East Engle Melee Ship

Draca - Danelaw Axemen

For most of history the only way to move cargoes and people over long distances at any kind of reasonable speed was by water; this remained true until the invention of the railway. Trading vessels carried goods, following the coastlines for the most part, and up navigable rivers. The pattern of settlement and colonisation was almost entirely based on where ships could go. It was also considerably easier to move armies by sea than march them long distances. Trade ships were hired or requisitioned for such tasks, and this was an added incentive for generals to reach a quick conclusion to a campaign: war hurt trade, and used up ships needed for vital food supplies.

(Danelaw Axemen)
The warriors of the Danelaw were part of the powerful Danish military aristocracy that dominated the areas of Britain in which the Vikings settled during the ninth century. There had been several confrontations between the fyrds of King Alfred the Great and Danish forces up until then, culminating in the agreement which saw the Danish warlord Guthrum withdraw his forces from Wessex in the autumn of AD 877. In doing so, a portion of his Great Heathen Army settled down in the eastern part of Mercia, laying the origins of the Danelaw, the region where distinctively Danish laws held prominence in the local courts. Legal traditions aside, Danish military customs were also well entrenched in the area as Guthrum, initially unsatisfied with his army’s unfulfillments, remained poised for potential renewed attacks on Wessex.

The settled Danes shared out the land for the purposes of agricultural subsistence, but still retained their strong Scandinavian warrior traditions. For some, the one-handed axe would have been the weapon of choice, since swords were costly and axes would have been already widely available as domestic tools. Various adaptations of axes were used in battle, such as the smaller throwing francisca made famous by the Franks, and the slightly larger versions primarily used as part of axe-and-shield war getups. Axes granted a unique form of damage output – although swords were ideal for slashing and stabbing, an axe could hack and chop with relatively less effort, and in the right hands was particularly useful for piercing armour, decapitation, and dismemberment.

Unit Name Draca - Danelaw Axemen

Main Unit Key shp_dan_axemen

Land Unit Key dan_axemen

Naval Unit Key vik_draca

Soldiers 160

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 350

Recruitment Cost 350

Upkeep Cost 80

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_draca

Speed

Melee Skill 25

Melee Damage 26

├ Melee Weapon vik_axe_levy

├ Melee Base Damage 11

├ Armour-piercing Damage 15

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 26

Melee Defence 55

├ Base Defence 25

├ Shield vik_medium

└ Shield 30

Armour 5

├ Armour vik_cloth

├ Armour Defence 5

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_med

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 28

Abilities

• Shield Castle
  "Heads down, lads, things are about to get a little hairy around here!"
  Units cannot move in this formation.

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Expert Charge Defence[[/col]]
  This unit’s melee attack and damage are increased against charging enemies.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• [[col:yellow]]Raider[[/col]]
  This unit may set buildings on fire, cause more fire damage with torches and capture faster than other units.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses