West Seaxe Melee Ship

Draca - Fyrd 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.

(Fyrd Axemen)
The fyrd was, in the simplest terms, a levy of ordinary individuals who were not tied to a lord as fighting vassals. The Saxons used fyrds throughout their period of dominance and even for the settled Danes, levying troops was a frequent necessity. After King Alfred of the West Saxons finally defeated Guthrum the Dane in AD 878, he famously implemented a defence-in-depth system of forts that also reformed the Saxon fyrds by dividing them into three main groups. One part of the force remained at home on their estates, while another stayed out on patrol in the field in a constant state of readiness. The third group were the men guarding their local forts, all of which culminated in Anglo-Saxon England becoming a very well-defended place indeed.

When the men of the fyrd were called upon to fight, they were frequently doing so to protect their homes and livelihoods. 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 - Fyrd Axemen

Main Unit Key shp_eng_fyrd_axemen

Land Unit Key eng_fyrd_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 7

├ Armour vik_cloth_helmet

├ Armour Defence 7

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_light

├ 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