>how many heortling clans have a fyrd that can stand
in
>a shield wall? ... if your clan fyrd doesn't fight
>in a wall then training is a moot point - people show
>up, run at the enemy and
>jump up and down on them in a melee of one on one
> combats.
The shield wall is not complicated to learn (it requires a slighty different fighting style in close order, but not in open order). The major problem is the discipline to maintain it. In the heat of battle, people panic and run rather than face the enemy charge, formations fall apart while charging because members do not 'form a line' etc. Training the fyrd to fight in a shield wall would simply a question of the old army standard - drill - and then hoping they have enough guts to stand in it.
However a number of authors I've read on Germainc tactics suggest that the shieldwall was only the front rank of experienced warriors - hte weaponthanes in Orlanthi terms. The mass of the levy would be positioned behind the shield wall. They would be used to plug gaps, respsond to breaks in the enemies shield wall and become involved in the general melee that took part once a shield wall broke.
The problem with a fyrd tends to be that they are not used to fighting together. This is one reason why traditionally such units were organised regionally, so that men would be used to cooperating (the British Army only abandonded this policy after the Great War when entire villages lost all their young men in single actions).
Still if the lunar soldiers are professinal soldiers they will be at an advantage over the Orlanthi levy in that they will all fight cooperatively, instead of small groups, the weaponthanes, boys from the same stead that the Orlanthi have. Battles unlike duels or even feuds style raids are less about individual martial prowess and more about working as a unit.
As another example think of All-Star sports teams. Individually they can have the best sportsmen at each position, but if they are not used to playing together they can be beaten by less talented players who work well as a team.
Ian Cooper
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