Re: Kingdom's Crusade: an Atlantian Archer's View (LONG)

[Donald Wagner <polearmed@worldnet.att.net>]

Poster: Donald Wagner <polearmed@worldnet.att.net>

Julien de Montfort wrote:
> 
> Poster: Julien de Montfort <julien@spiaggia.org>
> 
> 
> Four problems reared up, as I saw it. First off, as happened last year,
> the archers were brutally slaughtered if the East Kingdom could manage
> to get a single fighter or two through the line, at which point they
> could usually tag a couple of us before they were brought down by
> heavies.  The obvious solution to this problem is a small rear guard to
> hang back, whose sole job is to defend the archers.  Most of the time,
> it wouldn't take very long, and with a heavy fighter guarding two or
> three archers (assuming we kept together somewhat) that would be all we
> need.  If someone breaks through, one of the rear guard intercepts
> them, killing them if possible, or if not, simply defending himself and
> keeping the target occupied until the archers split on either side of
> him and shoot him full of holes. :-)

Last year, we lost two field battles to a crew of five fighters who
raked through our archers.  Steven OReilly asked for help and all I
could give was me.  That year it was a team of five, and this year was a
band of rogues with no cohesion and no certain number.  During this
year's first battle, I spent way to long hunting down one fighter at a
time.  I had great success stopping a line of men for a few seconds
while you poke em full of holes...one at a time was a different story.
It was worse when the first battle began with a break through the
central army.  Ouch.  
There were suddenly twenty fighters in the backfield hunting you like
hounds.  Wehn that didn't happen, I had enough business in the backfield
to learn that knocking someone down is much quicker than taking time to
kill them.

The second field battle, when we curled into a circle with the archers
in the middle was THE MOST DECISIVE CARNAGE I HAVE EVER SEEN DISPLAYED
IN THE SCA!!  It wasn't carrots in a Cuisinart.  It was Atlantia - La
Machine!

> 
> The rear guard would not be a glamorous position, I suppose, but it
> would be an invaluable one.  In every case where the line began to
> break up, the first Easterner through would eliminate several of us.
> On several occasions, it appeared (and later discussions with some of
> the East later that evening confimed) that several units were assigning
> one or two people to act solely as archer-killers, and the unit would
> blast the line long enough to get that single individual behind to do
> his duty.  It was a very good tactic on the part of the East, and
> without a rear guard to defend us, highly successful.
> 

Actually, it is.  All the archers become best buddies with you and give
you free alcohol, watch your dog while your warring, etc.

HL Falcone
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