<b>Important Battles<b>

The following battles, not yet described in any of the previous articles, were of some importance during the middle ages for a variety of reasons. Either they showed great strategy, had a decisive effect in politics or brought about a change in tactics. The listed battles are diverse, ranging from the ideal chivalrous battle to bloody, one-sided, melees.
Described are the battles of Bouvines, Ane, Lewes, Evesham, the Marchfeld, Worringen, Kortrijk (Courtrai), Mhldorf, Otterburn, Bryn Glas (Pilleth), Detern, Wilde Ackers, and Montlhry.

<i>The Battle of Bouvines (1214)<i>

The early 13th century saw a huge war in western Europe. France, the Low Countries, England, the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy were all involved in this game of political domination. The previous century had not been kind to France, as a large part of the territory came into English hands through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with Henry II of England. Only about a third of modern day France was still in French hands, but after the death of Henry II the tide seemed to turn. Philippe II Augustus became King of France, and war soon broke out with King John of England. The Holy Roman Empire chose John's side, but the Papacy was displeased with the Emperor and appointed a new one, causing civil war. Most of the Low Countries sided with the reigning Emperor, as they felt threatened by Philippe's expansionist policies and feared they might be usurped.

In 1214, then, the war reached an explosive conclusion at the battle of Bouvines. Facing an allied army including Flemish, Hollanders, Germans, English, Brabanders and Limburgers, King Philippe II Augustus commanded only his feudal host and the troops of his vassals, most notably those of Burgundy. Even though the Imperials caught the French by surprise, the latter managed to fight a successful rearguard action and lined up well. The French right flank fought the Flemish wing to a standstill, but the French centre was nearly overwhelmed. At that moment, the French left flank carved its way through the opposing English troops and flanked the Imperial centre. A general rout was the result, but a Brabander schiltron fought on, successfully covering the retreat and allowing the Emperor to escape. Nevertheless, the end result was a total loss for the Emperor, King John and the Flemish, who were soon after added to the Kingdom of France.
(For more information on the tactics used in the battle, see the history section of the scenario "1214 - Bouvines", included with Age of Chivalry: Hegemony.)


<i>The Battle of Ane (1227)<i>

In 1227, the Bishop of Utrecht (in the Low Countries) had fallen on hard times. A significant part of his territories was rebelling against him. Sending out a splendid army, in quality up to royal standards, dressed in the finest armour, riding the noblest horses, the force marched north. The rebels meeting them were of little value to a general: peasants, both male and female, backed up by only a small amount of professional soldiers.
The knights decided the best way to break the rebels was to perform a frontal charge, and off they went, charging across the field next to the rebel encampment. But the army would soon learn the importance of reconnaissance: the field was actually a marsh, and the poor knights charged to their deaths. The light rebel troops moved agilely from dry patch to dry patch, killing the knights wherever they could. The Bishops army had been annihilated, lost in the swamp.


<i>The Battles of Lewes (1264) and Evesham (1265)<i>

England saw two major Baronial Revolts in the 13th century, during the reigns of king John and king Henry III. The second one was more severe, and saw the establishment of (a primitive type of) Parliament.
The French-born earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort (son of Simon de Montfort the Cathar-persecutor), as well as a number of other nobles, were displeased with the way king Henry ruled England. He governed primarily with the help of a few foreign advisors, whom he rewarded lavishly, and made many disputed policy decisions. He lost wars in Wales and France and incurred huge debts.
The barons forced king Henry to accept demands for reform, which included appointing a twelve-men council to help advise the monarch. King Henry refused to accept these terms, and despite papal negotiations a crisis developed. War came about in 1264.
Large parts of the country, most principally London, were on the hand of the barons, also called the reformers. The king's men could not capture London, but many of the other baronial strongholds fell quickly.

Simon de Montfort saw his chances of success diminishing, and knew he had to strike quickly or forever lose the initiative. Having fought in the Holy Land, Wales, as well as France, he had plenty of experience commanding men, and from London led his forces south, to the village of Lewes, where the Royal army was located. Advancing silently by night, capturing the look-outs, he had the element of surprise. The first royal to realise the danger was prince Edward (later to become king Edward I), who quickly gathered his troops (all cavalrymen) and charged the baronial left flank, routing them. Caught up in his success, he chased the refugees down for many miles.
Meanwhile, the king and his brother, Richard, earl of Cornwall, commanded the rest of the army - but they were outfought and the king had to take shelter in the castle. It was then that prince Edward returned, realising his chase had cost his father the day. Fighting his way through the baronial besiegers, he joined his father in the castle, but negotiations soon brought about the surrender of the place. The reformers seemed to have won.

But it turned out to be an empty victory, after all. A number of barons defected the cause (partly because of the behaviour of the De Montfort family - Simon behaved as if he was the new king, and his sons were infamous for their arrogance) and with their help prince Edward managed to escape. The young prince had more brains than his father, whose imprisonment turned out to be healthy to the royalist cause. Edward rallied most of the barons back to his side, and when Simon de Montfort moved into Wales, to negotiate with Llywelyn II, Edward trapped them inside by guarding all the crossings of the Severn. Simon de Montfort broke out, and marched east to his castle of Kenilworth, where his son had gathered a large force. For the night, Simon stopped at the monastery of Evesham.

Perfectly calculating baronial movements, prince Edward first raided Kenilworth, captured many baronial banners, and then marched on Evesham, the place he expected De Montfort to spend the night. The following day Simon prepared to move again, when his scouts spotted a large host moving towards their position. At first they thought they were their own men, as they had baronial banners, but then they realised it was actually prince Edward - and they had been tricked. Surrounded from all sides (the river at their back), Simon de Montfort formed his men up in a triangle and charged the royal army. The line veered back a bit, but then the prince sent in his cavalry and the baronials were surrounded. Only a few survived, as the royal army gave no quarters. The battle meant the defeat of the baronial cause as well as the liberation of the king, and after a few months most of the remaining rebels had surrendered. Yet Parliament was maintained.


<i>The Battle of the Marchfeld (1278)<i>

The Battle of the Marchfeld (also called the Battle of Drnkrut) was one of the larger battles of the middle ages, and, like Bouvines and Durnkrt, clearly showed the political weakness of the Holy Roman Empire. Ottokar II Premysl, King of Bohemia, had laid claim to the rulerless territories of Austria, including Carinthia and Styria. The newly appointed King of the Romans (an honorary title for the next Emperor), Rudolf I von Habsburg, wished to retain Austria for himself; traditionally the Habsburgs did not have a large inheritance, and, if he were to rule effectively, he required a greater power base. Many Imperial princes were keen to support Rudolf: the Habsburgs were, at the time, a virtually powerless family, while the Bohemian King had extended his territories significantly. The prince wished to maintain a balance of power. Nevertheless, some of the greater Imperial and neighbouring princes, including the Duke of Lower Bavaria, the Archbishop of Cologne and the King of Poland, supported Ottokar.

While invading Austria, Ottokar II and his allies encamped on the Marchfeld near Stillfried, presumably in an attempt to force battle. This they got, and the King of the Romans arrived with his allies and vassals. The principal ally present was the King of Hungary, who had brought a large amount of Cuman cavalry. The Marchfeld, a floodplain of the river Donau, now became flooded with soldiers - estimates say some 30 000 on both sides, which seems high, but not impossible due to the large coalitions and the stakes at hand - but the infantry was apparently never engaged, and were tasked simply to guard their respective camps. Infantry clearly was not valued very highly, and, besides, the flat bank of the Donau was more suited to cavalry combat, anyway. Rudolf I divided his cavalry in two wings, each three men deep. In total, he is supposed to have had some 9000 cavalry men (4500 of which were heavy cavalry), a massive amount; obviously not all of these were top quality or knights. Ottokar's army was no less impressive, with a total of perhaps 12000 men (6500 of which were heavy cavalry) in a formation similar to Rudolf's.

However, luck was not on Ottokar's side, and his army was attacked on the flanks by 4000 Cuman cavalry archers. The Bohemian knights were too heavily armoured to successfully pursue them, and were, as a result, quickly demoralised by the nimble archers. When the heavy cavalry of each side finally came to blows, a lengthy melee developed. Eventually, however, Rudolf released surprise attacks on the Bohemian wings, and the Bohemian force was slowly but steadily surrounded. An attempt by Ottokar to send some troops around the Austrian wing and attack them from behind was interpreted by his troops as a rout, and soon the Bohemian King's army was in flight. Ottokar II died in the battle; Rudolf I retained control of Austria and had created a powerbase the Habsburgs would use for centuries to come.


<i>The Battle of Worringen (1288)<i>

The War of the Succession of Limburg, in which both the Duke of Brabant and the Count of Luxembourg claimed lordship over Limburg, came to an end in 1288, at the battle of Worringen, near Cologne. Both claimants had amassed large armies, including the forces of many allies. The Duke of Brabant brought to his side troops from Holland, Looz, Julich, Berg, Kleve and the citizens of Cologne. The lord of Luxembourg had the Count of Guelders, the Archbishop of Cologne, the lord of Valkenburg and a variety of other lords on his side. Perhaps Luxembourg outnumbered Brabant in terms of cavalry, but we do not know for sure. In all probability the armies were about 4000-5000 men strong each, about 2000 of those being cavalry.

The Brabanders were besieging the castle of Worringen when their enemies attacked them. The Brabanders and their allies awaited the enemies, and then the lines locked in a bloody melee. As the Luxembourg front was wider, Brabant was in danger of being outflanked. However, the troops of Guelders busied themselves with looting the Brabander camp rather than using the opportunity, and the Brabanders threw in a reserve to secure the position. The battle lasted for hours, with little movement. As knights dealt and received blows, the Count of Luxembourg was slain as he tried to fight his way to the Duke of Brabant. The Archbishop of Cologne was wounded and captured, as was the Count of Guelders. When the Archbishop's banner, positioned in a sort of mobile fortress, was toppled by the Brabanders, the soldiers rallied round the lord of Valkenburg, and although they fought valiantly, there was no more chance of winning the battle. After a bloody melee lasting from 9 am to 5 pm, Brabant had come out victorious in the struggle and assured themselves possession of the Duchy of Limburg.


<i>The Battle of Kortrijk (1302)<i>

A series of conflicts between the Count of Flanders and the King of France had led to the arrest and imprisonment of the former. The King hoped, in this way, to personally acquire the rich province of Flanders, then in the north of the Kingdom of France. However, he had not counted on the powerful, independent-minded urban middle class, and a prolonged military conflict was revived. To reassert royal authority, King Philippe IV sent an army led by Robert of Artois into Flanders. The Flemish urban militias, consisting primarily of men from Brugge and Gent, and commanded by a variety of noblemen (principally Gwij van Namen, Willem van Gulik, Jan van Renesse and Robrecht van Bethune), went out to besige Kortrijk, a vital city as it was on the road to the heart of Flanders. The French army arrived on the spot to try and break up the siege.

The Flemish, well aware of the arrival of the French, took up an almost impeccable defensive position: with the moat of the city protecting their right flank, the river Leie protecting their rear and left flank and a stream running in front of their entire, curved, position, the French were forced to a strategy of frontal assault. The Flemish relied largely on polearms, more specifically the "Goedendag"; a Flemish weapon, a dagger-like blade fixed to a long pole. Coming from the rich middle classes and town guilds, the majority wore excellent armour and had had proper training and real esprit de corps. A mass of spears and goedendags pointed outwards, challenging whoever dared to try their worst.

The French, mostly consisting of cavalrymen, did dare, and did try. After a duel between the crossbowmen of either side, the Flemish were bested and they withdrew behind the infantry, leaving their crossbows - with strings cut - behind to possible impede an enemy advance. Then the French infantry came on, but they were easily repulsed.
It was then that the French cavalry advanced, in massive, tightly packed formations. They had some difficulty jumping or crossing the stream, and found it practically impossible to make any impression on the Flemish infantry, who did not waver for an instant. The French cavalry kept coming, time and again, throwing themselves against the Flemish positions without achieving a breakthrough. When Robert of Artois tried to surrender himself, the Flemish cynically told him there was no one there who could speak his language (French), and they killed him. Shortly after the battle turned into a French retreat, and the Flemish chased down and killed as many as they could. Because most of the French horses had been killed, even the French knights were reduced to running. The Flemish used their battle-cry, "Vlaanderen ende Leu!" to distinguish between friend and foe; however, when they realised that the troops from Brabant, who also spoke Dutch, were using the shout to appear Flemish and escape imprisonment or death, they in stead killed anyone found wearing spurs. No prisoners were taken, and presumably some 1250 knights and squires, the flower of the French chivalry, were slain.


<i>The Battle of Mhldorf (1322)<i>

Yet another Imperial power struggle, this time between the Duke of Bavaria, the Emperor Ludwig, and the Duke of Austria, Friedrich the Fair of Habsburg. Friedrich was ravaging Bavaria with his army, when he was attacked by a larger army led by the Emperor. While he could have withdrawn and awaited the reinforcements his brother Leopold was already directing towards him, Friedrich valiantly decided to seek battle, perhaps in a vain attempt to imitate his ancestor Rudolf I at the Marchfeld, perhaps because the Bavarians had cut off their retreat. He could bring only 1400 knights into the field, assisted by some 5-600 Cuman horse archers, compared to Ludwig's 1800 heavy cavalry (the Duke of Bavaria had received assistance from Johann, King of Bohemia).

Friedrich tried to catch his opponent off-guard by sending his Cuman cavalry past a small stream to outflank them; however, Ludwig had anticipated this, and the Hungarians were defeated by knights under the Burgrave of Nrnberg. The main bodies then came into conflict, but not for long: the Duke of Austria and Imperial claimant received his own medicin, when the Burgrave of Nrnberg continued his advance and caught the Austrians in the flank. Not only outnumbered, but also outfought, the latter stood no chance, and were easily dispersed. Friedrich the Fair was captured but, in a surprising and unprecedented move, Ludwig offered him the position of co-regent of the Empire.


<i>The Battle of Otterburn (1388)<i>

In 1388 the Scots launched a major raid into northern England, with the intent of exacting protection money from the locals and bringing a blow to the English army. Splitting up into two, part of the force went to besiege Carlisle, while the other half, commanded by the Earl of Douglas, went down the Newcastle road. They bypassed Durham and then halted outside Newcastle, where an English force commanded by the sons of the Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy the Younger (Hotspur) and Ralph Percy, caught up with them. Although there was some skirmishing, it did not come to battle, and the following day the Scottish abandoned the position and marched north, halting at Otterburn in an attempt to capture the castle.

Hotspur, with over double the amount of troops the Scottish had at their disposal, found out about the siege and, confident because of the larger numbers of his army, headed towards Otterburn without waiting for reinforcements from the Bishop of Durham. The English van attacked advanced Scottish positions around dinner time; however, they did not press on and the Scottish had time to arm themselves and form up. Because they had been there for a day already, the Scottish knew the situation well, and positioned part of their forces on a hill facing the English flank, who were still fighting with the Scots on the outskirts of their camp.

Night was now falling fast, but there was a bright moon and the battle continued unabated. The Scottish charged down the hill into the English flank, causing serious harm. The English rallied, as they had the greater numbers, and a fierce fight developed. Ralph Percy was heavily wounded in the melee and captured, and James Douglas, too, received an injury, which proved fatal. To mask his death, his servants kept his banner flying, and the battle continued. When Hotspur, too, was captured, the battle was lost for the English, and they retreated in disarray. The Bishop of Durham did not dare to attack the victorious Scottish force, and turned back. After a hard-fought battle, the defences of Northumberland had been dealt a serious blow.


<i>The Battle of Bryn Glas (1402)<i>

Owain Glyndwr, a Welsh nobleman, had risen in revolt against Henry VI in 1400. He met with wild successes, overrunning all of Wales, as the majority of Welshmen joined in in the fight against English oppression. The Crown could do relatively little as their presence in Wales was reduced to garrisoning castles, the troops often not even daring to enter the towns beside the castle for fear of being attacked. English noblemen on the border were being plagued by regular raids, and, as there was no royal help forthcoming, they banded together to try and defeat Glyndwr. After one raid, Roger Mortimer, the most important English nobleman on the border, went in hot pursuit after the Welshmen, his army consisting of perhaps 2500 men. The Welsh may have had some 1200 men.

Glyndwr, after having led the English on for a while, decided to halt at Bryn Glas, a steep hill, well suited to his archers and favouring a strong defence. As it was getting late, the English spent the night in camp opposite the Welsh position, but the following day they were attacked by Welsh archers down in the valley. As the English attacked, the Welsh withdrew up the hill, where the main body of their army lay in wait. The Welsh were, however, well camouflaged, and the English charge petered out into nothing as they could not come to grips with their foe. Then, when the English were recovering from the steep climb, the Welsh troops charged down the hill, both cavalry and infantry, firing arrows and throwing spears into the English position and causing considerable disorder.

Just at that moment, a large contingent of Welsh archers, which had been recruited by the English, turned against their masters, and sent punishing volleys into the English flank. Attacked from all sides, and unable to distinguish friend from foe, the English army collapsed into a mass of refugees. They broke and fled, many of them being killed by the nimble light horse. A number of English nobles were captured, among them Edmund Mortimer. When it turned out that King Henry IV was unwilling to pay his ransom, he turned coat and joined the Welsh in their revolt, which would continue until at least 1409.


<i>The Battles of Detern (1426) and Wilde Ackers (1427)<i>

Ocko tom Broke was an east-Frisian leader who united a considerable part of the area under him. However, he reigned like an autocrat, ignoring the previous democratic customs. The other Frisian chieftains disapproved of this - Focko Ukena united them and sought battle.
Ocko tom Broke received aid from the counts of Oldenburg, Hoya, Rietberg, Diepholz, Tecklenburg, and the archbishop of Bremen. The exact size of their army is unknown, but the high rank of their leaders imply it was both well equiped and numerous.
To put against that, Focko Ukena had a typical Frisian army, drawn from the working classes of villages and small towns and local chieftains; Friesland had no real nobility to speak of and no knightly traditions. On 27 September 1426 he confronted the German armies coming to Ocko tom Broke's aid near Detern. The army numbers given for both sides are 11000 for Ocko's allies and 3000 for Focko. The first force seems rather large, though is likely accurate for paper strength; 8000-9000 seems a reasonable estimation, in any case. Focko's numbers may be accurate.
He cleverly used the lay of the land to his advantage, choosing a position along a swamp, preventing the enemy to attack by that way; he then flooded another area so the enemy could only attack along the dike, which cancelled out their numerical advantage. They were defeated, against the odds, and suffered at least 300 casualties. Among the dead were the counts of Diepholz and Rietberg; the archbishop of Bremen was captured.

The following year, and presumably after much maneuvring, Focko Ukena marched with his army towards Burg Broke, the nerve centre of the Tom Broke government. Rather than being besieged, Ocko sallied and was defeated. Apparently both sides lost some 400 men, which is quite a considerable number considering the largely rural background of East Friesland. Tom Broke and his brother Itze were captured. Tom Broke's rule ended there and then.
After Wilde Ackers, Ukena himself became the domineering ruler he had fought against, causing the population to feel betrayed. The Cirksena family then united seven of the twenty-four Frisian states against him and forced him to retire to his family castle, where he eventually died.


<i>The Battle of Montlhry (1465)<i>

Discontent with the reign of King Louis XI, a number of French noble families formed the "League of the Public Weal". Louis had been rather fervent in asserting his own power and limiting that of his nobles, yet they were still powerful enough to damage him if possible. They appealed to the independent Duke of Burgundy, Philippe the Good, to help them out. Although Philippe himself now old and ailing, his son, Charles, the Count of Charolais (later known as Charles the Bold), saw this as an effective means to curb French royal power and extend his own influence over northern France.
Leading an army into his opponent's country, Charles marched south of Paris, where he effected a rendezvous with his French allies, and confronted the French King. The armies were about equal in strength, counting about 1200 men-at-arms, both of excellent quality with good leaders. The French King also had a number of loyal Scottish soldiers, who would more than prove their worth.

The French advanced through forested ground towards the Burgundians, who, when they saw this, marched forward to halt them. The footmen were so impetuous that they did not give their own archers time to fire, and almost immediately the two lines crashed into each other. The left flank of the Burgundian army, commanded by the lords of Ravenstein and Saint-Pol, was outnumbered and routed, the troops from Savoy and the Dauphin pursuing them, thinking the entire army had been beaten. However, once they had reached the forest in their rear, Saint-Pol rallied as many men as possible.
Meanwhile, on the Burgundian right flank, the opposite had happened, and Charles of Charolais, too, went in hot pursuit after his beaten foe. He pursued them to the village of Montlhry, and, with only a small company, did great damage to the French. Nevertheless, their pursuit carried them far from the field, and for a time Charles, who was fighting his first battle, would not listen to the advice of some more experienced captains.

Anthony of Burgundy, bastard brother of Charles, was still holding his own in the centre, and managed to kill the King's horse. As Louis fell to the ground, the Burgundians surged forward, believing him to be dead and the day theirs. Luckily for Louis, his Scottish troops formed a tight circle around him and valiantly defended him; the Burgundians could not break through and once again the battle stabilised and both sides drifted off, the King withdrawing to a nearby castle while Anthony stayed on the field with perhaps as few as 40 men-at-arms, his standard torn in the bloody melee.
As he waited in great fear, Charles returned to the battlefield with about 30 men-at-arms, and then, in the distance, Saint-Pol too returned, picking up lances for his men as they came on in good order. While they marched, their numbers grew, as refugees returned to his standard. Now counting some 800 men-at-arms, the Burgundians were in a better state, but exhausted and in no state to resume battle. As dusk approached, both armies spent an uneasy night in their camps. When morning came, it was discovered that Louis and his army had retreated.
Both sides claimed victory on the field of Montlhry.
