Northymbre Melee Ship

Draca - Northumbrian Mailed Thegns

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.

(Northumbrian Mailed Thegns)
The cultural synthesis between Vikings and Saxons that took place in locations like Northumbria affected several facets of Anglo-Saxon life, not least their military practices. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle remarks that in AD 876 the Danish war leader Halfdan led his retinue of warriors away from the Great Army and returned to Northumbria, where it is recorded that he then divided up the land there so that his people could ‘plough and support themselves’. Indeed, the eventual Viking settlement of northern England soon saw one particularly integral part of Anglo-Saxon army traditions adopted by the newly settled Vikings – the recognition of the thegns, a class of noblemen-warriors who had owned land granted from lords or kings by right of a provided military service. In the earliest times of Saxon migration, the thegns were exclusively defined by that military service, with the first Anglo-Saxon leaders keeping ‘gesiths’ as they were formerly known in their retinues, who were better trained and more highly motivated due to a close relationship with their warmongering lords. By the later Saxon era, however, they had developed into a middle-ranking land-owning ‘officer class’ to Saxon kings, with major roles in organising and leading the fyrds. Danish rule over conquered English lands meant that some Saxon thegns fought for their conquerors, in return for being able to keep their lands within the puppet kingdoms.

Unit Name Draca - Northumbrian Mailed Thegns

Main Unit Key shp_dan_northumbrian_mailed_thegns

Land Unit Key dan_northumbrian_mailed_thegns

Naval Unit Key vik_draca

Soldiers 160

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 750

Recruitment Cost 750

Upkeep Cost 200

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_draca

Speed

Melee Skill 38

Melee Damage 32

├ Melee Weapon vik_spear

├ Melee Base Damage 22

├ Armour-piercing Damage 10

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 25

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 26

Melee Defence 68

├ Base Defence 38

├ Shield vik_medium

└ Shield 30

Armour 22

├ Armour vik_mail

├ Armour Defence 22

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_heavy

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 49

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]]Disciplined[[/col]]
  This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses