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Thanks to Dr Brian G H Ditcham (from one British empiricist to another) for his contribution on mediaeval warfare to the colloquium on John A Lynn's *Battle* in response to my fellow contributor Professor Michael A Ramsay. In the same adventurous spirit that Dr Ditcham nominates Sherman's 1864 Georgia campaign as the last chevauchée, delving back into my early mediaeval past I would like to nominate for the *first* chevauchée in any mediaeval context Alfred the Great's strategy of avoiding battle and using raids on supply lines against the Viking Army that crossed into England from France in 892. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, having forced the Vikings back as far north as Chester, Alfred's forces 'surrounded the fortification for two days or so... they burnt up all the corn, and with their horses ate the neighbourhood bare' forcing the Vikings to retreat further into Wales without the need for a pitched battle. A strategy of war that stretches from 892 to 1864 (and perhaps further in both directions) is unlikely to be specific to any one culture. What it does seem to need is a lot of horses. Stephen Badsey _________________________________________________________________ From must-see cities to the best beaches, plan a getaway with the Spring Travel Guide! http://special.msn.com/local/springtravel.armx
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