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Originally Posted by Witchking
Historically that "nearly mythic" heavy calvary was what knights were. Horses are expensive, so are tanks. Its the reason why knights had land in the first place, so they could afford their equipment/mount. They primarly charged with lances couched for shock effect to break infantry formations. One the lance was lost/broken they would then fight from horseback with sword, mace, flail, axe, etc. They tended to fight on foot only when unhorsed, in a fortified/prepared postition, attacking a fortified/prepared postition, or heavily outnumbered. Take a look at the Crusades for a good model of the Knight in medieval combat...
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You might note that I didn't say Heavy Cavalry was nearly mythic, but rather that the Heavy Cavalry Charge was nearly mythic. Cavalry has always been a harassing force. For the sole reason that no matter how hard you try, you cannot train a horse to charge a solid formation. For that matter you can't even train a horse to charge a bead curtain, unless it's short enough for the horse to jump over.
Now once an enemy force is starting to scatter that's a great use for cavalry, especially heavy cavalry. Charging an enemy formation that is holding their ground just won't work. You don't send the heavy cavalry in to break formations, you send the heavy cavalry in to scatter and mop up a formation that has already been broken. That is the problem I have with it.