Ager Sanguinis

Ager Sanguinis the Field of Blood commemorates a defeat for the Crusaders and is also the title of James Roache’s rules for the Crusades.  I like James’s rules, for me he gets the important stuff right. Frankish foot are close packed and stubborn, Knights have at least one irresistible charge in them and Seljuk armies are very dangerous.  Throw in the True Cross and manoeuvre by drum signal and what’s not to like.

So, this year’s big project is a return to the Crusades using Ager Sanguinis. This has meant a shilling or two going to the amiable Giuseppe of Legio Heroica and a bit of re-painting and rebasing for my Outpost Wargames Crusades collection. 

Also, Museum Miniatures have done sterling service in providing Frankish foot spearmen.  To me all three manufacturers sizing is compatible you can judge for yourself in the photo below. 

You will notice the basing; these lads are packed together to resist the charge of marauding Ghilman and to maximise their protection against the arrow storms of Turcoman and Sudanese.

If you are doing the Crusades you probably want Templars and Hospitallers, I certainly did and mine are from Legio Heroica.  Once again see how dense their formation is.  

 Even a small unit (two bases) of these fellows is a handful.

The winning tactic for Frankish forces was a stubborn defence by the infantry while the crossbows dished out punishment and the knights patiently waited behind them ready for the right moment to charge.  

 

This almost always worked and the experienced resident Franks mostly heeded it. 

Sometimes the knights wouldn’t wait or the infantry attacked out of desperation and then the Franks were destroyed.  

 Further fun can be had by fielding visiting Crusader contingents who were notoriously ill disciplined.

On the Moslem side only the Fatimids of Egypt fielded lots of infantry-usually Sudanese Ghulam archers and spearmen.  These could produce a devastating arrow storm but they also provided the well armoured and shielded Franks with a solid target.  I’ll deal with the Fatimids in a later post.

Despite the dominance of Turkish tactics Arab Cavalry were still about in the form of Askari and Bedouin.   

These are from Outpost Wargames Services.

Both liked to charge with a light lance but the light armour of the former and the un-armoured latter made them no match for either the Franks or the Turkish Ghilman.

Turkish Ghilman adept with both the composite bow and melee weapons were the premier cavalry of Islam.  Those above are from Legio Heroica and the below from Outpost Wargames Services.

The Seljuks also fielded large numbers of light cavalry archers mine are from Outpost Wargames Services.  I've five units of these.

All Moslem armies could hire Turcoman nomad cavalry excellent horse archers who sometimes decided they would like a bit of close fighting regardless of the odds.  These are from Legio Heroica.

As you can see I’m nearly there just a few more units to paint.