Stefan's Florilegium

b-battles-art

b-battles-art - 8/4/94

Creating more authentic bridge battles.

NOTE: See also the files: Fightng-Small-art, bridges-msg, battle-ideas-msg,
tournaments-art, melee-tactics-art, p-armor-msg, rattan-msg, shields-msg.

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Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: Lord Stefan li Rous
mark.s.harris@motorola.com stefan@florilegium.org
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From: PAULB@saturn.uark.EDU (Paul A. Byers)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: bridge battles
Date: 19 Jul 1994 13:49:06 -0400
Organization: University of Arkansas

Here is a article I wrote for the Bird of Prey, the Calontir fighters
newsletter. Thought I would post it too, just cause I can. :)

Pavel
Calontir

****************
Crossing the Wet parts against nasties
by Pavel Itsnarrowhereavich, edited by William Hairy Dick

Over the years I've seen some really amazing bridge battles.
Some have been memorable for their action. I was at the Pennsic were
John the Bearkiller killed over a dozen foes, him alone against the
entire enemy army. Then there was the Estrella when Guy threw 4 raps
with such speed and force that his opponent (a notorious rhino.) just
walked past Guy, jerking and mumbling to himself as his brain reset.
Others have been unique for their setting, I've been at Pennsics and
Estrellas were there were 3 modern interstate sized bridges with in a
100 yards of each other.

The common denominator of all of these battles has been one
thing, modern bridges. Many of the war planers in the current middle
ages seem to feel that all battles should be over in less than 5
minutes, the resurrection battles are really just a series of shorter
battles, so they try to make the bridge battle a narrow field battle.
We are suppose to be simulating period circumstances, with a nod to
modern conventions, not the other way around.

Our war planners should plan our bridges, and therefore bridge
battles, as if they were real period bridges, not interstates with
service roads. There are two key points to consider: bridge size and
proximity. In period most of the standing bridges in the country-
side were of roman design. Because they were meant to pass a double
file of troops and their carts, most bridges were between 8-12 foot
wide and much longer than we like our bridges. Sites unsuitable for
bridges, either because of soft bottoms or lack of traffic were
crossed by ferries and fords. So bridges, fords and ferries were of
great strategic and tactical import. Covering the choke points of a
river was just important then as now.

Usually there was only one bridge crossing a river. A major
city, like London, might have more than one bridge within a mile of
each other, but these bridges usually had buildings on them, making
the right of way across the bridge narrow. That could make for an
interesting battle too. A bridge battle inside a town battle.

These points are seemingly neglected at most major wars, we
should not have giant, short, multiples of bridges in an open field.
This year's Estrella War featured three 25'+ bridges that are only 30-
50 foot long (wide and short) and are side by side. We should have
narrow (8'-12') long (60'-70') bridges. There might be a ford or
ferry near by, but there would more likely have been small boats
nearby. If we stay with the multiple bridges we should space them
more than 50 feet apart and build a town around them. Another
thought is that since many large bridges would be in a town, this
lets us have some house to house fighting.

We should base our bridge battle on a period model, much like
Gilligan based his battle on Stamford bridge at Lilies VIII. This
would lead away from the phalanx type tactics that are used now and
towards more individual bravery. It also lead to a more flexible use
of resources. Do you allow your boats to cross? Do you have your
archers on the bridge attacking the front ranks or do you have them
doing counter battery and suppression of the rear ranks? Archers
would have to pick their targets instead of having the enemy reserves
in range to just lob missiles at.

If we wanted to use multiple bridges, we model the scenario after
London or Paris. The bridges would be widely spaced and built up.
Commanders would have to position their reserves more carefully,
since distance now plays a part, and siege weapons would benefit from
a built-up bridge scenario, since the obstacles presented by towns
and buildings make indirect fire more authentic and useful. This
could lead to some really fun scenarios.

Ferries have been ignored because of the trouble they seem to
pose, I think a good battle could be had with one. Put 1/3 of the
attacking forces on one side with the ferry (made of large, 3", PVC )
on one side of the river, with the other 2/3 on the other shore
waiting to be ferried across. The defenders, with 1/2 of their army
available at first and the other half available in five or ten
minutes, would be trying to crush the attacker's beach-head and
prevent him from bringing his army across. The ferries should be at
least 12' by 14' and should move at a walk in both directions. This
would lead to some interesting battles, with the attackers trying to
buy enough time to bring over their army while the defenders attempt
to regain control of the ferry.

With some imagination, period bridges could add a new face to the
bridge battle as we know it today. Instead of being a stand alone,
set-piece scenario, the bridge could be incorporated into town or
boat battles, increasing the challenges to the commanders and the fun
for the participants. Regardless of what new scenarios we dream up
for the bridge battle, the important part is "no more interstate
bridges in medieval Europe."

Pavel

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