Carmanian tactics

From: Svechin_at_cs.com
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 11:44:10 EST


TIM asked:
>Also I am interested in RW analogues for Carmanian war tactics esp wrt
>Cavalry tactics, armour etc. Could anyone help on this ?

Best period would be around 1150 Crusader states tactics mixed with a dollop of 14th & 15th century Burgundy under Charles the Bold (esp his campaigns against the Swiss), however due to the odd blend of stirrup wearing shock cavalry mixed with actual hoplites, it is a bit difficult to put the Carmanians into a direct RW analogy. The Carmanians also field Janissaries and city communal regiments of halberdeers and pikemen.

Also it would help if you specified which period of Carmanian tactics you were looking for, they have evolved a lot over the millenia or so they have been kicking around as a state.

Books on Crusader tactics that are detailed yet a quick study would be:

"Crusading Warfare 1097-1193" by R. C. Smail with the follow on to that work "Warfare in the Latin East 1192-1291" by Christopher Marshall both available from Cambridge or on Amazon.com.

Verbruggen's "The Art of Warfare in Western Europe" is another excellent read with much information on infantry in a medieval period. The Carmanians field a strong infantry. Verbruggen will show why only states with a combined arms force were triumphant in the long run.

Due to the influence of the Char-un on the Carmanians in the last 100 years they also have a good comparison going for them with 13th century Hungary. The Osprey book "Hungary and the Fall of Eastern Europe" has some good info on a knightly culture interacting with the nomadic, though they lacked a large and well appointed infantry.

Kelly Devries has a nice short book "Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourtheenth Century" that has some great info on the Swiss and the Catalan Grand Company and how they defeated shock cavalry.

I've an ongoing document on the Carmanian military which may see light of day when I've finished working through their military evolution but it is a low burn project when compared to the other things I am working on. Time! Oh for infinite time!

Martin Laurie

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