63 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
63 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
Title: Battle In The Middle Ages
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Date: 2021-07-27
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Tags: Battle, CrossBow, Sieges, Raids,
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Category: War
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There were three type of battles in Europe in the Middle Ages:
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1. [Raids](#raids)
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1. [Sieges](#sieges)
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1. [Field-Battles](#field-battles)
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There were two types of soldiers in Europe in the Middle Ages:
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1. cavalry
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2. and infantry.
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<h3 id="raids">Raids</h3>
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Infantry tended to not be used in raids, because horses had
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the advantage in speed and mobility.
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<h3 id="sieges">Sieges</h3>
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Cavalry were not much use in sieges, but when infantry were not
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available, the cavalry could obviously dismount.
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Later in the Middle Ages, infantry began using CrossBows, which
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were easy to use, and effective in sieges. And so, when infantry
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were available for sieges, they would often use CrossBows, and
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would often be Mercenaries.
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<h3 id="field-battles">Field-Battles</h3>
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In set-piece battles, cavalry and infantry could work together.
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For instance cavalry could not charge infantry that were in tight formation
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with spears. But cavalry were useful for attacking the enemy's flanks,
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and for pursuit in the case of a rout. However, for economic reasons,
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most field battles were fought between cavalry because it was too
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expensive to muster both cavalry and infantry most of the time.
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### Crusades
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The Crusades demonstrate that although most field battles in
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Europe during the Middle Ages were fought between Cavalry, the warriors
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of that age were capable of more sophisticated tactics.
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Here it should be noted, that because lands to the East tended to
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be more arid, the opponents fighting against the European Crusaders
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were more skilled on horseback and with the bow and arrow. Eastern-style
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fighting was much more cavalry-oriented.
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What tipped the scale in favour of the Crusaders in certain battles
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that they won, was the fact that the CrossBow could outrange the bow-and-arrow.
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So, the Crusaders would line up infantry with edged-weapons in front,
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behind them would be CrossBow Infantry, with Cavalry protecting the flanks.
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The edged-weapon infantry would protect the CrossBowMen, who would shoot
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over the top and protect the edged-weapon infantry from enemy harrassment.
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### Recommended
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This blog post is inspired by
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[Wittenberg To Westphalia Podcast](https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/){:target="_blank"}, specifically
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[Episode 38](https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/blog/episode-38-warfare-in-the-middle-ages-part-1){:target="_blank"},
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[Episode 39](https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/blog/episode-39-what-is-war-baby-dont-hurt-me){:target="_blank"}, and
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[Episode 40](https://wittenbergtowestphaliapodcast.weebly.com/blog/episode-40-the-actual-war-bits){:target="_blank"}.
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