Боевые слоны в античности и раннем средневековье

Спорным также является и вопрос об эффективности или неэффективности действий слонов на поле боя. Можно говорить, конечно, что им в большинстве случаев не удавалось прорвать строй тяжеловооруженной пехоты. Но ведь участие слонов в сражениях не ограничивалось исключительно этой задачей. С таким же успехом мы можем объявить бесполезным использование катафрактариев, которые также обычно пасовали перед сплоченной массой тяжеловооруженных пехотинцев[261].

На наш взгляд, точку в этом вопросе может поставить сама история.

Современный исследователь военного дела, особенно времен столь отдаленных, — это теоретик, который лишь в общих чертах и зачастую весьма условно может реконструировать реалии изучаемой эпохи. Можем ли мы, сидя в своих кабинетах, правильно судить о действиях военачальников, за плечами которых десятилетия, отмеченные походами и сражениями?

Выше уже было показано, что величайшие полководцы древности — Александр, Эвмен, Пирр, Ганнибал и Цезарь — не отказывались от применения боевых слонов. Какое еще нужно доказательство? Как тут не вспомнить о Вегеции, давшем один ответ на множество вопросов, которыми задаются историки: какие отряды против каких поставить — должен решать полководец, ибо "я не знаю, по какой такой причине, можно сказать, почти по божьему соизволению, один вид войска сражается лучше против определенного вида вражеского войска и те, которые победили более сильных, бывают побеждены более слабыми" [Veg., III, 16; пер. С. П. Кондратьева].

А. В. Банников, А. А. Попов

1 июня 2010 г.

SUMMARY

This book is dedicated to the one of the most interesting themes in the art of warfare in Ancient World — the history of war elephants, "tanks" of the Antiquity. The main idea of this research is the most correct and full reconstruction of the history and the role of war elephants on the battlefields and in wars of the Hellenistic and the Roman times, from Alexander the Great to the Sassanid epoch.

The main stages of evolution of the use of elephants in the ancient warfare base on the literary tradition of the Antiquity and Ancient East, on numismatic and other sources of material culture.

The first Greeks who wrote about elephants were the logographs. Ctesias and Aristotle formed the opinion about these beasts among Hellenes of the Classical time. However, Alexander, king of Macedonia (336323 BC), was the first ruler to have war elephants in his army. After Darius’ defeat at Gaugamela (331 BC) several beasts became the trophy of the great Macedonian ruler. Alexander used elephants in his Indian campaign but only for carrying the baggage and other heavy things such as some parts of his fleet.

In the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC Alexander won the victory over Hindu king Porus who used many war elephants against Macedonian army in this struggle. According to these circumstances, it went down in the Alexander’s history as "The Battle with Elephants" and it was the last general battle in the Eastern Campaign of the great king. It was the first struggle in which the Greeks and the Macedonians sew war elephants and had to use special tactic against them.

In his own army Alexander didn’t use these animals on battlefields. The elephants demonstrated the power of the ruler in Babylon, took part in the Alexander’s burial ceremony in 323 BC, saw the decline and dissolution of his Empire.

After Alexander’s death began the war between the Diadochi in which elephants were playing one of the main roles on the battlefields. In this period have turrets (towers) appeared on these beasts, little castles with several warriors with Macedonian or Greek equipment.

Perdiccas used these animals in the campaign against Ptolemy’s Egypt (321 BC). When he was killed, they became the trophy of Antigonus the One-eyed and Antipater.

Antigonus took elephants with his army to attack and defeat Eumenes and Alcetas (320 BC). The first struggles in which both of the Macedonian armies used these beasts were the Battles in Paraetacene (317 BC) and in Gabiene (316 BC) between Antigonus and Eumenes. Previously, Eumenes had 125 elephants from Indian satrap Eudamos and then many of them became the trophy of Antigonus. After Eumenes’ death the last one had the largest elephant corps in the Hellenistic East.

Antipater took these beasts to Greece and they are considered the first of that kind of animals appeared in Europe (320 BC). In 318 BC Polyperchon attacked Megalopolis by war elephants but was defeated. In 317 BC Cassander captured Polyperchon’s elephants. Then Olympias took them and fled to Pydna. Cassander besieged this city and all of the animals in the city died during the siege (317316 BC).

In 312 BC Demetrius, the son of Antigonus One-Eyed, used war elephants in the Battle of Gaza against the Egyptian army. Later, in 306 BC, Antigonus took many of these beasts with his army in the campaign against Egypt. But he failed in his attempts to defeat Ptolemy.