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| Viking raiders and Irish allies deployed |
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| Opposite end |
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| Dubgaill attackers advance |
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| Finngaill defenders advance |
After painting more Vikings and Irish recently I thought I’d try a solo ADLG game set in Ireland between rival Viking raiders with Irish allies. The opening chapter of Life in the Viking Great Army; Raiders, Traders and Settlers gives a good background on this:
The written sources record multiple groups of Viking raiders active in Ireland in the 850s and 860s, sometimes working together but often in conflict with each other. For example, the longphuirt at Dublin and Linn Duachaill were attacked by a newly arrived group of raiders described by the Annals of Ulster as the Dubgaill (‘dark foreigners’), who went on to defeat the Finngaill (‘fair foreigners’) the following year at Carlingford Lough. Viking raiders regularly found local allies amidst the complex political situation in Ireland, where over 150 different kingdoms were subject to the authority of six regional overkings of Connaught, Ulster, Munster, Leinster, North Ui Neill and South Ui Neill. Internecine disputes were extensive and ripe for exploitation, while Viking armies could prove useful allies in fighting off other groups of raiders.
Dawn Hadley and Julian Richards, Life in the Viking Great Army; Raiders, Traders and Settlers, Oxford University Press, Oxford , 2025, pp.13-14.
The two sides were very similar with the Dubgaill (‘dark foreigners’) attackers having slightly more Irish infantry in their allied corps while the Finngaill (‘fair foreigners’) had more Viking infantry and two units of Irish light cavalry (just because I had some). The Dubgaill charged in the centre and on their left flank and before long the Irish and Viking allies had also charged in to combat. The Irish slingers and light cavalry spent the whole game faffing around, nothing decisive was achieved there. The rival shieldwalls battered it out and eventually the Dubgaill centre with their huscarls was weakened and the entire army on the verge of breaking.
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| Dubgaill charge in the centre and on their left flank |
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| Irish and Viking allies close in combat |
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| Rival shieldwalls batter it out |
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| Dubgaill centre is weakened |
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| Dubgaill are on the verge of breaking |
Armies looking really awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal, it was fun to get the newly painted troops on the table.
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