Although there is very good information on the chivalry of the Middle Ages, the origin of the heavily armored cavalry in Western Europe remains a question that needs to be questioned. The latter may have been a mixture of the Great Migration of Peoples and the development of cavalry technology in the fourth and fifth centuries, and can be found in some early accounts.
Cavalry base of Germanic society
The earliest empirical evidence of Germanic cavalry should be a batch of excavations of relics from the 3rd century AD. The first was the discovery by archaeologists of a small army of nearly 200 spearmen, each armed with a throwing javelin with barbs and spears for assassination. Second, the excavators found 193 spearheads with barbs and another 187 without barbs, and about 1/3 of the soldiers also had carry-on weapons. At the same time, 63 belt buckles were unearthed, as well as 60 swords and 62 small knives originally worn on the belt.
According to scholars' analysis, the army was led by 10 or more commanders on horseback, as the excavated items also included 10 reins and 7 sets of spurs. By medieval standards, it seems that 10 "knights" of higher status fought with more than 200 infantry. But if we take into account the characteristics of the Vikings, the Onsars, and even the Irish and early Rus', it is difficult to determine whether these higher-ranking riders fought on horseback or merely used horses as a means of transportation. If the situation of the Swiss is taken into account, it is even possible that they are merely nobles who are scouts or on horseback to command the battle.
In the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD, the Germanic kingdom that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire enacted a large number of laws. According to these legal documents, the society ruled by the Germans during this period consisted essentially of three classes: freedmen, emancipated slaves, and slaves. In Rome, the descendants of emancipated slaves were freedmen in the full sense of the word. In contrast, in the Germanic regions, the status of emancipated slaves was hereditary. However, intermarriage is forbidden between the three classes, and if someone wants to enter the other classes, complex ceremonies must be performed in public. This practice of legal classification was quite common among Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Lombards, Franks and Anglo-Saxons.
We can see that there is a relatively large class of freemen, not a relatively small feudal aristocracy. They played an important political and military role in the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy and in the frankish and Lombard kingdoms, playing an important political and military role. The population of the freedmen was 1/5 to 1/3 of the warrior population, and at least in larger groups such as the Goths and Lombards, it was not only these dominant oligarchs who participated in the migration. These aggressive groups had warriors of at least two social classes, probably equivalent to freedmen and freed slaves in the early medieval codes.
The Fall of the Roman Empire Trilogy – Peter Heather
Small hazy stages
If one compares the written codes of the early Germanic peoples against the results of the excavations, it seems that everything makes sense. A military leader fought with several wealthier freedmen on horseback, with more than 60 well-equipped and higher-status freedmen and more than 100 freed slaves. By inferring the composition of the fighting forces of all Germanic tribes, we can assume that only 100-2000 of the approximately 20,000 warriors had a car, and that the relatively well-equipped freedmen were 3-6 times that number.
Since there is no certainty of armor surviving in this period, riders who do not have the habit of wearing armor and whose horses are not excellent should not be able to play the role of knights in later generations. At the Battle of Strasbourg in 357 AD, the Alemanni even asked the chieftains of the headquarters to dismount and fight on foot with their soldiers. In this way, in case of escape, the chief could not leave the people to slip away first. Similar to the 16th-century Swiss infantry, which showed distrust of their own commanders, saying that captains, noble princes, retinue servants, and high-ranking mercenaries with 3 times their salaries should walk in front of the line, rather than shout at the end of the line.
According to the Romans, different tribes also had many differences at their respective stages of development. Almost from the time the Germanic people first appeared in historical records, they appeared as fierce riders. But the proportion and importance of cavalry is constantly changing. From Ario vista to Chernodoma, Germanic cavalry, especially the West Germans in the Rhine Valley, is often mentioned as followed by a considerable number of light infantry. The Goths, Lombards, and Herzaurians of the east were often described as having better cavalry units.
Like all Germanic tribes, the Tenktris were warrior and warlike, especially at the organization of cavalry. The prestige of these men's cavalry was not below that of the Kadi infantry. Their ancestors established this prestige, which will continue to be maintained by future generations. Their children played horseback, and young people have been winning since then, even the elderly. Horses, like slaves, houses, and other legacies, were personal property. It is just that horses are not necessarily inherited by the eldest son, but by a son who is particularly brave and warlike.
In Tacitus' Chronicles of Germania, there were already a number of Germanic tribes known for their cavalry. In the time of Caesar and Augustus, the magnates of the Roman Empire recruited Germanic Horse Guards. In addition to bravery and loyalty, it may also be diplomatic considerations. Because recruiting them can weaken the entire tribe and increase diplomatic weight as a hostage. Another possible source of the Germanic Horse Guards was the divergence between rich and poor in Germanic societies with the development of trade and technology with the Roman Empire. Some freedmen who were originally riding horses simply became mercenaries because of poor management. This is similar to the conversion of some knights/sergeants into mercenaries in the middle and late Middle Ages.
If the early Image of the West Germanic cavalry was one of the few fierce warriors who fought with infantry, then the East Germanic cavalry represented by the Goths could be regarded as a complete cavalry power in terms of scale and role. They really appeared in front of the Romans in the 3rd century, and we are not sure whether they were mainly infantry or cavalry. However, it has been mentioned that the Goths used cavalry to loot grain and grass, and infantry used large carts to transport heavy loads and to protect women and children as temporary fortresses during combat.
The Twenge Alliance sent military detachments three times to participate in the Persian Wars in Rome. They received some financial compensation from the Roman Empire, and it was an imposed obligation to provide services on the border 1,500 kilometres away. People are not willing to accept it, which eventually leads to a confrontation between the two sides. In 238 AD, some Goths attacked Histria near the site where the Danube River flowed into the Black Sea, followed by a series of attacks on the lower Danube border between the Carpathians and the Black Sea.
By 249 AD, the eastern Balkan city of Fort Marciano had been looted by the Gothic followers of Agas and Gontek. Then in the spring of 250 AD, another Gothic leader, Kerniva, broke through the Roman border and crossed the Danube at the ancient legionary fortress in Oscus. He then took Philippolis in the southern Balkans, where he spent the winter.
The following year, Emperor Decius tried to intercept the retreating Goths, but was killed at Aberitus. In a way, it was worse than the more famous defeat at the Battle of the Teutonic Forest, the first emperor ever killed in battle with the barbarians.
In 268 AD, a large maritime expeditionary force left the northern shore of the Black Sea. Some of the army were Gothic, but also other Germanic members. The new expeditionary force moved along the northern and western coasts, attacking coastal cities such as Anchialus, Tommy, Fort Marciano, Kizikus, and Byzantium along the way, but were repulsed by the defenders. The invaders then forcibly entered the Aegean Sea through the Dardanelles. The entire expeditionary force was divided into three groups and attacked the Northern Balkans near Thessaloniki, Attica, and the coastal hinterland of Asia Minor.
The basis for the rise of the Gothic cavalry
From the current record, the Gothic invasion route is mostly along the mountains and rivers, and even by boat along the coastline to carry out attacks. Therefore, the number of cavalry may be relatively limited, after all, the use of ships to carry horses in large quantities is very difficult at this time, and it may not be more common until the 10th century. Perhaps the Gothic cavalry at this time was still the privilege of a few rich people or from hired nomadic neighbors. We should be thankful for the archaeological excavations of the 20th century, which enabled the present generation to piece together parts of the Germanic society of the fourth century without much written record.
The Gothic settlements north of the Black Sea are also considerable, with the largest of which is 35 hectares in Budesty. Ploughing equipment has also been found, indicating that they have developed a more intensive agricultural system than in the past. There are also independent discoveries of iron ploughshares and coulters, indicating that people in the 4th century could turn the soil more efficiently. During the Roman period, Poland's Santa Croce and South Mazovia had 2 of the largest iron ore centers. It can produce 8-9 million kilograms of pig iron per year, far exceeding the consumption capacity of the local population. In addition, there are many smaller mining and smelting sites, such as about 15 iron shop sites from the 4th century AD.
The Gothic cavalry army was cultivated
Based on the development of agriculture and iron smelting technology, in order to communicate with the Sarmatians and even the Black Sea Greeks on the plains of Eastern Europe, it enabled the Goths or other East Germans to popularize armor and increase the possibility of horseback combat. Eventually, in the 4th century, more Gothic cavalry armed with armor and horses became the greatest nightmare of the Roman Empire.
At first, the Visigoths were subjected to the pressure and injustice of the Huns and Arans. Fritig, in alliance with other Visigothic tribes, swept through the province of Messia and freed the local barbarian slaves, where they met their old rival, Emperor Valens of the East. There was no shortage of well-equipped infantry and cavalry in the Roman camp, which had been in the battlefields of the Middle East, but they attacked driven by misinformation and the arrogance of the emperor. As they busied themselves with attacking the Gothic camp, the generals lined up in a tried-and-true traditional formation—legions and infantry brigades in the center, and cavalry on both flanks. The battle was fiercely fought along the obstacles formed by the car battles.
Suddenly, a large cavalry force rushed into the Roman left flank, including Visigothic cavalry and parts of the Ostrogoths and even the Allied Alans. They had originally requisitioned grain in the distance, but when they heard the news of the outbreak of the battle, they rushed directly to the battlefield, just in time to attack the exposed flank of the Imperial army. The cavalry on the flanks of the Roman army were suddenly attacked, some of them were crushed by the other side and suffered heavy casualties, while the rest of them abandoned the infantry and the emperor and fled the battlefield directly.
Immediately afterward, the Gothic cavalry swept through the infantry on the Roman left flank, driving them to the center and reserve of Rome. The fierce charge of the Gothic cavalry caused the legions and infantry brigades to squeeze together and fall into desperate chaos. All attempts to hold their ground ended in failure. Seeing that the Romans had been thrown into confusion by the attack on their flanks, the Gothic infantry also rushed out of the Checheng defense line and launched a frontal attack. The Royal Foresters, light infantry, lancers, auxiliaries, and legions were also mixed up under this pressure and could not move. The cavalry on Valens' right flank saw that the tide was gone and fled the battlefield without making any effort. The infantry on the right flank, who had not yet been able to retreat because the engagement was too intense, also fled in disorder with the cavalry.
As for the main Roman infantry force abandoned on the battlefield, it was already surrounded by cavalry on the flanks and behind, and was attacked by Gothic infantry rushing out of the city. The soldiers were so crowded with each other that they couldn't even raise their arms and swing their short swords. The spears were also stuck in the crowd, and it was impossible to stand them vertically, and many soldiers even suffocated directly in the crowd.
Only 1/3 of the infantry broke out of the encirclement due to the gradual relaxation of the ranks and the fall of night, and fled south with the deserters on the right wing, and Valens himself died in the service.
The Art of Medieval War - Charles William Auman
The glory days of the Goths
The battle was quite controversial. In the view of some scholars, cavalry, especially heavy cavalry, replaced heavy infantry as the main force of the battle. But another group of scholars also insisted that the cavalry on the Gothic side took advantage of the raid. It's not so much that the Gothic cavalry is too strong, but that Valens himself is too stupid.
In fact, both of these views are somewhat exaggerated. For the Romans, the combat effectiveness and equipment of heavy infantry did not degrade too badly. Valens himself had some success in suppressing the Visigoths and fighting against Persia in his early years, and it is undoubtedly absurd to say that he was a fool. As for the military system itself, it is difficult to say what devastating damage has been inflicted. Because less than 30 years ago, Julian was able to surrender the Alemanni and conquer Persia. Before the outbreak of this battle, the two emperors of the East and the West were basically able to deal with the military threats they faced.
But the battle may have revealed a law of medieval warfare: if one side's cavalry was completely expelled from the battlefield, and the other side's cavalry combat strength was basically complete, then even if his infantry was stronger, it was likely to fail. Because infantry warfare is usually not a quick decision, and infantry is basically invincible even if it is surrounded by cavalry behind and flanks in the presence of a frontal advantage. And once the infantry is defeated, it is difficult to retreat, these characteristics, coupled with the general decline of the infantry source, make both the East and the West more and more dependent on cavalry, especially heavy cavalry for combat.
Since then, the Visigoths have shown great resilience and cohesion, which also proves that this victory is no accident. Their war with the Roman Empire lasted another four years, including the defeat of Theodosius I in Macedonia in the summer of 380 AD, until a peace agreement in force on October 3, 382, was reached. This treatment was entirely due to the military prowess of the Goths, while the weaker Tefars and Sarmatians were treated harshly and were assigned to Roman landowners after their defeat as labourers without personal freedom. At the Battle of Cold River in September 394, the Goths, despite heavy casualties in the first day of the battle to attack the positions, served as the main force in the assault for Theodosius I to defeat the Western Roman "usurper" Eugenius. A Roman historian of the time commented that the battle saw two victories: one over the usurpers and the other over the Goths.
Thus, the Goths, who had almost just returned from the battlefields of the Cold River, rebelled under the leadership of Alaric. For the next 2 years, they swept across Greece like a hurricane, making it no longer safe to defend the big cities and anywhere outside the fortresses. First head south to Athens, bypassing the Peloponnese. Then head north to Epirus on the Adriatic Sea. After a short break, they entered Italy in 401-402 and then returned to the Balkans. He eventually returned to the Apennines between 408 and 411 AD and successfully sacked Rome, the "Eternal City".
Through some details, we can roughly piece together the image of the Gothic army of this period. When Alaric besieged the city of Rome, he demanded 6,000 silk horses, because there might be 6,000 freedmen of higher status under his command. At the same time, referring to the ratio of freedmen to freed slave warriors, the size of the Gothic army should be between 12,000 and 30,000 people.
The advantage is unmatched
After successfully taking Rome, the Visigoths briefly reassorcitated themselves with the Empire. The two sides joined forces and launched a series of military operations in the Spanish region. In 416-418 AD, the Goths inflicted a major blow on the Vandal-Aran alliance, and the survivors were forced to accept the leadership of the Asting Vandals. A more famous and important battle was the Battle of Chalon, which is said to have determined the fate of Europe. Led by King Theodoric, his Visigothic soldiers formed the entire right wing of the anti-Attila alliance. The Romans under the command of Aetius were far on the far left flank of the army. The Alan king Sanjiban, mentioned repeatedly, was placed in the middle together by them in order to allow reliable forces to take care of the untrustworthy Aran army militarily.
Although there are not many details about the Battle of Chalon, some details are still worth scrutinizing. The two sides can be said to be in agreement in terms of deployment. On the left flank was the Battle of the East and West Gothics, with attila's nomadic cavalry against the Alans with tactical divisions on the middle, and on the right flank the eastern Germanic tribes submitting to the Huns against the Roman legions and West Germanic allies of Aetius.
The battlefield is a flat field, gradually tilted in the middle to become a hill. The two sides fought fiercely over the main peak of the hill, as it provided the army with a very important favorable terrain. Since the military forces of both sides are basically commanded by tribal leaders alone, a simple classification can be made, the left wing of the East and West Goths are infantry and more heavy cavalry, the middle road should be the archers and lancers of both sides repeatedly tug-of-war, and the right wing is the infantry as the main cavalry supplemented by "traditional infantry warfare". The Goths, whose left flank composition and tactics were similar, launched a fierce charge and counter-charge, and the Hun cavalry in the middle, led by Attila himself, overwhelmed the Alans on the opposite side at the beginning. The right flank concentrated the main infantry forces on both sides, most likely with a roar of war on both sides but still holding on, the Huns in the middle began to try to encircle the Roman infantry on the right flank after suppressing the Alans, and the vicious fighting between the East and West Goths on the left also led to the death of Theodoric. It seemed that the victory of the Huns was within reach, but the death of the king aroused the bloodiness of the Visigoths, who frantically attacked and defeated the Ostrogoths on the other side and turned to the middle of the road to turn with the Alans. In the case that both the left and middle roads were repulsed, the infantry on the right naturally had to choose to withdraw from the battlefield.
It should be noted that attila's side may not have been devastated. The Visigothic princes who took the command of their fathers and the Roman commander Aetius both fled to the camps of their allies in pursuit of the enemy.
Perhaps because it was too dazzling between the 4th and 5th centuries, the Goths entered a long period of relative decline after the Battle of Sharon, until they were conquered by the Arabs in the early 8th century. Their close relatives, the Ostrogoths, also defeated Odoac to become king of Italy under the leadership of King Theodoric, and their influence at its peak even covered 1/3 of the territory of the former Western Roman Empire. But no matter which branch of the east and west, the relative weakness of its cavalry and infantry can be said to be unabated. The infantry no longer seems to be using the car city of the Great Migration era for cover, and gradually became a helper or vassal of the Gothic cavalry.
To counter the Gothic charge, the eunuch general Narsses employed a tactic that appeared to have been first invented by himself. His central part consisted of select barbarian forces of 8,000 Lombards, Gepids, and Khrulli. He ordered the troops to dismount and engage in infantry combat using mounted guns. This tactic of dismounting the armored cavalry was very similar to that of Edward III at the Battle of Clessi. Considering that Narces also deployed 4,000 Roman archers on each flank of the Barbarian Cavalry, the two are even more similar. These archers are slightly ahead, giving the formation a crescent shape. As a result, the enemy would find itself in a hollow area as it advanced, semi-encircled by archers and exposed to a rain of arrows coming from both sides. To protect these archers, the native Roman cavalry, which had not dismounted, was deployed behind them. Finally, on the hill in front of the previously mentioned front, Narsses also deployed two cavalry detachments, arranged at angles with the main force. If the Gothic infantry advanced with the cavalry rear, exposing the flanks, the force could flank it and crush it.
At noon, the Gothic king suddenly ordered the cavalry to charge. They marched straight toward the center of the enemy, ignoring the archers on either side. As they entered the middle of the semicircular formation of the Romans, they began to be shot down hundreds of crossfire from both flanks. Due to the heavy losses, hundreds of mad warhorses, either wounded themselves or injured by their riders, rammed through the ranks. The Gothic knights were plunged into great confusion, and the speed of their charge was slowed to a very slower extent. It was not until a long time later that the Goths, after great difficulties, approached the center of the Roman front where the dense phalanx of the barbarian cavalry was located. Since the Goths had lost all their suddenness and impact, they failed to defeat each other's gun arrays, plunging the battle into a two-front white-knife melee. The Gothic cavalry charged repeatedly for hours, but they were never able to open the breakthrough, and the archers on both flanks of Rome continued to shoot them down in large numbers with salvos. The Gothic infantry, who were supposed to attack the Roman archers in support of the cavalry, did not advance enough to advance to the front for fear that their flanks would be attacked by the cavalry detachment on the left flank of Narces.
At dusk, the Goths were completely exhausted. After one last effort, the exhausted and demoralized Gothic cavalry began to retreat. Narces immediately sent Roman cavalry to charge at them, these people had not been involved in the battle at all, and were a fresh force. The Goths then fled and ran over their own infantry in an unorganized escape, who, in the confusion, did not disperse for the retreating cavalry to pass, remaining helpless in panic.
The era of cavalry as king was established
In Sir Auman's view of the battle, the battle between the two sides took place mainly between the desperate Gothic cavalry and the dismounted Barbarian cavalry. The infantry archers of the Eastern Romans were merely auxiliaries, while the melee infantry did not have the ability to confront the Gothic cavalry head-on. So Narces ordered the Barbarian cavalry to dismount and disguise themselves as ordinary infantry, causing Totila to misjudge that the middle road was a vulnerable ordinary infantry. At the same time, the core of Totila's army may be thousands of cavalry, so his tactic is to break through the enemy position with cavalry and then follow up with infantry.
Prokobi's speech in his History of War, which is partly borne by Totila, can also be confirmed by this: Soldiers, I have gathered you here to give you one last warning. For I think that after this battle there will be no need for any further instructions, and the result will certainly be that the war will be decided in one day. If we suffer any misfortune in this battle, the Goths will have no hope of resuming the battle, but will be defeated on either side and will have a very full pretext for not acting again. My soldiers, having heard my word, fight with all their might and courage, without leaving any ability to fight for another battle, and throw all your strength into this battle, and do not save your bodies for another danger. Do not be stingy with weapons or horses, for they will never be useful to you again. You know, the fate of wiping out everything else preserves only the last hope for this day. So cheer up your courage and prepare for a noble and fearless cause. "As far as his speech is concerned, it is also likely to be addressed to his cavalry, who are both elite in the army and the skeleton of his political power.
The Infantry of the Gothic Army may be weak and difficult to be useless. When the Gothic cavalry was defeated, the infantry neither went up to support nor confronted the enemy and protected the cavalry. In addition, depending on the structure of the enemy formation, it would have been possible for the Gothic infantry to perform a special mission. That is, climbing the surrounding hills, attacking the enemy's front wing archers, and influencing the overall outcome through the success of the flanks. But they didn't. The Gothic infantry may have degenerated into a group of auxiliary units by this time.
History of the Art of War – Hans Delbrück
A unique feature of decay
If the Ostrogoths in this battle were labeled stupid or reckless for their many blind charge, then at the Battle of Vesuvius, they regained all the dignity and honor they had lost.
The Romans called the mountain "Milk Mountain" in Latin, and it was impossible to track them here because the ground was rough and impassable. But the barbarians immediately regretted going there, because there they could not find food for themselves and their horses, so they began to feel even more inadequate. So they thought it was better to die in battle than to starve to death, so they unexpectedly came out and attacked the enemy. The Goths first abandoned their mounts and all stood on the ground on foot to face the enemy in a deep phalanx. The Romans then saw this and stopped riding horses, and both sides lined up in the same way to confront each other. In my opinion, the heroism of the Gothic Theath is no less than that of any of the heroes of legend.
The battle began at dawn. Theath, who was easily recognizable, stood at the front of the phalanx with only a few people around him, holding a shield and stabbing forward with a spear. When the Romans saw him, they thought that if he himself was killed, the battle would immediately become in their favor. Thus all men either stabbed him with spears or threw them at him. At the same time, he himself, under the cover of a shield, endured the onslaught of all the spears and killed many enemies through a surprise attack. Whenever he saw that his shield was filled with spears that had pierced in, he gave it to one of his guards and replaced it with another. That's how he continued to fight during the third part of the day.
By the end of the battle, 12 spears were inserted into the shields, and it was no longer possible to swing them at will and fight back against the attacking enemy. He eagerly summoned one of his guards. But just as he was doing so, his chest was exposed in an instant, and it just so happened that in an instant he was hit by a projectile and immediately died of his wounds. But even then the Goths did not abandon the battle, but continued the battle into the night.
On the next day, the Goths and the Goths lined up again to fight as before. Until the night, no side retreated in front of the other, and no side was defeated or even retreated. Although a large number of soldiers were killed on both sides, they had been holding out the battle like wild beasts. They hated each other because the Goths knew they were fighting the last battle, and the Romans thought they could not be defeated by the Goths. Nargis finally reached an agreement with them that, after obtaining his own money, the remaining barbarians should leave all of Italy at once and should no longer wage war against the Romans in any way.
History of War - Prokobi
The Gothic cavalry of this battle did not have the strength of horse warfare and infantry warfare like nomadic tribes. If one takes into account the weakness of the Byzantine native infantry at this time and the fact that most of the full-time melee cavalry belonged to the Barbarian League, the real situation may be a roommate between gothic cavalry and German mercenaries.
These two times, although not very large in size and fame, can still be used as an example. At this point, heavy cavalry could already serve as the nucleus of the army. Although it was low in absolute number and proportion, the horseback charge was thunderous, and the dismounted combat was enough to serve as a good heavy infantry. With them present, ordinary infantry can also exert higher combat effectiveness...