Normans...Normans...Normans.....

 Unable to sleep due to the humiliation of my last defeat and not being left alone by the ghosts of William the Conqueror, Robert Guiscard and Bohemond of Antioch, I had to get my Normans out again to wipe the smug look off Ross' face. 

Mid-game- close and bloody melee.

Normans at it again

 Two evenly matched Norman armies clashed one afternoon - and it had the makings of a bloodbath.

Rampaging knights, crossbow men , mercenary spearmen and archers were all part of a game that turned into a huge melee ....and a lucky crossbow shot changed the direction of the game!

A very close fought game that had the potential to be a very bloody draw.....but ended prematurely....

My right flank

My left flank

Normans and Anglo-Saxons

 

Looking back to a couple of posts a looonnngg time ago I noticed that Ross' Normans had beaten my Anglo-Saxons a couple of times and I had only had a single victory against his mounted thugs.

It was time for a rematch!

My side of the table- Sitting behind a low series of hills. His crossbowmen unable to get too many hits.

Normans vs Byzantines

 Lockdowns are finally over..so time for more games!! Ross threw his Byzantines into the path of my rampaging Normans. A good historical match that looked like it might go to the Normans in the early stages, but by mid game the tide had turned......but ended with both armies exhausted and over 50% casualties..so a bloody draw!

Anglo-Danes vs Normans

View from the Anglo-Saxon line .  All Fyrd! Select Fyrd in front, general "cannon fodder" in back.

I recently completed my Anglo-Danish army with lots of spearmen (Fyrd) and some axe wielding Huscarls and a few skirmishers. Ross took one look, thought 'Hastings!' , fielding his Normans and then proceeded to completely smash my army to a pulp. In the parlance of the Brothers it was a complete 'pants down'.
I was too embarrassed to write up the blog so I demanded another rematch. In our first game Ross had done his homework and sat back shooting with his crossbows and archers.
I sat on a hill. It hurt.
So in the second game I had to come off my hill, and the unedifying spectacle of my Fyrd and Huscarls chasing his cavalry was tragic. Oh the shame of defeat!
So for our third time, I tried something different- well I thought it was something different..I put my Fyrd in two lines on my left and my Huscarls in two lines on my right......but Ross predicted it again.  The big difference was there was enough gap to enable the front line to retreat or be pushed back without interfering with the second line...........

Normans don't like Normans.

     Over the years, when you have known some of the Brothers as long as we have known each other, some of us find ourselves thinking along the same lines. As they say, great minds think alike, and morons never differ. take your pick! Anyway I said to Ross the other day in a very excited state that I  had finished my Norman army. 

His response was precise and to the point. 'Who cares? I finished mine weeks ago.'  Clearly at some stage in the last year or so we had decided to build the same army. To be honest, he did start before me, I got inspired, hence the conversation above. 

Now in my mind that sort of answer is a sign of disrespect and lack of enthusiasm  which deserves to be thrashed out on the table. So it was Norman vs Norman.

First clash of the Cavalry: the Normans won this round!