Medieval Battles by Terry Gore, SAGA Publications (© 2003)

This battle represents a classic encounter between Henry I of England and his brother, Robert of Normandy. Two military systems had evolved from the successful campaigns of William the Conqueror a half century before.

The Anglo-Normans, commanded by King Henry, utilized large numbers of the old Saxon fyrd. These levies of hardy, close-order foot fought mostly with spear. Most possessed little in the way of armor, but they formed up in large blocks and, in their traditional shieldwall formations, were a very difficult enemy to defeat.

The Anglo-Norman knights; sons and grandsons of William's invaders, could dismount to fight alongside the fyrd, as the English huscarls had done in the past. At first, this seems to be a de-evolution in military tactics, as the mounted Norman knight had proved his worth again and again from the battlefields of England to Italy. Yet, the masses of foot needed some help to bolster their ranks. They had done this in the past, with thegns and huscarls providing the steady front ranks in the armies of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Now the Anglo-Normans adapted the same tactics. Not only did the heavier armored knights provide a stronger front rank in the hand-to-hand combats; their better morale also strengthened the courage of the fyrd.

The mainland Normans, under Duke Robert, continued to rely on the frenzied mounted charge of knights as their main battle tactic. They augmented this with large numbers of archers, who did their best to discomfort the intended target of the charge. Alongside the archers, the Norman levy foot, better armored than their English counterparts, made up the bulk of the Norman army.

The Battle of Tinchebrai was simply the result of the dynastic struggle between the two sons of William. Henry desired to rule over all of William's previous possessions while Robert had his own ideas about this! Henry had besieged a Norman castle and Robert quickly moved to relieve it. This particular battle is good for club demos as it requires very little terrain and few troop types. Henry won the hour-long fight and Robert was captured. The duchy of Normandy now became Henry's.

Victory:

For either side to win, either kill the opposing CinC (automatic victory), or force the enemy to leave the field by destroying or routing 1/3 of his army (reaching Breakpoint).

Hill is low and gentle, giving height advantage and blocking sight only, but is not disordering or slowing to move through.

Map

This is the historical setup. I would allow the opposing players to set up within 1 foot of their baseline any way they would like.

Norman Civil War Tinchebrai, 1106

Scenario Background
The Anglo-Norman Army
The Norman Army