Charles “The Hammer” Martel – Military
This will be my favorite pick in this draft, even if he ended up being rated last in his category. Charles Martel, or The Hammer as he would later become known for the way he mercilessly hammered his opponents, is one of my favorite historical characters. I had him behind only Genghis Khan and Alexander on the military list, ahead of other more well know generals and leaders, for reasons I’ll try to outline.
There are few reasons why I rate him so highly. First and foremost was his victory at the Battle of Tours and subsequent defeat of the Muslim incursions into Europe between 732-737, which effectively decided that Europe would remain a Christian continent. There has been some disagreement in the 20th century over how effectively the Umayyad dynasty could have maintained their foothold into Gaul, but most historians still regard this as a macrohistorical event that ensure Europe would remain a Christian continent. No one argues that there was any other power in Europe at the time that could have resisted, so the Umayyad would have had free reign to pillage the continent even if they never asserted direct control.
Regardless if full credit is given for stopping the Muslim advance, however, no one can dispute that his military accomplishments paved the way for the Carolingian empire, which has already been spotlighted by the excellent selection of Charlemagne, Charles Martel’s grandson. The Carolingian empire that Martel began spawned both the Holy Roman Empire and the French-German historical lines. All of these empires were sustained by the military and feudal traditions that are generally credited to Martel – among which are the feudal state concept itself, chivalry, the standing army, and the tradition of Knighthood associated with the European heavy cavalry.
Two other things stand out about Martel; first, he was essentially peerless as a general in his age. After establishing dominance in central Europe and routing the Muslim incursion, no one would even challenge him. His military acumen was directly responsible for the victory at Tours, where he was likely outnumbered at least 2 to 1 and facing a heavy cavalry with just heavy infantry. As was the case with all of his major engagement, he was able to dictate the field of battle, surprise the enemy with his locations, formations, and tactical maneuvers.
The last thing two points for Martel are his re-introduction of a standing army, which through his foresight directly lead to the tours victory, and the subsequent development of his own heavy cavalry. The latter feat was something that his Muslim opponents assumed it would take him a full generation to implement, but he actually accomplished in just 5 years. Anyway, enough form me, read up more on Martel and the
Battle of Tours.
Charles "The Hammer" Martel (Latin: Carolus Martellus, English: Charles "the Hammer") (ca. 688[citation needed] – 22 October 741) was proclaimed Mayor of the Palace and ruled the Franks in the name of a titular King. Late in his reign he proclaimed himself Duke of the Franks (the last four years of his reign he did not even bother with the façade of a King) and by any name was de facto ruler of the Frankish Realms. In 739 he was offered an office of Roman consul by the Pope, which he rejected.[1] He expanded his rule over all three of the Frankish kingdoms: Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy.
Martel was born in Herstal, in present-day Belgium, the illegitimate son of Pippin the Middle and his concubine Alpaida (or Chalpaida).[2] He was described by Gustave Louis Maurice Strauss in his book "Moslem and Frank; or, Charles Martel and the rescue of Europe" as a tall, powerfully built man, who was more agile than his size would lead men to believe.
He is best remembered for winning the Battle of Tours (also known as the Battle of Poitiers) in 732, which has traditionally been characterized as an event that halted the Islamic expansionism in Europe that had conquered Iberia.[3] "Charles's victory has often been regarded as decisive for world history, since it preserved western Europe from Muslim conquest and Islamization."[4]
In addition to being the leader of the army that prevailed at Tours, Charles Martel was a truly giant figure of the Middle Ages. A brilliant general, he is considered the forefather of western heavy cavalry, chivalry, founder of the Carolingian Empire, and a catalyst for the feudal system, which would see Europe through the Middle Ages. Although some recent scholars have suggested he was more of a beneficiary of the feudal system than a knowing agent for social change, others continue to see him as the primary catalyst for the feudal system.[5]
Military legacy
Heavy infantry and permanent army
Victor Davis Hanson argues that Charles Martel launched "the thousand year struggle" between European heavy infantry and Muslim cavalry.[15] Of course, Martel is also the father of heavy cavalry in Europe, as he integrated heavy armoured cavalry into his forces. This creation of a real army would continue all through his reign, and that of his son, Pepin the Short, until his Grandson, Charlemagne, would possess the world's largest and finest army since the peak of Rome.[16] Equally, the Muslims used infantry - indeed, at the Battle of Toulouse most of their forces were light infantry. It was not till Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi brought a huge force of Arab and Berber cavalry with him when he assumed the emirate of Al-Andulus that the Muslim forces became primarily cavalry.
Martel's army was known primarily for being the first standing permanent army since Rome's fall in 476,[citation needed] and for the core of tough, seasoned heavy infantry who stood so stoutly at Tours. The Frankish infantry wore as much as 70 pounds of armour, including their heavy wooden shields with an iron boss. Standing close together, and well disciplined, they were unbreakable at Tours.[17] Martel had taken the money and property he had seized from the church and paid local nobles to supply trained ready infantry year round. This was the core of veterans who served with him on a permanent basis, and as Hanson says, "provided a steady supply of dependable troops year around." This was the first permanent army since Rome. "[16] While other Germanic cultures, such as the Visigoths or Vandals, had a proud martial tradition, and the Franks themselves had an annual muster of military aged men, such tribes were only able to field armies around planting and harvest. It was Martel's creation of a system whereby he could call on troops year round that gave the Carolingians the first standing and permanent army since Rome's fall in the west.
And, first and foremost, Charles Martel will always be remembered for his victory at Tours. Creasy argues that the Martel victory "preserved the relics of ancient and the germs of modern civilizations." Gibbon called those eight days in 732, the week leading up to Tours, and the battle itself, "the events that rescued our ancestors of Britain, and our neighbors of Gaul [France], from the civil and religious yoke of the Koran." Paul Akers, in his editorial on Charles Martel, says for those who value life and freedom "you might spare a minute sometime today, and every October, to say a silent 'thank you' to a gang of half-savage Germans and especially to their leader, Charles 'The Hammer' Martel."[18]
In his vision of what would be necessary for him to withstand a larger force and superior technology (the Muslim horsemen had adopted the armour and accoutrements of heavy cavalry from the Sassanid Warrior Class, which made the first knights possible), he, daring not to send his few horsemen against the Islamic cavalry, used his army to fight in a formation used by the ancient Greeks to withstand superior numbers and weapons by discipline, courage, and a willingness to die for their cause: a phalanx. He had trained a core of his men year round, using mostly Church funds, and some had literally been with him since his earliest days after his father's death. It was this hard core of disciplined veterans that won the day for him at Tours. Hanson emphasizes that Martel's greatest accomplishment as a General may have been his ability to keep his troops under control. This absolute iron discipline saved his infantry from the fate of so many infantrymen - such as the Saxons at Hastings - who broke formation and were slaughtered piecemeal. After using this infantry force by itself at Tours, he studied the foe's forces and further adapted to them, initially using stirrups and saddles recovered from the foe's dead horses, and armour from the dead horsemen.
Development of heavy cavalry
After 732, he began the integration into his army of heavy cavalry, using the armour and accoutrements of heavy armoured horsemen, training his infantry to fight in conjunction with cavalry, a tactic which stood him in good stead during his campaigns of 736-737, especially at the Battle of Narbonne. His incorporation of heavy armoured cavalry into the western forces created the first "knights" in the west.
Brilliant generalship
Martel earned his reputation for brilliant generalship, in an age generally bereft of same, by his ability to use what he had and by integrating new ideas and technology. As a consequence, he was undefeated from 716 to his death against a wide range of opponents, including the Muslim cavalry (at that time, the world's best) and the fierce barbarian Saxons on his own borders -- and all this in spite of virtually always being outnumbered. He was the only general in the Middle Ages in Europe to use the eastern battle technique of feigned retreat. His ability to attack where he was least expected and when he was least expected was legendary. The process of the development of the famous chivalry of France continued in the Edict of Pistres of his great-great-grandson and namesake Charles the Bald.
The defeats Martel inflicted on the Muslims were vital in that the split in the Islamic world left the Caliphate unable to mount an all out attack on Europe via its Iberian stronghold after 750. His ability to meet this challenge, until the Muslims self-destructed, is considered by most historians to be of macrohistorical importance, and is why Dante writes of him in Heaven as one of the "Defenders of the Faith." After 750, the door to western Europe, the Iberian emirate, was in the hands of the Umayyads, while most of the remainder of the Muslim world came under the control of the Abbasids, making an invasion of Europe a logistical impossibility while the two Muslim empires battled. This put off Islamic invasion of Europe until the Turkish conquest of the Balkans half a millennium later.
H. G. Wells says of Charles Martel's decisive defeat of the Muslims in his "Short History of the World:
"The Moslim when they crossed the Pyrenees in 720 found this Frankish kingdom under the practical rule of Charles Martel, the Mayor of the Palace of a degenerate descendant of Clovis, and experienced the decisive defeat of Poitiers (732) at his hands. This Charles Martel was practically overlord of Europe north of the Alps from the Pyrenees to Hungary."[19]
John H. Haaren says in “Famous Men of the Middle Ages”
”The battle of Tours, or Poitiers, as it should be called, is regarded as one of the decisive battles of the world. It decided that Christians, and not Moslems, should be the ruling power in Europe. Charles Martel is especially celebrated as the hero of this battle.”
Just as his grandson, Charlemagne, would become famous for his swift and unexpected movements in his campaigns, Charles was legendary for never doing what his enemies forecast he would do. It was this ability to do the unforeseen, and move far faster than his opponents believed he could, that characterized the military career of Charles Martel.
It is notable that the Northmen did not begin their European raids until after the death of Martel's grandson, Charlemagne. They had the naval capacity to begin those raids at least three generations earlier, but chose not to challenge Martel, his son Pippin, or his grandson, Charlemagne. This was probably fortunate for Martel, who despite his enormous gifts, would probably not have been able to repel the Vikings in addition to the Muslims, Saxons, and everyone else he defeated. However, it is notable that again, despite the ability to do so, (the Danes had constructed defenses to defend from counterattacks by land, and had the ability to launch their wholesale sea raids as early as Martel's reign), they chose not to challenge Charles Martel.