Quote Originally Posted by Catullus64 View Post
As to a lot of the limitations mentioned, that's really good for the purposes of the military action of the story. Since chariots can't go over rough ground, and cavalry is out, it emphasizes light infantry as the premier scouting force, and I always like telling stories that involve a lot of traversal on foot. If chariots tend to be funneled by geography into a small number of viable pathways, it makes it easier for me, an amateur, to figure out the tactics of the battles as I write them.
More often than not, mounted infantry were the primary scouting force (ie they use horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight).

For a movie depiction of how chariots were used in battle, the first coliseum battle in Gladiator is a good show case of both the advantages and the disadvantages, particularly the 'drive by' nature of their combat against enemy infantry and how loose formation soldiers really didn't want to be in the middle of a chariot charge (even if you kill the horse, that's still several tons of horses, chariot and riders coming at you).