Warfare In The Medieval World

Warfare in the Medieval World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe in the period between the fall of Rome and the introduction of reliable gunpowder weapons during the Thirty Years' War. Through an exploration of thirty-three selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and heavy and light cavalry - focusing on the evolution of shock and missile combat.Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilization's ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair military historians alike.

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - KEY TO MAPS

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 - THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES: THE RISE OF CAVALRY IN EASTERN EUROPE: BYZANTIUM AT WAR

Rome’s Second Millennium: The Early Byzantine Army

Cavalry versus Cavalry: The Battles of Dara and Tricameron

Byzantine Combined Arms in Action: The Battles of Taginae and Casilinum

The Byzantine Army in Transition: Themes and Tagmata

Heavy Cavalry versus Light Cavalry: The Battle of Manzikert

Chapter 2 - THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES: INVASION AND RESPONSE: THE RISE OF HEAVY CAVALRY IN WESTERN EUROPE

The Rise of the Franks and the Battle of Tours

The Ninth- and Tenth-Century Invasions: Muslims, Magyars and Vikings at War

A Viking Battle at Sea: The Battle of Nisa

Response to Invasion: The Rise of Heavy Cavalry in Western Europe

Chapter 3 - THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: HEAVY CAVALRY DOMINANT

The Norman Conquests of England and Italy

The Crusades: Latin Heavy Cavalry in the East

The Muslim Counter-Crusade: The Dominance of Latin Heavy Cavalry Challenged

The Crusades: The Reconquista in Spain and Portugal

The Battles of Sagrajas and Las Navas de Tolosa

Medieval Horse Breeding and Logistics

Chapter 4 - HIGH MEDIEVAL WARFARE: THE MONGOL INVASION OF THE WEST

‘Storm from the East’: The Mongol Art of War

The Mongol Invasion of Europe: The Battles of Liegnitz and Sajo River

The Mongol Invasion of the Near East

Cavalry versus Cavalry: The Battle of Ain Jalut

Chapter 5 - LATE MEDIEVAL WARFARE: THE RETURN OF LIGHT INFANTRY

The Apex of Chivalry and the Battle of Bouvines

The Transitional Thirteenth Century

The Welsh and Scottish Campaigns: The Longbow, the Schiltron and the Return of Infantry to Western Europe

The Hundred Years War

The English Tactical System Tested: The Battles of Crécy and Agincourt

Chapter 6 - LATE MEDIEVAL WARFARE: THE RETURN OF HEAVY INFANTRY

The Rise of the Swiss Battle Square

Heavy Infantry versus Heavy Cavalry: The Battles of Morgarten, Laupen and Sempach

The Burgundian Wars: A New Combined-Arms Synthesis versus Swiss Heavy Infantry

Chapter 7 - THE ‘MILITARY REVOLUTION’ AND EARLY MODERN WARFARE

From Medieval to Early Modern Warfare: The Military Revolution of the Sixteenth Century

The Italian Wars and the Rise of the Spanish Tercio

Early Modern Logistics

The Dutch Tactical System and the Thirty Years War

Conclusion: The ‘Western Way of War’ and Decisive Battle

GLOSSARY OF MILITARY TERMS

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY