Medieval armies usually consisted of a king or his appointed commander, knights, men at arms, mercenaries, and often untrained militia from the surrounding countryside. It would usually be organized into a number of wings or groups each consisting of a mixture of the available arms types. Nobles, Knights, and men at arms usually occupied the center of a wing, while the more mobile missile armed troops screened their flanks. The militia were generally relegated to guarding camps and were not usually trusted in battle.
On the field, the wings could be aligned in lines or columns depending upon the position adopted. The English usually fought dismounted and adopted a defensive position, employing woods or other natural obstacles to guard their flanks. Continental armies usually assumed an offensive posture, attacking with their wings in column.
The interrelationships of the various unit types was very important to the evolution of strategy on the medieval battlefield. The mounted knight provided the most effective combination of speed and shock but even the knight could not ride the battlefield with impunity. Longbow and pikemen proved they could stand and turn back the stiffest cavalry charge. Each unit type in a wing was most effectively used in concert with each other.
Medieval is a tactical combat game depicting various field battles that took place in the period from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. The game system itself is basically "scale-less" but is generally built around a 25 yards per hex/25 men per unit system. As with previous Incredible Simulations' titles, Medieval was designed to be a fast turn based game. There are no seperate phases for movement and combat. Players may perform any available action at any time during their turn segment. Most of the scenarios have been scaled down to keep the battles tight and focused. Enjoy!
