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Viking and Leidang

Vikings and Leidang

Historical Overview Section

List 150

"In medieval Scandinavian languages, a vikingr is a pirate, a freebooter who seeks wealth either by ship-borne raids on foreign coasts or by waylaying more peaceful seafarers in home waters. There is also an abstract noun viking, meaning the act of going raiding overseas. Strictly speaking, therefore, the term should only be applied to men actually engaged in these violent pursuits, and not to every contemporary Scandinavian farmer, merchant, settler or craftsman, nor even to warriors fighting in the dynastic wars of their lords or in their own private feuds. However, it was the raiders who made the most impact on the Europe of their time, so that it has become customary to apply the term 'Viking Age' to the period of Scandinavian History beginning in the 790's (the time of the first recorded raids on Western Europe) and petering out somewhere round the middle of the eleventh century (by which time raids and emigrations had ceased, the settlements established abroad had become thoroughly integrated with the local populations, and social changes in the Scandinavian homelands had marked the transition to their true Middle Ages). Indeed, the term is such a convenient label for the distinctive culture of this period that one now talks not only of 'Viking ships' and 'Viking weapons' but of 'Viking art', 'Viking houses', and even 'Viking agriculture' - expressions which would have seemed meaningless to people living at the time."
(Jacqueline Simpson. Everyday Life in the Viking Age. New York: Dorset. 1967.)

Using the army in ADLG

  • The Bondi Spearmen are less effective than you might like, but the Huscarls are very dangerous
  • Fast-moving swordsmen can sweep enemies off table quite quickly
  • This is a simple and often single-minded army. The Vikings game plan is almost inevitably going to be to form a long line and advance, and the Huscarls job is to sit in the middle and walk forwards acting as an aggressive anvil against which the enemy's best troops should end up beating themselves (hopefully!) to death
  • Taking a Scots ally gives you a mix of MF and HF, and can boost the number of Elite Impetuous Swordsmen in the army up to 4, giving a dangerous force that can have a proper go at enemy infantry in the open as well as dominating the rough.
  • There are very few Light Foot allowed and you will take them all. Their function is simply to absorb as much enemy shooting as possible in order to help the Heavy Infantry get into combat with as few hits as possible. As such, the Light Foot javelinmen may well even be allowed to die - they will also look to position themselves to maximise the amount of shooting they are absorbing as every shot they take is one which the Heavy Infantry are not being shot at!


Terrain considerations:

Always try for the waterway, it is generally helpful. If you get a waterway don’t bother with the village it isn’t helpful as it most likely is sitting on your base edge on the waterway which is not a useful spot.
Don’t get overly obsessed with RGo especially of the fields/brush sort. Unless you have a lot of medium infantry – especially medium infantry that shoots (not a forte) it doesn’t make that much difference. Its biggest value is letting LI stand up to mounted so it is of some value but not hugely. Next biggest use is dummy ambush markers preventing marches..
If you are somewhere that isn’t steppes/plains then you want DGo. The single most dangerous thing you can place for the Huns is a piece of DGo (or impassable) sitting on their baseline dividing up the deployment zone. This generally will compact their army which is good and even better dramatically cut down their ability to march away from your advance. Watch out as the counter-move to this is often to flank march. That is not terrible for you unless you deploy badly and get caught out by it.

User-contributed links about this army:

  • Viking Flags and some others from Don't Roll a One
  • Raven Banner More flags
  • More flags from an Hour of Wolves site
  • http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ A very useful link to a universal site. Not going to be a great use for figurine painting etc, but a great resource for knowing everything there is to know about Vikings. There are links within links too. Check it out.
  • Norse Viking/Leidang DBA Figure Gallery for this army - from Fanaticus
  • Vikings DBA Figure Gallery for this army - from Fanaticus
  • Vikings DBA Figure Gallery for this army - from Fanaticus
  • Leidang DBA Figure Gallery for this army - from Fanaticus

15mm Manufacturers supplying figures for this army

A full listing of all known 15mm manufacturers for all ranges with details of who supplies what can be found in my 15mm Suppliers directory. You can see some of these figures in the Ancients Photo Gallery also on this site

Army Lists

Sample army lists for this army
Essex 2024
2 LMI Bw
1 LF Javelin
2 HI Sword
2 Huscarls Full Fat
2 HI Beserkers
==
3 Huscarls Included Ordinary general
3 HI Swordsmen
1 LF Slinger
==
2 Bowmen
2 Medium Sword 2HW
1 HUscarl
1 HI Sword
Competent General

Normandy 2023
Breton Ally Included Ordinary
3 LH Javelin
==
6 Hvy Sw Support
5 Elite MF Huscarls, Armour, 2HW
2 LF Bow
Brilliant General
==
6 Hvy Sw Support
2 L Bow
Competent General


200 A one-dayer Reading 2022 (V4)
8 HI Sword (1 with support)
Competent General
==
8 HI Sword
Ordinary General
==
2 Hearthguard MF Elite 2HW
2 Lunatics MF Impetuous Elite Swordsmen
4 Warriors Impetuous Swordsmen
Brilliant General

200 points - BIG Abona 2019
Command 1 - Ordinary Included General
2 Huscarles; Heavy swordsmen 2HW Elite
1 Light infantry; Light infantry javelin Ordinary
3 Viking Bondi Warriors; Heavy swordsmen Ordinary
1 Huscarls (General Included); Heavy swordsmen 2HW Elite
==
Command 2 - Competent General
3 Viking Bondi Warriors; Heavy swordsmen Ordinary
2 Huscarles; Heavy swordsmen 2HW Elite
2 Archers; Bowmen Ordinary
2 Beserkers; Medium swordsmen impetuous Elite
1 Irish Warriors; Medium swordsmen Ordinary
1 Light infantryman; Light infantry javelin
==
Command 3 - Scots Ally, Competent
4 Scots Warriors; Medium swordsmen
2 Attecotti; Medium swordsmen impetuous Elite
1 Light infantryman; Light infantry javelin

200 Points: Played by Thierry Moliere at Seclin in January 2015

Corps 1:

  • Brilliant general
  • 3 Huscarls, Elite Heavy swordsmen 2HW, Armour
  • 2 Warriors, Heavy swordsmen
  • 3 Irish mercenaries, Medium swordsmen 2HW
  • 2 Bowmen
  • 1 Light infantry javelin


Corps 2:

  • Ordinary general
  • 2 Huscarls, Elite Heavy swordsmen 2HW, Armour
  • 4 Warriors, Heavy swordsmen
  • 1 Light infantry javelin


Corps 3:

  • Ordinary general, Allied included (Bretons)
  • 2 Heavy cavalry Elite
  • 1 Medium cavalry
  • 2 Light Cavalry javelin


300 Points from BHGS CHallenge 2014

1st Corps(120)

  • Brilliant Commander in Chief (10)
  • 5 Huscarls Hvy swords 2HW elite armour(65)
  • 2 Irish Mercenaries Med swords 2HW(16)
  • 2 Berserkers Med swords impetuous elite(18)
  • 1 Viking Warriors Med swords impetuous(7)
  • 1 Light Inf Jav(4)


2nd Corps(93)

  • Competent Commander(5)
  • 4 Huscarls Hvy swords 2HW elite armour(52)
  • 4 Viking Warriors Med swords impetuous(28)
  • 2 Light Inf Bow(8)


3rd Corps(60)

  • Ordinary Commander0)
  • 4 Irish Mercenaries Med swords 2HW(32)
  • 4 Viking Warriors Med swords impetuous(28)


4th Corps Armourican Breton Allies(27)

  • Allied Commander(-5) included(-5)
  • 1 Heavy Cavalry(9) w/corp commander
  • 4 Medium Cavalry(28)

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