Chapter 257 Preparations for the Siege of Akka
(I feel dizzy today and feel uncomfortable, so I forced myself to write out four thousand, and I’m going to rest. The quality is poor, I’m sorry.)
Facts , excluding Balian and other relatively core-level military commanders.
Most nobles actually find it difficult to understand why the troops of the Order can receive such intense training and maintain such high morale while still executing orders accurately.
Since Eden is the one that Garris needs to win over, he only slightly understands the strangeness here.
To put it simply, under Garris's organization, recruitment, command, and logistics... have been separated from the hands of the general and divided into various departments.
Although the staff system has not yet been born, the prototype has already appeared.
The recruitment department is led by the Governor's Palace of Antioch and the three counties of Transjordan. It mainly has a clear understanding of the origin of the soldiers and can register them and verify them repeatedly.
This means that deserters will really implicate their families, and at the same time, martyrs who have died can also be accurately provided with pension benefits.
The command system began to be structured based on the organized officer corps. It has a relatively mature promotion system, and some officers have begun to be selected as staff officers to formulate and improve plans...
For example, in these days of intensive training, it was mainly Garris who took the lead, and it was the staff who actually worked out the details. At the same time, Garris took Balian for a final inspection and acceptance.
As for logistics, it is even more important. To maintain the high-intensity training of so many troops, if meals, clothing, camps, military pay, and letters are not prepared in advance.
Then soldiers and army officers will be entangled in endless trivial matters and will not be able to devote themselves to training.
It can be said that these three parts are indispensable. The armies of the Second Kingdom system have begun to break away from the state of purely relying on the arrangements of the commander-in-chief and have begun to perform their own duties.
This is just a head, with many flaws, but it can still function normally as long as Garris checks and corrects the flaws.
Compared with other armies of the same era, it has begun to take the lead in terms of structure.
Moreover, most of these long-term training troops were not directly involved in the previous battles launched by Barbarossa, so their morale was kept relatively high.
Saladin also did not expect that just one month later, another large army would go from Tire to Acre.
The two cities of Acre and Tire are closely together on the map, and they are both important export transit stations in the Levant region.
The straight-line distance between them is only 40 kilometers. Even at the level of a feudal army, it is possible to arrive directly within two days.
In terms of the marching ability of Gairis, even after gathering in the early morning, before the afternoon reached dusk, the leading troops had arrived near the city of Akka and built a camp.
The rapid assembly of these vanguard armies and the decisiveness of their march exceeded Saladin's expectations.
It can be said that from the moment Saladin received the intelligence, convened the generals to complete the meeting, and prepared countermeasures, the messenger came to deliver a message: The army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem has arrived several miles outside the city of Acre and is setting up camp. .
In the time it takes to have a meeting, the other party is already here? !
According to the news from the spies, after the vanguard arrived outside the city of Acre, they did not fall into panic preparations as Saladin expected.
Instead, after receiving the order, he began to build a defense with an almost mechanical precision. The wooden piles were unloaded from the cart, and the soldiers were divided into several teams. Some were responsible for digging trenches, while others quickly nailed down the fences. Each step seemed to have been rehearsed repeatedly.
Obviously these soldiers should have been exhausted after a long march.
To be more precise, Saladin did not expect that the Kingdom of Jerusalem would dare to attack Acre with a mere 14,000 troops when Barbarossa died and the German Crusaders were defeated. Conduct a second siege.
In his calculations, the Crusaders would have to increase their troops by at least half before they would have the desire to dispatch.
After all, although Saladin was defeated in the previous battle, he also lost a large number of artillery.
But in terms of the number of troops, it actually increased instead of decreasing, and the Venetian fleet did not continue to block the port during this period, allowing him to maintain a relatively stable supply.
However, even though he knew that the number of crusaders today was relatively small, Saladin still did not take the initiative to attack the camp.
There is a big gap between the two sides in terms of the number of troops, but in many cases combat effectiveness is not calculated in this way.
According to what Saladin himself knew, he was a little stunned.
Not only do these soldiers train for up to ten hours a day!
Still have to march dozens of miles with a heavy load!
With such intensity of training, there has been no mutiny yet. This fact itself is somewhat beyond the imagination of most rulers of this era.
With such intensity, even the most elite Mamluks under his command are no more than this!
Saladin thought about his Mamluk cavalry. They started training at the age of ten and were good at everything with swords, spears, riding and shooting.
However, even for this group of elite troops, their daily training focuses more on skills and tactical coordination rather than the extreme physical test of the soldiers under Garris' command.
The Mamluks are still an elite, but they are an elite that is more focused on individual soldier capabilities, rather than this overall overwhelming advantage.
Even so, long-term accumulation has established that they are one of the best professional legions in the Mediterranean.
It is precisely because of Saladin that he has such a small professional soldier group of several thousand people.
Saladin realized how terrifying the training intensity of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was. If the information about the training of the Kingdom of Jerusalem’s army had not been confirmed by many parties, Saladin himself would not have believed it.
“An army that can withstand cruel training will naturally remain unfailing on the battlefield. The will of the army during non-war times relies on those painful trainings, forged with blood and sweat. ”
Saladin was naturally aware of this matter.
If we take such a well-trained professional infantry group as the core, plus the ordinary heavy infantry of the Franks who are already superior to the Muslims.
So for Saladin's army, which currently consists of nomadic light cavalry as the main force, they are like an iron hedgehog. As long as they cling to the group, they will have no way to speak, and may even break their teeth.
"After all, the range of a riding bow is only a few dozen steps, and in terms of lethality, it is impossible to shoot through those chainmails." When he thought of such a thing, Saladin's expression changed again A bit gloomy.
In past battles, Saladin has proven to Saladin what the nomadic light cavalry can do. In terms of morale and training, the tribal cavalry under his command lacked the courage and ability to charge to the death like the Frankish knights. If those tribal cavalry are allowed to develop on their own, they will generally be trying to avoid the real situation and take advantage of the weak. They may be able to perform like wolves and tigers when the wind is favorable, but they will easily collapse once they encounter a slight setback.
He couldn't help but recall the battle with Barbarossa again, how the charge of a thousand knights was like a hammer smashing into the sheep, scattering thousands of light cavalry.
This unequal combat effectiveness stems not only from weapons and training, but also from morale and discipline - those Frankish knights would rather die than retreat, while the tribal cavalry would be completely disbanded if they encountered a slight setback.
Now, facing this more elite infantry legion, Saladin knew full well that in a frontal conflict, his light cavalry had no chance of winning.
The more battles he fought, the more Saladin realized the limits of his abilities.
In other words, Saladin has become more and more proficient in knowing himself and his enemy, but his knowledge of himself and his enemy does not apply to Garis.
At least he did not expect that the Kingdom of Jerusalem would dare to directly attack Acre with 14,000 troops. What he did not expect was that the direction of this war would not be a pure wilderness. The battle was not a traditional long-term siege.
As far as the rhythm of this battle is concerned, Garris and his team's moves were typically unconventional.
Generally speaking, a siege will be a long-term matter. For the party besieging the city, a stable camp is needed to serve as the rear. Therefore, when the army arrives at the city, it often takes several It would take days to reinforce his camp, and it would take several more days or even dozens of days to prepare siege equipment, such as trebuchets and the like.
During this process, because of the need to collect materials, the besieging party will send a large number of teams to the surrounding woods or villages. Normally, this would be a good opportunity for Saladin to harass him.
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A large number of professional infantrymen are nestled together, which is difficult for hedgehogs to eat, but if they are separated, they can be easily defeated one by one.
But these things did not happen...
Gehlis's troops completely broke this tradition. They completed the construction of the camp with astonishing efficiency and almost did not send out scattered teams, avoiding the risk of being defeated individually.
For Saladin, this efficient siege strategy was a disaster.
He not only underestimated the opponent's determination, but also underestimated the combat rhythm and organizational capabilities of this new type of army.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem is no longer the loose alliance under the rule of scattered feudal lords in the past, but a military system that is gradually moving towards centralization and professionalism.
And this is Saladin's most difficult enemy to deal with.
Even just one day later, Saladin, who was located in the camp at Ayadia Mountain, received news that the troops who had just completed their forced march directly attacked the city wall of Acre.
In the direction of Akka City, the roar of artillery fire kept coming.
Just as Saladin's army was gathering to rescue the city of Acre, another messenger came on horseback to report a piece of news.
The walls of Acre have been broken...
...
The history of Acre can be traced back to the Roman era, and it was initially used as a Roman colony. , one of four colonies founded by Roman emperors in the ancient Levant for veterans of the Roman legions.
In the 2nd century AD, the urban population exceeded 20,000. Starting in 395 AD, after the permanent division of the Roman Empire, Acre began its decline, and the population once dropped to less than 2,000. .
But after the Arab Empire conquered Acre, the city began to revive. After the Crusaders conquered the city, Acre became a jewel in the crown of Jerusalem. Its population exceeded 25,000 in 1130. The most populous city outside Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
As the Crusader countries reached their peak, Acre was to Jerusalem what Shanghai was to China.
In 1170, Acre established itself as the first port on the east coast of the Mediterranean, with a population of more than 30,000. According to an English contemporary, it provided more revenue for the King of Jerusalem than the entire revenue of England.
England anyway? What a bitter cold place!
In history, after Sultan Saladin won a decisive victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, except Tire who chose to hold on under the influence of Conrad, Acre, Beirut and Sidon surrendered without a fight. .
By the way... In the thousand-year history of the city of Acre from its establishment to the demise of the Crusader countries, a total of six sieges broke out in Acre.
The duration of these six sieges was only One time lasted more than two months, and among the remaining five, at least two of them were bloodless attacks... To a certain extent, the city of Akka has always surrendered at a reasonable speed.
When Barbarossa defeated Saladin, Akka had actually begun to prepare to welcome the king's army...
But who would have thought that Saladin's improvement instructions for his artillery The question is: Successfully turned his cannon into a "firecracker"?
Cannon lugs, gun carriages, winches... Saladin didn't make any of these things. He just relied on the Arabs' experience in playing with gunpowder, plus saltpeter, which is not particularly rare in the Middle East. , a formula with a super high nitrate specific gravity was prepared... and then the range and power were increased by simply and crudely forcing the bricks to fly.
The final result, in short, was that the defenders in Acre were not in a hurry to surrender. They were even rewarded by Saladin for their merits in defending the city.
The appearance of Barbarossa before could be regarded as boosting the morale of Saladin's side, and the city of Acre also has two walls, and the outer wall has ten towers. No matter how you think, it is impossible to do this so early in the morning. Just heard the news that the city was destroyed!
For Saladin, he heard such a "shock" as soon as he got up.
So for Guy, Humphrey, Irakli and even the other nobles who were still in Tire and did not go out with the army, there were surprises, but more of a shock.
“No matter what, we must curb the expansion of the Balian faction.”
He told the participants at a secret meeting of the Irakli organization.
This is based on a purely profit judgment. If the homeland of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is recovered, people like them will not be needed.
It is conceivable that even if the Crusaders regained the Holy Land, they would not leave much leftovers for them.
“I heard that the wall of Acre collapsed directly, just like the earth was shaking. Is this true?”
When he heard this sentence, Iraq shook slightly. shook his head.
"How is that possible?"
(End of this chapter)