There was a time when I eschewed the use of light troops. I considered them a basically useless encumbrance which most armies carried around with them like so much flotsam. True, they did "screen" troops you'd rather not have shot to hell by enemy missile troops and they could also move rapidly, keeping up with heavy cavalry, thus being useful as a mobile support group. Still, they seemed all but helpless if caught in a hand-to-hand situation and often ended up spending most of the game to the rear of my army, having evaded enemy charges.

From my research, I began to see that the limitations and faults were not of the troop type, they were my own preconceived prejudices about how to use them that afforded the light troops such low esteem in my fielded armies.

The first realization of what I was missing occurred in 1989 when Phil Barker came over to umpire the SIMCON ancients tournament. He pointed out that whereas many of us North American gamers utilized lights in a frontal screen, skirmishing before our better quality troops as French Napoleonic legere, in England they were often used in one sector as a blocking force, tieing down the enemy, pinning him and isolating one flank to receive the better fighters concentrated attack.

At first, this seemed spurious, as it left uncovered the attack force, while giving away any tactical plan by their placement: i.e. wherever the lights go, the attack wouldn't be. What I didn't take into account was the actual battlefield capabilities of well-used light troops.

Chris Cameron told me he liked to use lights in large units and I couldn't understand why -- until one game where his 16-man light units severely mauled my LMI and MI! He simply moved his troops up to 80 paces and fired away. I couldn't catch him in a charge unless he rolled poorly and evaded slow, and even then, if I did catch him, my troops would then be hopelessly out of position and open to flank attacks. I still considered the light infantry next to useless in close combat.

At last year's HISTORICON tournament, Dave Armer and I played in the 25mm team competition. Dave took the skirmish/light troops and, using Phil's advice, tied up an enemy wing while throwing our strength at either the foe's center or other flank. Dave's judicious use of evades, counter-attacks and terrain managed to stymie our opponents and we won all of our games. I quickly learned to shift reserves keeping the enemy in the dark as to where the inevitable attack would come. A well-placed feint often absorbed enough enemy interest to allow the actual major assault to develop virtually unopposed and in one game, we even swung over to the attack on the skirmishing flank, but not by utilizing the light troops, they continued to remain in a solely supportive role.

A few months ago, Dave Stiers and a friend fought a game against my co-editor and myself where our noble opponents proceeded to march his light infantry archers straight at my own lines of troops. As our respective LI came into bow range, I proceeded to fire at the advancing foe who, disdaining to fire back, held up shields and continued to advance until finally, they charged my own archers who ignominiously turned tail and ran.

I then managed to waste a cavalry unit trying to get rid of those enemy light infantry -- a couple of units in the middle of your army doesn't help morale any! Dave Stiers didn't even flinch as his LI archers held against my attacks, wasting my cavalry fatigue points as his 16-man units absorbed the punishment. One of his shielded archer units managed to nail one of my evading LI bodies and routed them, converting a charge into a second line of LI javelinmen! What a mess. Yes. lights certainly could be used as an offensive weapon, and this game proved it.

My own attempts at offensive action using LI have been less than fruitful, however. One trick I tried is putting a small LI unit in a woods with a LMI unit a couple of inches deeper in ambush. When the enemy uncovers the lights, which dutifully evade, he is open to a surprise attack by my LMI, supposing they are within an inch of each other. This is a bit tricky and in apt to not be too cost efficient in that it ties up two units and if the enemy doesn't go near them, they're effectively out of the battle.

I've also used them in a supportive attack role with Norman HC. Using both javelinmen and archers, the LI no t only screen the attacking cavalry, but can be quite effective in maneuvering onto an enemy's flank and can attack in support of the cavalry if the enemy is disordered.

If the LI are broken, your troops ignore that anyway and if you can get a decent assault organized, they are good in a missile support capacity as well as in an attack mode.

Another great thing about the LI is that they march move as quickly as loose order horse. It is hard to keep a combined arms attack organized with the much slower moving heavier foot. Don't discount the LI abilities in ambush either. They can be hidden in brush as well as in woods and it isn't necessary to prompt them to charge when ambushing. They can move through friends and friends, in turn, can charge through them.

All in all, I recommend experimenting with different types of LI, trying out different strategems, weapons types and tactical responses to utilize their attributes.

The Irish, as mean, obstinate and warlike an army as could be found in the 10th-14th centuries, had armies which so many times included close to their total strength in LI. Granted, a good number of them were poor and ill-disposed to funnel their limited incomes into procuring armor, yet these troops were not left in camp or sent out on laborious foraging expeditions if a battle was at hand. They were used aggressively and effectively by their commanders in a battlefield role.

As a postscript, I would like to see the legendary army of ALL LI, unshielded, JLS-armed foot on a wargames table some day. Talk about a challenge to use -- but maybe it would be an even bigger challenge to defeat!