ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Chevauchée

Imagine you are playing pirates with your friends and you want to sneak up on another group of pirates. But there's a big wall between your ship and their secret hideout. What do you do?

Well, you can't just climb over the wall because it's too high. But you can ride around it and attack them from a different side. This is what a "chevauchée" is.

A chevauchée is a war tactic used by medieval knights to attack their enemies. They would ride their horses around the outer walls of a castle or town, burning down crops, houses, and anything else they could find. This was meant to hurt the people inside the walls and weaken their defenses.

It was like playing pirates, but with real weapons and a lot more danger.

Some knights would also use the chevauchée tactic to gather supplies, like food and horses, from enemy territory. This was a way to make sure that their army had everything they needed to win the war.

So, a chevauchée is a strategic attack that involves riding around a wall or fortress to weaken the enemy and gather supplies. It was used by knights in medieval times and was a very effective way to win battles. But it's not something you should try at home!