Chariots or Cavalry?

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

I'm uncertain as to whether it is just me, but I've always found R:TW chariot killing power to be exceedingly low in comparison to their cavalry counterparts. I'm probably using them wrongly, but they always seems to charge in, get bogged down in troops (mainly knocking them over rather than killing them), and then getting killed themselves if I allow them to go in for a period of hand to hand combat.

Regardless of whether I try to move the chariots out of the way before they get to this stage, they still don't kill half as many men as a cavalry unit would be able to do so in even the initial charge. They may be slightly faster, but speed isn't always everything. This does, however, make them slightly better as cavalry archers than the standard type.

As said already though, they do have the advantage of fear, which can be critical in a lower powered Barbarian (British) army. The fear tactic is often important here - warcry (increase attack), combined with chants (increase allied morale and decrease enemy morale) and chariots (decrease enemy morale), can be critical to willing a Barbarian battle if used at the right times in the right places. As long as there is no threat to your own flanks, it's easy enough to move around their rears and just stand there to send them fleeing. This tactic can also be used, albeit a little more difficultly, in an Egyptian force.

In all honesty though, I'm not sure whether the above does actually give them an edge over cavalry. They could serve pretty much the same purpose in a Barbarian army - although chariots cause fear, horses can charge into flanks and cause pretty much the same level of morale problems, as well as casualties, as a chariot who is standing there. If a chariot were to do this, then it would be instantly massacred and be running away after a mere few seconds of combat. Essentially, horses are able to multi task much more than chariots, which probably gives them an edge over them.