There were three type of battles in Europe in the Middle Ages:
- Raids
- Sieges @@ -39,74 +65,17 @@
- cavalry -
- and infantry. -
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There were two types of soldiers in Europe in the Middle Ages:
Raids
-Infantry tended to not be used in raids, because horses had -the advantage in speed and mobility.
-Sieges
-Cavalry were not much use in sieges, but when infantry were not -available, the cavalry could obviously dismount.
-Later in the Middle Ages, infantry began using CrossBows, which -were easy to use, and effective in sieges. And so, when infantry -were available for sieges, they would often use CrossBows, and -would often be Mercenaries.
-Field-Battles
-In set-piece battles, cavalry and infantry could work together.
-For instance cavalry could not charge infantry that were in tight formation -with spears. But cavalry were useful for attacking the enemy's flanks, -and for pursuit in the case of a rout. However, for economic reasons, -most field battles were fought between cavalry because it was too -expensive to muster both cavalry and infantry most of the time.
-Crusades
-The Crusades demonstrate that although most field battles in -Europe during the Middle Ages were fought between Cavalry, the warriors -of that age were capable of more sophisticated tactics.
-Here it should be noted, that because lands to the East tended to -be more arid, the opponents fighting against the European Crusaders -were more skilled on horseback and with the bow and arrow. Eastern-style -fighting was much more cavalry-oriented.
-What tipped the scale in favour of the Crusaders in certain battles -that they won, was the fact that the CrossBow could outrange the bow-and-arrow.
-So, the Crusaders would line up infantry with edged-weapons in front, -behind them would be CrossBow Infantry, with Cavalry protecting the flanks. -The edged-weapon infantry would protect the CrossBowMen, who would shoot -over the top and protect the edged-weapon infantry from enemy harrassment.
-Recommended
-This blog post is inspired by -Wittenberg To Westphalia Podcast, specifically -Episode 38, -Episode 39, and -Episode 40.
- -links
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