Mal was zu den letzten Kreuzzügen der Geschichte, die gegen das Osmanische Reich:
Ritter gegen osmanische Krieger, Vorteile, Nachteile? Schaun mer mal:
aus: Stephen Turnbull: The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699.
The Ottoman Army
"... The Sipahis were invariably Muslim Turks.
They were scattered across the empire,
always on the move from billet to billet, and
from billet to the front line. Even madmen
had their own regiment: the deli, or maniacs,
the 'riskers of souls' who allowed themselves
to be used as human battering rams.
The Ottomans were the first state to
maintain a standing army in Europe since
Roman times - paid, fed and unleashed
through unsurpassable feats of organisation.
When they marched on Persia in 1548 they
were so well provisioned that they could
cheerfully ignore the scorched earth
landscape created by the Shah. Nowhere was
their organisation better displayed than in
camp. Western military camps were babels
of disorder, drunkenness and debauchery.
The Ottoman camps were disturbed by
nothing louder than the sound of a mallet
on a tent peg. 'I think there is no prince',
wrote the chronicler Chalkondylas, 'who
has his armies and camps in better order,
both in abundance of victuals and in the
beautiful order they use in encampment
without any confusion or embarrassment.'
Also, while western rulers needed to cajole
or threaten their vassals the Ottoman armies
assembled like clockwork. Their transport
camels gave them a keen logistical
advantage and the Ottomans always
carefully analysed the problems of war.
liach winter the previous year's campaigns
were subject to a stringent post-mortem
enhanced by reports from a network of
spies. Weaknesses would be noted and
plans made for the coming year."
"The battle of Nicopolis 1396
...
His dispositions made use of ravines on
the flanks and also allowed the Turkish
rearguard to be concealed on the reverse
slope. Among these concealed troops were
Serbian horsemen under Stephen Lazarevic.
The delay allowed the Christian Army to
formulate its own plans of attack. King
Sigismund wanted to send forward his
Hungarian mounted archers to test the mettle
of the Ottoman light cavalry screen before
following up with the heavier armed knights
of Hungary and Europe. This plan was
supported by Mircea of Wallachia, but drew
opposition from the visiting crusaders, as it
did not suit their martial pretensions.
Ignoring the need for cooperation, the French
knights advanced in good order ahead of their
allies, determined to strike the first blow
against the infidel.
The attack was a disaster. King Sigismund
and his Hungarians did not engage in the
centre, something that led to the French
accusing them of treason. However, the king
only became aware of their probable fate when
a stampede of wounded and riderless horses
swept by him. The Hungarians then advanced
to engage the victorious Ottomans, but
Bayezid's reserve troops, Stephen Lazarevic's
Serbs, clinched the victory as they charged in
and caused havoc. The crusader army broke
and fled back to the flotilla of galleys that had
provided their support down the Danube.
Chaos reigned as the defeated soldiers began
lighting each other for a place on the boats.
Nicopolis was Bayezid's greatest victory."
Vielleicht eine der letzten Schlachten der Kreuzritter war die Schlacht von Warna 1444.
