Many wargamers shy away from gaming in the
so-called 'Crusades' period due to the lack of
concrete evidence on the composition of the
Christian forces. Thanks to 'Armies and Enemies of
the Crusades' by WRG, plus the bibliography that
they so studiously added for the serious researcher's
benefit, one is able to work out a reasonably
accurate table of organization.
Certain things must first be mentioned. The tables of organization below are based on a composite for the period of 1140-1250. However, it most closely reflects the military composition of the Kingdom of Jerusalem around 1188 A.D. This would be just a few months before the battle at the Horns of Hattin, which broke the military back of the kingdom. The TABLES FOR THE Principalities of Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa are based on the period cat 1140 A.D., shortly before the fall of Edessa. As most of the Christians that had lived in Edessa at that time simply took themselves to Antioch or Tripoli, the military strength probably would not have been diminished significantly.
Also included is the table of organization for the military components of the Third Crusade, in 1191-3 A.D. Not reflected, of course is the improbably benefit the hordes of unarmed pilgrims that gravitated towards the nearest body of disciplined Frankish troops.
The vassal knights would be in their own colors, broken down between the 36 figures as: Galilee, Sidon, 5 each; Nablus, acre, 4 each; Ascalon, Jerusalem, Hebron, 3 each; Jaffa, Tyre, Caesarea, 2 each. (Also Beirut, 3)
I have been unable to find any kind of breakdown for the sources of the levy, so one will have to either do their own research or simply paint the principality vassals in plain solid colors. For the most part, this would be fairly accurate anyway.
Before going into the tables of organization for the Third Crusade, I should mention that this has been based on the wargamer's scale of one figure in each unit represents about twenty real people; by listing the number of units I am simply trying to show the maximum number of troops available -- which is considerably higher than the number of vassals who would actually take the field at any given time. The numbers given for the following tables, however, does reflect the actual size of that particular army.
While the various crusading knights wore whatever they had at hand, there was something of a national identity in the color of the crusader's cross worn. By 1191, a white cross was identified with the English, red with the French, yellow for the Germanics, and green for the Flemish. As usual, Templars wore white with red crosses, and the Hospitaliers wore black with white crosses.
| KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | TYPE | CLASS | NO. IN UNIT | NO. OF UNITS |
| CAVALRY | ||||
| Templar knights | HC | A | 15 | 1 |
| Templar sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 2 |
| Hospitalier knts. | HC | A | 12 | 1 |
| Hospitalier sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 1 |
| Vassal knights | HC | B | 12 | 3 |
| Vassal sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 3 |
| Turkopoles | MC Ar. | C | 12-18 | 2-3 |
| INFANTRY | ||||
| Templar foot | HI | B | 24 | 2 |
| Hospitalar foot | HI | B | 24 | 1 |
| Vassal foot | HI | B | 24 | 8 |
| Crossbowmen | HI | B | 12 | 6 |
| PRINCIPALITIES OF ANTIOCH, TRIPOLI, AND EDESSA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | TYPE | CLASS | NO. IN UNIT | NO. OF UNITS |
| CAVALRY | ||||
| Frankish knights | HC | A | 12 | 2 |
| Frankish sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 3 |
| Cilisian knights | HC | B | 12 | 1 |
| Cilisian sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 1 |
| Turkopoles | MC Ar. | C | 12-18 | 3-4 |
| INFANTRY | ||||
| Frankish foot | HI | B | 24 | 6 |
| Cilisian foot | MI | B | 24 | 2 |
| Maronite foot | MI | C | 24 | 3 |
| Crossbowmen | HI | B | 12 | 4 |
| THIRD CRUSADE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | TYPE | CLASS | NO. IN UNIT | NO. OF UNITS |
| CAVALRY | ||||
| English knts. | HC | A | 18 | 1 |
| English sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 2 |
| French knts. | HC | A | 12 | 2 |
| French sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 2 |
| Germanic knts. | HC | A | 12 | 1 |
| Germanic sgts. | HC | B | 12 | 1 |
| Templar knts. | HC | A | 12 | 1 |
| Hospitalar knts. | HC | A | 12 | 1 |
| INFANTRY | ||||
| English foot | HI | B | 24 | 3 |
| English crossbowmen | HI | B | 18 | 2 |
| French foot | HI | B | 24 | 4 |
| Germanic foot | HI | B | 24 | 2 |
| Flemish crossbowmen | HI | A | 12 | 3 |
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