The Conquest of Saxony AD 782–785 by David Nicolle

Author:David Nicolle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Conquest of Saxony AD 782–785: Charlemagne’s defeat of Widukind of Westphalia
ISBN: 9781782008279
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

The Tour aux Puces, overlooking the river Moselle in Thionville, is all that remains of the palacio publico mentioned in AD 770. Its foundations are probably Carolingian. (Author’s photograph)

The clear material and numerical superiority of Carolingian armies, and their superior organization, meant that the Saxons won only a single clear-cut battlefield victory, though there were other occasions when the victories claimed by Carolingian chroniclers do not bear close examination. On all these occasions the Saxons found themselves with a local numerical and tactical advantage, and in the better-recorded battle in the Süntel Hills in AD 782, their enemies also made a major blunder. Above all, despite the importance of horses in their culture, the Saxons still lacked a substantial cavalry force, whereas the Carolingians were by now renowned in this field.

The Saxons and their leaders rapidly recognized that their own few advantages could be used effectively only in guerrilla warfare and in raiding enemy territory when an opportunity arose. This they often did because of Charlemagne’s commitments or ambitions elsewhere. There were also many occasions when Saxon ‘rebel’ forces attacked Carolingian fortified outposts and the more exposed of Christian abbeys. Here they achieved several notable successes, though usually when Charlemagne’s garrisons abandoned their positions in the face of seemingly overwhelming force. The Saxons were markedly less successful in defending their own fortifications and seem to have done so only when they and their families were unable or unwilling to flee into the forests.

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