More Dark Age and Medieval Armies (Part 8)

More Dark Age and Medieval Armies

Part 8

By Terry L. Gore

64. SICILIAN HOHENSTAUFFEN: LATE 12th TO EARLY 14th.

This is the army of Federick II, a very versatile force and extemely tenacious when used smartly. Fighting to retain their empire, the German Hohenstauffen rulers utilized their 'subjects' much as the their Norman predecessors had previously in Italy and Sicily. Moslems were a large part of the armies until they were driven out of Italy by Charles II of Naples I in 1301.

Tactics involved using the Moslims as mobile shooting blocks, delivering enormous firepower if defending, and using massive numbers of arrows on a given target. The Moslem axe and spearmen are excellent at clearing rough terrain. There are large numbers of Moslem horse archers which can tie up both enemy flanks, allowing the Hohenstauffen commander to bring his knights to bear whenever and wherever he wants. This is a very strong army and is recommended for beginners and experts alike.

65. SERBIAN: LATE 12th TO LATE 15th.

Somehow the Serbs managed to control their own destiny for almost three hundred years surrounded by Byzantines, Tartars, Timurs and Ottomans. This is a very unique army, with bow-armed knights, lance-armed light cavalry, mercenary Germans and large numbers of missile troops. Stefan Dushan (1331-1355) overran Macedonia, Albania, Epirus and Thessaly.

The strength of this armies lies with the knights. The armies were not huge, 12,000 men campaigned in the late 14th century to 20-25,000 present at the Battle of Kossovo. Often, the armies would consist of three divisions, with the cavalry to the front and the foot in support behind.

The Serbians are tough. They can shoot, charge in with lances, and are supported by fanatic light cavalry as well as Croatian and Bosnian rough terrain troops. There are numbers of close order heavy infantry spearmen to hold the center while the knights take on the enemy flanks. After the late 14th century, artillery, handgunners, crossbows and heavier knights were introduced. This is another good army for any level of player.

66. PRUSSIAN: EARLY 13th TO EARLY 14th.

Historically, the Prussians battled against the Teutonic Order and their Crusader allies until their final subjugation. Though employing terror tactics, such as taking captured knights in their armor and slowly roasting them over bonfires, the Prussians were doomed to destruction because of their failure to unify in the face of the invaders.

There were usually two parts to the Prussian armies; the chieftain warbands of cavalry and the numerous foot which ran the gamut of morale. This army has to be in rough terrain to stand a chance. Tactically, ambushes out of woods and defending steep hills or from behind obstacles allows the Prussians to fight successfully. Fanatical Prussians are impossible to control but will provide for an interesting battle! Avoid knight charges against your foot in the open, if at all possible. Your cavalry are best used in a reserve capacity to plug holes or to rally routers. This is an army for experienced players only.

67. TEUTONIC ORDER: EARLY 13th-LATE 15th.

Though they managed to lose their two most famous battles at Tannenberg in 1410 and at Lake Peipus in 1210, the Order managed to conquer and control large areas of north-eastern Europe and the Baltic as well as areas of Poland. Under their Grandmasters, the Knights of the Order (immortalized in the stylized Russian epic motion picture, Alexander Nevsky) rode their white caparisoned chargers against Tartars, Russians, Lithuanians, Poles, Moslems, Prussians and sundry other enemies throughout the later Middle Ages. Leadership often doomed the Teutonics. At Saule in 1236, Master Volquin Schenk managed to lose his command of 500-1000 knights to an army of Samogitians when he allowed them to reinforce their numbers and then ended up fighting in a swamp.

This is a very popular and powerful army. Tactics were often quite involved. Usually, the Grandmaster kept a strong force of knights under his personal control in reserve and waited for the enemy to falter. When he saw a weakness, he would lead the knights to either victory or death. The light cavalry were used to pin the enemy and to keep the flanks from being turned. The foot sergeants allowed the knights to charge through them and retire back behind them, if need be, to rest. Artillery and handgunners made their appearance by the Battle of Tannenberg.

The army is a good one for any level of player, and easy to paint as well!

68. OTTOMANS: LATE 13TH TO EARLY 16TH.

The Ottoman armies conquered wherever they went, sweeping out of the east and deluging Moslem and Christian lands alike. Initially, their armies relied on the numerous heavy and light cavalry horse archers, along with warriors and fanatical quality foot. By the mid-14th century, Christian youths, raised in the teachings of Islam to become slave-warriors (Janissaries) made up a good proportion of Ottoman armies. Numerically, the Ottoman forces were quite large, with 20,000 men present at Ankara in 1402, and the outrageous 100,000 reportedly under the command of Mehmed II in 1453.

This is a very strong army. The Ottomans often fought in successive waves, of increasingly better quality. This allowed the poorer, missile-armed troops to disorder the enmy before the Ottoman cavalry and Janissaries were even bloodied. Artillery made up a large section of later armies. Hungarian sources report that the Ottomans utilized artillery in the late 14th century.

I hesitate to whole-heartedly recommend this army to beginners, but they should still be able to do all right with it, considering it's many strengths.

69. ROMANIAN FRANK: EARLY 13TH TO EARLY 14TH.

Here is an army with a character all its own. This Frankish Crusader state lasted barely a century, but it's leaders fought fiercely against all invaders. The beauty and allure of this list lie in the colorful costuming and incredible fighting ability of the different elements.

The Romanian Franks had good numbers of enthusiastic knights, double-armed Bulgar heavy cavalry, some Bulgar skirmisher horse, large numbers of Frankish foot, rough terrain fighters and ships to transport them.

Tactics were the same as the later Crusaders. Use the heavy infantry as mobile fortresses behind which the knights can charge out from and retire back through. The skirmisher cavalry, archers and unarmored javelinmen provide plentiful support troops for forcing a flank or even sailing up a river to land in the enemy rear.

This is a good, solid army for any level of player. Crusader mixed Order.

Back to Saga #71 Table of Contents
Back to Saga List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1999 by Terry Gore
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com