Chapter 1: Special
Operations, Strategy, and Politics in the Age of Chivalry – An
Analytical Overview
The chapter analyses the methods and
importance of special operations in the period 1100-1550, against the
background of medieval and Renaissance politics and culture.
Chapter 2: The
Gateway to the Middle East: Antioch, 1098
In 1098 the First Crusade almost ended in
disaster. The Crusaders were unable to capture Antioch, Syria’s largest
city, and a huge rescue army was approaching to relieve it. In the very
last moment, a daring raid aided by a traitor in Antioch’s garrison
delivered the city to the Crusaders and opened the way to the occupation
of the Holy Land.
Chapter 3: Saving
King Baldwin: Khartpert, 1123
In 1123 King Baldwin II of Jerusalem was
held captive by Prince Balak. The raid mounted to save the captured king
turned out to be one of the most spectacular special operations of the
Middle Ages.
Chapter 4: The
Assassination of King Conrad: Tyre, 1192
In the twelfth-century Middle East a
radical Shi’ite sect, known to its supporters as the Nizaris and to its
enemies as the Order of the Hashishin (or Assassins), became an
important political power thanks to its ruthless use of assassination
and subversion. The chapter analyses the methods used by the Nizaris,
and studies in depth one of their most famous exploits: the
assassination of Conrad of Montferrat during the preparations for his
coronation as king of Jerusalem (1192).
Chapter 5: For a
Sack-full of Gold Écus: Calais, 1350
After its capture in 1348 the port city
of Calais became the main English base on the Continent. On New Year’s
Night 1349/50 French raiders aided by a mercenary captain who served on
the city’s garrison attempted to recapture the place. Treachery,
however, was rife in more than one camp that night.
Chapter 6: Princes
in the Cross-Hairs: The Rise and Fall of Valois Burgundy, 1407-1483
At the end of the fourteenth century the
Valois dukes of Burgundy were just one amongst several leading French
noble dynasties. Within a few decades they gained a vast feudal empire
stretching from the Alps to the North Sea. The Burgundian dukes made
ample use of assassination, abduction and other dirty tricks in their
campaign of territorial aggrandizement, and became in their turn
lucrative targets for such operations. The chapter studies the use of
special operations in fifteenth century Burgundy and France, and the
development of elaborate safety measures to protect princes against
them.
Chapter 7: The Mill
of Auriol: Auriol, 1536
The success of the Imperial invasion of
Provence in 1536 turned upon the Emperor’s ability to supply his troops
with food. The flour mill of Auriol was a cornerstone of the Imperial
supply system. The chapter studies the defensive measures taken by the
Emperor to protect the mill, and the daring night raid which a French
junior officer led against it.
Conclusions
