Battle of Rye 1065AD

Last night,Paul,Brian and I had a really good looking game,pitting a Norman reconnaissance force against a defending Anglo-Saxon force.

This is the scenario,Paul and Brian were the Normans,with Brian taking the "already-landed "troops,and Paul still sailing along merrily,to attack the town/village of Rye.

This is the table before any movement-you can see what I meant by a good-looking game!!

Brian started the game with a most furious attack on my Huscarls!!-on the flat ground he suffered greatly,and was beaten in all of the melees,however on the hill in the foreground,he beat me and eventually forced me to abandon the position!!

Whilst the epic struggle on my right was going on,Paul has landed his troops opposite Rye,and is advancing in a most aggressive manner-my Fyrd, in the open, look vulnerable to an attack by the Norman knights-but will they hold?

Back on the flat ground,and I am driving the "Invaders" back to their ships-hurrah!!

A very relaxed looking Brian is chopping my Huscarls to bits on the hill!-this does not look good for the Anglo-Saxons-however,Brian,one piece of advice,especially in this period-don't look up!!!!

Well,I did try to tell you!!-ZUNK!! an arrow got him,not in the eye,but on the nose!!!
To great hoots(excuse pun!) of laughter,and vile abuse,Brian had a bit of a nose bleed-the game was obviously too exciting for him!!-but like a true trooper he managed to get the bleeding under control,with the help of a paper hanky(!!),and we didn't have to call for the emergency services-phew,what a brave little soldier he is!!

This shows my exposed Fyrd,about to be wiped out by the Norman knights-why did I place them there ???-however the village is still in Anglo-Saxon hands,but Paul has opted to shoot "fire arrows" at the thatched cottages-the swine!! and managed to set two on fire,causing all troops within half a move to abandon their positions-woe is me!!

With the village ablaze,and the defenders being heavily out-numbered,Paul has achieved his set objective-Brian has completed half of his objective,which was to observe the fighting methods and strength of the Huscarls,so the Normans were declared the winners.

One last photo,by way of a consolation,of the Huscarls driving the Normans back to their ships-let that be a lesson to you,and don't come back!!!!!!
By any standards this was a good game,and we can see lots of opportunities for both armies in the near future-well done lads.
Roll on Sunday-a full "dress rehearsal" for Carronade.