War Horse
Page 50
36. This general description is based on Nicolle, Saracen Faris, 31, on a survey of the variety of mounted types discussed and illustrated in Saracen Faris, 33–44, and in Nicolle, Saladin, 25–32.
37. Nicolle, Saracen Faris, 8, 11.
38. Nicolle, Mamluks, 9–10.
39. Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 91; Nicolle, Saracen Faris, 23; Davis, Medieval Warhorse, 37.
40. A wide variety of references to horses attributed to Muhammad are recorded in various hadeeth (assembled comments attributed to Muhammad). According to Malik’s Muwatta, bk. 21, no. 21.19.47: “Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was seen wiping the face of his horse with his cloak. He was questioned about it and said, `I was reproached in the night about horses.’ i.e., not taking care of them.” Found in the USC-MSA Hadith Database; Dossenbach and Dossenbach, Noble Horse, 132.
41. Davis, Medieval Warhorse, 37.
42. “Arabian,” Breeds of Livestock.
43. Nicolle, Saracen Faris, 54; This analysis of the Islamic Medieval cavalry saddle is based on exploded diagrams of two saddles in Nicolle, Saracen Faris, 41–42.
44. Nicolle, Saracen Faris, 10; Based on the illustrations and commentary in G. Smith, Medieval Muslim Horsemanship, 10–11; Sir Bertrandon quoted in Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 80.
45. The primary reference for the description of the battle of Hattin, except as noted, is Nicolle, Hattin (1187). Nicolle’s account agrees in all important respects with Fuller’s in Decisive Battles .
46. Nicolle, Hattin (1187).
47. Fuller, Decisive Battles, 426.
48. Nicolle, Hattin (1187).
49. Munro, Letters of the Crusades.
50. This summary of the battle of Crécy is based on descriptions of the campaign and battle in Nicolle, Crécy; Burne, Crécy War; and Fuller, Decisive Battles, except as otherwise noted.
51. Perroy, Hundred Years War, 69–71.
52. Froissart, Chronicles, 84.
53. Nicolle, “Failure of an Elite.”
54. Rate of fire for the longbow is put at 12 arrows per minute. Andrew Ayton, “Arms, Armor, and Horses,” in Medieval Warfare: A History, 203–4, also quoting Prince Louis Napoleon in Boutell, Arms and Armour, 135. Verbruggen, Art of Warfare, 119, puts the rate of fire of the longbow at 10 to 12 shots per minute and the crossbow at 2. Both Delbruck, Medieval Warfare, 386, and Verbruggen, Art of Warfare, 119, agree that the crossbow had greater penetrating power, though Verbruggen suggests it depends on what model crossbow is being compared; Oman, History of the Art of War, 2:142; Estimates of Genovese strength vary from 2,000 to 6,000. If the strength of the Genovese was closer to 2,000, then the archer’s fire dominance would have been completely devastating. These calculations are based on the archers thought to be present with the battle of the Black Prince. It is possible that archers from the reserve battle may have moved forward to participate in the opening exchange of fire, and that some or all of the archers of the Earl of Northampton’s battle may have also been in range depending on the frontal deployment of the Genovese. In either case the situation of the Genovese becomes exponentially more difficult.
55. Oman, History of the Art of War, 2:142; Some chroniclers mention English cannon at Crécy, and most accounts give them credit for physiological effects during this phase of the battle. Oman does not think they were present, History of the Art of War, 2:142. It is doubtful, if they were present, that they had any material effect on the battle.
56. Perroy, Hundred Years War, 119. Founder is a condition known as laminitis in which the laminate inside the hoof becomes inflamed and softens. This permits the cannon bone in the hoof to rotate down changing drastically the angle of the bone alignment within the hoof. The horse will become very lame and any weight on the hoof is painful. Foundered horses require extensive rehabilitation and often cannot be saved. It can be caused by a wide variety of conditions including overeating or any significant change in diet, heat stress, and overwork. If founder was having an effect on the French cavalry it would probably have been caused by hard riding and summer heat.
57. Froissart, Chronicles, 89; Verbruggen states the speed of cavalry movement as 250 yards per minute at the trot and twice that at the gallop, 187.
58. Froissart, Chronicles, 92. .
59. Some historians believe that the archers may have deployed in line along the front of the English position and then retreated behind the men-at-arms on the approach of the cavalry. This would have protected the archers from the potential of a cavalry attack but would have significantly reduced their influence on the close fight between men-at-arms since their fire would have been masked by the English men-at-arms; The chronicle of Lanercost quoted in Oman, History of the Art of War, 2:95; Armstrong, Bannockburn, 68-69; Oman, History of the Art of War, 2:144; This analysis is largely supported by Bennett, “Development of Battle Tactics."
60. Norman Housley, “European Warfare, c. 1200-1320,” in Medieval Warfare: A History, 114.
61. Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 8.
CHAPTER 5: STEPPE WARRIORS
1. Karasulas, Mounted Archers, 5–6.
2. The primary source for the discussion of the composite bow and horse archery is Karasulas, Mounted Archers, 18–28.
3. Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 47.
4. The maximum range at which the weapon could have militarily significant effects was 175 yards. Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 34, puts the maximum range at 300 yards but whether he considers that effective is not clear, 35; Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 134.
5. Finger pinch is the distortion of the bow string caused by the grip of the fingers on the string. A thumb draw, because it only has one grip on the string, distorts the string less than a Mediterranean draw where three fingers grip the string.
6. Karasulas, Mounted Archers, 26; Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 226.
7. Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 100, 106; Morgan, Mongols, 91.
8. Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 9; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 30.
9. Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 11, 15. In the later period of the Mongol Empire individual soldiers did receive pay; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 25, 31; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 56.
10. Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 36; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 58; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 59.
11. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 203–4.
12. Bell, Davis, and McBane, Horse and Pony Breeds, 176; “Tarpan,” Breeds of Livestock.
13. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 204.
14. Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 125; “Przewalski,” Breeds of Livestock; Bell et al., Horse and Pony Breeds, 214. There is a great deal of controversy regarding the scientific classification of the Tarpan and Przewalski horse. Some scientists believe that they are a distinct species from domestic horse because of blood mark and chromosome differences. Other scientists believe that they should be considered a subspecies within the domestic horse species. There is no scientific consensus on the issue.
15. Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 126–27; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 57.
16. Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 126; Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 20.
17. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 206; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 36; Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 16.
18. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 211–13.
19. Ibid., 214; Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 128–30.
20. Quoted in Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 206; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 30.
21. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 209, 207; Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 17; Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 131.
22. Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 19–20.
23. Quoted in Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 133.
24. Quoted in Thompson, Huns, 57; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 30.
25. This summary of Scythian
history is from Cernenko, Scythians; Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 38.
26. A detailed account of Sarmatian history and military organization is in Brzezinski and Mielczarek, Sarmatians.
27. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 209; Thompson, Huns, 57; Quoted in Thompson, Huns, 287.
28. Quoted in Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 201–2.
29. Thompson, Huns, 30–33.
30. Ibid., 36–40.
31. Ibid., 53–54.
32. Karasulas, Mounted Archers, 26.
33. Both quotes in Thompson, Huns, 56–57.
34. Maenchen-Helfen, World of the Huns, 213
35. Thompson, Huns, 148–156.
36. Ibid., 156–63.
37. Ibid., 163–75.
38. Morgan, Mongols, 55–57.
39. Ibid., 60–61.
40. The summary of Muslim conquests is based on the description outlined in Turnbull, Genghis Khan.
41. Ibid., 12.
42. Ibid., 10; Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 11–12; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 26; Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 11. The exact number of horses maintained by the individual warrior varies greatly depending on author and sources. All agree that a significant number of remounts were part of the standard equipment. The minimum number cited was three horses per archer and the maximum number is 18 reported by Marco Polo. Hyland, Medieval Warhorse, 125; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 36; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 58; Morgan, Mongols, 87. Consider that the Mongol’s adversaries consistently put the numbers of individual Mongol field forces as from 200,000 to 800,000. Armies of such size would have required multiple millions of war horses not to mention the logistics requirements.
43. Ibid., 89; Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 12.
44. Morgan, Mongols, 89.
45. Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 63.
46. Ibid., 26, 42, 29.
47. Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 13, 48; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 28, 32.
48. Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 43.
49. Ibid., 43.
50. Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 17; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 61–62.
51. Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 65; Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 43, 30; Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 17.
52. Turnbull, Mongol Warrior, 45-46.
53. Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 44–45; Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 62–63.
54. Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 71.
55. This description of the reconnaissance phase of the operation is taken from Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 89–103, except as noted.
56. Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 32.
57. The descriptions of the remaining aspects of operations in Europe are derived from Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 70–113, except as noted.
58. Gabriel, Genghis Khan’s Greatest General, 106
59. Chambers, Devil’s Horsemen, 112.
60. Hildinger, Warriors of the Steppe, 87.
CHAPTER 6: EARLY MODERN CAVALRY
1. Howard, War in European History, 20.
2. Ibid., 26–27.
3. Arnold, Renaissance at War, 34–37.
4. G. Parker, Military Revolution, 17, 18. Arnold, Renaissance at War, 94–96.
5. J. Black, European Warfare, 38–39.
6. Arnold, Renaissance at War, 109
7. Ibid., 106, 117.
8. Ibid., 111–12; Delbruck, Dawn of Modern Warfare, 117.
9. Chandler, Art of Warfare, 38; Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 24.
10. Arnold, Renaissance at War, 112, refers to the pistol armed reiter cavalry as heavy cavalry because of their armor. Delbruck, Dawn of Modern Warfare, 125, calls them cuirassiers and considers them light cavalry because their horses are not armored. The difference in view is relative to being compared to Medieval cavalry or to contemporary sixteenth-century cavalry; Delbruck, Dawn of Modern Warfare, 121–23, 135; Arnold, Renaissance at War, 112–15; Blackmore, British Military Firearms, 24.
11. Ibid., 124.
12. Arnold, Renaissance at War, 112–16; Delbruck, Dawn of Modern Warfare, 124.
13. Ibid., 128, 129.
14. Ibid., 124.
15. Tincey, Ironsides, 17.
16. Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 143; Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 23; Childs, Warfare in the Seventeenth Century, 49.
17. Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 6; Chemnitz quoted in Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 33.
18. Lynn, Giant, 489, 497–99.
19. Cruso, Militarie Instructions, 28–29.
20. Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 3–4.
21. Cruso, Militarie Instructions, 30; Tincey, Soldiers, 24; Blackmore, British Military Firearms.
22. Tincey, Soldiers, 14; Blackmore, British Military Firearms, 36.
23. Lynn, Giant, 490.
24. Cruso, Militarie Instructions, 28–31; Lynn, Giant, 490.
25. Tincey, Soldiers, 15, 19.
26. Childs, Warfare in the Seventeenth Century, 47.
27. Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 4–5.
28. Lynn, Giant, 490-500.
29. Ibid., 492–94.
30. Chandler, Art of Warfare, 28-29, 31.
31. Ibid., 33–34.
32. Ibid., 43–47.
33. Duffy, Instrument of War, 256.
34. Ibid., 36–37; Cooper, British Regular Cavalry, 48; Konstam, Peter the Great’s Army, 10.
35. Chandler, Art of Warfare, 52–53; Childs, Armies and Warfare, 129; J. Black, European Warfare, 50–51.
36. Childs, Armies and Warfare, 129; Cooper, British Regular Cavalry, 62–64; Chandler, Art of Warfare, 53–54;
37. Childs, Armies and Warfare, 128.
38. Ibid., 128–29.
39. Warnery, Remarks on Cavalry, 45.
40. Ibid., 46–47.
41. The breed was carefully nurtured at the small Monastery of Cartuja. In the nineteenth century the monks protected the breed from confiscation by the invading French army, later the monks, relatively isolated in their monasteries, protected the breed from epidemics that killed off large portions of Spain’s horse population. It would not be until the 1960s that the Spanish government permitted the export of Andalusians.
42. Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 145.
43. Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 4; Brzezinski, Lutzen, 62–67; Bell et al., Horse and Pony Breeds, 124–125.
44. “Holsteiner,” Breeds of Livestock
45. Ibid.; Duffy, Army of Frederick the Great, 95.
46. Duffy, Instrument of War, 259.
47. Brzezinski, Army of Gustavus Adolphus, 4, 5, 20; Bell et al., Horse and Pony Breeds, 144–45.
48. Cooper, British Regular Cavalry, 60.
49. Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 101.
50. Translated by Thomas Blundeville as The Arte of Ryding and published in 1560 as the first riding manual written in English.
51. V. Littauer, Development of Modern Riding, 84; Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 103.
52. Loch, Dressage, 90–91.
53. Duffy, Army of Frederick the Great, 104.
54. Childs, Armies and Warfare, 105–106.
55. Cruso, Militarie Instructions, 31.
56. Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 105–106.
57. Loch, Dressage, 71.
58. This discussion is based on a comparison of a variety of national saddle patterns from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries illustrated in contemporary drawings and sketches in a variety of sources including Cavendish, General System of Horsemanship, illustration 13; Chappell, British Cavalry Equipments, 5, 13, 19, 23, 36, 39; Chenevix Trench, History of Horsemanship, 156; Duffy, Instrument of War, 254; Konstam, Peter the Great’s Army, 13; Loch, Dressage, 52; D. Smith, Prussian Army, saddle furniture illustration, n.p.; Tincey, Ironsides, 15; Warner, British Cavalry, 54.
59. The battle description of Lützen is
based largely on Brzezinski, Lützen.
60. Quoted in Brzezinski, Lützen, 54, from William Watts, the Swedish Intelligencer, pt. 3 (London, 1633).
61. Quoted in Brzezinski, Lützen, 59.
62. The description of the battle of Rossbach is based largely on the account in Duffy, Prussia’s Glory, 7–91. This was supplemented by Hook, Rossbach and Leuthen, 7–40, and Citino, German Way of War, 72–82.
63. Duffy, Prussia’s Glory, 22.
64. Ibid., 73.
65. Ibid., 76.
66. Ibid., 76–77.
67. Ibid., 84.
CHAPTER 7: ALL THE EMPEROR’S HORSES
1. Haythornthwaite, Austrian Army, 3; D. Johnson, French Cavalry, 129–30.
2. English horses, affected by the heat and humidity and by the diet of the Spanish theater, began to get sick and die as soon as they were unloaded. Oman, Wellington’s Army, 194; Muir, Tactics, 105.
3. Elting, Swords around a Throne, 246; D. Johnson, French Cavalry, 16, 18, 26; the quotation is on 32.
4. Johnson, French Cavalry, 75; Elting, Swords around a Throne, 233.
5. Ibid., 234.
6. Ibid., 236–38; Muir, Tactics, 107.
7. Elting, 238–39; Muir, Tactics, 108.
8. D. Johnson, French Cavalry, 47.
9. Haythornthwaite, Austrian Army, 3; Fosten, Wellington’s Heavy Cavalry, 6, 8.
10. D. Johnson, French Cavalry, 21, 23, 137.
11. Rothenberg, Art of Warfare, 73.
12. Muir, Tactics, 109.
13. De Brack, Cavalry Outpost Duties (1893), quoted in Nosworthy, With Musket, Cannon, and Sword, 287.
14. Bragge quoted in Nosworthy, With Musket, Cannon, and Sword, 288.
15. Rothenberg, Art of Warfare, 73; Quoted in Muir, Tactics, 110.
16. Nosworthy, With Musket, Cannon, and Sword, 296–97; Elting, Swords around a Throne, 243.
17. Nolan, Cavalry, 68–70.
18. Napoleon I, Military Maxims, 72.
19. Oman, Wellington’s Army, 98.
20. Napoleon I, Military Maxims, 73.
21. Ibid., 193.
22. Muir, Tactics, 137.
23. Nosworthy, With Musket, Cannon, and Sword, 270; Nolan, Cavalry, 93–94, quoting an unnamed officer in Austrian service; Muir, Tactics, 134; Nosworthy, With Musket, Cannon, and Sword, 279.
24. Rothenberg, Art of Warfare, 142.