Warfare through time - 1250 to 1500

1250 to 1500

What was warfare like during 1250 to 1500? And who led the armies?

Armies = 5,000 to 10,000

2:1 infantry to cavalry ratio

Army was led by the King

Feudal System = Kings = gives land to nobles = in return raise army lead troops = gentry = peasants (offered protection and little land for farming)

What weapons and protection did the cavalry have?

Weapons = swords/Lances, 3 metre thrusting spears, took 2 horses each normally

Protection = hauberks (chainmail garments), falt-topped metal helmets

What weapons and protection did the infantry have?

Weapons = maces/battle-axes, Brown bills, pikes, bows (cross and long), swords and daggers

Protection = Best protected = short mail skirts

• gambesons

• most infantry = skull caps (metal)

5 reasons why warfare was limited?

1) Limited resources = couldnt raise armies very quickly, didn't have endless supplies or money

2) Limited power = had to persuade nobles to fight = if they refused army = drastically reduced

3) Battles were risky = Kings personally led army, if captured/killed, whole Kingdom could fall

4) Medieval armies = could not fight all year

5) Poor communication = No phones, radio, maps

5 strategies in limited warfare - examples of how limited warfare is used in practice

1) Manoveure the enemy = trap enemy in land position so they = surrender = don't need to fight

2) Castles = winning a castle = gives control over entire region

3) Attacking g property = pillaging, destroying crops = weakens enemy ability to fight

4) Negotiation - settlments

5) Guerilla tactics = short all-out attacks - raiding supplies

Example of how powerful castles were in defense - Kenilworth castle

1266, rebels hid in Kenilworth castle = after losing Battle of Evesham = took 6 months for Henry III’S army to force them out

What were the 2 cavalry tactics during this time?

Mounted charge - early in the battle - cavalry charge, smash through enemy lines

Rout and chase - once enemy lines broken easy to chase down running infantry and capture/kill them

3 Infantry tactics

1) Shield Wall

2) Archers - work with cavalry, break enemy lines - small role during this time

3) Melee = close-to-close combat

How was cavalry recruited during this time?

1) Feudal System

2) Assize of arms - Anyone with land worth over £15, had to provide fully equipped mountain Knight

3) Scutage - King used this to hire better trained,more professional mercenaries

4) Royal Household = Henry III = 500 troops = £5 a year

How were infantry recruited?

1) Feudal infantry - King relied on people volunteering due to loyalty to King

2) Assize of Arms - reliable way to recruit infantry, all men serve = 40 days

• men had to provide own weapons

• Commissioners of Arrays = assessed weapons and who should serve

Training - For Cavalry and Infantry

Cavalry = Childhood = horseriding, weapons handling = little to no training as a group

Infantry = no organised training as group

Provisioning

Serious issue = soldiers had to provide food = 40 days

After that:

• supply depots

• baggage trains

Was Army size a change of continuity during this period?

Continuity

Was strategy a change of continuity during this period?

Continuity - limited warfare still used + Clevanchees - fast raids to burn crops

Was schiltron formation a change of continuity during this period?

Stopped previously unstoppable cavalry charge

Stirling Bridge (1297) = Schiltron = used against English Cavalry

Was command a change of continuity during this period?

Continuity. Kings still relied on nobles.

Longbows.

Could fire up to 12 arrows a minute

Long range

But required years of training,unlike cross bows

Impact of longbows on warfare

1) Made English armies more powerful = could hit targets up to 300m away = kill mounted Knights from a far

Example of longbows effectiveness.

Battle of Poiteriers (1356) - English army defeated much larger French cavalry with arrows

Development of Cannon. What was it like at 1320-1430 to 1430-1500?

Early Cannon - (1320 to 1430) - Made of wood, very unreliable, hard to move, slow to fire

Cannon (1430 to 1500) - stronger cannon, longer barrels (more accurate shots), gunpowder mixtures improved.

• By 1500, cannon could destroy castle walls

BIG IMPACT = ARMIES HAD TO RETHINK HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST CASTLE WALLS

Impact of warfare on civilians

1) Cost of warfare - led to increased taxation, people struggled to pay

2) Recruitment - Feudal service, Assize of armies = most people didn't want to fight for 40 days, people didn't like it most chose to pay Scutage instead = clear evidence

3) Impact of fighting - armies raided towns, plunder makers stole food

When was the Battle of Falkirk and who led the armies?

William Wallace = Scotland = schiltron

Edward I = England = longbows

22nd July 1298

Why did English beat impregnable schiltron formation?

Longbowmen = decisive factor

Edward = 5,000 longbowmen

Scots no armour = arrows = mass casualties = gaps in formation = the cavalry charged

Showed how organised English armies are + showed power of longbow

Battle of Agincourt

Placed army at tight points = narrow battlefield

• funneled French army in tight areas = couldn't use their numbers properly

• muddy ground = French cavalry struggled to move

• woodland both sides of English = protected their flanks

• English longbowmen descisive

• French = chivalry

• Reacted emotionally to Archers = though it was unfair = reckless cavalry charge

• Killed