[cleveland]

Hi, I'm new to all this, so apologies if my comments are off the mark.

It seems to me that trampling effectiveness should rely primarily on the SPEED of the attacker.

Carthage's war-elephants were tough (thick hide + immense strength + 10-foot tusk + terrifying appearance), but could be overwhelmed at a standstill. However,a single elephant at full steam could annihilate the most disciplined phalanx. Didn't matter if the phalanx had spears, or pikes, or bazookas; at 30mph, it was simple bowling-ball kinetics.

On the other hand, imagine a chariot pulled by a donkey (war-donkey?). The overall size of the chariot hasn't changed, but you ain't trampling nothing. Horse = speed = effectiveness.