Scenario 5: Uhtred vs Ubba

 In the previous post, Saxon invaders led by someone I called Uhtred were fighting the British king, Arthur.  Fast forward a couple of hundred years.  We are still in the Dark Ages.  The Saxons succeeded in conquering most of England.  A Saxon English king, Alfred, is defending against a Danish invasion.  In this scenario, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a descendant of the  first Uhtred, is leading the English forces in a battle against the fearsome Danish warrior, Ubba.  This plot line is taken from the popular series about Uhtred authored by Bernard Cornwell.  In Cornwell's story, the English forces are on a hill but they descend to set fire to the Danish boats.  I am using Scenario 4 from One Hour Wargames, so there are no boats.  English forces will stay on the hill as long as they can.  Ubba will attempt to take the hill.

All units will form shield walls when fighting face to face.  The archers actually are skirmishers throwing javelins.  They will avoid hand-to-hand combat. Cavalry units travel fast but are assumed to  dismount and fight on foot when they see an opportunity for a flank attack.  They will form shield walls in face-to-face battles.

Note: north is to the left in the pictures.

The armies position for battle.  The Danes are on the right (south).  They will attack the hill frontally and also flank the east and west sides of it.  The cavalry on both sides are holding themselves in reserve.  The first picture shows the flanking and frontal attacks have begun.  The English attack the western Danes on the flank. 

Picture 1.  The battle is joined.

Both of the English units on the hill have the uphill advantage against their frontal attackers.  Also, they are in shield wall formation, so that reduces hits even more.  However, the flank attacks are devastating and the hill is taken by the Danes (picture 2).

Picture 2.  The Danes take possession of the hill.

All is not lost for Uhtred, however.  The Saxon skirmishers continue to throw javelins at the Danes on the hill (picture 3). The English Saxon cavalry flanks the Danish skirmishers and quickly routs them.  That unit now is ready to flank the Danes from the east side of the hill.  The Saxon infantry finishes off its opponents and now can move up the hill from the west.   

Picture 3.  The Danes have the hill but now Uhtred's army can flank them.

The Danish infantry on the hills rushed down the north face to attack the skirmishers, a move that would quickly scatter the skirmishers under normal circumstances.  Both sides formed their shield walls.  The Danish cavalry formed shield wall against the Saxons climbing toward them on the west side and destroyed them.  However, the Saxon cavalry and skirmishers wiped out the last Danish infantry unit (Ubba died bravely in a axe-vs-sword fight with Uhtred) and then hit the Danish cavalry.  It was quickly routed, leaving the Saxon cavalry in possession of the hill (picture 4).

Picture 4.  Uhtred's cavalry possess the hill.  

This battle washed back and forth across the hill.  The action was rapid and both sides fought well.  In the end, the skirmishers and the cavalry carried the day, which is an interesting result. 

Being a fan of the Last Kingdom series, I found pitting Uhtred against Ubba on a hill very exciting, since that is where they fought in the book. Uhtred will fight another battle against Danes next week.