Kingdom of Glywysing (Age of Charlemagne) Melee Ship

Longboat - Sword Boatmen

Literally meaning ‘long ship’ or 'long boat' in the Gaelic language, the ‘long fhada’ can claim heritage from the ancient shipbuilding tradition of the Nordic peoples. Of course, the Norsemen didn’t just give their prized technology away, but their persistent raids of the Scottish, Irish and Welsh coasts meant that longships were sometimes captured, enabling the Celts to study their construction in depth. Eventually, they produced the ‘birlinn’ and ‘Irish galley’, variants on the longship with between eight and twelve oars, in addition to a large sail. These features allowed the new breed of Celtic ships to easily cross the open sea for the purposes of trade and war, rather than having to remain close to the coastline at all times. Unfortunately, no remains of Celtic long boats/long fhada survive to this day, despite records of their continuous use until the 17th century.

(Sword Boatmen)
In the past, naval warfare was just another way for infantry to fight one another. The earliest documented naval battles are those of ancient China, 'grapple and hook' battles where boarding operations and close-quarters combat decided the victor. During the early Middle Ages, the Frankish navy was of no real distinction, yet Charlemagne did maintain a sizeable navy to defend against Viking raids, which was something other kingdoms generally failed to do. At the time, the distinction between fighting on land and at sea was small, yet chiefly a matter of 'sea legs' - maintaining balance whilst toppling your opponent.

Unit Name Longboat - Sword Boatmen

Main Unit Key cha_cel_longship_sword_boatmen

Land Unit Key cha_cel_sword_boatmen

Naval Unit Key cha_longboat

Soldiers 128

Category Light Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 650

Recruitment Cost 650

Upkeep Cost 195

Hull Strength 1800

└ Ship att_shp_light_longship_melee

Speed 7

Melee Attack 37

Melee Damage 40

├ Melee Weapon att_spatha

├ Melee Base Damage 36

├ Armour-piercing Damage 4

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 25

Melee Defence 41

├ Base Defence 16

├ Shield cha_round

└ Shield Defence 25

Armour 46

├ Armour cha_mail

├ Armour Defence 46

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity cha_infantry_medium

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 36

Abilities

• Douse Fire
  Sacrifice your ship's mobility for a short time to focus effort on putting out the blaze.
• Use the Whip
  Improved defence and fatigue resistance for a short time at the cost of overexertion.

Attributes

• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses

Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Shipwright (cha_bld_port_military_2) Level 2

Garrison Buildings
x 1	Shipwright (cha_bld_port_military_2) Level 2

Faction Availability
Age of Charlemagne	Kingdom of Alt Clut (Age of Charlemagne) Kingdom of Glywysing (Age of Charlemagne) Kingdom of Gwynedd (Age of Charlemagne) Kingdom of Powys (Age of Charlemagne) Welsh Rebels (Age of Charlemagne) Welsh Separatists (Age of Charlemagne)