When a battle did happen
Most campaigns avoided open combat, so when a pitched battle took place it was a major event, often planned by both sides over hours or days. This article follows such a battle from the moment armies faced each other to the aftermath, and describes what soldiers on the field are likely to have experienced. Sources are chronicles, letters and later accounts, and they vary in reliability, so the picture is general rather than exact.
Deployment
Armies were usually divided into several large units, often called battles or divisions. A common arrangement had a vanguard, a main body and a rear guard, or a left wing, center and right wing. Commanders placed their best troops and their own banners in the most important positions. Archers or crossbowmen were typically stationed on the flanks or in front, while knights might form the center or a reserve.
Leaders gave speeches, priests heard confession and blessed troops, and some men were knighted on the eve of battle. Banners, standards and the heraldic devices on shields helped soldiers find their units and identify friend from foe. Because armies were large and communication was limited, signals by trumpet, drum and flag had to carry the commander’s intentions.
Two armies might face each other for hours without fighting. Each hoped the other would attack from a worse position, and the delay could turn on thirst, hunger, weather or the arrival of reinforcements.
The opening phase
Fighting often began at a distance. Archers shot volleys. Skirmishers and light troops tested the enemy line. Sometimes a few champions or ambitious knights rode out in individual displays, partly for honor. Missile fire could provoke the opposing side into an unwise advance, a trick commanders understood and sometimes used.
The clash
The main collision depended on the troops involved. A cavalry charge might strike a line of infantry, and the result depended on the line’s discipline. A firm line could break the charge and leave riders stalled and exposed. A weak one could collapse. Where both sides were infantry, the fight became a pushing, stabbing struggle at close range, with spears, axes, swords and polearms.
Fights were noisy, dusty and hard to see across. Visors limited vision and hearing, and armor was heavy and hot. Soldiers fought in small groups around a leader or banner, and a surprising amount of time could be spent in short bursts of effort, followed by pauses when the lines separated to catch breath. Fatigue was a major factor, and a unit that had fought for hours was less effective.
Commanders used reserves to reinforce a threatened part of the line or to exploit a breakthrough. Attacks on the flank and rear could be decisive, which is why protecting the edges of a line with woods, ditches, marshes or rivers mattered.
The turning point and rout
Many battles were decided less by killing than by morale. If one part of an army broke and ran, the rest could lose confidence and follow. The loss of a leader or standard could trigger flight. Contemporary writers often mention a moment when a rumor, a death or a surprise flank attack changed everything.
Once a line broke, the most serious casualties could come afterward. Pursuing cavalry rode down fleeing infantry, and men in heavy armor who tried to escape were caught or trapped. Historians often point out that the largest share of losses on the defeated side occurred in the rout. At the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, for example, the French king was captured, and the capture of nobles, as at many battles, was an important result.
After the fight
When it was over, the winners secured the field. They collected loot, stripped bodies of valuable equipment, counted prisoners and sorted out who had captured whom, since the rights to ransom were a source of disputes. Heralds identified the dead by their arms, which made heralds useful at the end of a battle as well as at tournaments. The dead were often buried in mass graves, though nobles might be returned to their families. Victors thanked God, and the site sometimes received a chapel or memorial.
Experience of the soldiers
Ordinary soldiers faced fear, exhaustion and poor information. Many had little idea of the larger plan. Some were unwilling levies, others paid professionals or men with a stake in their lord’s success. Wounds were serious because medical treatment was limited, and infection could kill those who survived the fight. Chroniclers sometimes wrote of the sights and sounds of battle, though they often drew on convention.
The battles of Hastings, Bannockburn and Hattin show the variety. At Hastings in 1066, a day-long struggle ended with the death of the English king. At Bannockburn in 1314, a Scottish army used disciplined spear formations against English cavalry. At Hattin in 1187, thirst and heat helped doom a crusader army before Saladin’s forces closed in. In each case terrain, supply and morale shaped what the soldiers lived through.
A note on terms
The phrase “art of battle” can mislead. Medieval commanders rarely had a detailed theory, though some read older military advice. Their skill lay in choosing ground, managing troops, and judging the moment, and in accepting that chance often decided the outcome.