Suggested Six Nation Historical Campaign, D.B.A.
"Norman Conquest 1066AD 113,92,112,111,106,102c."

The above quotation and numeration leave a lot to be desired in the way of depth and historical content in the suggestion of a campaign game. To say the least, the rules designers assume a working knowledge of the background and historical motivations surrounding their epoch wide list of opponents and armies.

The purpose of this article is to expand on the history of the Norman Conquest campaign game, provide place names and geographical descriptions for the stylized DBA maps, and to suggest a reading list to compliment the army lists.

Large Map (slow: 155K)

The pivotal year of 1066 in English history is a fascinating topic of study for a historical wargames campaign. I have in my collection the 15mm Norman Conquest range of lead Minifigures. I have used these to my satisfaction for many games between Norman, Viking and Anglo-Saxon- usually using home made rules systems. Hordes of 15mm lead units would course back and forth over the wargame table and for the evening all those involved were satisfied that we were battling it out in the fine fashion of midieval kings, dukes and chieftains

With the discovery of the DBA system, I decided to piece together the requisite forces for the campaign game. A major undertaking- rebasing- touch up painting- pondering thoughtfully and resorting- and most of all a reduction in force later I had 4 Of the 6 armies in hand. With the addition of the absent 2 "custom armies," I was in control of all the variables needed to wage a campaign.

This is the ultimate collectors plateau, and in my opinion one of the wargamers highs involved in DBA. If you can obtain a set of these rules read the introduction, design philosophy and terrain descriptions and realize one of the best things going for this rules set is the simplicity! What this grants to the wargamer is the time to do in-depth research into the period being recreated. Through the suggested readinglist anyone can become a student of this conflict and follow the histories of many of the leading commanders.

Another plus, the players can compete for the title of Bretwalda- high king of the English, A high honor and worthwhile objective for any club. It is my opinion that this sort of esoteric competition and reward is what drives and motivates most historical wargamers.

The six nations involved in this campaign are: AngloDanish, Welsh, Norse-Irish, Pre-Feudal Scots, Viking, and Norman. Arranged around the stylised map as I have illustrated the Anglo-Danes control the center city and their territories include' Danish Mercia, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex.

The Welsh (Cymru) control Gwynned, Glamorgan, and Powys. The Norse-Irish isle is referred to as Eireann and is composed of the place names s Dublin, Cork, and Waterford. Alba, the kingdom of the Scots is made up of Atholl, Strathearn and Moray. The Vikings of Norway territories ares Oseburg, Gokstad and Ringerike. And finally the Norman Kingdom includes: Bayeux, Cherbourg, and Rouen.

In all of the aforementioned kingdoms, the capital territory is mentioned last. I enclose with this article the rough draft of a map the Lion's Den is using to conduct campaign maneuvers in the DBA system. I have traced the rough outline of the island of Britain and its neighbors and I feel it gives a clever appearance and naive flavor of geography to the period- Whether this is an entirely just or accurate appraisal I don't know but I like the way it looks.

What follows is the related reading material I used to study this period. Most of the books are available through the Mid Continent Public Library system. The others are from wargame hobby stores or book dealers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Donaldson, Gordon. Mackie's Short History Of Scotland. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1963.
Gravett, Christopher. Hastings 1066: The Fall Of Saxon England. Londons Osprey, 1992.
Hamilton, Franklin. 1066. U.S.A.The Dial Press, 1964.
Hamilton, John and Alan Sorrell. Saxon England. Philadelphia, Dufour Editions, 1968.
Lloyd, Alan. The Making of The King: 1066. New York: HRW, 1966.
Maclean, Fitzroy. A Concise History Of Scotland. New York, The Viking Press, 1970.
Martell, Hazel Mary. The Normans. New York: New Discovery Books, 1992.
Matthews, John and Bob Stewart. Celtic Warrior Chiefs. U.K. : Firebird Books, 1993.
Sauvin, Philip. Hastings. New York: New Discovery Books, 1992.
Sutherland, Dorothy B.. Enchantment of The World Of Wales. Chicago: Childress Press, 1987.
Wilson, David. The Vikings And Their Origins. New York: A&W Publ., 1980.

You can never have to many Viking books.

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