campaign concluded

This campaign has ended, with the general consensus that it was a Norman victory.

Congratulations to the victor, and thanks to all who took part!

a new map for Autumn 1004

The Welsh, paid off for the year, feast on imported foreign delicacies, like beef. The Normans feast, gloomily, on the turnips thrown at them by the Danes they are besieging (and probably some of the mounts of their deceased LH). The Irish have a quiet dinner of kale, the English a haunch of venison and some good French wine (they still have plenty of silver left), and the Scots their traditional celebratory meal of herring roasted in oats.

Ireland, will you rise from your table to seek trouble, or will you finish your tasty meal (perhaps seasoned up with a wee taste of goat)?

more summer developments and the beginning of Autumn 1004

The Normans decide to try widening their foothold in the North and return to the siege of Denmark. But clearly the Danes have laid in more beer and neeps, as they see off their invading cousins for a season (Normans, please designate an element to be lost).

The English watch events with interest but choose not to venture beyond their dooryards. So cautious are they that when a contingent of Welsh shepherds turn up calling "Gŵyl San Steffan!", the English give them a huge chest full of hacksilver. The shepherds, marvelling, go on their way.

That closes out the summer of 1004. Leaves begin to turn, there's a chill in the air, and


the wind whips up the waves so loud,
the ghost moon sails among the clouds,
turns the spear blades into silver,
on the border.

Autumn, 1004 arrives.

I'll post a new map shortly (we could use one). In the meantime, for your entertainment, some photo recaps of previous battles:

Scotland v. Wales: Autumn 1003. The third meeting between these armies, which show a pronounced pattern.

England v. Wales: Autumn 1003. One of the smallest DBA battles I've ever seen.

Danes v. Normans: Summer 1004. The latest battle in the campaign.

war in the north

The Danes thought they would liberate Norway. The Normans were having none of that! A fleet of transports brought the chivalry of Fecamp, Coutances, and Caen to the fjords, just inj time to face down the cocky Vikings.

Pictures may be found here, but the long and the short of it was 2 Danish Bd and 2 Danish Sp dead, one of them the Danish general. Mighty against England, the Danes proved themselves (again) no match for mounted knights. Two more elements (Ps and Sp) were lost as penalty for losing their (third?) general in combat against the Normans, and the Danes slunk home to lick their wounds.

The Normans pull into a commanding lead, with the Scots a lagging second. The two also have almost the last intact armies, as most others are reduced to 2-3 elements.

The Normans have the next move, with which they can relocate their army from Norway if they choose, but they may not invade again this turn.

recent events in Cumbria

The army of the Duke of Normandy rode north into Cumbria in the spring, determined to batter his arch-rival the King of Scotland into submission. The sun shone on the mail of his knights and glittered on the tips of the spears of his footmen.

Less glittered in the brown and green clad hosts of the Scots, but grim determination was seen in their mien, and a fierce willingness to battle could be seen in their eyes.

So determined was the King of Scots to come to grips with his enemy that, he too, marched from his strongholds and sought out the foe. They found them sooner than they expected, as a trap sprung by the cunning Normans caught the Scots away from their beloved hills and forests, out in the open.

Too pleased with his cleverness, the duke charged forward heedlessly, and many of his knights (2 Kn) were slain in their collision with the Scots spearmen. But once the fighting lines became broken and the melee more general, the weight of the armoured horsemen began to tell, aven as Norman footmen fell beneath Scots swords (1 Sp).

The Scots lost many of their stalwart footmen that day (2 Sp and 1 Ps), but it was the loss of a good half their horse (1 LH) that finally broke their spirit. The remaining Scots broke, falling back beyond the forth and the Tay to Scone, while the Normans settled in to plunder Cumbria (and the Lothians).

4-3 win for the Normans, who now control Cumbria and gain 1 PP for battle and 3 PP for control of Cumbria. Scots retire to Scone.

England's turn.

busyness over the winter

New map for 1004.



The various nations rebuilt as follows

Danes: 1 Blade, 1 Spear, 1 Psiloi
Normans: All those lost in the siege of Aalborg
English: 3 Spear
Welsh: 1 Cavalry, 2 Psiloi
Irish: 2 Auxilia
Scots: none

In other news, Wales decided to join the growing empire of the Scots, submitting to what has now (with the exception of Brittany) become the Greater Pan-Celtic Co-Prosperity Sphere.

In further irony, it turns out the the Irish have the first move. Chris?