Vikings Invade Normandy

This is an extreme case to show how powerful knights can be.  I used the 2.2 lists because I do not have a copy of 3.0 Book III lists.  The Vikings were the high roller with their AG 4 vs the Norman AG 2.  So the Normans had to put out terrain.  3 pieces in arable is all.  They opted for hills.  Small hills.  The Normans got to place one.  The Vikings placed another.  Then the Normans randomly placed the third.  Here is the line-up for the game.

Viking

1xBd Gen 10xBd 1xBw

Norman

1xKn Gen 7xKn 2xSp 2xBw

The Normans started things off with a pip roll of 1.  Luckily, it is the first turn of the game so they just moved their battle line forward 2 BW.  The Vikings rolled a 6.  So they were able to extend their line and then move forward about 1 BW.

The situation after 2 bounds. So far so good.

The Normans rolled a 4 for pips.  They decided to be aggressive on the right, charging the Vikings with 4 Kn.  They then brought up the rest of the line 2 BW to support the attack.  Going from right to left, the Normans won every combat, killing 3 Viking Bd.

After bound 3 and the Norman attack. 3-0 just like that.

The only chance for the Vikings was in the center.  The charged the Sp with the Bds and lined up the Bw on the overlapping Kn. The Norman Cb were also charged by Bds   In missile fire, the Bw destroyed the overlapping Kn.  The melees resulted in a the Gen Bd driving back the Sp and the other Sp driving back the Viking Bd.   One melee here resulted in a Bw being driven back and the other locking up with the Bd.  Finally, the last Bd on the Viking left was forced to conform to the Norman Kn, thus getting overlapped on one side.  The Viking won extending the game one more turn.

The last chance. The Vikings had to be lucky here. They were in shooting but not in melee.

The final turn had the Normans charging with their right and left to finish the game.  In the center, the Vikings killed another Bw but the Normans killed 2 Bd weakening the Viking right and completing the destruction of the Viking left.  The game ended 5-2.

The end. The Vikings went into full flight!

So, if a knight heavy army manages to be the defender, woe to the vanquished.  Blade heavy armies just won’t stand a chance.  This game was a laugher after the first contact.  The only chance to make it close was for the Vikings to attack in the middle.  If there is a lot of terrain (and maybe a waterway) I think the Vikings would have a chance.  I’m not sure if limiting the quick kill on some units to knights moving to contact would make a big difference.  In this situation, the knights are also faster.   They will be able to choose the first fights.

An interesting side effect of the new deployment rules is that infantry only armies can’t deploy as wide as armies with cavalry.  I had to stack up blades and deploy them wide as part of the Viking first move.   I never was able to fully extend my line before the Normans charged in.  I suppose deploying back some would have helped buy time.