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.

Wales stays home

After initial thoughts of a foray into the western shires, the Welsh retire to their (few remaining) hills.

The Irish army (namely the general and his 2 I/C) play draughts (they would do nine mens morris, but they don't have enough men!) and so the turn ends.

Winter sets in with a vengeance, bringing ice and snow to many hearths. The Normans retire from their siege of Aalborg, and the Danes raise another toast to the power of walls to repel cavalry.

New forces are built from reserves; unless I've got something wrong, that will amount to:

Danes: 3 elements (giving them 8)
Normans: All those lost in the siege (giving them 12)
English: 3 elements (giving them 3)
Welsh: 3 elements (giving them 6)
Irish: 2 elements (giving them 2)
Scots: none (the Scots are already at 12)

Once players have let me have their recruiting schedule and their army starting locations, I will check to see who has the initiative for 1004.

not so mighty melees

A Korean proverb says, "In the battles of the whales, the shrimp are crushed." Who is crushed when the shrimp battle?

The Angles, restless and feeling as if their untold store of wealth should mean more than it apparently does to their neighbors, decided to take their tiny army and see if they could turn it to some advantage. They marched into the hills of Powys, hoping to administer a kicking to the Welsh while they were prostrate after their defeats at the hands of the Scots.

The Welsh, however, were more than a match for the English, disposing of them in a short battle (OK, what else would the Welsh fight? ;-) The English general was cut down (to size?) in the midst of his host (well, in the middle of a small group of armed men, anyway). The few remaining thegns fled in dismay, some disguising themselves as hermits or beggars or lepers, the rest settling for hiding in an old oak tree until the furious Welsh had passed and then going to hide in a swamp for the rest of their days. England had joined the Norse Irish in the unestimable Club of Not Having Any Army At All.

Wales was then left to consider its options, with the high road to Winchester and London looking very inviting. They had lost Dyfed to the Scots; what if they were to just seize some of the western shires in compensation?

Wales retreats, attacked again!

Having taken their lumps from the Scots, the Welsh fell back to the quiet dales of Powys. Or so they thought.

But the English, who had been silently nursing their grievances after drubbings at the hands of the Danes and Normans, suddenly cast off the garments of woe and leapt into action, charging across the border into Wales! Still nursing the wounds of their last battle, the Welsh were confronted with a new and unexpected (though admittedly tiny) enemy army on another patch of their own soil!

New map below.

Wales burns, Scots feast

The first move of Autumn 1003 was an attack by the Scots on the Welsh army in Dyfed. A full battle report will appear here shortly (with photos, even, one hopes! I know, promised before...), but it ended in another Welsh defeat and another dead Welsh general. The remnants of the Welsh army flee into the mountain fastnesses of Gwynedd (or possibly the quiet valleys of Powys--Mark's choice).

The Danes pass in their turn. Safe behind their ramparts (or so they think), they roast turnips, drink beer, and argue about the offside call in the latest Midtjylland v. Silkeborg match.

summer ends quietly

The Angles, the Welsh, and the armyless Irish all pass.

The autumn of 1003 begins with another Scots turn.

Danes not dead yet, but dedicated defenders

The army of the Normans sailed across summer seas from London to Denmark, hoping for an easy conquest. They were disappointed, as the defiant Danes held forth in their steading at Aalborg. Waving spears, axes, and the occasional mocking turnip at their southern cousins, the men of the northlands jeered at the frustrated horsemen whose valiant steeds gave them no advantage when charging palisades. Many of the lance-bearers perished before their duke called a halt to the escalade.

the Scots on the rampage

The Scots pursue the Welsh to the environs of Dublin. The Welsh, bruised and battered, decline to give battle and retire to their homeland. The Scots trick their way into the city and run riot among the casks of strong brown porter piled on the quayside.

Current affairs on the board, as we wait for the Danes' move.

I'll post a fuller battle report (with a few pictures, even) later on, but the Battle of the Brans saw the Welsh defeated in a sharp and nearly bloodless action (1G-0). Their army loses two additional elements (Wales, please specify) and falls back on Dublin. Scots gain 3 Prestige and retain Armagh.

The armyless Irish are forced to pass, and we conclude Spring 1003.

Summer 1003 starts with, again, the Scots having the first go.

updating the map

Here's a current map, showing the impending tussle over the heights of Slieve Gullion.

crashing and bashing

It has been pointed out to me that, in the process of losing Armagh, the remaining Irish troops are eliminated. As vassals of the Scots, the Irish retain Armagh, but they will have to rebuild their army.

The Danes having passed, the Normans rode south from York to attack London. The English, perhaps having strayed out in the noonday sun too often, marched out to fight them in the open field. The Normans first stormed the small hillfort that the English had garrisoned and left their baggage in. The Normans slew the guards and looted the baggage, then fought back and forth, eventually killing off enough of the "small men" (skirmishers) that the few remaining English took to their heels. The Normans paraded into London and established their Duke as "King of All Britain". (2BUA-0, 4 Prestige for the Normans, the English lose 3 Sp, 1 Ps total, retain London, but become Norman vassals).

The English pass in their turn; it is now the turn of the Welsh.

1003 dawns bright and cheerful

Well, for some.

All armies are placed (though their locations are not revealed until they move or are encountered by moving armies). All reserves have been replenished.

The honour of first move for Spring 1003 (and for the other two seasons as well) goes to....

The Scots!