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Other: The Anglo-Saxon Army
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Posted by Acumen on November 5 2004, 03:57 PM
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The Anglo-Saxon army was one of the most powerful in northern Germania in the latter period of 0 AD. It was with this army that Hengst and Horsa, the first Anglo-Saxons (they were actually Jutes, but Anglo-Saxon is used as a blanket term) in Britain would start their rebellion. Later the famous Alle would start the wars of conquest in Britain, only to be stopped by Ambrosius Aurelianus at Mons Badonicus in 500 AD, temporally anyway.
The rank and file of the Anglo-Saxon army during the period between 400 and 500 AD was the peasant levies called Fyrdmen. Commonly most Fyrdmen could not afford to wear either a helmet or chainmail, though few of the richer ones could afford a piece of chainmail to wear. It was this lack of armor that made the peasant levies easily distinguishable in the ranks. Fyrdmen generally carried a large wooden shield and a long spear; they also carried an axe for close combat. Because the Anglo-Saxons viewed bows and arrows as cowardly weapons ranged weapons were uncommon, though they did use them in most of their armies.
The noblemen of the Anglo-Saxon army were easily distinguishable among the Fyrdmen for their armor, better weaponry, and helmets. Nearly all nobles wore chainmail shirts underneath their warm clothing during winter and in the warm months wore the chainmail with nothing on top of it. Nobles could use a variety of weaponry in battle such as more elaborate axes and ornate swords. Most nobles used a shield of some type, either round or more commonly among the rich, kite shaped. For helmets noble men had a variety of choices, some had cheek guards like Celtic and Roman helmets and some had eye guards akin to the helmets of the later Norsemen. The elite among the noblemen and whole Anglo-Saxon army were the Housecarls or Companions, who were the king’s or Harald’s (leader of the army) household guard. They typically wore helmets with a mask attached that covered the whole face and head wielded a two-handed axe that they could spin around in shows of skill, lesser Housecarls used a smaller axe and kite shield.
The Anglo-Saxons did not use cavalry often for most of their existence, primarily because their infantry was more then adequate, this would lead to their crushing defeat by Ambrosius Aurelianus at Mons Badonicus. The small Anglo-Saxon cavalry that existed was more or less armed like the noble infantry with some notable exceptions. All cavalry men wore chainmail armor and wore helmets, the helmets used by cavalry men were more or less identical to those used by the noble infantry, though the mask-helmets were more widespread. Weapons carried consisted of a long lance as a primarily weapon and either an axe or sword for a secondary one. All cavalry men used the common round shield, use of the kite shield has never been confirmed, though rumors abound.
Tactics used by the Anglo-Saxons could either be simple or complex, depending on the leader or situation. The most common tactic was called the “warband” tactic. In this tactic the Anglo-Saxons would form up into armies, called Fryds and would march off to war, often using brute strength as a way to defeat the enemy. Some of the more advanced tactics (there is too many to list) were called the wedge and the shield wall. The wedge was a triangular formation with the strongest warriors at the tip and lesser ones on the flanks, using this tactic the Anglo-Saxons could break the enemy lines by driving the wedge through a weak spot. The shield wall tactic was a defensive one where the Anglo-Saxon lines would form up into a wall with each man standing next to his fellow warrior with shields over lapping and the spears held forward to impale any enemy, however the shield wall could be broken if just one gap appeared in the line long enough to be exploited. Before joining the battle the Anglo-Saxons would lift their weapons and shout “Ute Ute Ute” over and over again to scare the enemy, and many times it worked.
While the Anglo-Saxon’s greatest battles lie outside of the timeline of 0 AD, there was some in this period. The first of these is the rebellion of Hengst and Horsa from the Romano-British overking Vortigern in 449 AD. The Jutes under Hengst and Horsa were not content to be mercenaries under Vortigern and rebelled, asking for help form their Anglo-Saxon cousins back in Germania. For this point until 500 AD the Anglo-Saxons and their allies won victory after victory and it looked like nothing could stop them, especially after Alle’s arrival. The pivotal point came in 500 AD at the battle of Mons Badonicus, near modern Bath. At AMons Badonicus Ambrosius Aurelianus (possibly the real Arthur) used cavalry, which was the Anglo-Saxon army’s greatest weakness to break them and force a peace for the next fifty years.
The Anglo-Saxon Army was a good example of a Germanic army from this period. They showed that some parts of the old traditions of earlier days still survived alongside the influence of the Romans and Greeks (however little it may be). |
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