El Campeador

by Griff Hosker

  The two of us went to the battlements. It was where I was most comfortable, and we could talk without being overheard. I would go along with whatever Rodrigo decided although I knew he would seek my opinion. I let him talk without interruption for that was the way his mind worked.

  “I am in no doubt that King Alfonso knew that he would ally with the Grenadines before he sent us here. He has taken your men prisoner and for that I am sorry. He has separated us from Don Iago, Álvar, and the knights who would have supported us, and he has made our families vulnerable.” He smiled, “You have given your land to your foster mother and I have given half of my lands to my wife. Unless King Alfonso intends to make war on our families then they are safe from his machinations, but we are left with a dilemma. If we fight, then we fight Christians and we fight them for the Moors. If we do this then there is no going back. Once our feet are on this path, they have to stay upon it until the end.” I said nothing for I was not sure that he was finished. He laughed, “Speak, Will, let me know if you are with me or not!”

  “You know that I am with you without my words and I agree with all that you have said. Perhaps it would have been better, when King Sancho died, if we had questioned King Alfonso a little more closely but that is in the past and the door has slammed shut! It seems to me that your logic is impeccable and although you have not said so definitively, I believe that you wish to lead this Moorish army and if so then I am with you.” He beamed, “However, I need to offer my men a choice so if we do decide to fight then I will speak with them first.”

  “That is only right and proper. If it is any consolation, I believe that no matter what we do the King will ostracise us and punish us. If that were not true, then why has he not sent back your men?”

  While he returned to the Emir to give him our answer, I sought my men. I took them with me to the battlements. By now the sentries were used to giving me space and I was able to talk. I was honest with them and neither lied nor exaggerated and I explained their options to them. When I had finished, they were silent, and I did not ask them to speak. There was no rush and I wanted them to answer honestly.

  It was Jorge who spoke first, “You are staying and fighting with El Campeador?” I nodded. “And you believe that Christos and Sebastian have been detained against their will by King Alfonso?”

  “Aye, but I have no way to prove it.”

  Jorge nodded and stretched his arms, “I know not about the others, but I am a warrior. I believe in you, William Redbeard, and El Campeador. King Alfonso, in my view, is a king killer. He had his brother murdered and I do not trust him. I am with you.”

  The others all agreed except for Phillip. He and Paulo went back a long way. They had been orphaned together and I had saved them from a life as bandits.

  “Lord, I would fight with you, but I need to know what happened to Paulo. If he is safe, then I will return to your side and if he is not then I will seek his killers.”

  “An honest answer.” I turned to the four old soldiers who drove my wagons and acted as servants. “And you four, do you not wish to return to Briviesca?”

  Pedro Three Fingers laughed, “What, lord? And miss the chance to see Don Rodrigo fight Count Garcia?”

  And thus it was decided. Phillip went home and was able to deliver news about our motives to our families and the rest of us began to prepare for a war.

  Chapter 14

  This was what Rodrigo had missed for he was a warrior and leading armies was as natural to him as eating and breathing. The Emir gave him a mixed company of askari and horse archers as a personal guard to augment my men and we rode south to scout out the Grenadine army. It was one thing to know that there were Christian knights with them but how many were there and, more importantly who were they? Once we had told the Emir that we agreed to his proposal he gave us more information. The men who ran Zaragoza for him had reported the column of knights heading south through his land. From the dates he had been given this was even before my men had reached the King and confirmed that King Alonso had been less than honest with us. There were, reportedly, a hundred knights and no foot soldiers. I wondered at the wisdom of that but Rodrigo explained it to me, “Why bring archers when there are Moorish horse archers who are more mobile and as skilled as any Christian archer or crossbowman who fights on foot?”

  I saw the sense in that. The first scouts the Emir had sent out had reported that the army was gathering at the stronghold of Granada itself which was almost a hundred miles from Córdoba. It took us three days to close to the camp outside the fortress. We had got to know our askari and horse archers as we had headed south and east. Some of them knew the taifa and Rodrigo and I went with three of those who had local knowledge to scout out their camp. We were not riding our war horses and we wore the same jubbah as the askari while our heads were covered in the same head cloths. If we were seen, we would not be identified as Christian warriors. We found a place which overlooked the camp, a huge site positioned and protected below the stronghold. The Christian knights were easy to identify as they had familiar tents and the sun reflected from their mail and helmets. The Moors tended to cover the metal to keep it cooler. We were also able to spy the standards and confirmed that it was the Armiger Regis. The good news was that there were none of the knights we had trained, nor did we see Álvar’s banner. It looked to be the Count’s own knights as well as some Normans. They were ever keen to take riches from others. We spied some Lombard and Catalonian standards too. The army was a well-balanced one and we saw African foot soldiers as well as the inevitable Berber horsemen and askari.

  As we made our way back to Córdoba, we tried to identify places where we could bring this huge army to battle. With the resources of both Córdoba and Sevilla the Emir had the ability to fight this invading army but it would take skill to defeat the Christian knights. We found a place to halt them at Cabra. We were able to observe the small town and tiny castle without being seen and Rodrigo formulated his plane very quickly. There was a castle but the two rivers which protected it could become death traps especially when the battle plan was created by Rodrigo de Vivar. By the time we reached Córdoba, El Campeador had everything in his head and he sat with the Emir to explain what he needed and how he intended to defeat the Grenadines and their allies.

  We had fought alongside Moors before when we had aided Zaragoza but the army with whom we now fought had a different feel. That was mainly because we only had one knight although we had men who could fight as knights. Rodrigo’s plan, which he had explained to me on the way north, was simple, but I knew that it would work for we had used it before. Count Garcia would come for El Campeador and use his overwhelming numbers of knights to defeat and kill him. Rodrigo had done too much to upset King Alfonso for him to live. When they came for him it would be with superior numbers to end his life.

  Regardless of what Rodrigo had planned I knew what we would do and, as we headed down the road to the border town, I went through my plans with them. “Our job is to protect the life of El Campeador. I will protect his sword side and Jorge his shield.” I then detailed the others so that we would have two men watching me and Jorge. We would be, essentially, a mounted wedge. Abu and our four old soldiers would also be on hand using a wagon as a mobile fort. They had spears and bows within. They had one job, stop the enemy getting to us. We had an advantage now for even my old soldiers had mail. The Emir had given us everything that we needed and that included mail and weapons.

  We camped on the high ground which overlooked the valley of the Chorrillo. It was not a wide river and even men could ford it easily, but the banks were steep, and Rodrigo counted on the enemy using the river and the castle as bastions to which they could retreat. He had seen how effective the Moorish horse archers were and he intended to use them to goad the Christian knights to venture closer to us. He reasoned that if we defeated them then the Grenadines would lose heart for the Emir of Córdoba had more men at his disposal than did Granada. We knew from our scouts that the Emir o
f Granada was with his army and if we succeeded in destroying the knights then he would be our second target.

  I allowed Rodrigo the time to speak to his leaders. I knew that it was his way and he had always gone over his plans in detail with his knights. This was different for he was leading men he barely knew and had not trained. This would be a true test of his leadership and ability as a general! When the last one had left, I took a jug of wine I had procured. It was a Muslim country but if you knew where to look then you could find alcohol. Now that the Emir needed us, I was less worried about the consequences.

  “Come Rodrigo, let us share a jug and you can tell me your misgivings.”

  He gave me a surprised look, “How do you know?”

  “Because you seek perfection and this time there are too many unknowns.”

  He nodded and drank deeply from the goblet I proffered, “Aye and not least of them is what will the Count do. He backed down from a fight with you and if he does not take the bait tomorrow and remains on the field then I have no means of shifting him.”

  “It is not like it was in Castile. Here he is working under the King’s orders. King Alfonso wants Córdoba and if he gets it then he has a line of states he controls from north to south. Toledo is his. He is buying off Granada but, if he succeeds here, then he will swallow that one up too.”

  “You have grown, Will.”

  “Those months guarding the Emir were a schoolroom for me and I learned. Besides I trained King Alfonso as well as his brothers. I liked none of them. Garcia was the least offensive and the least effective. Both Alfonso and Sancho were snakes but at least Sancho was a brave one. Alfonso has the Armiger he deserves. He is a man like himself, a coward. Count Garcia will take the bait tomorrow, but it will be others in the front rank. He will have men trying to kill you so that if it happens then he will be close at hand to take the credit.”

  “You are right, but have we switched roles?”

  I laughed, “No, for this is not strategy it is reading human nature and when it comes to the family of Count Garcia Ordóñez de Nájera then I am an expert for they have been my nemesis since Pamplona.” I sipped my wine. This time I would have no restraints. If the Count came within the length of my new sword then Thor would claim a most important victim. Even if Rodrigo told me to hold then I would not!

  That we had been seen arriving was clear when we watched the sunrise the next day. The whole of the Grenadine army was in battle formation. The had used solid blocks of men with pikes and spears to anchor their flanks and behind their mounted archers they had the serried, mailed ranks of knights flanked by askari. The disturbing news was that there were now more than twice the number of knights for us to fight! We had not seen their whole force and that was worrying for what else did we not know? If the news discomfited Rodrigo, then he did not show it and he merely headed along to his commanders to give further orders and to adjust his plans. My men and I did not move. We sat with our coifs around our shoulders and our helmets hanging from our cantles. Our spears were rammed, shaft first, into the soft soil. When the battle started then we would do what was necessary, regardless of the plans made by either side. We had one job and that was to protect the hope of Spain, El Cid.

  He returned to us and placed his horse between mine and Jorge’s, “It seems you were right, Will, Count Garcia is in the third rank. He has placed those he feels are expendable before him. That he has brought more knights from other parts of Spain gives me comfort.”

  I turned to look at him and shook my head, “More than twice the knights we expected gives you comfort?”

  “Not the numbers but their origins for they are Norman, Navarrese, Franks and Lombards. They have patently never fought together and while they may have initial success, as soon as things go wrong it is likely that they will break. They have not been forged in war. They have been cobbled together and therein lies the difference. The armies I lead have fought together and you and your men are the strong shield which will guarantee success.”

  He peered ahead and I knew what he was looking for. During the night some of the black-skinned African warriors had ghosted between our lines and seeded the ground with caltrops. These deadly spiked traps found hooves and flesh when trod upon. Rodrigo had discovered them when reading about the Romans and they were both easy to make and to lay. All of our horsemen knew their position. They covered a five hundred by two hundred pace square just five hundred paces from our centre. Rodrigo’s plan relied on forcing the knights into the narrow gap. He was looking to see the area that they covered.

  He turned to Stephano who had the honour of the horn, “Three blasts, if you please, Stephano!”

  As the blasts were sounded, we pulled up our coifs, donned our helmets and picked up our spears. I had walked the ground before us, and we had chosen the flattest and firmest part of the field. Men had made water on the ground to the side. Horses which charged up the sapping slope and managed to avoid the caltrops would have to slow so that if they hit us at all then it would be at walking pace. Behind us was the wagon with our five men who would be able to select the knights they wished to hurt. Abu could use a sling or a spear. Even Pedro Three Fingers could use a bow!

  As the last note echoed across the valley two huge bands of horse archers galloped from our flanks and headed for the two blocks of foot soldiers. It looked to be Emir Abdullah who commanded the Grenadines for I saw his banner and as the Berbers rode down the slope there was a hurried conference. That was a subtle difference. El Campeador was the supreme commander and knew his business; the enemy leaders were not even close in terms of ability and they needed time to react. Rodrigo did not give them that time. The infantry had spears and small round shields. None wore mail and only a few had helmets. They were there to give the illusion of strength, but they were a weakness. The horse archers were able to approach to within a hundred paces at which range they could not miss and they poured arrow after arrow into the two masses of men. It was a slaughter and when the Africans began to break and to stream across the small river then the Grenadine leader had to react and they sent their own horse archers to attack ours.

  The two commanders of our Berbers knew their orders and they turned and galloped back up the slope. On our flanks were two blocks of askari and they guarded the archers on foot who sheltered behind huge pavise. As our Berbers rode around the askari our foot archers released their own volleys. The Grenadine archers had to split their own arrows between the mailed askari and the pavise protected archers. It was a duel they lost and the two askari leaders were ready when Rodrigo had Stephano send them the signal to launch themselves at the Grenadine horse archers. The archers broke and fled. Many made the safety of their own lines, but more than half were killed and as the recall was sounded and our askari returned to their positions we had won the first part of the battle. The Grenadine foot and horse archers were demoralised while our own horse archers had had a great victory and they formed up in two blocks before our flank askari. Rodrigo was not going to fight the way that our enemies expected.

  If Emir Abdullah had broken off and ended his attack at that moment, when it became obvious that he had been outwitted, he might have saved his men and the future of El Campeador would have been very different but he did not. Perhaps he was a gambler for he was no general. He had been outmanoeuvred already and the only men in his army who were not demoralised were the ones who had yet to fight: his askari and the Christian knights. He must have thought that our attacks had been pinpricks and had not hurt him. He committed his best men to an attack. With a swarm of the remaining horse archers guarding their flanks and with the booming sound of their drums, the huge line of mailed horsemen made their way up the hill.

  El Campeador was not one for emotion on the battlefield but even Rodrigo could not help himself, “We have him, Will! We have him! He is heading for the spider’s web and there is no escape. Sound the horn Stephano, send in the Berbers!”

  One of the things which had taken the most time wh
en we had prepared for this battle was the use of horns to signal the men who now followed Rodrigo. The men El Campeador led were used to drums but Rodrigo needed the variation a horn could give and, more importantly, he wished to confuse the enemy who would not know what our signals meant. Rodrigo was using his Berbers as beaters in a hunt. His time as a lord of the manor in Vivar had not been wasted. When he had hunted, he had perfected techniques of driving animals where he wished them to go. Our Berbers drove the enemy horse archers back towards their centre. Our superior numbers meant that we won the duel and when the Grenadine survivors fled the askari and knights bunched together as the two Berber bands hovered menacingly along their flanks.

  That we looked weak was clear. El Campeador was in the centre with a handful of Christian warriors around him and on either side were less than four hundred askari. What the enemy could not see for there was dead ground behind us, were the two thousand askari and other mounted men who waited for the order to pour over the top of the ridge and descend like avenging angels.

  I turned to the men in the wagon, “Target the knights!”

  I heard one of them mumble, “You will be teaching us how to suck eggs soon!”

  Rodrigo laughed, “You deserved that, Will. Do not be nervous for your men all know their job and I am happy that it is you and they who defend me and now let us see what they make of the caltrops!”

  Even though he had been talking to me he had been watching the progress of the advancing line. The effect, as the knights and askari hit the metal spikes, was astounding. The riders had not seen them and the first horses which found them were all hurt. Some bucked their riders, some reared while some veered to the side. Riders fell to be crushed by hooves or to have necks broken by their falls. Some of those on the flanks, seeing the danger tried to move to the side and there they were plucked from their saddles by the Berber horse archers. The metal line contracted as they endured the seeded slope. They bunched up and horses and knights collided into the backs of those before them. I had special interest in Count Garcia and saw that he was now in the second rank of knights. Those in the rear of the men who charged us had the best chance of survival for the ones who went before them harvested the metal traps!