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ironduke,
well, as you can see from the picture, the testudo does have a few vulnerabilities. it limits manueverability, vision, and one is still vulnerable at the sides/gaps.
a resourceful enemy (such as the parthians) could and would keep up a withering hail of fire, and then let off at the last second to allow heavy cavalry to charge the formation, which was not designed to hold against it.
also, if the composite bows were close enough, they had enough penetrating power to actually pin the legionaire's hands to the scutum. pretty painful.
i'd like to read up a bit on han cavalry tactics- i'm wondering if they used heavy cavalry much. IIRC by the tang and the song they were using steppe ponies they took from the mongols; there was a heavy trade for these valued beasts. but those ponies were built for endurance, and not for the muscle needed for heavy cav.
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Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.
-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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