Help Spears against all the Horse

Just following on from what Joe said, using terrain to protect your flanks is a tactic all generals should use.
Note that it is not always necessary to have your battleline actually touching the impeding terrain...
...use your Threat Zones as a weapon by having something in the terrain to prevent the enemy from flanking you.

Of course, if you are the invader, then the defender may not place such terrain for you to exploit.
And if you are the defender, the invader picks the deployment areas, also denying you suitable anchoring terrain.
In these cases, learn how to defend your flank with inferior forces, like this:-

        Kn  Cv  Sp  Sp  Sp  etc...


                     Sp  Sp  Sp  etc...
             .
             .
           Sp

Here the blue player has kept a single Sp on his left wing back and positioned so that it is off-set and potentially facing two red mounted.
The red Cv cannot flank the blue Sp at the end of the battleline because of the held back blue Sp’s Threat Zone.
And the left red Kn cannot attack the flank of the held back blue Sp, because it is not beyond the line extending from that Sp’s flank.
(See element ‘A’ in figure 8 on page 19 of the rules)
Thus one blue element is tying-up two red elements, allowing the blue player to have an extra element somewhere else.

It won’t hold forever, as the red player may charge both of his mounted as a group into the held-back blue Sp, forcing it to conform.
But it will delay him...and hopefully buy time for the extra blue element to do some damage at the other end of the line.
Also, depending upon the distances, it may take the red player more time/PIPs to get his Kn close enough as well...




Some potentially useful player aids can be found here, such as the “Quick Reference Sheets” from the Society of Ancients,
and the new “Army List Corrections” file: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Reference_sheets_and_epitomes
And this is the latest January 2018 FAQ: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ_2018

Note that if the Saxons are defending the. You can place a BUA on the table edge about half way and then later manufacture the road to go from the two other sides and ensuring this BUA pins one flank. Even if a wood on one flank with the 1BW space in a similar position, means you could get a Ps in there and TZ the outside lane. If a mounted wants to enter such a wood then that is pretty risky.

Historically spear have always been venerable to cavalry moving round an open flank, so terrain helps, and a road can be useful.

David Constable

Stevie,

I had a look at the link you provided for the 2 page sheet on forts etc. A good read.

In the first example where the small fort
Is in a corner, and on the invaders edge, how do you ensure the Fort gets on the invaders side?

I can see how it can work with the second example on the side and with the road, but surely if the defender places a fort in a corner, then the invader chooses the edge that ensure the fort is in the defenders rear corner...