How do you defeat an army based on light cavalry in the middle ages?

doesn't it kinda depend on which horse archers you're facing too? I remember reading somewhere that the horse archers in the Saracen armies used a light bow that wasn't so effective against the Crusaders. But the Mongols used something that hit a lot harder, plus they were organized and well disciplined far beyond anyone they faced in Europe...
 
doesn't it kinda depend on which horse archers you're facing too? I remember reading somewhere that the horse archers in the Saracen armies used a light bow that wasn't so effective against the Crusaders. But the Mongols used something that hit a lot harder, plus they were organized and well disciplined far beyond anyone they faced in Europe...

Actually yes, the Mongols first defeated and conquered virtually all the nomad steppe tribes/peoples. And that makes us think that the Mongols were much better than any other nomad tribe/confederation.
So an idea that "any nomad army is equal to any other nomad army" is painfully wrong.
It is the same as saying that there is no difference between sedentary armies; like "an army of the Cimbri and Teutons is the same shit as an army of the Roman republic - just foot soldiers with swords, spears, shields and a little bit of cavalry."

* But the Mongolian bow being better than other nomad bows is an old myth. The Mongol bow was exactly the same as the turkic bow used at that time from Bulgaria to Uiguria.
 
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Can I suggest a TL where the Magyars do better would be far more fun and likelier?

Their advantage was they could fire their bows faster compared to the settled. And Arpad was a genius of the steppe like Genghis Khan.

For the 'losses' beforehand were standard nomad deception tactics; and it speaks badly to Luitpold's "smarts" that he was suckered by a standard neighbor trick.

Remember the Mongolian empire was one of the biggest ever. And it had good freedom of religion, way before Christians. And good protection and encouragement for merchants.

Awesome idea---get writing!
 

iddt3

Donor
Another option is to repeatedly cull the Nomad's horse herds. Instead of fighting them directly, you try to kill their way of life.
 
Actually yes, the Mongols first defeated and conquered virtually all the nomad steppe tribes/peoples. And that makes us think that the Mongols were much better than any other nomad tribe/confederation.
So an idea that "any nomad army is equal to any other nomad army" is painfully wrong.
It is the same as saying that there is no difference between sedentary armies; like "an army of the Cimbri and Teutons is the same shit as an army of the Roman republic - just foot soldiers with swords, spears, shields and a little bit of cavalry."

* But the Mongolian bow being better than other nomad bows is an old myth. The Mongol bow was exactly the same as the turkic bow used at that time from Bulgaria to Uiguria.

Right, but he did say Saracen bows. The Mongols used compound sinew bows if I'm not mistaken, did the Levantine Arabs use the same type? I'd have to think they did, given the good climate for it.

One thing no ones mentioned is the importance of weather; most horse archer based armies used laminar compind bows that would disintegrate if they became wet, whereas archers from wet climates only needed to keep their bowstrings dry. But I guess since weather PODs are considered ASB, it's not very helpful to this TL.
 
I've got a book called "Warfare in the Medieval World" and it describes the differences between shock (hand-to-hand combat) and missile (think archers) configurations. Heavy infantry or cavalry were the armored troops who fought close-quarters while Light infantry or cavalry mainly used bows and arrows and fought at a distance.

  • Heavy infantry was generally dominant in defending against heavy cavalry
  • Heavy cavalry was generally dominant in attacking light infantry
  • Light infantry was generally dominant in defending against light cavalry or attacking heavy infantry.
  • Light cavalry was generally dominant in attacking heavy infantry or heavy cavalry.

Note that this list says generally. You also had to deal with terrain, the skill of the commander and the troops he was leading.

Personally, I'd recommend a light infantry force that is very difficult to pin down and encircle and can attack from a distance with archers.
 
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