Bring Your Spears to the Front

*sigh*

It drives me nuts to see this.  I mean really crazy.  I originally thought to write the title in all caps, and maybe throw a few exclamation points at the end.  Or possible title it, "For the Love of God, will People Stop Putting Shields in the Front Rank?!"

Here is what I'm talking about:

Or you can watch the video (note, the initial charge shown in the video is fine.....mostly):

VIDEO


What's Wrong with this Picture?

Generally speaking, there are two formations you should see (unless you have scutums, or some other form of tall shield to make an actual shield wall with):

1)  Shields in the front - only when charging

2)  Spears in the front - during static fighting

What you see above is a mix of spears and shields in exactly the same rank.

There is actually a very big problem with this formation.  The shieldmen in the front rank cannot attack anyone, yet they've put themselves in harms way.  In other words, they've made themselves targets without providing any offensive threats (nor defensive, for that matter......they are just standing there being targets).  In addition, they are taking up space on the line that could be utilized by other spears.


What's Worse than Shields and Spears in the Same Rank?  Spears Behind the Shields.

This is an even worse tactic, unless of course the front line is actively engaged in battle.  Here's what this looks like:

This was a standard formation in the East Kingdom as recent as 10 years ago, and is unfortunately still a common tactic among many SCA groups today.  The idea is that the shields would "protect" the spears while the spears attacked from behind.  This was somewhat effective for one reason, and one reason only; the other side was using the same tactic.

Spears to the Front

Around 20 to 30 years ago, there were at least two significant groups that had adopted the "spears to the front" tactic for static fighting.  One was the Calontir army, who had an organized approach to it and used it as a specific tactic that they would call out by command.  The other were the non-SCA celtic clans (mostly) who resided in Northern Atlantia currently known as The Bog Troopers (at the time consisting of Anglesey, The Concusare, The KF, and Head Clan).

Now lets take the red unit and moves the spears to the front (or more accurately, move the shields out of range....I'm going to add a couple spears since there will be room).

It shouldn't be hard to see at this point that even if green brings their spears up in line with the front rank (as in the first picture I showed), that they are still outmatched.


Why Don't They Just Run Down the Spears?

This is a common argument that works in theory, but fails in practice against a unit with any amount of experience.  The answer is simple; because the spears don't just stand there and wait for you to kill them.  In a group that knows how to work together, the spears step 3 feet back, and the shields step 3 feet forward in the amount of time that it takes the other side's charge to cover 12 feet.  Keep in mind, its a lot easier to retreat than it is to charge because the retreater merely has to run away when they see a threat, while the chargers have to get organized and coordinate their efforts.  I've been in some battles where my teammates & I were so experienced in this scenario that we'd actually be in the second rank before the enemy took their first step (enemy commanders are often not very good at disguising their tactics).


Why do Units Still Fight with Shields in Their Front Ranks?

They do this for a variety of reasons, all which can be summed up as they just don't know any better.

1)  Commanders in the SCA are often those who are good at winning tourneys.  Tourney fighters often have little experience with spears.

2)  Many commanders in the SCA tend to micromanage their fighters too much which stifles the discovery of new tactics.  They want to display "leadership," which often comes in the form of already knowing what to do.  From this, they force both sides to use the same tactics during practice which prevents either side from exploiting the weaker tactics.

3)  There is a tendency for fighters to want to "get involved" with the fight, which lures shieldmen into coming into the front rank and "fighting" (which is really just dodging until they die).

4)  It is intuitive to think that spears need protection, or that they will get run down if left alone in teh front rank.

This is what it Should Look Like:

Note, the spears on the right did a poor job of defending against the pulse charge.  Tactics don't always trump individual skill.

River War Bridge Battle Video







Anyway, that's all I've got for now on this topic.  Thanks for reading.


Check out Notes on Pulse Charging on a Bridge here.