Battle Report #6 : Later Crusader vs. Moslems

 

The Opposing Forces

The Crusaders were organized into two separate commands, with a Military Order command composed of approximately 1000 Hospitallers and ‘Leper’ knights and sergeants, plus a small contingent of Teutonic knights, along with 2000 supporting infantry. The main army was a crusading force of some 1500 knights with 7000 foot, mostly spearmen with some crossbowmen in support. Their campaign was being assisted by a small, but competent force of Byzantines, with a veteran heavy cavalry bandon, Alan horse archers, a few Turkopouloi and a regiment of foot, plus light infantry slingers in support. The Moslems represented a numerous mix of professional and militia forces with Arab heavy cavalry from the South, professional Ghulams and Turkish horse archers with only a few infantry in support.

 

CHRISTIANS

 

MOSLEMS

 

 

The Deployment

The Christians, knowing their enemy would have an advantage in light horsemen opted for a battle line that would be well supported, all along, by infantry archery. The resulting effect was to be devastating for the unsuspecting Moslems.

The Moslems had decided to use their cavalry to outflank the enemy from both sides. On their right, against the Byzantines, they planned to swamp them by sheer numbers of Arab lancers. On their left, they hoped to find a gap against the very competent Military Order command on the Christian extreme right and destroy the Franks with their Turkish horse archers. The centre, with the much weaker Moslem infantry would have to stay back and be unleashed only when the flanks would have been turned.

 

The Battle

On the Moslem left, almost 3000 Turkish horse archers fanned out in front of their supporting elite Ghulam cavalry and approached the advancing Hospitallers who were supported by a small force of Teutonic knights and light horse. The knights knew they were no match for the Turks’ arrows and for once stayed back allowing their crossbowmen to cover their slow advance. The Turks came in real close, obviously unafraid of the infantrymen and wanting to entice the knights out of their protection, but it was not to be their day. The Christian crossbowmen shot in unison and losses amongst the stunned Turks were heavy. Turning away they galloped all the way back to their main line. Immediately, their leader ordered them back into the fray, but their spirit had been broken.

On the extreme right, the Arab cavalry force of  over 4000 lancers had to contend with a balanced Byzantine force, which represented a scaled-down Byzantine army of its own. It did not expect much support from the Franks, but its commander, Ioannis Katakalos, had seen more than his share of action in Cilicia fighting Arabs and knew their ways. The main cavalry force of 1000 lancers was a veteran unit, loyal to Katakalos, the 1000 or so provincials seemed eager and the 1000 Alans and 500 Tourkopouloi were excellent as usual. The infantry was not up to this standard, but also seemed loyal to its veteran commander. Katakalos had anchored his command on the only broken terrain of the whole battlefield and had placed a large number of slingers amongst the rocks with orders to shoot at anyone attempting to move around them. To his extreme left and rear he had dispatched his regular infantry with the few Tourkopouloi in support, effectively sealing off that flank to enemy cavalry. To his near left, rose a hill, which obstructed his view. Not knowing what was in store behind the hill, he had kept all his Byzantine troopers and Alan horse archers close to him.

The two centres, with most of the heavy infantry on the Christian side and fanatic Ghazis on the Moslem side, moved slowly forward, closing the distance. Their commander, however, seeing that the Byzantines to his right were so few, sent his own Turkish horse archers to harass them. They were engaged by the Alans and provincial Byzantines and in the exchange came off worse. It was not to be their day either. Their commander was ready to pull them back behind his foot archers, when he saw the Arab cavalry command to his right approaching in a cloud of dust.

On the right wing, the Arabs saw from afar the rocky outcrop and did not like their options of getting entangled in such bad going. Their commander, therefore, in a sudden change of objectives, turned his entire force left towards the Christian centre. He couldn’t have timed it better. The Byzantine cavalry commanders were still busy getting their cavalrymen back in order after their tussle with the Turks and were completely surprised to see thousands of Arab lancers appearing suddenly over the crest of the hill. The sight was awesome. Katakalos suddenly realized he was being harassed, although ineffectively, by the Turks to his front, the Frankish crossbowmen were still too far back for help, the Arab foot archers were coming closer and he had to contend with an Arab cavaly force twice the size of his own, uphill. What was worse, the powerful Byzantine foot archers were too far away to help as were his precious Tourkopouloi. Katakalos had been outmanoeuvred.

Two things saved the Byzantines that day. The quality and expectional loyalty of their troops and the fact that the Arab commander, on turning his force towards the centre, never expected to find such an easy target waiting just below him. He decided to act instinctively and crush the Byzantines with the forces at hand without waiting for his entire force to scale the hill. He was wrong. As the Arab lancers came on charging down the hill, they were met first by most of the Alans (a small 400-strong detachment of horse archers had been moved by Katakalos to the left, closer to the slingers to boost their morale) who shot at their horses and caused mayhem on the slippery hill slope. As the Alans evaded, the Arab lancers, now in total disarray, charged the Byzantine heavy horse with Katakalos. They were met by more arrows and the Byzantine counter-attack almost broke them. The fight degenerated into a free-for-all, with the Arabs still having the advantage of numbers and the hill. It was only a matter of time before reinforcements came and swamped the Christian infidels. As the second cavalry unit crested the hill, it saw the cavalry battle below shrouded in dust and the small detachment of Alans to their right. The choice was easy. They attacked the Alans. More arrows decimated their horses, assisted by the slingers in the rocky outcrop. The Arabs pushed the Alans back, but their ranks were thinning. The Arab commander was furious as his immediate support was squandered chasing horse archers, but he was hoping that the third unit would now do the job. Katakalos saw the danger and proved his worth by attacking the Arab commander trying to call reinforcements on to him. The Moslem commander of the centre, seeing this, ordered his Turkish horse archers to shoot Katakalos’ horse, but the provincial Byzantine lancers intervened and chased them off, not before they had managed to kill Katakalos’ bodyguard. This last action by the Byzantines was too much. The Arab lancers, recoiling in disarray and seeing their leader reeling from the enemy attack, broke and fled up the hill. On the crest of the hill, they disordered their reinforcements and, after a token resistance, these fled as well. The second unit on the foot of the hill below was now surrounded by Alan horse archers and slingers and decimated, only a very few making it back.

 

On the Moslem left, the Ghulam commander seeing his Turks unwilling to engage with their usual fervour decided to force the issue and attack the infidel knights with the best of his Ghulams. As 2000 Ghulams charged forward, they were met by a hail of crossbow darts. Undaunted, they crashed first into the Hospitaller and Teutonic knights, who promptly counter-charged, and then into the Crusading knights of the central command. The former blocked, parried and lunged forward, pushing the Ghulams back. The best of Islam were no match for the best of Christendom in a frontal engagement. But the Crusading knights on the left of the Hospitallers fared somewhat worse. The Ghulam shooting had disordered them and they needed the help of the Military Orders to survive. Slowly, after a bloody melee for both sides, the scales were overturned and these Ghulams were pushed back as well. The Turkish horse archers tried to intervene piece-meal and were shot down by the crossbowmen in droves. The day was lost for Islam.

The only chance now lay with the center. The Ghazis could not be held back and as the flanks were collapsing on both sides, they charged unsupported and screaming into the Christian foot. They were met by a hail of arrows from Maronite archers and crossbowmen and had little chance. They only managed to slaughter a few unfortunate spearmen in their path before they were overcome and slaughtered themselves.

 

It was a complete disaster for the Moslems. With only a few knights, troopers and spearmen killed, the Christians of the East and the West had defeated a very powerful foe, killing over 10,000 of his best troops. The Holy Cross was safe for a while yet.