The Art of Warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages from the Eighth Century (Warfare in History) (Volume 3)

For medieval strategy and tactics there is nothing better than this book. MILITARY HISTORY (US) La traduction integrale en anglais...est la consecration internationale, bien tardive, d'un grand classique du genre. MOYEN AGE Warfare is a major feature of the history of the middle ages, but its study has often been the province of amateurs; only recently have the technical details of warfare and its organisation been subject to proper scholarly investigation. Professor Verbruggen's major work, outstanding in its field, applies rigorous standards in analysing often very obscure surviving evidence, and reaches conclusions very different from earlier generations of military historians. He begins by analysing the sources for our knowledge of the military history of the period, assessing their reliability: some chroniclers exaggerate, others are careful observers or have access to official records. There follows an examination of the constituent parts of the medieval army, knights and footsoldiers, equipment and terms of service, behaviour on the field, and psychology, before the problematic question of medieval tactics is addressed through analysis of accounts of a series of major battles. Strategy is discussed in the context of these battles: whether to seek battle, fight a defensive war, or attempt a war of conquest.Originally published in Dutch in 1954, now translated and updated.J.F. VERBRUGGENis a distinguished Belgian military historian of wide experience. Prisoner of war, student, and a member of the resistance movement during the second world war, he subsequently obtained his Ph.D., with greatest distinction, for research into warfare in the middle ages, and remained in the army as a lecturer at the Royal Military School in Brussels until in 1956 he went to the Belgian Congo. He spent twenty years teaching in Africa, retiring as Professor of History, University of Congo, and University of Bujumbura (Burundi) in 1976. Illustrations......Page 10 General Preface......Page 11 Weaknesses of Modern Military Historians in Discussing Medieval Warfare......Page 13 The Strength of Medieval Armies......Page 17 Combat......Page 21 Limitations of the Clerical Sources......Page 22 Secular and Other Reliable Sources......Page 23 The Importance of the Vernacular......Page 25 Changes in Tactics Revealed by Lesser-known Sources......Page 26 Generalizations from Detailed Accounts......Page 27 Accounts of Battles by Eye-witnesses......Page 28 The Knight and his Equipment......Page 31 The scara......Page 32 The Marchfield and the Mayfield......Page 34 The Knight's Training......Page 39 Collective Training: Private Wars......Page 40 Collective Training: Tournaments......Page 42 The Psychology of Knights on the Battlefield......Page 49 Mass Flight and Panic......Page 56 Fear in Knights Facing Foot-soldiers......Page 58 Self-interest and Profits of War......Page 61 The Able Commander......Page 63 Sense of Honour and Duty......Page 66 Rough Manners and Knightly Customs......Page 69 Faith and Religious Conviction......Page 70 The Arming of Knights and its Influence......Page 73 Solidarity in the Knightly Families and Clans, and in a Lord's Retinue......Page 75 Tactical Units in Knightly Warfare......Page 85 Discipline in Camp and on the March......Page 89 Battle Discipline......Page 95 Orders signalled by Trumpets and Banners......Page 96 Commands and Evolutions: a Comparison with Byzantium......Page 97 The Tactical Significance of the Standard......Page 101 The Re-Grouping of Units and the Manoeuvre of Feigned Flight......Page 103 The Importance of Order Within the Formation......Page 109 Tactical Aims......Page 115 Protection of the Flanks......Page 116 The Place of the Commanders in Battle......Page 117 The Knights Fighting on Foot......Page 118 The Course of a Battle......Page 120 General Conclusion......Page 121 The Foot-soldiers and their Remarkable Development in the Fourteenth Century......Page 123 The foot-soldiers in Switzerland......Page 124 The foot-soldiers in Dithmarschen......Page 127 The foot-soldiers in Wales......Page 129 The foot-soldiers in Scotland......Page 133 2. The Foot-soldiers in the First Crusade......Page 136 3. Mercenaries......Page 139 4. The Foot-soldiers from the Cities......Page 156 The Flemish foot-soldiers......Page 161 The communal armies of Liège......Page 165 The foot-soldiers in France......Page 171 The Numerical Strength of the Foot-soldiers......Page 176 The Equipment of the Foot-soldiers......Page 182 Solidarity or Cohesion of the Foot-soldiers......Page 185 The Battle Psychology of the Foot-soldiers......Page 190 1. Formations and Positions of the Foot-soldiers on the Battlefields......Page 195 2. Defence or Attack in Battle?......Page 215 3. Foot-soldiers versus Knights in Battle......Page 217 The Battle of Courtrai, 11 July 1302......Page 220 The Battle of Arques, 4 April 1303......Page 224 The Battle at Mons-En-Pévèle, 18 August 1304......Page 228 Choice and exploitation of terrain......Page 234 The March into Battle......Page 238 Battle Order......Page 239 Co-operation of Cavalry and Foot-soldiers in Battle......Page 241 Preparation for Battle by Archers......Page 242 Mutual Support of Knights and Foot-soldiers......Page 244 Independent Action of Foot-soldiers in Co-operation with Cavalry......Page 246 The Position of the Supreme Commander and the Reserve Corps......Page 247 Retreat and Flight from the Field of......Page 251 The Battle of the Lake of Antioch, 9 February 1098......Page 254 The Sortie and the Battle of Antioch, 28 June 1098......Page 256 The Battle of Thielt, 21 June 1128......Page 259 The Battle of Arsuf, 7 September 1191......Page 262 The March122......Page 263 The Battle......Page 267 The Battle of Bouvines, 27 July 1214......Page 270 The French Forces......Page 273 The Strength of the Allies......Page 281 The March of the Allies from Mortagne to Bouvines......Page 282 The Disposition of the Armies......Page 284 The Battle......Page 286 Conclusion......Page 290 Tactics and Leadership in the Battle of Bouvines......Page 295 General Outline......Page 297 The Numbers Involved in the Battle......Page 303 The Battle......Page 305 Conclusion......Page 310 V Strategy......Page 315 1. Moral Forces......Page 317 2. The Battle as the Means to Gain the End of the War......Page 319 3. Superiority of Numbers......Page 322 4. The Surprise......Page 323 5. Assembly of Forces......Page 325 1. Plans for a Crusade......Page 327 General principles......Page 328 Summary of the plans......Page 332 Fidenzio of Padua......Page 337 Pierre Dubois, De Recuperatione Terre Sancte......Page 342 The Strategic ideas of Pierre Dubois119......Page 346 A plan for warfare against the rebels in Flanders, 1325......Page 349 The plan of Benedict Zaccaria for the war at sea against England......Page 351 Offensive Strategy......Page 353 Defensive Strategy......Page 359 1. Defensive Systems of Medieval States......Page 360 2. Signals and Communications......Page 365 3. Advantages of Defence......Page 367 4. Supplies......Page 371 5. Defensive Manoeuvres......Page 378 6. Strategic Possibilities and the Theatre of War......Page 385 The Influence of the Church on Methods of Warfare......Page 386 Conclusion......Page 388 General Conclusion......Page 389 Bibliography......Page 391 Index......Page 426 First full English edition of classic work on medieval warfare, updated to take recent scholarship into account.Warfare is a major feature of the history of the middle ages, but its study has often been the province of amateurs; only recently have the technical details of warfare and its organisation been subject to proper scholarly investigation. Professor Verbruggen's major work, outstanding in its field, applies rigorous standards in analysing often very obscure surviving evidence, and reaches conclusions very different from earlier generations of military historians. He begins by analysing the sources for our knowledge of the military history of the period, assessing their reliability: some chroniclers exaggerate, others are careful observers or have access to official records. There follows an examination of the constituent parts of the medieval army, knights and footsoldiers, equipment and terms of service, behaviour on the field, and psychology, before the problematic question of medieval tactics is addressed through analysis of accounts of a series of major battles. Strategy is discussed in the context of these battles: whether to seek battle, fight a defensive war, or attempt a war of conquest. Originally published in Dutchin 1954, now translated and updated. J.F. VERBRUGGEN is a distinguished Belgian military historian of wide experience. Prisoner of war, student, and a member of the resistance movement during the second world war, he subsequently obtained his Ph.D., with greatest distinction, for research into warfare in the middle ages, and remained in the army as a lecturer at the Royal Military School in Brussels until in 1956 he went to the Belgian Congo. He spent twenty years teaching in Africa, retiring as Professor of History, University of Congo, and University of Bujumbura (Burundi) in 1976. Warfare is a major feature of the history of the middle ages, but its study has often been the province of amateurs; only recently have the technical details of warfare and its organisation been subject to proper scholarly investigation. Professor Verbruggen's major work, outstanding in its field, applies rigorous standards in analysing often very obscure surviving evidence, and reaches conclusions very different from earlier generations of military historians. He begins by analysing the sources for our knowledge of the military history of the period, assessing their reliability: some chroniclers exaggerate, others are careful observers or have access to official records. There follows an examination of the constituent parts of the medieval army, knights and footsoldiers, equipment and terms of service, behaviour on the field, and psychology, before the problematic question of medieval tactics is addressed through analysis of accounts of a series of major battles. Strategy is discussed in the context of these battles: whether to seek battle, fight a defensive war, or attempt a war of conquest. Originally published in Dutch in 1954, now translated and updated. J.F. VERBRUGGEN is a distinguished Belgian military historian of wide experience. Prisoner of war, student, and a member of the resistance movement during the second world war, he subsequently obtained his Ph.D., with greatest distinction, for research into warfare in the middle ages, and remained in the army as a lecturer at the Royal Military School in Brussels until in 1956 he went to the Belgian Congo. He spent twenty years teaching in Africa, retiring as Professor of History, University of Congo, and University of Bujumbura (Burundi) in 1976. "Warfare is a major feature of the history of the middle ages, but its study has often been the province of amateurs; only recently have the technical details of warfare and its organisation been subject to proper scholarly investigation. Professor Verbruggen's major work, outstanding in its field, applies rigorous standards in analysing often very obscure surviving evidence, and reaches conclusions very different from earlier generations of military historians." "He begins by analysing the sources for our knowledge of the military history of the period, assessing their reliability: some chroniclers exaggerate, others are careful observers or have access to official records. There follows an examination of the constituent parts of the medieval army, knights and footsoldiers, equipment and terms of service, behaviour on the field, and psychology, before the problematic question of medieval tactics is addressed through analysis of accounts of a series of major battles. Strategy is discussed in the context of these battles: whether to seek battle, fight a defensive war, or attempt a war of conquest."--Jacket