Crusading Warfare Part 1

 

“The charge of the Franks” said Anna Komnene “could go through the walls of Babylon.”  It’s a great image and Anna knew what she was talking about.   

The point being that the Crusaders had brought something new to the manual of tactics in middle eastern warfare.

Charging cavalry were not, of course, a new phenomenon.   

Syrian askaris charged and so did the Bedouin.  Both used lances and the Syrians did wear some armour.   

The difference was that the Westerners were much better protected, carried sturdier lances and charged harder.  The Crusader charge proved too much for the Arab dynasties of the region.

Against the Seljuks and Turcoman the Westerners got into difficulties.  They charged and the foe melted away-shooting.  Crusaders could find themselves strung out on blown horses.  Then, the foe returned and that was that.

In response the Crusaders developed highly disciplined combined arms tactics.  The irresistible knights were now protected behind a wall of spearmen and crossbows.  The crossbows could easily defeat eastern armour.  The shields of the spearmen protected the shooters.  

Behind both, the knights patiently waited.  When the enemy got too close to evade the Knights charged and conquered.

Things could go wrong; the infantry might break or the Knights charge too soon.  Mostly though the tactics worked.

For the armies of Islam, the challenge was always to break the Crusader array.  Mostly this fell to the professional Ghulam cavalry.   

 

Skilled in both archery and close fighting they did not fear to closely engage the Franks. Ideally, their archery would cause casualties and disruption. Then they would attack in waves, striking, retiring and returning. Sometimes it worked.  Like the Frankish charge timing was everything.

Even the best armoured Ghulam were less well protected than the Crusader Knights.  To compensate they were much more mobile.

Beyond the professionals the Turcoman tribes played a notable part in resisting the Franks.  Their strength was as fast- moving horse archers a role in which they excelled.  Sometimes, for reasons which are hard to discern, they fiercely charged home with sword and spear.  Their lack of armour must have made this a costly business.

Already, without looking at the infantry of Islam, we can see there is a lot going on. To the best of my knowledge there are only two published War Game Rules dedicated to this complex set of interactions.  More soon.