West Seaxe Missile Ship

Sae Wylfing - Select Fyrd Archers

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.

(Select Fyrd Archers)
Every Saxon man was expected to fight whenever the need arose. Courage could come later, bolstered by massed ranks in the meantime, as could proficiency, since there was rarely much time for training amateurs before a war. However, this revealed a fundamental flaw – whenever a war resulted in too many casualties, there would be nobody to work the fields at its conclusion. To compensate for this, the Anglo-Saxons developed the 'select' system, whereby only those deemed most able would be chosen to join the fyrd. The remainder would stay at work, creating a surplus of provisions and equipment for both the marching army and those left behind, sustaining the realm and improving the army's chances of victory. In practice, most men were not selected, so many were expected to service the war machine in practical ways.

The select men of the fyrd were called upon on many occasions in Saxon history. Although archery wasn't considered the most ‘warrior-like’ of practices, it was still a specialisation chosen by some for the purposes of war. The prevalence of hunting and the past presence of stationed Roman archers around Britain meant that it was by no means an unknown discipline, with archer regiment tactics varying between the warring groups of the day. Battles often saw periods of missile volley exchanges before the initial melee engagements, so the skill of the bowmen could really turn the tide of battle, as seen with the success of English longbow regiments of later centuries during the Hundred Years War.

Unit Name Sae Wylfing - Select Fyrd Archers

Main Unit Key shp_eng_select_fyrd_archers

Land Unit Key eng_select_fyrd_archers

Naval Unit Key vik_sae_wylfing_mis

Soldiers 80

Category Light Ship

Class Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost 400

Recruitment Cost 400

Upkeep Cost 100

Missile Damage 28

├ Missile Weapon vik_bow_levy

├ Projectile vik_bow_levy_normal

├ Missile Damage 24

├ Missile Ap Damage 4

└ Base Reload Time 30

Accuracy 19

Range 150

Reload 55

Rate of Fire 4

Ammunition 14

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_sae_wylfing

Speed

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 22

├ Armour vik_mail

├ Armour Defence 22

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_mis_light

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 28

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Resistant to Fatigue[[/col]]
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• [[col:yellow]]Snipe[[/col]]
  This unit remains hidden while firing.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses