (1905-1940).
|
|
The king himself did not wish the campaign to fare for long, due to stress of a possible rebellion occurring in his realm, which frequently happened and was the biggest defect of the empire. The Parthian forces mainly consisted of two types of cavalry; the cataphracts, heavy cavalry with man and horse decked in mailed armor,; who formed the smaller part of the cavalry. The second and main component of the cavalry were the mounted archers, light cavalry whose mobility and long-range warfare abilities made them a menacing enemy.; They used composite bows and were able to shoot at enemies while riding and facing away from them; this technique, known as the Parthian shot, was a highly effective tactic.
|
|