The Battle of Poitiers took place on October 10, 732, near the city of Tours, near the border between the Frankish kingdom and then independent Aquitaine. In the Battle of Poitiers, the troops of the Frankish ruler Karl Martell were able to stop the advance of the Arabs into the interior of Europe. The Arabian cavalry was unable to overturn the Frankish infantry.
The Battle of Poitiers was hardly a milestone in the history of the development of military art. But not a single textbook on the history of the Middle Ages can do without mentioning this battle. Their compilers are absolutely correct in pointing out that under Poitiers, perhaps, the fate of European civilization was decided. Usually they talk about the danger that looms over Europe. However, this statement should be treated with great caution.
Of course, if the Arabs could also conquer the Frankish kingdom, then it is possible that for a long time (and possibly to this day) we would have been dealing with Muslim France, Belgium, etc. Is it dangerous? Hard to tell. I would only like to remind you that the Arab civilization subsequently seriously surpassed the European civilization in terms of development.
Anyway, what happened happened. After the Battle of Poitiers, the Arabs were forced to stop European expansion and confine themselves to the Iberian Peninsula.
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In the VI-VIII centuries. in the Middle East, a large state union of Arab tribes arose. One of the fathers of the new state was the political and religious leader Muhammad. He was also the founder of a new religion that was destined to become the world - Islam. It is hardly worth talking about the initial impulse of militancy and fanaticism, which was allegedly present in the Muslim ideas themselves. But, without a doubt, we can say that the Arabs themselves were famous for their belligerence. The cavalry played an important role in their army (nomadic cattle breeding was one of the most important branches of the economy). But the Arab army also had a very strong infantry. Camels were also used in the army.
The full armament of the Arab rider was quite diverse. The warrior had to have two strong bows and 30 arrows in a quiver, a long spear with an iron tip, a throwing disc with sharp edges, a thrusting and cutting sword, a battle club or a double-edged ax. Protective equipment consisted of a shell, a helmet, two handrails, two greaves, and two legguards. The Arabian horsemen were impetuous and fierce.
In the war, the Arabs used ambushes, raids, and unexpected attacks.
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Initially, the army of the Arabs consisted of separate tribal and clan detachments and numbered thousands and tens of thousands of soldiers. The cavalry was outnumbered by the infantry.
The battle formation consisted of 5 parts: vanguard, center (it was called "heart"), right and left wings and rearguard. The flanks were covered by cavalry. The battle formation was dismembered along the front and in depth and ensured high tactical maneuverability and supply of the battle from the depths.
Each of the lines, lined up in 5 ranks, had an allegorical name: the first line ("Morning of the Barking Dog") consisted of a loose formation of horsemen; the second ("Aid Day") and the third ("Shock Evening") lines were the main forces, consisted of cavalry columns or phalanxes of infantry, lined up in a checkerboard pattern; the fourth line - the elite reserve - included the squads guarding the main banner. The reserve entered the battle only as a last resort. In the rear there was a wagon train with families of soldiers and herds. From the rear and flanks, the battle formation of the Arabs was vulnerable, but its high maneuverability ensured a rapid regrouping of forces.
The first line tied the battle, then the second supported. By the way, on the battlefield, the main forces preferred to conduct a defensive battle in order to weaken the opponent. As a rule, Arab troops strove to cover the flanks of the enemy. After the enemy was broken down, the army went over to a general offensive and the cavalry did not stop pursuing the enemy until complete destruction.
The Arab army was distinguished by high mobility and discipline (based, in particular, on the religious spirit of the soldiers).
Arab army in the VII-VIII centuries. was a more combat-ready army of the East and began large-scale conquests. In the first half of the 7th century, the unification of the tribes was completed, and the Arab Caliphate appeared. The Caliph's army defeated the Byzantines and conquered Iran. The Arab state reached its greatest power during the reign of the Umayyads (661–750). The Arabs conquered North Africa, followed by the Visigothic kingdom in what is now Spain and invaded Gaul.
Along with this, there were successful wars with Byzantium, the Khazars, etc. The Arabs were entrenched in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Eastern Georgia. By the middle of the VIII century, many cities of Central Asia became part of the caliphate, on the border of which the Chinese army was defeated. The Arab Caliphate was then larger than the heyday of the Roman Empire. The capital of the Umayyad state was the current capital of Syria, Damascus.
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When the Arab unification took place in the Middle East, the Franks played a leading role in Western Europe.
As a result of the conquest of the Western Roman Empire by the "barbarian" tribes, several new "barbarian" states were created on its territory, the inhabitants of which passed from the tribal system to the early feudal one. The state of the Vandals arose in North Africa, the Ostrogoths in Italy, the Visigoths in Spain, and the Burgundians and Franks in Gaul.
486 - Franks under the command of Clovis defeated the Roman army and lured to their side many enemy soldiers, as well as the Gallo-Roman clergy. Clovis's sons continued to expand the boundaries of the new state formation. In 534, they conquered Burgundy, after Provence.
In the next century, the territory of modern France was divided between three states of the Franks - Neustria (northwestern Gaul with Paris), Australasia (northeastern part) and Burgundy. The royal power has weakened. In fact, in the 7th century, power in these states ended up in the hands of the former rulers of the royal court and its economy - the majords.
Among the Austrasian nobility there was a family related to the royal family, which possessed vast estates between the Meuse, Moselle and Rhine. The representative of this clan, Pepin the Middle, managed to gain fame: in one of the strife that raged between the nobles of Neustria and Austrasia because of the domination of the Franks in the land, Pepin defeated Bercher, mayordom of Neustria, under Tertry (687). After that, he forced King Theodoric III of Neustria to appoint him major of Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy, that is, the entire Frankish kingdom reunited by the victory at Tertri. At the same time he was awarded a title, which indicated that Pepin was not an ordinary subject of the king: he was titled prince and duke of Frankish.
His son Karl, who later received the nickname Martell (ie, "war hammer"), after a long struggle, took his father's place in 715 as mayord of the three constituent parts of the state and was able to maintain the unity of these parts. Karl Martell made several successful campaigns to Bavaria, Frisia, Alemannia and Aquitaine, strengthening the foreign policy influence of the Frankish state.
In addition, he carried out a number of important internal political transformations. The land use system was changed. Martell confiscated some of the church lands. Henceforth, instead of the previous royal donations of land to private ownership, Charles began to give the feudal lords land in conditional holding (the so-called benefit).
The persons who received the benefit had to appear at the call of the king on horseback, fully armed and with a certain number of soldiers. Such a reform was able to strengthen the middle class of landowners. They made up the bulk of the cavalry. The landowners in the cavalry were heavily armed. Long shields, helmets and chain mail appeared. They were armed with large bows and crossbows. But the infantry continued to be the main branch of the Franks.
The Franks' infantry fought in close formation. The still strong family ties rallied the fighters, ensured tenacity in battle. The infantry attacks were so swift that it was said that the Franks in their movement overtook the spears they had fired.
During the time of Karl Martell, the Arabs increasingly tried to penetrate the Pyrenees. The Duke of Aquitaine - the southwestern part of Gaul, freed from Frankish rule - with the greatest effort repelled their attacks. In 732, a strong Arab army crossed the Pyrenees for the second time, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Duke of Aquitaine and forced him to flee.
Then he turned to the powerful and formidable major of the Franks for help. Apparently, the impending menacing danger for a time put an end to numerous strife and strife both among the Franks themselves and between the Franks and other Germanic tribes. Charles was able to collect a large army, which included, in addition to the Franks, other Germanic tribes: Alemanni, Bavarians, Saxons, Frisians. About 30,000 people opposed the Arabs. The decisive battle of Poitiers took place in October 732 on the plain between Tours and Poitiers.
At Poitiers, the Arabian cavalry fought a few heavy Franks' cavalry and their infantry.
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The Franks barred the Arabs from reaching Tours at the point where the old Roman road crossed the Vienne River. Knowing about the nature of the enemy's fighting, Karl decided to give a defensive battle. At the same time, Martell took into account and used the features of the terrain. The main thing for him was to hinder the actions of the Arab cavalry. The army of the Franks was located between the Maple and Vienne rivers, which covered the flanks of the battle formation. It was based on the infantry, lined up in a solid phalanx. The cavalry was located on the flanks.
For several days the Arabs did not dare to attack the enemy, who occupied a very advantageous position, but the battle was inevitable, and they started a fight.
The Arabs resorted to their usual tactics and dispatched riflemen ahead, leaving heavily armed horsemen in the second line as cover. Due to the hilly terrain, archers - both foot and horse - could not inflict much damage on the Franks. There was no point in attacking with heavy cavalry the Frankish infantry phalanx, which was standing in the center on a hill. Such an attack was initially doomed to failure, and the full use of the cavalry, lined up in dense ranks on the flanks of the infantry, apparently did not allow the same terrain conditions.
Thus, the Frankish infantry successfully repelled the seemingly not too massive attacks of the Arab cavalry. According to the chronicler: “The northerners froze like a wall, like frozen figures sculpted from ice; this ice was not capable of melting, even when they struck the Arabs with their swords. Iron-handed giants-Austrasians boldly cut into the thick of the battle."
After the first Arab attacks were repelled, Karl Martell took advantage of the successful outcome of the initial stage of the battle. The Frankish knights, led by Ed, Duke of Aquitaine, entered from the flank, broke through the ranks of the Moors and took possession of their camp. But this kind of army was not fit for pursuit; therefore, the Arabs, under the cover of their indefatigable cavalry, retreated unharmed to Spain.
It is possible that just after this battle, Karl received the nickname Martell.
As you can see, the Franks were strong, firstly, with the infantry, recruited from the free and united peasantry due to the remnants of the tribal system. The infantry acted in a deep battle formation, against which the attacks of the light Arab cavalry crashed. Secondly, the cavalry of the new model also acted well, the motivation of which was provided by the internal political reforms of the mayordom. The choice of location was also of great importance.
The Battle of Poitiers was the first to take full advantage of the new European heavy cavalry. And her actions should be recognized as very successful. This is how Western chivalry received its first baptism of fire.
V. Karnatsevich
