The Crusade of Varna
In the beginning of the 15th century, the Crusader army went deep into the realms conquered by the Ottomans and fought them in several bloody…
The Brutal Reality of Naval Warfare in the Hundred Years War
War at sea in the Middle Ages could be a terrible business. Rather than a firefight between ships, it consisted of fierce boarding actions with…
The Children’s Crusade – Peacefully converting the Muslim population of the Middle East into Christianity?
In 1212 a crusade was allegedly led by children in the hope of peacefully converting the Muslim population of the Middle East into Christianity, thus…
The Fall Of This City Paved The Way For Arab Conquests, All The Way Into Spain
On the 19th of September, 634, the city of Damascus fell into the hands of the growing Caliphate. Its conquest was a turning point in…
How Medieval Crusaders Thought and Felt About Their Wars
A knight stands on the walls of Jerusalem, staring out at the parched land beyond the city. He is weary from weeks of travel and…
5 Heroic Last Stands – Do You Know Them All?
Looking throughout history, before the end of the Medieval era, we can find five great last stands with ease. The heroism and self-sacrifice of the…
Who Led the Knights and How: Military Leadership in the Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years War was one of the most protracted wars of the Middle Ages. For over a century, the French and English monarchies battled…
Land Forces of the Hundred Years War
Fought from 1337 to 1453, the Hundred Years War was one of the most significant conflicts of the late Middle Ages. As the Plantagenet kings of…
Massive Towers, Unbreakable Walls, Terrifying Siege Engines – This Was The Hundred Years War
As the sun rises over the battlefield, a column of knights gallops towards the assembled infantry. Banners flutter and arrows hurtle through the air as…
The Night Attack – Vlad the Impaler ambushes the Ottoman Sultan
Mehmet II, known as Mehmet the Conqueror, was one of the greatest military commanders of his day. The Ottoman Empire under his rule was vast,…
How Was an Army Supplied in the 100 Years War?
Far from home and at constant threat of attack, the armies of the Hundred Years War between England and France were reliant on supply lines…
The Death of Grand Master Ulrich, and the Beginning of the End for the Teutonic Knights
For more than two hundred years the might of the Order of Teutonic Knights had been steadily growing. It was forged in 1190, in the…