I've always been a fan of the Normans, both in scenario games as well as in competition play. Under the Medieval Warfare rules, the Normans are both a formidable force as well as a challenge to use.

To begin with, you have a combined arms force of mounted milites, or knights, units of missile troops and close order spearmen. Learning to use these forces in conjunction with each other teaches you how the Normans managed to be so successful when facing their contemporaries in Normandy, England, Italy, Sicily and Greece.

The mounted Norman heavy cavalry are capable of fighting in wedge. The wedge allows you to fight with two stands of cavalry on the frontage of a single stand. I usually will begin the battle with them formed up in wedge formation. Units are usually of the two-stand variety, small and mobile. Occasionally, I use a larger four-stand unit, but typically like the versatility of the smaller units.

The wedges are a very powerful attack formation but are prone to brittleness if not immediately successful. Like their historical counterparts, if the wedges fail to break through or rout their enemy, they flatten out into a disordered line and are then vulnerable to being destroyed. You must, therefore, support your attacks with other wedges or with units of archers or close order spearmen. Isolated wedges of knights court disaster.

The Norman archers seem at first glance quite vulnerable to enemy attacks. You have the option to field them as either close order, allowing greater firepower but less movement and options as to what type of terrain to place them in, or loose order, allowing them better speed and the ability to move into delaying terrain. My own archers are normally in loose order, allowing them to keep apace of the heavy cavalry and use delaying terrain.

Since the archers are unarmored foot, they are not very useful in close combat. Though they do possess shields, their lack of a suitable close combat weapon precludes them from being a very good choice to use as shock troops. Their function is to deliver disordering firepower into potential targets of the heavy cavalry, just like at Hastings in 1066. Their support capability makes them an integral part of my Norman army.

I like to use them either in mobile four-stand or more powerful six-stand units. Either way, they are kept in close support of the cavalry.

The third arm of the Norman army is the close order spearmen. These troops are used as anchors around which the heavy cavalry operate, offering them close support and a place to which to retreat to if in danger. The spearmen are obviously much better if upgraded as more expensive heavy infantry rather than lightly armored, being less vulnerable to missile fire, morale tests and close combat. Again, I like to use the spearmen in either mobile four-stand units or the tougher six-stand ones.

My Norman army also has two or three units of skirmisher foot. These are either archers or crossbowmen, typically one unit of each in either four-stand or six-stand units. I use the skirmishers to screen my heavy cavalry from enemy missile fire until they are in range to charge into the enemy formations. The cavalry can charge right through the skirmisher foot with no interpenetration problems.

My Norman commander in chief does not have an additional stand attached to him. I don't want to be tempted to use him in close combat! My other generals, however, do have attached stands, allowing them to fight in wedge.

The Normans are an attacking army. I use them aggressively, screening the knights with skirmishers, using the archers on the flanks and in support of the cavalry attacks. The spearmen remain to the rear or on the flanks to discourage enemy cavalry from trying to get around my own attacks. The usually will acquit themselves well. Once an enemy sees what wedges of Normans can do to his army, as the Byzantines, Lombards, French and Moslems did, they will respect your army. Remember to support your attacks and follow up any successes with more charges. Keep the pressure on until the enemy army finally cracks under the strain.

If you elect to use Normans, you will have many colorful and charismatic generals to emulate. William the Conqueror, Odo of Bayeax, Robert Guiscard, Bohemond and Roger of Sicily are just a few of the personalities you may build you army around. The Norman armies ranged throughout the 11th century and into the Crusading period, so there is plenty of opportunity to find wealth and glory!