MILITARY MODELLING – JUNE 1981

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 MILITARY MODELLING – JUNE 1981

C.S. Grant concludes his "Viking Saga" and describes the battle.
Preparation
Readers will recall that my parting words last month indicated how much I was looking forward to fighting the "Viking
Saga" on the wargame table. Well, I was not disappointed though, as you will read, things did not turn out quite as I
had expected. But let me start at the beginning; the wargame table was set out as shown in map 1. Blue crepe paper
was used to represent the areas of sea and brown paper was used for beach areas. A couple of beacons were made
from wood scraps and the usual assortment of thatched, balsa wood houses, trees, walls and contours made up the
remaining features. The next thing to do was to distribute the appropriate stores in the different areas as shown in
last month's chart.

To do this I used a couple of boxes of

coloured counters with the following
values:-

Colour Value Men needed

to carry
red 1 1
blue 2 1
green 5 1
white 10 1

The map shows the initial position of the

longships at first light and the progress of the
battle up to period 4.

The correct number of counters was

placed in each building as shown on map B
last month. A chart was made and placed
on the wall to show clearly the value and
men required to carry each counter. Once
this was done I assembled a miscellaneous
collection of wargame figures which were suitable to represent bishop's men, baron's men or local villagers.

These were placed on the table as follows:—

A Baron's men at arms 20 The table was now set for the encounter as far as the home
Baron's mounted troops 10 side were concerned. The Vikings were organised (more or
B Fishing village males - foot 20 barbarian less) as follows:— six ships were used, ranging from a fully
Fishing village males - mounted 5 barbarian made up and detailed plastic kit, some quite nice balsa wood
C Northern village males - foot 10 barbarian models ...to functional cardboard outlines with the minimum
D North west village - foot 10 barbarian amount of detail! An assortment of Viking Figures and
E Bishop's men at arms 10 regular suitable hairy barbarians made up the requisite 25 figures per
F South west village - foot 6 barbarian ship, of which five had to remain on board to guard the boat
when the others disembarked. All these were suitably loaded
and set sail.

The Viking chief, Andrew Green (alias Berserker), was shown a map giving the landing sites and set to to make his
plan of attack. You will remember that the ships could be 18ins (two periods) off the coast at first light. The plan
was to attack along the whole coast line. The longships were therefore divided between the beaches as shown in
map 1. The craft were placed in position and all was set for the raid.

The Battle
As dawn broke in period 1 the six longships slipped 12ins towards the mainland and were seen for the first time by
the sentries at the beacon. This heralded a shrill alarm blast and the next period, the beacon was lit. Subsequent
moves show the sleepy villages erupt as local men armed themselves and rallied to the defence of their homes. During
period 2 the longships were beached and their occupants disgorged onto the beaches. This unwelcome arrival was met
by sporadic fire which fell particularly on the crews of boats 1 and 4. These villages had obviously been well drilled in
the actions to be taken in the event of such a raid. In the larger villages, valuables were loaded onto wagons while the
Bishop's residence, E, was a hive of activity. One brave villager who had lit the beacon now made his way towards the
boats but before he could set fire to boat 4 the torch went out! By period 4 the progress of the Vikings was as shown
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in map 1. A number of casualties had been suffered, in particular to the crew of boat 4 who were having second
thoughts about the whole thing and were "standing" for two periods. This was in no way surprising as they were
both isolated from other crews and up against strong opposition. However, things were going better for the
marauders elsewhere. The crews of boats 5 and 6 had landed unopposed and were pressing up to the fort although
the defenders were now bringing considerable fire down on them. Similarly, in the west, good beach heads had
been established and the Vikings were pressing towards the Bishop's residence. All was not lost for the defenders
however, for the first reinforcements were arriving. These were as related last month but to refresh your memory,
they would appear as follows:—

reference period of game unit In period 5 half the crew of ship 5 attacked the fort but were
point after beacon is lit taken in the flank from the fishing village; they broke and ran
back towards their ship while the other half could only halt and
G 4 5 horsemen hold the attack.
H 8 15 men at arms
G 10 15 villagers The members of ship 6 faired somewhat better, hacking
J 11 10 villagers resolutely on the fort's south and east doors with their axes.
H 12 10 villagers However, they could not gain entry and were experiencing quite
J 14 10 villagers heavy casualties.

Meanwhile, to the west, as the Vikings pressed forward (ships 1, 2, and 3) some started to take valuables from the
houses (F). Periods 6 and 7 saw the melee a round the fort continue at a fearful pace. The action now covered the
whole front, from the fishing village B to the fort, and involved the crews of ships 4, 5, and 6. Of these ships, 5 was
in a bad way with most of its crew now rushing back, The villagers were putting up a brave fight while the trained
troops in the fort had little difficulty in seeing off the barbarians. Map 2 shows the general lines of combat at the
end of period 7.

Before looking at period 8, which was quite a turning point in the battle, it is worth commenting on the general
pattern that was emerging. The Vikings, far from making an effort to take items of value as they saw or passed
them, seemed determined to defeat the local forces. This was resulting in a tremendous battle all across the front
with heavy casualties to the Vikings - and now the locals had reinforcements arriving! So far nothing of value had
reached the boats. In the 8th period things were fairly even to the west where the Bishop's men (slowly being
reinforced) were engaging along the hill and a round the palace with the crews of boats 1,2, and 3. To the east
however, all was in disarray for the Vikings. The crew of boat 5 had routed back to their long boat and gone so far
as to push off. The members of boat 6 were retiring in good order towards the beach, but boat4's men were routing
down the beach. Casualties had been heavy all round but especially on those taking part in the attack on the fort.

If all this was not bad enough, worse was to follow in period 9. Although the crew of ship 4 were able to rally, ship
5 pushed off and ship 6 embarked and made ready to sail. To the west, ship 3's crew were also in rout and
returning to their ship, although ships 1 and 2 continued to struggle. In the next period, ship 3 was ready to set sail
and ship 5 had already set sail and disappeared!

Meanwhile fresh reinforcements continued to arrive for

the locals and at this stage you might say the game was
over and the battle finished - not so! In the next three
periods the Vikings had a change of heart; all but ship 5
returned pouring their men, now rather depleted and
bloody, onto the shore. Despite heavy casualties from
missile fire the Vikings (who had clearly learned nothing)
swarmed up around the fort and fishing village in a
renewed attempt to force an entry. As if to seal their
fate, as they were hammering on the south and east
gate, reinforcements were entering through the west
door. Attempts to force the south gate were at last
successful but as entry was made, villagers attacked
along the south wall taking the Vikings in the flank.
At period 7, crews 1,2 and 3 have reached the Bishop's men and palace on the hill. To the east
the fighting is concentrated in the fishing village and outside the fort.

The Bishop's forces had also been reinforced and the crews of ships 1 and 2 (supported by the returning members
of ship 3) were being driven relentlessly back on their long boats. This trend continued and despite a heroic stand
by a small group of warriors at the south gate of the fort, by period 15 all that could do so were fighting back to
their boats which were hastily preparing to embark. The vast treasures promised by the Viking Leader amounted to
no more than a handful of points, some 14 in all, with no gold and gems and some doubt as to whether the food
and water (not to mention the wargamers' crisps and drink) were sufficient to get the depleted crews home.

Conclusions
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Well, after such an account I need hardly say that the outcome was not quite what I had envisaged. Not necessarily
a bad thing you may say! The result for me did not, I hasten to add, detract from a first rate game with plenty of
action, amusement and enjoyment. Much of the fighting and the individual incidents which I have not had space to
cover were "mad" Bishop in defence of his abbey, the Viking stand at the south gate of the fort and the fighting in
and about the fishing village. Nevertheless, a greater degree of success, particularly in seizing treasure, would have
produced a more balanced game.
I think that the reasons for the result were threefold.
Firstly, but by no means taking all the blame, the Vikings
lost sight of their immediate objectives and instead took
on the fort and other heavily defended areas that they
could not hope to take. This perhaps stemmed from
their original plan which stretched their forces over all
the beaches instead of concentrating on half the table
and blocking enemy movements by taking one or both
bridges.
The second factor contributing to the result was the
speed with which I allowed the villages to be roused on
the sounding of the warning. A delay of two periods
might have been more realistic.
The end! It's every man for himsetf as the Viking crews struggle back to their
longboats.

Finally, the number of locals, their organisation and the

number of reinforcements is perhaps on the large side, although I would not reduce them by more than a few
figures. The locals must, after all, have a chance to build up their strength as the Viking's visit extends during the
day. All these criticisms included, the game was still most enjoyable and will certainly be fought by me again.

The next "Teaser" will take a quite different form - a "last ditch stand." Until then I hope your Vikings have rather
more success than ours did.

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map 1. A number of casualties had been suffered, in particular to the crew of boat 4 who were having second
thoughts about the whole thing and were "standing" for two periods. This was in no way surprising as they were both
isolated from other crews and up against strong opposition. However, things were going better for the marauders
elsewhere. The crews of boats 5 and 6 had landed unopposed and were pressing up to the fort although the
defenders were now bringing considerable fire down on them. Similarly, in the west, good beach heads had been
established and the Vikings were pressing towards the Bishop's residence. All was not lost for the defenders
however, for the first reinforcements were arriving. These were as related last month but to refresh your memory,
they would appear as follows:—
reference period of unit
po game 5 horsemen T5 men at arms 15 villagers 10 villagers 10 villagers 10 villagers
int after
G beaco
H n is lit
4
In period 5 half the crew of ship 5 attacked the fort but were taken in the flank from the fishing village; they broke
and ran back towards their ship while the other half could only halt and hold the attack. The members of ship 6 faired
somewhat better, hacking resolutely on the fort's south and east doors with the! raxes. However, they could not gain
entry and were experiencing quite heavy casualties. Meanwhile, to the west, as the Vikings

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