Artist is MC Escher reincarnatedThe frame of the army doesn't seem to match the events of the chapter. There's no space for that ambush, and there's no forest that close to it.
The horses are also disappearing in several panels. Page 6 is a great example. He's in behind the horse's leg, which means he's in front of the horse, but the combat takes place to the side of it.
That is correct, but they aren't charging until literally the last moment. They snuck in, using the rain, to get close to Kran's position. Once they engage in combat, not moving around very fast, the horses provide greater support through their four hooves than the men on their two booted feet.If the ground was getting that soft, a cavalry charge should have faced some difficulties.
It's not just the horse. Every horse is carrying an armed man as additional weight. A horse hoove doesn't have that much contact area with the ground. A man's booted foot has much more. Though naturally the risk of slipping might be reduced by having four foot on the ground, but a horse with a rider has a pretty high center of balance.That is correct, but they aren't charging until literally the last moment. They snuck in, using the rain, to get close to Kran's position. Once they engage in combat, not moving around very fast, the horses provide greater support through their four hooves than the men on their two booted feet.
That's actually the exactly the reason that the mounted men have the advantage; even fully armored their weight is pretty negligible against that of the horse, but together they still weigh a lot more than the men on foot; the hooves also cut through all the sloppy mud to more solid earth below, and horses have far stronger muscles for pulling their legs free of the mud, as well.It's not just the horse. Every horse is carrying an armed man as additional weight. A horse hoove doesn't have that much contact area with the ground. A man's booted foot has much more. Though naturally the risk of slipping might be reduced by having four foot on the ground, but a horse with a rider has a pretty high center of balance.
I'm not entirely convinced, despite having grown up much of my life next to plenty of horses, but I also don't feel like I can offer any meaningful counter-arguments anymore. If it indeed is only a thin layer of mud on top of hard earth, your analysis ought to be correct. Then it would be only the danger of slipping, not actually sinking into the mud. The enemy perhaps should have planned their tactics relying on that factor. The enemy must have been very intimately familiar with the terrain, to time the attack to not be too early, nor too late.That's actually the exactly the reason that the mounted men have the advantage; even fully armored their weight is pretty negligible against that of the horse, but together they still weigh a lot more than the men on foot; the hooves also cut through all the sloppy mud to more solid earth below, and horses have far stronger muscles for pulling their legs free of the mud, as well.
The dangers of rainy muddy terrain are on the long charge where they could slip while at speed, which is why I didn't mark you for a strike initially; not on standing combat, as was done here, which is a whole other beast.
We can see exactly that with Kran meeting Tomas' attack but then slipping in a layer of mud on the surface, before finding purchase a few centimeters down. The ground is slippery, but not suckingly soupy. The biggest problem that the riders would have faced would have been keeping their mounts steady, as if they danced about they would have likely had traction issues, too; however, as warhorses, they would undoubtedly have been well-trained, which is why the horse doesn't move throughout Tomas' and Kran's confrontation.I'm not entirely convinced, despite having grown up much of my life next to plenty of horses, but I also don't feel like I can offer any meaningful counter-arguments anymore. If it indeed is only a thin layer of mud on top of hard earth, your analysis ought to be correct. Then it would be only the danger of slipping, not actually sinking into the mud. The enemy perhaps should have planned their tactics relying on that factor. The enemy must have been very intimately familiar with the terrain, to time the attack to not be too early, nor too late.