Reviews

Special Operations in the Age of Chivalry, 1100-1550 by Yuval Noah Harari

cncept's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Ein insgesamt interessantes und informatives Buch, dass eine unbedachte Taktik gut betrachtet.

chalicotherex's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Harari's thesis is that special operations in the medieval world consisted of kidnapping, assassination, seizing infrastructure via stealth or trickery and the outright destruction of infrastructure. While such 'underhanded' methods were always tried and often critical in warfare, they were never developed into a system because they had a tendency to upset the order of things, especially assassination.

The six case studies are very detailed and the final chapter - on Blaise Montluc's destruction of the mill of Aurial - particularly stands out for its vivid retelling of a little-known sortie that changed the course of a war.
More...