d00d

check it
http://www.meridianarmy.com/pdf/shieldbasics.pdf

http://calontir.sca.org/earlmarshal/Articles/TroyHafallen-ShieldWall-101.pdf

just random things I found, I dunno, maybe we wanna make a plan/guide for our shieldmen? Shields, to me, seem most useful when they are organized, so... I dunno, maybe we work through some commands/strategy?

*edit* note, I don't want to adopt their strategies, at least not more than any specific things that we see fit to adopt. I just think it's noteworthy that they've got a strategy written down that they distribute to their fighters*end edit*

cool

These are all very good resources. And if they could ever be implemented effectively, the unit practicing them would be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, I think it would be more difficult to train people in specific tactics like this than may be practical. Take a look at Rome: they function very much like those articles describe, and considering that entire unit also fights SCA, it makes sense (not to mention most all of them have military background). The point I'm trying to make is that even Rome has difficulty using these tactics effectively. In, Dagorhir there is too much that conflicts with the idea of conformity, discipline, and authority. A lot of units/realms barely have the same tabard as one another, and a good number of their fighters are new to that unit/realm. There is no standard "sword and board authorization" in Dagorhir, and while I myself would love to see "rank and file" troops all lined up in neat rows in Dagorhir, I know it will never happen.

I think the best we can hope for is for the people to be disciplined enough to know big shields to move up front, spears behind that, and everyone else supporting.

Although I will way this, if we can come to an agreement as a realm on how to implement some of these strategies without compromising the innate freedoms of Dagorhir, I am 101% for that motion. Even though the Dagorhir fighting field is infamously known as a "cluster-f*uck" as far as disciplined troop movements and strategies go, I began to see gradual changes at Rag 23 that gave hint to the possibility of some cohesion on the field. I think this is partly due to the size of our participation. with smaller groups of 20-30, it can seem pointless to try and organize them into a shield wall when 2/3 of them don't even have a shield. But, as Dagorhir grows, and the fighting field turns into a battle numbering in the thousands, people will start to realize that without organization, discipline, and cohesion, any unit - no matter how big - will be crushed by superior forces. Time and time again, throughout our history, larger forces have been defeated by better trained, better equipped armies.

So, to implement some of the strategies, a few things need to happen. People need to start thinking seriously about Dagorhir (think Rome/Aratari), and actually TRAIN Dagorhir and stop "coming to practices to just have fun". People need to want to win, because when they want to win, they'll want to live longer on the field. And to live longer, you need to train. Not only this, but the more people participating in Dagorhir, and many of these SCA-like tactics will become useful.

a strategy i like to use is a stagered formation. Use every other unit as a corresponding counter for the guy next to you. FOr in stance on the far right use a shield. A couple feet next to him have a spear or red then next to him a blue then back to shield. The second line would stand behind the first but in that space i described each member of the first should have so that they aren't perfect lines but then the second row isn't supposed to be. Any way the second row sould have spears and reds so that if the enemy punches through the first group then the second has the longer weapons to plung the enemy with. The 3rd line is set up like the first directly behind them (obivously still behind the second line) but they would be the archers and rocks and javalines. The range is able to utilze their range and not have to worry about protecting themsleves because the first two lines are protecting them. But i think this would be a brilliant strategy and it doesn't require a lot of formal training.