This list includes the armies of the Later Crusader kingdoms of Edessa (until its fall in 1144), the principality of Antioch, and the Latin kingdoms of Jerusalem and Tripoli. It has a different mix of troops than the other Crusader lists and makes an interesting variant, with the Byzantine 'allies', Maronites and Armenians, The Crusader kingdoms would quite possibly have been longer lasting except for the debacle at the Horns of Hattin in 1187 when the combined armies of the kingdoms were destroyed by Saladin. After this, there were simply too few troops left to defend the cities against the Moslem resurgence. As Saladin took city and castle, the power of the Latin leaders waned into near oblivion. Only the Third Crusade kept the Latin presence alive with such stunning personalities as Richard the Lion-Hearted adding to the legends of the times. Such less than notable personages as Guy of Jerusalem and Reynald of Chatillon and Raymond III of Tripoli just did not have the generalship and leadership qualities necessary to survive. Tactics were standard Crusader fare, with the hard-charging knights still the mainstay on the battlefield, but with plenty of foot in active close support. Use the Crusader Mixed Order to rest the knights between combats. Keep numbers of foot archers near the knights as well to deal with the many enemy horse archers who will otherwise simply fire with impunity into the cavalry. This is a good army for any level of player. Stands Permitted Troop Type Armour Morale Training Weapon Figures/ Stand Point Value Basic Army 1 Commander-in-Chief Fully Mailed Cavalry Veterans Irregular Lance & Shield 3 54 1 0-2 Crusader Generals Fully Mailed Cavalry Veterans Irregular Lance & Shield 3 39 1 0-1* Military Order General Fully Mailed Cavalry Elite Or Fanatic Trained or Irregular Lance & Shield 3 42 or 41 0 6-18 Crusader Knights Fully Mailed Cavalry Veterans Irregular Lance & Shield 3 14 8 2-6* Military Order Knights Fully Mailed Cavalry Elite Or Fanatic Trained or Irregular Lance & Shield 3 15 or 14 0 0-6 Upgrade Crusader Knights to Fanatics +2 0 4-16 Turcopoles Skirmish Cavalry Warriors Irregular Lance, Bow & Shield 2 5 8 0-8* Military Order Turcopoles Skirmish Cavalry Veterans Trained Lance, Bow & Shield 2 7 0 8-32 Crusader Foot Lightly Armoured Infantry Warriors Irregular Long Spear & Shield Or Crossbow 4 4 5 4 8 8 Any Upgrade Lightly Armoured Infantry to Heavy Infantry +1 0 1* Byzantine Ally General Heavy Cavalry Warrior Trained Lance, Bow & Shield 3 39 0 2-6* Byzantine Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Warrior Trained 1/2 Lance & Shield 1/2 Bow 3 14 13 0 0 0-6* Byzantine Infantry Lightly Armoured Infantry Poor Trained Long Spear or Bow & Shield 4 5 0 0-6* Byzantine Psiloi Skirmish infantry Warriors Trained CB, Sl, B, J & Shield 2 3 0 8-16* Armenian Foot Uuarmored Warriors Irregular Javelins & Shield 3 3 8 6-12* Armenians Skirmishers Skirmish Infantry Warriors Irregulars Bows 2 1 6 0-18 Maronites Unarmoured Infantry Warriors Irregulars Bows & Shields 3 3 6 0-6 Italian Sailors Heavy Infantry Warriors Irregular Crossbows 4 5 0 0-12 Archers Skirmish Infantry Warriors Irregular Bows 2 1 0 0-12 Garrison Foot Unarmoured Infantry Poor Irregular Spear & Shield 4 3 0 0-1/2 Upgrade Garrison troops to Lightly Armoured Infantry Warriors +2 0 0-1 True Cross Holy Relic 30 0 Any Upgrade any kinghts or generals to Armoured Cavalry +2 0 Notes: Up to 6 knights may use wedge. The Holy Relic is ignored by Byzantines. Byzantines are not allowed in an Edessa army. Foot sergeants of one type may not be more than double that of the other. More Armies For Medieval Warfare Cilician Armenian: Late 11th to Late 14th Centuries Later Crusader Kingdoms: Early 12th to Late 13th Centuries Back to Saga #75 Table of Contents Back to Saga List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 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