Revision Topic Sheet 16: Latin Army & Significance

Question 1

How much manpower did the Franks have?

Answer 1

Estimates are that the Franks had around 1200 knights, 5025 sergeants and 15,000 foot soldiers out of a population of 140,000.

Question 2

What recruiting methods did the Franks use to counter their lack of manpower?

Answer 2

The Franks utilised 5 main recruitment methods:

1. The Feudal Host - they made it mandatory for knights to complete military service.
2. The arriere ban - they called soldiers in times of emergency.
3. Mercenaries - they used mercenaries such as soldiers provided by Henry II of England at the Battle of Hattin.
4. Pilgrims - they became part of the army as part of their pilgrimage.
5. Military Orders - they were useful for defending the entire Crusader Kingdom for little pay.

Question 3

How do historians disagree over the military strategy that the Franks used?

Answer 3

1. Delbruck argues that the crusaders were mainly motivated by religion, and that the capture of the Holy Lands made expansion pointless so the main strategy became to defend the Crusader territory.
2. Oman and Bellock both argue that a continuous strategy of aggression was used to drive away the Muslims, as evidenced by the Franks being unable to control links between Muslim Syria and Egypt.
3. J France argues that the military strategy was split into two periods: aggression from 1100-1144 and defensive from 1144 onwards
4. R Smail argues that the military strategy wasn’t focused on objectives such as castles and cities, as the Franks saw it as vital to preserve their armies only when they had an advantage over the enemy.

Question 4

What were the tactics of the Latin armies?

Answer 4

The basic tactic of the Latin armies was a close co-operation of the foot soldiers and cavalry to protect the horses from the Muslim archers. The Templars emphasised this tactic by threatening punishments for anyone breaking the formation, even when losing a battle. Historian R Smail argues that the crusader defeats were usually due to poor leadership and morale rather than Muslim strategy. Although, this could be disproved due to the fact that the strategy of the Franks was mainly dependent on their manpower, which was severely decimated by losses to the Muslims, such as at the Battle of the Field of Blood.

Question 5

How were castles significant?

Answer 5

• They were widely used by the crusaders and were effective in keeping out the Muslims, due to the tactics that they helped employ. Examples include the Gugenberg tactic, which involved building castles to surround the ports of Ascalon and Tyre to contain the Muslim forces.
• They were also used as military, administrative and economic bases, as they were important for containing important supplies such as food and water while opposing armies were weakned by their lack of supplies, such as Saladin’s army when Baldwin IV defeated him in 1177.
• They were also seen as symbols of power which helped crusader leaders keep authority over their armies.