If it wasn’t for the Battle of Tours, much of Europe might have converted to Islam and modern-day Spain and Portugal might have been very much an Islamic state.
After two decades of a blistering assault by the Umayyad Caliphate, much of Iberia had been taken over by them with the Europeans being chased out. By 720, the Moors were knocking on the doorsteps of the Frankish kingdom (modern day France).
In fact, the Muslim army had advanced so deep into France that it alarmed many kings. At Tours, then Francia’s king, Charles Martel, led a combined army of Frankish and Burgundian forces against their religious foes.
With both armies roughly even, Charles knew it was his game to wait and wanted to force the Umayyadian commander’s hand. Abd-al-Raḥmân was a competent commander but he had an army that was baying for blood and loot. Furthermore, his men were poorly equipped for the oncoming European winter as they were dressed in light Arab clothing while Charles’ soldiers were clad in thick winter clothing. His intelligence service had failed him because he had close to no knowledge about the host that laid before him; Charles had cunningly used the forests to screen his army.
Charles strategically chose a hill with thick forests so as to impede the mighty Umyaddian cavalry. He only had infantry but his men had been specially trained for an entire decade for this very day. As such, he had disciplined and battle-hardened troops- each of them were said to be toting at least up to 75 pounds of armor. Such heavy infantry was able to withstand the endless cavalry charges.
Charles prayed for a miracle.
He got it.
The two huge hosts of about 100,000 men in total clashed in a mighty battle.
While 'Abd-al-Raḥmân trusted the tactical superiority of his cavalry and had them charge repeatedly, the disciplined Frankish soldiers withstood the assaults. Despite breaking into the defensive square on several occasions, the Franks did not yield and their commander was untouched.
Hence, the well-trained Frank soldiers accomplished what was not thought possible at that time: infantry withstanding a heavy cavalry charge. Paul Davis says the core of Charles's army was a professional infantry which was both highly disciplined and well motivated, "having campaigned with him all over Europe".
The Mozarabic Chronicle of 754 says:
And in the shock of battle the men of the North seemed like a sea that cannot be moved. Firmly they stood, one close to another, forming as it were a bulwark of ice; and with great blows of their swords they hewed down the Arabs. Drawn up in a band around their chief, the people of the Austrasians carried all before them. Their tireless hands drove their swords down to the breasts [of the foe].
The turning point of the battle finally came when the greedy Muslims heard a rumor that their baggage train which contained their loot thus far was being raided. Men started retreating in order to protect said possessions and it became a rout. Charles had only lost 1,500 men while his enemy had lost 12,000 soldiers.
The next morning, Charles who was expecting an ambush or a counterattack was shocked to see the Muslim army having escaped through the night.
The end result?
Never again would the Caliphate ever encroach so closely on European soil again and it sealed the end for the Moors in Iberia as they descended into a civil war soon after.
Writer: Daryl Tew (Quora)
