assembling the army anglo-danes - Great Escape Games

assembling the army
anglo-danes
For playtesting lists in Age of Ravens in 2011
I put together and painted a sizeable 3000
point Anglo-Danish army. I usually represent
them as a Northumbrian army as my plan
is to use Scots allies to build an army of the
Kingdom of Alba.
With only ceorls and thegns as core troops, I take two more units of thegns and subcommanders
for each.
2 sub-commanders (Bearn and Cynifrid) 110 points
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins 570 points
Includes 10 Huscarls
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins 480 points
Total so far:
2240 points
Foremost among the core troop choices for
the English are the thegns, the professional
warrior class. Formidable as they are, they
may be further enhanced by the inclusion
of huscarls. The inclusion of the huscarls, it
must be noted, uses up a support choice. The
other core troops are the ceorls, a well-trained
militia. The ceorls may include thegns in their
ranks (and I highly recommend them). With
the general, my compulsory troops are:
Right: The formidable
King of Northumbria,
Caelin, and his loyal
retainers.
Caelin, King of Northumbria
50 points
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Long Spear, Sword, Javelins,
Includes 10 Huscarls
570 points
40 Ceorls - Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins, Includes 10 Thegns 460 points
That’s the bulk of the army in place with four
massed units and a total of 130 infantry. For
each core unit taken in the army, one support
or skirmish choice may be selected.
The real drawback with English armies of this
period is their poor cavalry and I’m going
to give them a miss – I will eventually paint
a unit – to concentrate on providing light
support.
Huscarls have already taken up one support
slot (and as a Northumbrian army I am not
allowed any more). I have a unit of Viking
pirates painted if I need high quality light
infantry support but the points limit won’t
allow them.
So, with a need to provide some support for
the heavy infantry my lights consist of 12
archers and 10 javelinmen.
12 Bowmen 108 points
12 Geburs – Javelins, Hand weapon, Buckler 96 points
Total so far:
2444 points
Anglo-Danish thegns bristling with elite huscarls

I still have a slot left for skirmish or support troops but, as one of the main units I painted
for the project, I can’t leave out the Scottish contingent of 40 heavy infantry and their
commander.
Sub-commander (Domhnall Bán)
40 Soer chele – 20 upgraded to superior warriors,
Shieldwall, Long Spears
Total so far:
55 points
500 points
2999 points
The Army
Command
Cyning
50 points
2 Sub-commanders 110 points
Core
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins ,
includes 10 Huscarls
570 points
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins ,
includes 10 Huscarls
570 points
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins 480 points
40 Ceorls - Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins, 460 points
includes 10 Thegns
Support
Huscarls – included in thegn units
Skirmish
12 Bowmen 108 points
12 Geburs – Javelins, Hand weapon, Buckler 96 points
Kingdom of Alba Allies
Sub-commander
40 Soer chele – 20 upgraded to superior warriors, Shieldwall,
Long Spears
Total:
55 points
500 points
2999 points
Five large infantry units make for a powerful
battle-line but one that is susceptible to
cavalry. To this end, I employ the Scots as a
reserve just behind the left flank and support
the Northumbrians. The units of skirmishers
are just present to annoy flanking enemy
long enough for the infantry to win the
battle.
When this immense battle-line gets into
combat it will defeat most opposition but as
often as that, the vulnerability of the flanks
and lack of cavalry is their downfall. I have
suffered more than one overwhelmingly
crushing defeat!
With a total model count, including the
command stands, of 202 models it is a very
large and imposing looking force. I use the
thegns 3 deep with a frontage of 10, the
ceorls 4 deep with a frontage of 10, and the
Scots 5 deep with a frontage of 8.
That’s at least a metre of the gaming table
that is covered by tightly packed heavy foot,
so the placement of terrain can be a major
factor. Best of all, it looks awesome!
The army list is below followed by an
alternative 2500 point force of Mercia which
includes cavalry and one unit of open order
thegns.
Mercian Army 2500 points
Command
Cyning
50 points
2 Sub-commanders 110 points
Core
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins ,
includes 10 Huscarls
570 points
30 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins ,
includes 10 Huscarls
570 points
18 Thegns – Light Armour, Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins,
Open order
288 points
40 Ceorls - Shield, Sword, Long Spear, Javelins, includes 10 Thegns 460 points
Support
Huscarls – included in thegn units
10 Mounted Thegns 240 points
Skirmish
12 Bowmen 108 points
13 Geburs – Javelins, Hand weapon, Buckler 104 points
Total:
2500 points

Left: Skirmishing archers, broken and disrupted markers
www.clashofempires.co.uk
Age of Ravens is the second source book for Clash of
Empires. This book provides gamers with detailed
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each focussing on a specific time period and series of
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Available now from the Great Escape Games store.