A History of the Crusades

[2RHPZ]

Excellent, exhausting online book at the address:

http://libtext.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistCrusades/HistCrusades-idx?type=browse

(in case of problems go here (http://libtext.library.wisc.edu/HistCrusades/) and click to Browse Volumes)

[MissileOps]

That's a really good site. Interesting to me becase I am a relative of one of the Knights Templar. Also, because in my AP Euro Summer assignment I'm currently on the crusades, probably the most interesting time in Military History...

[bishop1]

IMO the most intreasting time in military history, is of course the Spartans. Not only for what they acheived on the battlefield, but they created the first "boot camp" and instituted dicipline, and drill to a level not yet before seen, at least in the civilized world. And not to mention they were the best soldiers in the world at the time.

[perdurabo]

bishop1 and MissileOps IMO moust intresting times are XVIIcentury but the truth is that all times are intresting from the begining to the end woot

[WolverineBlue]

IMO the most intreasting time in military history, is of course the Spartans. Not only for what they acheived on the battlefield, but they created the first "boot camp" and instituted dicipline, and drill to a level not yet before seen, at least in the civilized world. And not to mention they were the best soldiers in the world at the time.

Too bad they got their butts kicked by the Athenians.

[bishop1]

It was the Thebans that pretty much took away their power, they in fact beat Athens in the Pelo*****sian War. And Sparta was never really "conqured" until Alexander, even when it was defeated by Thebes that was only because they lost their Helots, but they were never actually invaded.

[Fenna]

That's a really good site. Interesting to me becase I am a relative of one of the Knights Templar. Also, because in my AP Euro Summer assignment I'm currently on the crusades, probably the most interesting time in Military History...

I think relative is perhaps too strong a word. How are you related?

[Loco]

That's a really good site. Interesting to me becase I am a relative of one of the Knights Templar. Also, because in my AP Euro Summer assignment I'm currently on the crusades, probably the most interesting time in Military History...

I think relative is perhaps too strong a word. How are you related?
Knights Templar(or templar knights?) had to be single men by then, so they hadn´t descendants. Btw, actually every western european must have for sure at least one ancestor who crossed his sword with the muslims in the middle age. About battles in the Middle Age, the biggest battle against muslims was fought in South Spain when the pope Inocencio III convocated a crusade to fight the Almohade tribes, who had reunificated the little muslim kingdoms of Spain after conquering North Africa and were ready to attack the christian kingdoms at the north. The muslims themselves had declared the Jihad previously and had joined an army with soldiers of the whole muslim world, arabs, turcs, berbers and even tuaregs and had been training together 18 months for this crash of trains. In 1212 in a place called Navas de Tolosa, a christian army of about 60.000 soldiers, templar knights between them, could cross a mountain pass and faced and crushed a muslim army of over 100.000 enemies. This big offensive took up when both christians and muslims knew each other very well after heavy fights over the last 100 years in the Middle East and in Spain itself. Traditionally the muslims armies used light infantry and cavarly and had more skills for moving big groups of warriors in the battle field, trying to disperse and divide the compact groups of christians armies. But chrisitian had learnt from previous defeats and developed countermeasures to muslim tactics.
Muslims had the best position in the battle field, although it´s possible they didn´t hope to see christian army as soon as they arrived to the place.
Christians chose to attack first and leading the hit advanced the cavalry commanded by Diego López de Haro(of Bilbao, like me ;) ), who had been defeated together with castillians in the battle of Alarcos some years before. Previously to the attack, don Diego listened this words of his son: "Father, I hope you do all the needed to regain the honor lost in Alarcos battle in a way nobody can call me son of a traitor." Diego de Haro responded to his son, "Don´t worry son, you will be called first SOB than son of a traitor",btw the wife of don Diego was like a hippy of the Middle Age and had left him.
The cavalry driven by Diego López de Haro charged ahead against the first enemy line, which disbanded in the typical arab way, without leaving any dead in the field, just trying to build the trap for christian cavalry, after that the christian cavalry continued the attack almost without stopping and even crossed the second muslim line followed by the christian infantry(militiamen of the castilian cities mainly) with the same result and then they arrived exhausted to the foot of the hills up where were the muslim staff . The muslim strategy was going on and the christian vanguard was rounded by muslim troops, and as the christians spected, things were going hard but Diego de Haro stood firmly, and they just tried to do what had planned before: Alfonso VIII, king of Castilla, commanded the reserve troops of the central corp in the rearguard, and he chose the right "momentum" to attack the muslim crowd that were fighting the infantry and the cavarly of Diego de Haro far ahead. The attack was well chosen, but it was necessary too because it was the only thing Alfonso VIII could do if he wanted any chance to win the battle. What he do was inspired in the lesson hardly learnt in the Middle East agains the turks and arabs. The merit of Alfonso VIII and the other reserve troops was they coordinated perfectly they attack so they could smash a superior enemy attacking him with three cavalry corps at the same time. The christian cavalry columns leaded by the three kings reserved in the rearguard could use all the advantages of the heavy cavalry of the Middle Age, they attack fast and deep like panzers columns and what´s more dazzling, they charged up the hill, and crushed the muslim ring who were rounding Diego de Haro. The moors, who where by then all together trying to shut the trap, were trapped in a small place. The soldiers in each side where all veterans, but the butcherie that followed that charge was the biggest ever seen since muslims had invaded Spain 5 centuries before. Christian kings had instructed their soldiers to not looting until they defeated the enemy, because in that time many almost-victorius armies had lost the battle because soldiers distracted themselves stealing and looting, so after a massacre in the arab camp, they persecuted the enemy and killed most of them, they died more in the persuit that in the battle, there were no prisioners and the most of the 100.000 muslims perished although it´s hard to say it.
In resume, arabs had planned the beginning of the battle right, but they didn´t developped well the rest of their strategy. They had a corp of 10.000 turks archers of the Agzaz tribe who had came from Egypt, who usually fought in fast attacks shooting their arrows riding the horse, but they couldn´t used them in a right way, nor the rest of their light troops. Muslims had too a corp of volunteers called the "Imesbelem" who swore before any battle fo fight until the end, they were what today we call suicide fighters, they rounded the tents of muslim king escorting him and they were tied to the floor for fighting to the end, as they did in fact. The amount of weapons christians collected after the battle was impressive, they had never seen so many before, they had literally thousands of jabalins, arrows and peaks, the typical weaponry for the muslims strategy: light and fast movements. By the contrary, the christians had better defensive weapons, more armours, etc. This battle eliminated for ever the muslim power in Iberian peninsula as a threaten for christian kingdoms and this battle opened the door for christians to Andalucía. Although there were many battles to fight against muslims after that, this time christians will fight for defeating them, not for eviting the end of their civilization.

Regarding the spartans, they weren´t nor the first nor the only greeks who set up something looking like "boot camps", almost every state-city of that time had an education system in which the youngmen lived together a variable period of time learning to be soldiers or war sailors. The difference of Esparta was the emphasis they put in military training since they were little boys.