Bohemond vs. the Turks: the Battle of the Iron Bridge, 1098

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The Battle of the Iron Bridge, 1098

After their victory at Dorylaeum, the First Crusaders went on to besiege Antioch in Syria. What they’d hoped would be a brief interlude on the way to Jerusalem turned into a months-long stalemate before Antioch’s impregnable walls, the crusaders suffering greatly from hunger and cold through the Syrian winter.
In February, 1098 dire news reached the crusader camp: Ridwan, Emir of Aleppo, was on his way with an army 12,000 strong. The crusaders now faced the possibility of being sandwiched between the Turks of Antioch and Ridwan’s army: a scenario likely ending in annihilation of the Christians.
Unfortunately, the crusader army was at this point dangerously short of horses and men. By now Bohemond had many times proved himself the best commander among the crusaders, and so was elected to lead the operation against Ridwan. The Norman giant selected seven hundred knights to accompany him on an ambush of the Turkish relief force.
Rarely did the crusaders deploy horsemen without infantry support, but they’d learned to adopt some of the swift cavalry tactics of the Turks. In this case, the crusaders didn’t have many men to spare for a large infantry, but Bohemond also elected on a solely cavalry operation to enhance his speed.
Ridwan was approaching from the northeast, via the rugged road that led to the Iron Bridge outside of Antioch. Bohemond and his cavalry departed quietly on the night of February 8th, advancing up the road to cut off Ridwan’s progress.
Bohemond split his cavalry into six divisions. The first five Bohemond sent ahead under Count Robert of Flanders. Meanwhile, Bohemond commanded the sixth, which he positioned in a hidden spot.
When Count Robert’s forces encountered Ridwan’s immense host, it must’ve been terrifying for them, outnumbered by more than twelve to one. Count Robert immediately ordered an attack, followed by a hasty retreat to draw Ridwan’s pursuit. Ridwan did not disappoint: he at once committed his full force to chasing the Christians; Ridwan felt that he could easily crush such a small detachment.
However, Count Robert’s men led Ridwan straight into Bohemond’s trap. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Bohemond’s sixth division appeared. With Bohemond himself leading the charge, the Norman cavalry thundered down onto the Turks. Ridwan’s forces scattered in panic. Count Robert joined Bohemond in pursuing the Turks as far as Harim, capturing horses and booty all the way.
The Battle of the Iron Bridge was one of the most important victories of the First Crusade. Bohemond was too outnumbered to defeat Ridwan in a drawn-out battle. The Norman general had to gamble the fate of the crusade on a perfectly timed feigned retreat, followed by a perfectly executed ambush. The tactical genius of Bohemond, along with the skill of his men, resulted in triumph.

Sources:

-Asbridge, Thomas - The First Crusade: A New History, (Oxford, 2004)
-Barber, Malcolm - The Crusader States, (Yale, 2014)
-Peters, Edward - The First Crusade: Fulcher of Chartres and Other Sources Materials, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998)
-William of Tyre - A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, Vol. I, trans. Emily Babcock and A.C. Krey, (Columbia University Press, 1943)