Battle of Dorylaeum (1147)
The second battle of Eskisehir was a battle between an army of crusaders under Conrad III. and a host of Rum - Seljuks in 1147 during the Second Crusade and ended with an easy -fought victory of the Seljuks.
Prehistory
End of May 1147 was Konrad III. broken up with his army of crusaders from Regensburg. The army consisted of about 20,000 men, including many unarmed pilgrims. In the wake of Conrad also Vladislav II Duke coated with (from 1158 king) of Bohemia and Boleslav I Duke of Silesia. At the top of the German nobility was Conrad's nephew and heir, Frederick Duke of Swabia (later Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa ) and Conrad's half-brother, Henry II Jasomirgott, Margrave of Austria and Duke of Bavaria. The troops from Lorraine was under the direction of Stephen of Bar, Bishop of Metz (1120-1162), and Henry I of Lorraine, Bishop of Toul ( 1127-1167 ).
Even before the train had reached Byzantium, there were clashes with Manuel I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, the feared Konrad would turn against him. Manuel agreed in a secret agreement on a truce with the Seljuks. However, his wife Bertha was between the Crusaders and convey him. Against the advice of Manuel pulled Konrad, as around 50 years before the First Crusade, through the middle of Asia Minor.
The Battle
Conrad's army was ready to march through the rugged highlands inadequate. It came in the mountains progressing so slowly that food and water were scarce earlier than planned. The exhausted and thirsty crusaders came then near Dorylaion in a well-prepared ambush by the Seljuks. It succeeded the Seljuk mounted archers to entice the Christian knights to pursue them. Absent and far away from their own infantry, they were easy prey for the Seljuk cavalry. The Christian infantry was now completely taken by surprise and had to retreat under catastrophic losses.
The survivors retreated initially ordered back and were constantly harassed by the Seljuk pursuers. The need to procure supplies in the surrounding areas, thereby slowing their progress. When I succeeded the Seljuks to overpower the rear guard of the Crusaders and their commander, Count Bernard of Plötzkau to kill, panic broke out in the army of crusaders and the Seljuk Turks massacred the disordered fugitives down now unhindered.
Only at the beginning of November, Konrad secure Nicaea, by then he had lost most of his army. Many of the survivors were wounded, including Konrad.
Follow
With the scanty remainder of his troops Konrad met in Lopadium on Rhyndacus with the train of Louis VII together, and the two walked together along the coast. In Ephesus Konrad ill and stayed behind. The army suffered the rainy winter weather, was poorly served by the allied Byzantines and repeatedly attacked by Seljuk Turks. Few of them reached Palestine.