So this is part 3 of a three wargame test of shieldwalls using two rulesets – Ancient & Medieval Wargaming (AMW) by Neil Thomas and Dux Bellorum (DuB) by Dan Mersey.
In the first two games which used AMW I first tested two shieldwalls against each other and then pitched a mounted force against a shieldwall.
The third game used Dux Bellorum. Now I have used AMW quite a few times whereas this was only a second time use of Dux Bellorum (DuB). DuB was published in 2012, 5 years after AMW and arguably a different offering. AMW perhaps looks back to traditional gaming techniques refreshed while DuB uses more recent approaches.
It emphasises the “leader’s influence” and is very much a game to be enjoyed. So although I think the latter applies to AMW, AMW is more about the collective 8 units working together to achieve victory? By that I mean the capabilities given to the units are the signficiant factor
I used the same “impetus style” elements (80mm x 60mm) to represent each DuB unit.
Instead of Nobles, Retainers, Peasants, Spearmen and Archers we have Companions, Shieldwall, Warriors, Riders, Bow and Skirmishers.
In keeping with a more modern terminology a stat line defines each type of unit.
Move – movement allowance in base widths (BW)
Bravery – equates to command, control and morale of the unit
Aggression (including missiles) – the striking effect of a unit
Protection – the defence value of a unit
Cohesion – endurance, numerical strength, will to fight ( so not the same as bravery above?) interesting that this cohesion is the stat that declines during the game though. Does that mean the unit always has the same morale but loses its will to fight?
Building an army is quick and simple. I went for two almost identical forces of 32 points maximum.
1 x 5 point companion + leader
3 x 5 point shieldwall nobles
3 x 3 point shieldwall ordinaries
2 x 1 point bow skirmishers
Except the “tinkerman” changed the Kings force swopping out one unit of foot skirmishers for some 2 point mounted skirmishers armed with javelins.
So in theory one side had the advantage of 1 point! 32pts (for the king) versus 31pts (for the rebels).
The Rebel Force was the Aggressor who normally goes first in each turn and each phase of a turn.
The battle took place on a plain devoid of any terrain features.
A companion or leader element was supported by 3 noble elements (1 unit to the left and 2 units to the right). At their left flank was 2 ordinary shieldwall units with 1 such element on the right flank. At each end of the line a skirmisher element of bowmen was deployed in the case of the rbels. The only difference was the Kings army having a unit of mounted javelin riders and only one unit of bow skirmishers. These horsemen were deployed on the Kings Earls right flank.
In the photos you will see some mounted troops in the centre of the Kings shieldwall – being a bit short of foot units these posed as foot companions in this battle! It should not affect the visual aspects of this post.
The arrangement being mirrored meant that each unit was matched except for nobles versus ordinary shieldwalls and the mounted javelin horse who squared up to some bow armed foot skirmishers.
roughed out set up of both forces before tinkering………
Narrative
Earl Toki continued his relentless march through the Wessex and even now the King still did not attend to him. He just sent another Earl, Earl Mathedoi, a Breton immigrant, to deal with Earl Toki.
Earl Mathedoi gathered a scratch force of infantry and again pursued the wily Earl Toki.
Earl Toki elected to give battle again on a flat plain confident that his men would be victorious whatever enemy force was sent against him.
Game set up
I used the set up rules positioning the two walls as close together as possible and aligned – 3 BW’s from an imaginary table centre lineThe Rebels are on the right in this view above. The rules are in small font compared to the AMW rules – not so good for quick reading mid game but the quick reference sheets were very useful.I used a large dice to show the units cohesion – red for the companions/leader. I used some silver beads to show their leadership points.Rebel left wing bowmen with some leadership points and a failed bravery throw (2 x D6 needing equal or less than 6)The right flank rebel bow skirmishers has more luck and moves forward. Generally small WHITE dice show hits for the rebels as well as tests such as braveryEarl Mathedoi with his impressive 6 cohesion and golden leadership points – both armies started with the basic 6 points leadership allocation.I like the leader bases even though neither DuB or AMW require them.An Ordinary shieldwall fails to move needing 7 – they then used the leadership points to achieve the roll.elsewhere on the rebel left flank good bravery throws were to be seenEventually Earl Toki and his rebels advance on the unmoving KIngs men
Earl Mathedoi elects to wait on events – he who waits………maybe?fruitless exchanges between bow armed skirmishers on the rebel right flank. Blue or purple small dice show hits for the King or things like bravery testsequally fruitless bowfire on the rebel leftThe two shieldwalls make contact – the rebels moved as a group using the leaders successful throw for bravery.Kingsmen at top throw basic aggression dice (three for ordinary shieldwall and four for noble shieldwall). The rebels moving into contact throw an extra dice on this occasion. The kings ordinaries won their fight and pushed back their opponents while their noble neighbours were both beaten and had to retire half a base width. Feels a bit like DBA here.Rebel success on each flank while the Kings men drive back the rebel centreThe Kings men attack in the flanks but lose again some initiative in the centreThe rebel bow skirmishers on the right pick off(with a 5 die roll) some more javelin horseman on the left flank they can just be seen in the bottom left trying to stay clear of the pesky bowmenon the rebel right flank some swift exchanges finally result in the rebel bow skirmishers fleeing the fielda bit disconcerting view that shows best the cohesion losses with the rebels having the worst of it.however the aggressive attacks by the rebels still give them some advantages, in DuxB attackers are well rewarded with more chances to hit – the issue is can the dice role well and has the repeller played their leadership points not so well?The rebels have the upper hand in the centre in attacksand also on the rebel left flank the rebels have the potential to damage the kings men.now the dice roll well for the rebels on their right flank as seen from the kings side herein the centre it is a disaster as the Mathedoi throws well – very well.On the rebels left flank they also stumble with the Javelin armed horse throwing in their lot as well.Earl Mathedoi’s left hand ordinary shieldwall collapses thoughin a blur they are gone!again this pitcure shows the cohesion dice well – everywhere both sides are on the verge of collapseThe rebel left flank bowmen skirmish with their javelin horsed opponents – firing into a melee is permitted under certain conditions. Here Mathedoi has thoughfully put some leadership protection in place to save the day for now.The battle reaches its height and yet the battle lines are still discernableThe rebels right flank shieldwall make contact with the kings left flank skirmishers who put up a fight using some valuable leadership points – opting to go for the kill rather than in this case saving themselves.in the centre the battle goes against the Kings menOn the kings right flank disaster strikes – three rebel sixes destroy the kings ordinary shieldwall and Mathedoi’s right flank shieldwall collapsesThe ordinary shieldwall retires from the fieldAgain the rebel skirmishers fail to make any impact on the kings javelin armed horsemen who bravely now face the rebel shieldwall alone. It is here you must remember Dan Merseys words that the battle is a whirling mix of individual fights and not the apparent order conveyed by our neatly based models!The final act as everywhere the rebels inflict terrible losses on the kings lineThe kings ordinary men still have some fight in them (the blue dice) though, as they destroy a rebel shieldwall while their noble brothers succumb at their sideMathedoi, his companions and more nobles give up the fight. The loss of units earlier in the battle has reduced the kings leadership points and fatally weakened Mathedois ability to keep units in the fight including his own hearth troopsEven the kings javelin horsmen run out of luckIn the distance the javelin horsemen flee as do the nobles, companions and Mathedoi himself. Nearby some rebels give up the fight as wellAs Mathedoi is swept away by his own troops he has no time to reflect on how his decision to wait on events probably made all the difference between victory and defeat. Dux Bellorum on this occasion rewarded the brave and agressive rebelsAs the fighting ends and the line thins out, the Kings men have just 3 units left and with their leader fleeing they are defeated. The rebels hold the field with 7 of their 9 units intact.
In my next post I will comment on these three battles.
Narrative ending for now
Earl Toki was beginning to feel confident as were his men who had now seen off many of the Kings forces. Who would come against them now?
Nobles – Dark Age Infantry – medium armour, Elite between 1-3 units
Peasants – Dark Age Infantry – light armour, Average between 4-6 units
Archers – Light Infantry (bow) – light armour, Levy between 0-1 units
Special rules
Shieldwall can be adopted by both Nobles and Peasants. This formation imposes movement limits while providing enhanced saving rolls equivalent to the best you can get.
Integral Archers gives extra firepower to a unit just in the first turn of combat
Cavalry – one unit of nobles can be reclassed as
Cavalry – Heavy Cavalry – light armour, Elite
The warband option only applies to armies before 600AD and is mandatory before that date. I was interested in the shieldwall so my armies were post 600AD and in fact more like 900AD, what’s a few hundred years in dark age time………..
The Gloom of morning catches the scene – Rebels in the foreground with the Kings men approaching in the distance
I opted for two identical armies conveniently named Wessex 1 (Kings Earl) and Wessex 2 (Rebel Earl). Nothing like some internal dissention.
The 8-unit armies were both the same.
2 units of Nobles
4 units of Peasants
Shieldwall capability applied to the above 6 units
1 unit of Archers
1 unit of Cavalry
I had intended to give the rebels the integral archery option but forgot to do that in the actual game. So much for testing!
The core of each army were peasants and noble units forming shieldwall
The six infantry units squared up against each other while the light infantry supported the right wing in each case with the Cavalry withdrawn on the left.
The Rebel Earl stood with his men in the ShieldwallThese Kings men look like interlopers both mounted and on foot, hmmmmm
The nobles were in the centre of each line and both lines matched each other so as the battle got underway it was noble against noble and peasant against peasant. I did not pitch each leader’s unit against each other though. Remember that the leader confers no extra benefit or disadvantage if lost.
At the centre of both lines the leaders fought adjacent to each other, something which would affect the battle outcome in an unexpected way.
The Kings men expected to make short work of these insolent rebels.
The sun began to shine although the glare did not seem to affect the rebels on the left flank
In the early stages, it was the rebels who made rapid gains on both flanks racking up hits before everything hit a stalemate or rather a slower rate of hits, now being equally inflicted.
The Kings men of the left flank take an early barrage of hits omniously.On the rebel left the Kings men were just taking a bit more punishment than they handed out. Maybe these rebels were no pushover after all
Finally, the left flank peasant unit of the Kings army fled the field after some hard fighting. And even the Cavalry behind them were no support to keep them in line.
The left flank peasant shieldwall dark age infantry reduced to a yellow ring indicating two bases left had already incurred 3 of the 4 available hits left to them on this ring. Three hits (yellow dice) were incurred while no saving throws made the cut (orange, 3,1,2 versus required 6) so with one base lost a nasty twist in AMW rules is triggered – throw for morale due to a base loss. Here the Kings men needed 4-6 and threw a measly 2. Already down to one base that went as well. The left wing of the Kings men leave the field in full view of the cavalry reserveThe Kings men cavalry reserve approaches the shieldwall which was now reforming. As they came up to the line the levy archers poured a few arrows into the hapless cavalry
These Kings horsemen rode into the fray. They crashed into the victorious rebel peasant unit who held them. The battle now continued until the rebels centre crumpled and a noble unit turned tail. The triumphant Kings Army Leader drove forward into the gap and turned onto the Rebel Leaders flank to deliver the killer blow. However, the rebel cavalry charged into the centre and took the Kings Noble Leader unit in the rear.
A rebel nobles unit on a yellow ring and with 2 hits remaining repeats the same trick of losing a base to combat (yellow 4,6 versus orange saving throws of 1,2) and then their remaining base to morale (green 2 when a 3-6 would have done the job)The rebel nobles unit retires leaving the Kings men with the opportunity to exploit the collapse of the rebel centre.The rebel leader and the right flank are dangerously weak with 2 red rings and one yellowthe kings men leader attacks the rebel leader while the rebel cavalry reserve come to the rescue of their leaderNow the tables are turned as the Kingsmen leader unit is caught in the rear by the Rebel cavalry
Meanwhile the Kings own cavalry unit gave up its fight with the rebel peasants and left the field. And in the centre the Kings Leading Nobles also succumbed, failing to destroy the Rebel nobles and unable to deal with the Rebel Cavalry attacking their rear.
On the Kings men left flank their own cavalry have had enough and retireThe kingsmen leader unit routs and the adjacent peasant shieldwall joins them.
A Kings Army peasant unit also abandoned the fight at this point.
Th Kings Army had now been reduced to just 1 noble unit, 1 peasant unit and 1 unit of archers. All three of these units were quickly attacked by the Rebels. The result was no longer in doubt. And the first to flee were the nobles!
The remaining Kings men shieldwall is now outflanked while the archers on the right flank can do little but watch their army disperse and look to their own survival.The end of resistance by the Kings men as the last noble unit abandons the field
With just two Kings Army units remaining the Rebels had the field and could celebrate a great victory.
The Kings Army had melted away and now the Rebels could enjoy their freedom for a while.
in this game I used rings and dice. You could use coloured dice to achieve the same result although I think the combination is quite neat.The battle turned on situations where the combat losses forced a morale test which when you fail it can be devastating – here a unit goes from blue (4 bases) through green (3 bases) and onto yellow (2 bases). Yes I know its really pale blue in the photo but the middle ring looks green in real life – ok thats sea green!
The casualty method I adopted here was to show nothing where a unit had all 4 bases intact with no losses. When the first hits were incurred the unit acquired a dark blue ring and a die showing hits received. A pale blue/green ring showed a unit was now on three bases. No die meant all 4 hits were intact. More casualties took units through yellow rings for just two bases remaining before the last remaining base was indicated by a red ring. You could use coloured dice of course.
The game uses saving throws which is something of a regression for some rule writers. In a way you get no more dice rounds than DBA – one for one against. What you do get more of is the number of die thrown for a unit in a fight. That’s the buckets of dice syndrome. That means you throw 4 dice at full strength instead of always just one in DBA per base/unit. On the upside even DBA has the dreaded list of “plus or minus factors” and AMW only uses this approach in the optional rules per army which add some flavour.
With no push backs the line remains static or rather you don’t see the push and shove and gradual break down of the line: It is not played out physically by the gamer, so you have to imagine it happening. This is a greater abstraction than DBA where the push back is required to be seen and of course gives combat benefits being integral to the next or adjacent base combat. DBA push back also alerts both players to outcomes allowing helicopter management: Appropriate for tournament play maybe. Of course, “transparency” is a competition issue and “imagination” has no place in tournament play.
During the slogging match the rebels were losing and at times it looked like the king’s men would make the decisive shieldwall breakthroughs. In fact, it was the Cavalry that made the difference. The king’s cavalry filled a gap in the line but were then quickly seen off by the shield wall peasants. The rebel cavalry was far more useful when the kings leading nobles exposed their rear in attacking the rebel leaders.
The moves I made were all logical – in the heat of battle why would you not descend on your enemy leader’s rear to finish him off and Leaders wheeling to expose a flank or rear – so what – those cavalry in the distance might not move our way……but they did.
For both armies I sent in the cavalry in response to an adverse situation that would be seen by the cavalry sat patiently to the nearby.
The combats were close such that on another day it might be the rebels fleeing from the field.
History Note: If you accept that Anglo-Saxons rode to war, which I do, then the army list is fine. The two situations in the battle (allowed under the rules) suggest why their use may have been more restricted and why the rules could be amended.
The Kings Cavalry charged a Shieldwall that had just defeated another Shieldwall. If we allow for the defeated men to drift away the cavalry will have been faced with a tired but formed body of men experiencing euphoria and relief. It is possible to conceive that the cavalry leader believed they were so tired that he could drive them off. In the event the Shieldwall reformed and defeated the cavalry. That seems reasonable as well.
In the other situation the cavalry reserve could see their own centre begin to collapse and after they own men had streamed away, they could see the “backs” of enemy troops. That assumes they could tell the difference at a distance. It seems reasonable to make that assumption because their own men had just left a gap in the Shieldwall line. With the backs of the enemy in sight why not charge into the fray.
In both cases it is about the morale and the decision to move rather than the outcome of the subsequent fight. And AMW allows you freedom to move. No pips, no movement decisions testing and no morale tests prior to moving.
AMW Rules note
On the face of just one playtest the temptation is to put in some control. AMW is attractive because it lacks the rule quantity of other sets. Restricting decisions to move or rather introducing wide ranging controls feels wrong here. Can we solve this problem another way? I think so and the answer lies in AMW having optional rules.
The Anglo-Saxon cavalry was an optional rule itself.
AMW House Rule No1
Anglo-Saxon Cavalry are permitted in battle and may advance into combat areas. They may charge into contact. After one turn of fighting they withdraw one full move unless they have at least one more base advantage than the unit they attacked.
So, the thinking here is that unless they make some rapid impact, turning the fight in their favour, they will use their mobility to withdraw before being destroyed.
This is not such a punishing rule as it seems. The withdrawn cavalry remains a threat and effectively may pin the opposition or at least make them think twice about their next moves. And they remain one of the three units required by the whole army to stay in the fight.
I think this rule reflects the likelihood of Anglo-Saxon cavalry being opportunists and pursuers in battles where the victory tide has turned one way or another.
Summary
The game was enjoyable and the result fine. I must admit allowing either army to fight with 3 units always looks a bit odd. Yet if you think in terms of abstraction – there are other men on the field all retiring or surrendering and not modelled. The few units left on the field show where the remaining core of resistance still exists. I can live with that.
One final thought is that shieldwalls are strong. How strong are they against a concerted cavalry attack though?
In my next post I will explore the classic dark ages infantry versus cavalry conflict.
elements of impetus having received their red brown base colour
My anglo saxon army is growing with the addition of many more bases. I am settled on 80mm wide impetus style basing where the idea is to inject a little variety into figure presentation. This is quite easy with strelets who produce a reasonable pose mix with each set they make. In the case of the anglo saxons it gets even better when you buy they big battle sets as I did. The stamford bridge set is the only one currently available though.
Bases have the red brown base coating applied in foreground and plain budgie grit in background
I decorate the base with budgie grit on pva glue (games workshop idea) and use a three colour painting technique. Dark red earth base colour with heavy dry brush of yellow ochre over it followed by a light yellow/white top dry brush. I am looking for sandy and dare I say summer like conditions, no green green grass of home for my troops.
peco grass to the fore and little big man shield transfers
I used some little big man shield transfers for 28mm anglo saxon bucklers on a few of the figures. They blend in ok I think.
I finish with some foliage. In this case I am using Peco Railway scenics which are autumnal or greenish brown grasses.
This unit is actually going to be also the start of my ottonian/lotharingian or very late Carolingians. More about the red/green colours in a later postalthough I have not based the figures for shield wall as described in various historical records my anglo saxons still look good en masse.
So thats it for now, next up on show are my first “el cid” Hat 1/72 figures posing as Italo-Normans.
Having reviewed my thoughts on horsemen for my Normans in the South project I am going to take a quick look at infantry. Did you spot the SHQ 20mm in the lead photo?
For my command bases I plan to use Tumbling Dice Miniatures command packs which provide both mounted and foot options. These foot are respectively 2 normans to the left and 2 anglo saxons to the right.here are a strelets norman at left and strelets anglo saxon to the right. The plastic and metal foot match well I think.These are the tallest strelets anglo saxons I could find and the match between plastic and metal is again fine. Note their breadth is to frontface, so both products are thinner as you look along the line.1970’s Garrison viking to left and Citadel Crusader to the right are ostensibly classic 25mm figures. They make the 1/72 scale Tumbling Dice guys look a bit small.1970’s Lamming bigheaded anglo saxon on the left and norman on the right. Oh dear what was happening in the 1970’s!The guy at left is an SHQ 20mm saracen archer. I picked these up at Newbury or Reading shows when I was after some newline figures in the flesh which turned out to be the wrong size for me. SHQ were there and I took some of their crusades range – really nice figures.The middle grey/red normans/saxons show that even within strelets there is a height and bulk variation – which I likeThe SHQ archer is just that smidgen smaller than the TD norman but both seem less bulky and shorter than the strelets norman. I think once painted and based these minor differences in height/bulk will simply improve the look of the bases if anything2010’s Perry burgundians (ironically plastic) show the morphing of 25mm to 28mm and beyond.
At least tumbling dice and SHQ are still offering metals in the traditional scales of 20/25mm and 1/72. And they carry good detail, have realistic posing and are not too bulky. I may mix in some command foot with strelets figures on some of my fighting bases.
So I have progressed my Saxons which will make two elements using my 80mm x 60mm IMPETUS style bases. I had used a colour theme from an article about the battle of Vlaardingen in Medieval Warfare (vol 8 issue 3). I then decided to add to the red/green/yellow mix by using a few shield transfers.
the red/white and green/white shields in the centre are two examples of the shield transfers.
I used “Little Big Man Transfers” and followed the instructions about fitting to shields with large bosses. Because I am working in 1/72 or 20/25mm I had to choose to cut down 28mm transfers or use some 15mm ones. I think I got lucky because there are some small shield 28mm saxon transfers in the range that just about matched what I needed.
A mixture of transfers on the round shields and straight painted on the kite shields
In the event some transfers were a great fit like the figure with axe and shield raised. Others like the soldier with the whirly black and white design at bottom left (above photo) needed the transfer extending as there was too much unused shield at the rim.
The grounded shield was a handpaint while the black and red whirl shield to the right was a little big man transfer
For some of the designs I ended up overcoating with the nearest colour I could match. Yes I lost some of the dirt and sword cut markings but compromise was required.
Overall I am pleased with the result.
These guys are mainly well armed and protected so represent the sort of troops a signficant leader would be able to arm and mobilise
I just need to add some vegetation and then its on with another batch of these saxons.
The Wargaming Erratic 