Gwined Missile Infantry

Helwyr

Long before the prominence of archers as staple regiments in the English army during the Hundred Years' War, there had already been an extensive tradition of archery in Wales. The historical record relates that in AD 633, five centuries before its earliest known use by the English, a Welsh longbow was used to kill Prince Edwin of Northumbria in a confrontation with the army of King Cadwallon of Gwined. Early Welsh bows were constructed from wych elm, as opposed to yew or horn used in the English adaptations which came later, and designed not for distance but to inflict severe wounds in close quarters. This was suited to a landscape in which the main fighting tactic was a quick charge followed by a feigned retreat into the woods, with the intention being to trap pursuers in a lethal short-range ambush.

Welsh longbows required considerable training to operate, but were far more powerful than any other ranged weapons of the era. As the historian Gerald of Wales put it, their arrows could penetrate ‘a hand’s width into an oak door’, ‘through a man’s armour and thigh, into his horse’, and ‘through an armoured horseman’s hip into his saddle’. The aptitude of the Welsh archers in ranged warfare was also reflected by the obvious difficulty in mastering the later longbows they became known for. They were highly unwieldy weapons, bulky but capable of a draw-weight exceeding 50 kg. In fact, archaeological finds of skeletons belonging to longbow archers almost always show recognisable deformations, with enlarged arms and bone spurs commonly seen on the wrists, shoulders, and fingers.

Unit Name Helwyr

Main Unit Key wel_helwyr

Land Unit Key wel_helwyr

Naval Unit Key vik_corwg_mis

Soldiers 80

Category Missile Infantry

Class Missile Infantry

Custom Battle Cost 300

Recruitment Cost 300

Upkeep Cost 60

Missile Damage 32

├ Missile Weapon vik_bow

├ Projectile vik_bow_normal

├ Missile Damage 27

├ Missile Ap Damage 5

└ Base Reload Time 30

Accuracy 30

Range 150

Reload 40

Rate of Fire 3

Ammunition 14

Melee Skill 8

Melee Damage 9

├ Melee Weapon vik_dagger

├ Melee Base Damage 7

├ Armour-piercing Damage 2

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 2

Melee Defence 8

├ Base Defence 8

├ Shield vik_none

└ Shield 0

Armour 7

├ Armour vik_cloth_helmet

├ Armour Defence 7

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_mis_light

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 30

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Resistant to Fatigue[[/col]]
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• [[col:yellow]]Guerrilla Deployment[[/col]]
  This unit can deploy outside of the deployment zone.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• [[col:yellow]]Ignore Terrain[[/col]]
  Speed penalties caused by the terrain are ignored by this unit.
• [[col:yellow]]Snipe[[/col]]
  This unit remains hidden while firing.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses

Recuitment Requirement
Required Technology Cost 150 Upgrade From

Faction Availability
Thrones of Britannia	Brechinauc Cerneu Cumbra Dewet Gliwissig Gwent Gwined Powis Welsh Rebels Seisilwig Gwined Usurpers Strat Clut Usurpers Welsh Usurpers Strat Clut