What type of vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design to cut through enemy formations?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a scythed chariot to cut through enemy formations.

The concept placed blades or scythes on the sides of a horse-drawn chariot. As the vehicle moved, the rotating or projecting blades were intended to threaten soldiers nearby. Leonardo studied the idea as part of his broader work on military machines during the late fifteenth century.

Scythed chariots were not a wholly new idea: ancient armies had used versions of them. Leonardo’s contribution was to redraw and mechanically develop the concept within his Renaissance engineering studies.

The machine was not the same as Leonardo’s armored vehicle. The armored design relied on protective plating and internal propulsion, whereas the scythed chariot was an offensive horse-drawn weapon intended for battlefield disruption.