One in the Eye?

 A run out for my  C11th Normans and Saxons in GHQ for today's game with Phil, as ever using Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval rules with our in-house additions. Phil took command of the Saxons for a change leaving me to lead the Normans. As usual, an annotated photomontage of the game to give a sense of how it played out ~

Harald Rawnslisson, Earl of Rawnsley, has drawn up his Saxons along the low ridge line with his archers covering his flanks.

Duke Bicca has his Normans in an extended line, with his heavy infantry in the centre flanked by his mounted knights and then his archers. It doesn't look as if this will be a tactically complex attack, more a bloody frontal assault on the Saxon position.

The Norman knights are soon surging ahead of both the heavy infantry and the archer support in a frontal assault on the Huscarls. Time for the famed Saxon shieldwall to form?

It seems in the confusion of battle Harald has forgotten to issue the order! The Norman knights crash into the Saxons, driving off their archers and slowly pushing back the end of their line.

Away on the far flank the two groups of archers exchange fire with no immediate advantage to either side. Ignoring the nuisance fire the Norman knights attack the other end of the Saxon line, while on the near flank the Norman knights have cleared that part of the ridge of Saxons!

The Huscarls form an ever tighter group around their Earl, while arrows rain into their position and the heavy Norman infantry close for the final struggle.

Suddenly though the final Saxon stand collapses though heavy losses from repeated charges in flank and rear by the jubilant Norman knights! Earl Harald is slain, though perhaps not by an arrow in the eye after all...

Phil's neglect in forming a Shieldwall cost him the game we thought. In the combat outcomes there was often little to choose between the two forces, so the advantage in dice deriving from forming the shieldwall might have been decisive for the Saxons. As it was the Norman knights took full advantage and wrecked havoc on the individual bases of Saxon infantry, winning the battle without their infantry getting into the fight.