#1 why did automatic guns end cavalry?(mounted infantry)
#2 how fast did the absolute earliest tanks move?
#1 - death at a distance negates much of the advantages of cavalry. The battle of Agincourt was the turn of the tide. I don’t remember, but the charge of the light-brigade was probably in there to. Machine guns are simply a concentration of many single-shot gunners into one, to increase fire power. But really, it was the bow that killed the horse. At a push, even a pike puts a dent in the usefullness of cavalry, the cavalry must physically come within lance-range, or sword-range, otherwise its just a bunch of guys on horses riding about.
#2 Dunno, but not very… Maybe 5 miles an hour…? For the 1st WW, anti-trench types.
Do your own homework.
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bullets kill quicker than crucifixes
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define tanks…
-Imp
Good point, the absolute earliest tank was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci.
that’s if you think of a totally mechanical construction…
the greek’s phalanxes could almost qualify…
-Imp
Stop being so bloody philosophical and give the poor guy a straight answer…
(define “answer” Doh 
)
I wouldnt say we were being philisophical, just debating what he means by “tank”. How long is a piece of string?
Ahhh, those fine Welsh longbow men…killed off those French knights and brought fame and glory to Harry.
But can you believe it, some people are now trying to take the credit away from the boyos and say this is not how it happened. They argue (sorry, no link to this) that the French armour would not have been pierced by these arrows. What they now think is that the conditions of Agincourt were the cause of the French downfall. Apparently it would have been very muddy and because of the heavy armour the French were wearing, their manoeuvrability was severely compromised, making them easy pickings for the less-heavily dressed Brits.
As for the question, I would imagine that the benefit of horses was that the rider would cross short distances quickly, meaning that the defender would only be able to get off one or two rounds before they were reached. However, with an automatic weapon, you would be able to fire numerous rounds into a zone making a cavalry charge somewhat…um…hazardous 
The truth of the matter (sorry, no link to this) is that the French didn’t even turn up because they were busy barracking some poor peasant village for the low quality of their prostitutes and so the British won by default…
fortunatly,i have a friend on msn that is a student of war history so i got lucky. i figured the entrenchment stlye infantry combat combined with semi-automatic guns made cavalry way to easy to hit.
"Well it became far too easy to lay down interlacing fields of fire to mow down the cavalry, whereas before the reloading intervals allowed those not killed in the first volley or two to close on the defenders and overrun their lines.“Well not so much entrenchment as simply rapidity of fire.”
he says. and about those tanks…
"They were very slow, as I recall only 5-10 mph.
The engines were too weak, the armor too heavy, and the thick castings of guns all contributed to the weight. "Well they were not terribly fast, but improved rapidly during WWI.
The key shortcomings were that they did not use enough of them and did not coordinate them with infantry.
But the first couple of armor attacks the British conducted were moderately successful.
The German’s very quickly adapted tactics though that minimized the effectiveness of armor in WWI.
-like what?-
Well in that the Brits failed to support the initial attacks with infantry, the Germans would climb on top unimpeded by hostile infantry fire and toss grenades in gun ports.
They also used flamethrowers.
Artillery barrages.
And tank traps. "
what do you all think of that?
and thank you for that info. about leo’s tank, anxst. damn, he did start early!
i’m not sure you all understood question#1 correctly. the stage set on that question is both an infantryman and a cavalry man have semi-automatic rifles.or any gun with bullets-cartridges-that make muskets look like shit. cavalry may have worked in terrain so flat the infantry could’nt entrench.but the battlefield always has stuff to scuttle behind,it’s no flat paved arena.