Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 267: The Battle Strategy of the Imperial Order
The intensity, efficiency, frequency... of wars in the Middle Ages are difficult to compare with those in later generations.

For military strategists with a strategic vision, games outside the battlefield are equally important.

After Saladin lost Acre, the army in Transjordan took advantage of the situation and marched northward. In November, a season not suitable for large-scale military operations, they set up ferry positions and threatened Jerusalem, forcing Saladin to divert his attention and withdraw troops to consolidate the defense in the rear.

In the process, Saladin was forced to give up approximately 1,500 square kilometers of land and the fertile Acre Plain.

In order to avoid the Crusaders, they took advantage of the opportunity and attacked Jerusalem with great force.

The Muslim army in Damascus also took advantage of the situation and made a move to attack the territories of Tyre and Toruń.

This action pinned down the main force of the Crusaders, and when the enemy did not intend to engage in a battle, it was difficult for the main force of the Crusaders who had captured Acre to move south in large numbers.

Of course, November and December, the cold rainy season, are indeed not suitable for fighting.

In this way, the task of recovering the lost territory ceded by Saladin was handed over to a newly formed army.

That is the Knights Imperial Order.

The overall size of the Imperial Order is indeed not large, with three battalions and a total of 3 squadrons under its jurisdiction.

Each brigade has 320 people, plus the Knights' direct departments, a total of about people
But these thousand men, in a sense, are the best-equipped thousand men in the entire Crusaders.

It's the result of pure spending money.

In pursuit of mobility, everyone in the Knights Templar rides a horse, even the purely logistical support personnel move on horseback.

In order to pursue firepower to attack, the Knights were equipped with 12 cannons with only one thousand people.

In order to pursue cavalry charges, the entire 120 knights of the Knights Templar were heavily armed cavalry.

In order to conduct reconnaissance and pursuit, in addition to the heavy cavalry, there were also 120 lightly armed attendants.

In order to have a stable position, there are 480 mounted infantrymen.

There were even 240 full-time attendants to maintain military equipment, raise horses, and provide supplies...

Such a knightly group did not have any outstanding performance in the previous siege of Acre.

Of course, the formation of the Imperial Order Knights was not actually intended for the siege of Acre.

Instead, we have to wait until this stage before we can draw the sword.

Just as Saladin commented on November in Palestine, in the winter rain, quality of soldiers is more important than quantity.

The form of war also changed from the coming and going of large-scale troops of tens of thousands of people to local battlefield games involving thousands of people.

With the main force being pinned down by enemy forces in the direction of Damascus, the only ones who could go south to recover lost territory were the Knights of the Imperial Decree.

In order to ensure the success of this operation and truly help the Second Kingdom gain a strategic buffer zone, it is necessary to completely recover the Principality of Galilee.

Gailis even joined the Knights himself to command the operation.

The destination of this operation was Nazareth, the small town where Jesus was born.

[The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth.]

—Luke 1:26
Nazareth is located 30 kilometers southeast of Acre. It is a small town in the hills. After Saladin defeated Guy's main army in the Battle of the Jordan River, his troops quickly swept across large tracts of land in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The small town of Nazareth quickly surrendered after a brief resistance.

After the war, the town, like other occupied areas, was ruled by a Turkic nomadic tribe.

Although Saladin has drawn a large number of troops from the north, making the north currently in a relatively empty state, this does not mean that Gairis can move forward unimpeded.

After all, there are still quite a lot of blind guys who have made a living on this land and are reluctant to leave.

"People die for money, birds die for food." This sentence, spoken by Gairis, aptly points out the choice made by the Turkic tribe that occupied Nazareth.

The traditional Turkic tribal armies were composed of a large number of light cavalry, armed with javelins, scimitars, and bows and arrows.

These light cavalry were very good at using various ambushes and tricks. In battles, the Turks did not form dense formations to advance forward, but were divided into a large number of teams, surrounding the front and flanks, constantly firing arrows, and only launching small-scale charges when they saw a good opportunity.

This is the situation that Gellis is facing now. On his way from Acre to Nazareth, he was attacked by a nomadic tribe.

It was a bit tricky, but not troublesome, although the only troop he had was a brigade of Imperial Order Knights.

The battle between Christians and a series of nomadic tribes, the Turks, lasted for hundreds of years. For those who were good at summarizing experience and learning knowledge from books of their predecessors, how to make a decision was an extremely simple matter.

Garys did not choose to use his own force to break the situation directly, nor did he take over the command personally.

Based on the idea of ​​testing the Knights' combat effectiveness, Mono is still in command.

Monod was knighted by Balian in 1187, and continued to support Balian in the following two years.

Therefore, he also became a captain in the Imperial Order.

The Imperial Order is actually quite different from other knightly orders of this era.

Because the Imperial Order was a purely military organization, its logistics and gunpowder supplies were all the responsibility of the Ministry of Military Affairs.

For Mono, there is not much to worry about as the captain.

All he needed to consider was training his troops and how to defeat the enemy.

Based on past experience, Mono issued an order that was somewhat contrary to the ordinary knight's intuition.

All the people except the knights and armed attendants dismounted, and the mounted infantry groups, combined with the artillery carts, formed a relatively loose fan-shaped formation.

The horses used as walking horses were led to the rear of the line by the servants.

If mounted infantry are not well trained, they are just infantry. Riding a horse is convenient for them to maneuver, but it does not mean that they know how to use weapons on horseback.

In fact, the training time for a cavalryman in the Middle Ages was as short as three years and as long as ten years, which is difficult to replace or simplify.

When these 160 mounted infantrymen formed a basic battle line, the knights and armed attendants in the brigade were divided into two teams to protect the flanks.

After the line was built, Mono gathered the artillery belonging to each squadron, pushed them to the front row and began loading.

In "Tactics", Lilio suggested that Byzantine generals fighting against the Turks should seize the opportunity as soon as possible and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

And Gellis advised his troops who had artillery to remember to load their artillery with shotgun shells during the battle with the Turks.

The lethality of a horse bow or cavalry bow is actually quite limited, and this issue has been deliberately blurred by many people in the 21st century.

According to Garys's memory from his previous life, there seemed to be a program called "The Secret of Ancient Weapons Revealed". In order to prove the combat effectiveness of the Mongolian cavalry, they specially found a "breast plate armor" and put it on pork and shot it.

In the show, the archer easily shot through the "breast plate armor".

But Garys did not think that the Mongolian cavalry was unmatched in the world. Instead, he questioned the authenticity of the program and whether the brother who wrote the program script was stupid.

Because from the side, the so-called "breastplate" is probably as thick as the shell of a can of luncheon meat...

And in Baidu Encyclopedia, there are also two sentences that make people really unbearable.

[The Mongolian bow used by the light cavalry had a pulling force of about 166 pounds (basically the maximum), and an effective range of 320 meters, which was similar to the British longbow at the time. The maximum weight of the British longbow was 80 kilograms. ]

[The main weapon of the light cavalry was the bow. This was a very large bow, requiring at least 166 pounds of draw weight, and a shooting range of 200 to 300 yards.]

Mongolian bow has a pulling force of 166 pounds?
Not to mention, the pulling force of 166 is equivalent to lifting an adult man. It is difficult to pull a bow on the ground, let alone pull a bow on horseback.

The inconsistency of the Baidu Encyclopedia entry for "Mongol Cavalry" is self-contradictory. It says above that the maximum weight is 166 pounds, but below it says that it requires at least 166 pounds.

Having come into contact with the light cavalry of this era, Garys was well aware of how difficult it was to draw a bow on horseback.

The force of a riding bow can reach 60 pounds, which is an incredible number.

The drawing force of nomadic bows such as Mongolian bows, Turkish bows, and Hun bows is usually in the range of 30-70 pounds.

It can be divided into light bow or heavy bow, among which the light bow basically has a pulling force of 30-40 pounds, which is suitable for fast riding and shooting and long-term combat.

Heavy bows are basically around 50-70 pounds. Of course, there are higher ones, which are often used for close-range armor penetration. They are far from the so-called 166-pound level...

In terms of shooting distance, the effective range of a horse bow generally does not exceed sixty steps, and if it is for effective lethality, it will not even exceed thirty steps.

Of course, this effective lethality does not mean that it can effectively penetrate armor.
Take the Qing Dynasty as an example. The Qing bow that could penetrate armor was actually a type of infantry bow, not a cavalry bow.

The foot bow can be larger in size, and more force is used when pulling the bow, which also means that the foot bow can shoot farther and cause greater damage.

In addition, since they have to shoot the horse first when shooting at a person, light cavalry are at a great disadvantage when being shot at by infantry.

But in the eyes of the attacking Turks, the troops beside Gairis were a bit mediocre.

It seems that there are fewer cavalry and more infantry, but although there are many infantry, very few of them are equipped with bows and crossbows.

It seemed that for a time, the Turks were able to suppress not only the number of cavalry of the Franks, but also the Frankish infantry with bows and crossbows.

As for artillery?

For these Turks who had not directly participated in Saladin's army, they were still relatively unfamiliar and did not recognize them for a while.

They are still stuck in an old era.

……

When the battle broke out, it was noon. The sun was scorching the earth, and the air was mixed with the smell of dry dust and the sour taste of sweat. The first battalion of the Imperial Order Knights was waiting in a low-lying valley. They were wearing heavy armor, and their eyes were cold under their masks.

In the distance, the Turkic light cavalry were advancing tentatively, their horse bows already drawn, the arrows on the strings flashing coldly.

"Hold on, don't fire!" Captain Mono rode on a horse, holding a long sword, his voice was calm and majestic.

He raised his hand to signal, and the soldier stood still like a statue.

The enemy's scouts began to approach, and several Turkic cavalrymen sped up their horses, trying to test the formation's reaction.

Suddenly, the first roar of artillery fire tore through the air, and a strong smell of gunpowder filled the air.

The shotgun shells scattered everywhere, making sharp sounds of breaking through the air.

In an instant, several war horses fell down neighing, and their riders were thrown into the air, and the enemy's formation was suddenly in chaos.

To the untrained Turkic war horses, this sudden loud noise was like thunder.

The panicked horses ran around and the team began to lose control.

A Turkic cavalryman tried to pull the reins, but was hit by a shotgun shell from behind and fell off his horse with a scream.

However, the war horses of the Imperial Knights were as steady as rocks.

In order to acclimate these war horses to the sound of cannons, the knights underwent countless live-fire training exercises, and the horses had long since become accustomed to the loud noises.

Now, these tall war horses are like an iron wall, waiting for the order to charge.

Another cannon fired, and metal bullets poured out like raindrops of death, and the front row of the Turkic light cavalry fell down.

The blood mist spread in the sunlight, and the tragic scene made the enemy even more confused.

Several Turks rushed into the infantry formation in a panic, and blood splattered as the infantry's spears clashed.

"Deus vult!"

Seeing that the time was right, Mono raised his sword high and took the lead in riding his horse into the enemy camp.

The knights behind him were like a torrent of steel, and with the neighing of horses and the clashing of armor, they charged straight into the remaining enemy formation.

The Turks had not yet recovered from the shock of the artillery fire, and were completely helpless against the oncoming heavy cavalry charge.

Spears pierced the chest, swords split the cervical vertebrae, and the enemy formation completely collapsed.

However, Monod did not let victory get to his head. He stopped his horse and looked in the direction where the enemy was fleeing, and calmly raised his hand to signal to stop the pursuit.

At the moment they were marching in an unfamiliar area and were not sure whether there were more enemies around. If they rashly pursued them, the heavier-dressed Imperial Knights would not have an advantage.

Garys saw all these scenes.

It can be said that in these two years, many people have made great progress and become more mature.

Mono, who has followed Balian for the past two years, has understood one thing: the core of the Knights of the Imperial Order on the battlefield is not the knights nor the infantry, but the artillery.

The Imperial Order has a strength of one thousand people and a total of 12 cannons. This ratio is already quite high. The Imperial Order's combat method is centered around these cannons unless there is a need for high mobility.

In May, shortly after Barbarossa's death, Gaillis and Balian had discussed the Order at length.

It was in a study.

"Gailis, tell me, what chance do we have of winning against the Saracens?" Balian's voice was low and tired, but his eyes were firm.

He leaned over the edge of the long table with both hands, staring at the sheepskin map spread out in his hands. The map was densely marked with the places where wars with the Saracens had broken out in the past few decades.

Gellis stood beside the table, his figure shrouded in candlelight and shadow, and pointed to his head.

"The odds of success... never lie in brute strength, but in wisdom."

He ran his finger over the winding river on the map.

"When fighting the Turks, you need to be steady and cautious. The flanks and rear must be as solid as a rock. If possible, it is best to have your back to a river. They are good at riding and shooting like the wind, so it is foolish to confront them head on, but their weakness is that they cannot break through a stable line of defense."

Balian nodded at the time, understanding that this was all experience.

Gillis continued:

"The Eastern Romans would use their foot bows to fight the Turks, or rely on their cavalry to launch a decisive attack. But we don't need that."

"Our tactics are simpler - cavalry only protects the flanks, and infantry only protects artillery. No matter how the enemy provokes, as long as the defense line is solid, their final attack will be like water hitting stone."

Balian nodded silently.

However, Gellis did not stop. He continued in a low voice, "But fighting against a heavy infantry line is another matter."

"The heavy infantry are so densely packed that the knights' charge can't shake them at all. They are as solid as a city wall, but solid bullets can tear apart such a solid fortress."

"The bombardment will destroy their morale and their formation. That's when the knights will charge."

"The strength of the Order of the Knights lies not in martial arts, but in obedience. The utmost obedience! Any charge without following orders is a betrayal of the whole. The battlefield needs order."

Balian was silent for a moment and then let out a long sigh.

"Do you know how harsh these words are to some knights' ears? But you are right."

Garys is changing with the times, the old era of knights is passing away, and the new knights, in a sense, are just pawns and more expensive consumables.

As a model of the knights of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, he was powerless to stop it, nor would he try to stop it.

In 1512, the Spanish army and the Papal army attacked Ravenna. The French general Gaston, who was only 22 years old, was unable to hold his ground with the enemy due to lack of supplies and chose a quick battle.

In this battle, the French army had about 50 men and 30 artillery pieces, while the Allied forces had men and artillery pieces. Although they had fewer men, they built a semicircular fortification.

In that battle, the two sides engaged in an artillery battle that lasted for two hours. The artillery of the Allied forces alone caused 2000 casualties to the French infantry, so much so that the Gascon infantry had to be forced to hold their formation by the garrison servants with spears.

The coalition forces, whose artillery was outnumbered, were in an even more miserable situation. Unable to bear the enemy's artillery, the Spanish cavalry attacked on their own and attempted to destroy the French artillery positions.

This lack of order and organization in the attack was a great opportunity for the French Knights of the Imperial Order.

The Spanish cavalry was easily defeated, and the French infantry also launched a charge. When the battle became a stalemate, the imperial knights launched two more attacks and instantly defeated the coalition forces.

The French casualties in this battle reached between 3,000 and 4,500, while the Allied casualties reached 9,000.

Times have indeed changed, but the reason for the change is not simply because there are more artillery pieces. Simply having artillery pieces does not mean you can win.

Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold had superior bronze cannons, but was still knocked down three times by the Swiss mountaineers.

Therefore, even though the Knights of the Imperial Order had such superior equipment, he still followed and examined Mono's deployment of troops to ensure that they would not fall into the wrong perception of "weapons only".

This encounter was just a small episode on Garys's journey to Nazareth, but the impact of this episode was far-reaching.

After this battle, Gailis spent a lot of time regrouping his troops and arranging personnel to treat the wounded.

Those Turks who died in artillery fire and knights' charges were buried on the spot.

As for the Turkic captives or the wounded soldiers who were lucky enough to survive, Gailis did not treat them harshly. Instead, he arranged for people to guard them in accordance with the prisoner of war regulations.

The calculation of military merits, the treatment of the wounded, and even the burial of the bodies took a long time. When all these were almost done, it was almost evening and it was not suitable to continue the march.

An imperial order was issued to a large group of the Knights Templar to set up camp directly on the spot and arrange a roster of soldiers for night duty.

At noon the next day, at the gate of Nazareth, forty armed attendants led the way, followed by attendants escorting Turkish prisoners of war, followed by artillery and mounted infantry, and at the end of the marching column was Gellis surrounded by forty knights.

The news that the Kingdom of Jerusalem had defeated the Turkish tribes had been spreading like wildfire in Nazareth since yesterday, and the bravery and fighting skills of the imperial knights were also being sung among the people.

After determining the strength of our own and the enemy, the Turks fled overnight with all the wealth they had plundered over the past year, leaving behind an empty city with no one guarding it.

After a simple entry ceremony, Gellis accepted the allegiance of the locals of Nazareth on behalf of the kingdom.

He promised on the spot that Nazareth would be exempted from the poll tax like other cities in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and told the citizens to do so in a few months after the population census of the former Principality of Galilee was completed.

A by-election will be organized for the members of the House of Commons of the Kingdom's King's Landing Parliament.

The Principality of Galilee was the territory of Count Raymond of Tripoli in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, acquired through marriage.

As Raymond's testamentary heir, Gellis took over the crown from him and naturally inherited the Principality of Galilee legally.

For the Kingdom of Jerusalem, this actually means the further expansion of Gairis' power, and it is difficult for others to question it.

As previously arranged, the Principality of Galilee will be transformed into a territory directly under the royal jurisdiction, divided into counties and constituencies.

Whether it was abolishing the head tax or promising parliamentary elections, it was all about reassuring people's hearts, and these policies also effectively strengthened the local people's sense of belonging to the kingdom.

After all, compared with the "kind and generous" Gellis, those "evil" pagans are simply the embodiment of all kinds of injustice in the world.

After taking the prisoners into custody, Gellis arranged for Monod to continue contacting representatives of the local people of Nazareth.

He was led by a local priest to his destination, the Church of the Annunciation.

(End of this chapter)