European Medieval Tactics (2): New Infantry, New Weapons 1260–1500 (Elite Book 189)

Osprey, 2012. — 66 p. — ISBN: 1849087393. — серия Osprey Elite 185 часть 2 With the development in the 13th century of co-operative tactics using crossbowmen and heavy spearmen, circumstance began to arise in which the charge by Muslim horse-archers, and then by European armoured knights, could be defied. Infantry were far cheaper and easier to train than knights, and potentially there were far more of them. Tactics emerged by which more numerous and more varied infantry played an increasing part in battles. This book traces these and other examples of this ‘jerky’ and uneven process through its regional differences, which were invariably entwined with parallel cavalry developments – the balanced army of ‘mixed arms’ was always the key to success. By the time serious hand-held firearms appeared on battlefields in large numbers in about 1500, the face of medieval warfare had been transformed.

Longbows, crossbows, heavy spears, swiss pikes, catapaults, and especially gunpowder artillery and handheld guns such as the arquebus gradually but profoundly changed European warfare.

By about 1260 the steady rise of the European heavily armoured mounted knight to the predominant role in most pitched battles was complete. But though he dominated the actual day of battle, he did not dominate warfare - there were plenty of vital though unglamorous tasks for which footsoldiers were still necessary, 'cleaning up round the edges'. With the development in the 13th century of co-operative tactics using crossbowmen and heavy spearmen, deployed together to compensate for each others' vulnerabilities, circumstance began to arise in which the charge by Muslim horse-archers, and then by European armoured knights, could be defied.

Infantry were far cheaper and easier to train than knights, and potentially there were far more of them. Slowly, tactics emerged by which more numerous and more varied infantry played an increasing part in battles. The best-known examples of this 'democratization of the battlefield' are the English longbowmen who won battles against French knights in the Hundred Years' War, and the massed Swiss spearmen and halberdiers who did the same in wars against the Dukes of Burgundy.

Illustrated with specially commissioned full-colour artwork depicting the tactical formations of the era, this book traces these and other examples of this 'jerky' and uneven process through its regional differences, which were invariably entwined with parallel cavalry developments - the balanced army of 'mixed arms' was always the key to success. By the time serious hand-held firearms appeared on battlefields in large numbers in about 1500, the face of medieval warfare had been transformed.

"The conventional wisdom is that Prussian tactics remained essentially stagnant from the end of Frederick the Great's campaigns in the Seven Year's War until the shocking defeat by a more modern French army at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. Many commentators have claimed that it was only after this that Prussia made the reforms that delivered in 1813-1815, the transformed Army's victories in the Wars of Liberation and at Waterloo. Using close analysis of specific battles, both victories and defeats, this book argues that many of the important tactical reforms were actually part of a continuous process that began far earlier. Covering line infantry, skirmishers and cavalry, from Valmy to Waterloo, the Prussian weapons, drills, battlefield organization and tactics are described and explained clearly, and illustrated by tactical diagrams from contemporary training manuals, as well as colour plates showing detailed troop formations and tactical scenarios"--Page 4 of cover Written by an expert on the Prussian army of the Napoleonic era, this is a fascinating insight into the 18th-century evolution of the Prussian forces into the war-winning troops of the final battles against Napoleon. Using contemporary materials including drill regulations, instructions, staff and regimental histories and after-action reports, this book provides a compelling history of Prussian tactics from 1792 until 1815. It includes studies of the professional Prussian army during the Revolutionary Wars and the mass mobilization of a conscript army that fought during the Wars of Liberation and Waterloo. Following on from the success of Osprey's other Elite Tactics volumes, this is a must-have for serious students of Napoleonic warfare, armchair generals, and wargamers alike. I anden del af beskrivelsen af Middelalderens taktik er vægten lagt på den taktik, der blev anvendt af fodfolk, fra den feudale periode (ledingspligt) indtil midten af 1600, hvor man anvendte professionelle tropper og enheder (lejetropper). Efter 30 årskrigens ophør anvendtes i stigende grad nationale hære, der bestod af hvervede soldater og den moderne landkrigsførelse begyndte at tage form Cover; Title; Contents; Introduction; The 13th-14th Century Infantry Revival; The Challenge of Bow & Crossbow; From Knight to Man-at-Arms; Fortifications & Firearms; The Dawn of Modern Warfare; External Challenges; Bibliography; Related Titles; Imprint