Page 133 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

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concentrate on transport ships, especially horse transports. The Byzantines had used
these during the era of the reconquest of the Mediterranean islands, chiefly Crete and
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Cyprus in the 10 century. At that time they were capable of holding 12 horses, together
with their riders and other soldiers. The ability to deliver an effective cavalry to the bat-
tlefront was an important part of force projection at this time. The Norman Conquest
of Sicily was initiated in 1061, by crossing the Straits of Messina with horse transports
carrying the knights’ destriers (chargers) overnight. Apparently they were able to cram
270 animals into 13 ships (over 20 per vessel), and once these were landed the transports
returned to pick up another 140. This was a very short transit (although it could be a very
dangerous one at times); but the landings are a classic example of amphibious move-
ment of key land troops to the battlefront.
It is uncertain how such ships were constructed, although there is evidence of a spe-
cial type that had a square stern with two stemposts. This specialist vessel had various
names: tarida (Arabic), chelandion (Greek) and huissier (French). The last description
makes its function clear as it means a door. In fact, it was designed to allow a drop
down ramp to be activated once the ship had been backed onto the shore: a veritable
roll-on-roll-off ferry in modern terms. We are fortunate to possess a good representation
the craft in the late 12 century chronicle of Peter of Eboli. In principal this enabled
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knights to ride their horses straight from ship-to-shore. Byzantine chronicles record this
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as happening in the 10 century while we possess detailed accounts of this in 13 cen-
tury French sources. For example, at the first conquest of Constantinople in 1203, the
crusader Robert de Clari recounts:
‘As soon as they reached the shore, the knights came out from the transports on their
horse, for the transports were made in such a way that there was a door that could be
opened and a bridge thrust out by which the knights could ride out onto the land already
mounted.’
During the Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, his companion and
biographer, Jean de Joinville describes the embarking of horses at Marseilles in August
1248:
‘On the day we embarked on the ships, the door of the ship was opened and all the
horses we wanted to take overseas were put inside. And the door was closed and well-
caulked, just as when a cask is submerged, because once the ship is on the high seas, the
entire door is in the water.’
Now, this vessel was certainly a roundship, with the door in the side of the hull, so
getting the horses off would have been a slower process. The caulking, which was a
mixture of tar and fibre, also took time to fix and unpick. There is another important is-
sue about moving horses by sea, over a long journey, which is that they are physically
distressed by both the lack of exercise and the need to keep them secure, for example,
by placing slings under their bellies, which alters their balance. The effects can be so
severe as to render them useless for riding for some time after disembarkation. The verse
history of Richard the Lionheart’s invasion of Cyprus in 1191, describes his knights’
horses as stiff and sore after a month at sea, although it is claimed that after landing in
the evening they were fit to ride the next day (which may be poetic license).