Wow! Great page, love the detail. From the military point of view, first thing off the bat is that the Erogenians have the high ground. This is invaluable even in modern day combat. You have a much better assessment of the enemy’s positions and disposition. Your archers, slingers and spearmen have greater range. In order to engage your enemy has to slog uphill, tiring them. If they don’t engage, well it’s a holiday for your ranged weapons folk. If you decide on a cavalry charge you have the advantage of downhill momentum. Dragons, will be a problem but that would be the case on a level playing ground and then again there’s the Keltan factor. Of course Gorshash is a sneaky Bastid, going to be very interesting if he’s studied battle tactics as well as magik. Really looking forward to the upcoming fight. Probably going to be a real biatch as far as the artwork is concerned. Great going JED!
Spearmen, how?
The Urrt have a fortress on the field and a cavalry charge down this in a fortified position does not work, both alone are disastrous together
and why did Gorshash let them the high ground?
Napoleon did the same , the name of the place is Austerlitz
Mentl could make short work of most of them, if there’s any magic users in the group it might not be that simple though. Sure, he way more powerful, but before his injury he was still largely untrained. The Urrts have greater numbers and even the giant would get tired sooner or later. A good twist would be if both Mentl and Zona would port in at the last minute, but I’ll not say anymore, just have to wait 😉 (no, I don’t know anything, I’m just guessing)
Spearmen, how not? Spears are arguably one of the most versatile weapons of ancient warfare and are not limited to the six foot standard hardwood spear with a fixed head but includes those designed to be thrown such as the javelin and pilum. JED hasn’t shown us much of organized formal warfare where two armies meet on a battlefield so we only have our own history of war as an example. Going by Roman examples depending on the era and circumstances, the typical Roman soldier was armed with Pugio and either Spatha or Gladius. Typical in a Phalanx the Hasta (thrusting spear) was standard, but he may also have carried javelin or pilum for the opening attack as the armies closed.
Regarding Austerlitz, thanks for the reference, I’m unfamiliar with that battle and I’ll look it up. Guessing here, but Napoleon probably took advantage of particular circumstances and forced the battle in a manner favorable to him. That said, the general rule of warfare is to always take the highground. There may be exceptions but that is the rule. Cheers.
Under Spearmen i understand troops using the spear as mellee weapon, not Javelin throwers
when the typical roman soldier used the spatha, the Pugio was IIRC not longer used and the greeks used the dory not the hasta.
But i do not see how higher ground gives a mellee weapon more reach
Napoleon used the Pratzen as bait to lure the austro russian army in a trap
Not to be pedantic, but the quote above ‘I am a warrior so my son can be a merchant and his son can be an artist’ is generally attributed to John Quincy Adams, not Jefferson.
Spears aren’t very effective in close quarters, too long to swing and jab when in a limited space like when two armored and shielded troops close up. They work well against both horse and troop charges, but in many cases once that charge is over the spearmen would draw their swords and close up with an enemy. To hold a spear to fight with, you have to hold it at the balance point which means there’s as much behind you as in front, too easy to whack a fellow solider or get it hung up on a downed man. I trained with a staff many years ago, you HAVE to be aware of everything around you just in training. Which is a lot harder than it sounds. When we would spar, the trick was to drive your opponent into a wall or any obstacle to limit the movement of their weapon.
Because most battles didn’t begin in close quarters, so the spears don’t immediately become ineffective.
Also, because a spear isn’t a staff.
Scarsdale
The only difference is one end has a point and it’s longer than a staff, but the use’s is still limited to swing, jab, and parry. It’s just the spear has a sharp point making it easier to do deadly damage. Plus, Pikes tended to have a triangle head allowing you to pull the rider off his horse once he’s impaled, but that made it that much harder to free it for another use. I’m sorry, but I trained for years with a staff, and my Sensei (teacher) told me all of this. I’m an old man now but have plenty of fond memories…
RBZ
Well, there’s one large difference that your sensei appears to have omitted, and that’s that a spear can also be thrown like a javelin. Something that wouldn’t be advisable with even a pike.
Scarsdale
Sure you can throw it, and in close combat, you just disarmed yourself and STILL have to draw a sword…
And you can throw a staff, but it’s the very same thing, and even in the 70’s, carrying a sword gets you arrested, if not shot.
I grew up in the Gary, IN area, and being a white guy, I was always a target. Martial Arts training was rare in those days, I was VERY lucky to been taken in.
Why do I have the feeling this is going to turn out very bad for the good guys (and gals), and it will be up to Mentl to salvage the situation once he recovers?
I’m afraid not all of the heroes are going to walk out of this alive. 🙁 My particular concern, for some reason, is about Keltan.
Yes, it’s a special kind of fun to be reading brand new pages and guessing what comes next, as opposed to reading through the archives… 🙂
Great we have the high ground and they will be crashed against the walls of their own fortress. Charge!
A bunch of fire spitting dragons waits to see how the attackers form a tight packed cluster that charges down with no option to scatter… Worth the sacrifice of a few Urts!
But seriously; Tula leaves her *spine* exposed?! That’s about the stupidest decision ever and it’s not like it would even grant her greater movement, just more risk.
19 thoughts on “War Dawn – Page 1303”
Reservist
Where’s the walking magical human howitzer (namely, our tame Michael Levy, alias Mentl) when you need him??
Gossamerblade
Isn’t he still recovering? But yeah, this would be a good “stand back and blast” situation.
SFCGator
Wow! Great page, love the detail. From the military point of view, first thing off the bat is that the Erogenians have the high ground. This is invaluable even in modern day combat. You have a much better assessment of the enemy’s positions and disposition. Your archers, slingers and spearmen have greater range. In order to engage your enemy has to slog uphill, tiring them. If they don’t engage, well it’s a holiday for your ranged weapons folk. If you decide on a cavalry charge you have the advantage of downhill momentum. Dragons, will be a problem but that would be the case on a level playing ground and then again there’s the Keltan factor. Of course Gorshash is a sneaky Bastid, going to be very interesting if he’s studied battle tactics as well as magik. Really looking forward to the upcoming fight. Probably going to be a real biatch as far as the artwork is concerned. Great going JED!
ThoDan
Spearmen, how?
The Urrt have a fortress on the field and a cavalry charge down this in a fortified position does not work, both alone are disastrous together
and why did Gorshash let them the high ground?
Napoleon did the same , the name of the place is Austerlitz
Scarsdale
Mentl could make short work of most of them, if there’s any magic users in the group it might not be that simple though. Sure, he way more powerful, but before his injury he was still largely untrained. The Urrts have greater numbers and even the giant would get tired sooner or later. A good twist would be if both Mentl and Zona would port in at the last minute, but I’ll not say anymore, just have to wait 😉 (no, I don’t know anything, I’m just guessing)
RBZ
That would be some twist.
I can’t see Zona leaving the battlefield for any reason, though. Not even so Mentl can port her back into the thick of it.
SFCGator
Spearmen, how not? Spears are arguably one of the most versatile weapons of ancient warfare and are not limited to the six foot standard hardwood spear with a fixed head but includes those designed to be thrown such as the javelin and pilum. JED hasn’t shown us much of organized formal warfare where two armies meet on a battlefield so we only have our own history of war as an example. Going by Roman examples depending on the era and circumstances, the typical Roman soldier was armed with Pugio and either Spatha or Gladius. Typical in a Phalanx the Hasta (thrusting spear) was standard, but he may also have carried javelin or pilum for the opening attack as the armies closed.
Regarding Austerlitz, thanks for the reference, I’m unfamiliar with that battle and I’ll look it up. Guessing here, but Napoleon probably took advantage of particular circumstances and forced the battle in a manner favorable to him. That said, the general rule of warfare is to always take the highground. There may be exceptions but that is the rule. Cheers.
ThoDan
Under Spearmen i understand troops using the spear as mellee weapon, not Javelin throwers
when the typical roman soldier used the spatha, the Pugio was IIRC not longer used and the greeks used the dory not the hasta.
But i do not see how higher ground gives a mellee weapon more reach
Napoleon used the Pratzen as bait to lure the austro russian army in a trap
Leohtulf
Not to be pedantic, but the quote above ‘I am a warrior so my son can be a merchant and his son can be an artist’ is generally attributed to John Quincy Adams, not Jefferson.
Scarsdale
Spears aren’t very effective in close quarters, too long to swing and jab when in a limited space like when two armored and shielded troops close up. They work well against both horse and troop charges, but in many cases once that charge is over the spearmen would draw their swords and close up with an enemy. To hold a spear to fight with, you have to hold it at the balance point which means there’s as much behind you as in front, too easy to whack a fellow solider or get it hung up on a downed man. I trained with a staff many years ago, you HAVE to be aware of everything around you just in training. Which is a lot harder than it sounds. When we would spar, the trick was to drive your opponent into a wall or any obstacle to limit the movement of their weapon.
ThoDan
then tell me please why spear and shield was the preferred armament for troops in most of history
RBZ
Because most battles didn’t begin in close quarters, so the spears don’t immediately become ineffective.
Also, because a spear isn’t a staff.
Scarsdale
The only difference is one end has a point and it’s longer than a staff, but the use’s is still limited to swing, jab, and parry. It’s just the spear has a sharp point making it easier to do deadly damage. Plus, Pikes tended to have a triangle head allowing you to pull the rider off his horse once he’s impaled, but that made it that much harder to free it for another use. I’m sorry, but I trained for years with a staff, and my Sensei (teacher) told me all of this. I’m an old man now but have plenty of fond memories…
RBZ
Well, there’s one large difference that your sensei appears to have omitted, and that’s that a spear can also be thrown like a javelin. Something that wouldn’t be advisable with even a pike.
Scarsdale
Sure you can throw it, and in close combat, you just disarmed yourself and STILL have to draw a sword…
And you can throw a staff, but it’s the very same thing, and even in the 70’s, carrying a sword gets you arrested, if not shot.
I grew up in the Gary, IN area, and being a white guy, I was always a target. Martial Arts training was rare in those days, I was VERY lucky to been taken in.
IS
Why do I have the feeling this is going to turn out very bad for the good guys (and gals), and it will be up to Mentl to salvage the situation once he recovers?
I’m afraid not all of the heroes are going to walk out of this alive. 🙁 My particular concern, for some reason, is about Keltan.
Yes, it’s a special kind of fun to be reading brand new pages and guessing what comes next, as opposed to reading through the archives… 🙂
Reservist
@Gossamerblade
Aye. He must probably be still recovering.
Rene
Great we have the high ground and they will be crashed against the walls of their own fortress. Charge!
A bunch of fire spitting dragons waits to see how the attackers form a tight packed cluster that charges down with no option to scatter… Worth the sacrifice of a few Urts!
Lora
Surprisingly few Urrts there.
But seriously; Tula leaves her *spine* exposed?! That’s about the stupidest decision ever and it’s not like it would even grant her greater movement, just more risk.
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