Why did the Second Crusade fail?

Why did the Second Crusade fail?

1. Strained Relationship with Manuel I

   • Conrad's relationship with Manuel came under strain when Conrad's forces began their march through Hungary and the Byzantine Empire to Constantinople.
     • This was because Manuel had the Byzantine army, commanded by Prosuch, follow the Germans in order to prevent any efforts to capture territory.
   • Manuel I and Louis VII was somewhat more strained because of the latter's close association with Roger of Sicily.
     • This was partly a result of Roger's Norman origins, but mainly because Roger and Louis had originally planned to crusade together.

2. The German Campaign 1147-1148

   • Conrad's overconfidence caused for his plans not to work quite as he had hoped.
     • He believed they could acquire supplies as they travelled, but they struggled to do so because Manuel actually had little control of the area they journeyed through.

3. The French Campaign 1147-1148

   • The first major problem was logistics, the French were extremely short of supplies
     • The army came under intense pressure, the main body of the army survived due to the Templars, but Louis's reputation was damaged

4. The Antioch Plan

   • Prince Raymond of Antioch made a military proposal to Louis, alongside the nobles of Antioch, in May 1148.
     • His plan was that the crusaders could help to capture Aleppo and Shaizar, which would neutralise the Muslim threat to Antioch in the north.
       • However, Louis much to Raymond's chagrin, rejected the plan out of hand.

5. Failure to consult the leaders of the Crusader States

   • Neither Conrad nor Louis had consulted with the leaders of Outremer in advance of the Second Crusade, which had several negative effects in the course of their campaign.

6. The crusader's stated goal was the recapture of Edessa, but this had been completely destroyed in 1146. However, as late as 1148, Conrad wrote a letter explaining his intentions to take Edessa, showing the leaders in Outremer that their objective was unrealistic.