Old_Warrior wrote:Sabratha wrote:Old_Warrior wrote:Hey that sounds nice. I am sure that one of the folks that is in charge of directing the designers could help you out. Once you get access just go the thread in that forum and add in these battles. I cannot speak for the folks at Slitherine on this so you can ask them if you can be added to the team.
Roger. Who in particular should I ask, or send an email/PM to?
There is a call for Beta Testers just as the beta testing gets going. If I see it I will PM you or just keep your eyes peeled on the website for the notice. You fill out a form and then you are contacted if you were accepted.
Do you have good resource material for the army and setup?
Primary sources would be Thiethmar's chronicle (I have a recent academic polish translation) and Gall Anonim's chronicle. A minor addendum would be Bruno of Kwerfurth's "The life of bishop Wojciech".
I have a lot of offline resources for the armies of that period, which in comparison to other eras are pretty straightforward and not contraditory to be honest.
Battle locations and setup for this period are always open to speculation and educated guesswork. The period (or at least only slightly later medieval ones) sources are monastic chronicles which are concerned mostly with grand political events or acts of noble individuals, rather than with tactical details. However, from what is known about the battle we know that it took place in the Meander of the Oder river near the fortified town (gród) of Cedynia. Since we know how the Oder changed its course over the last centuries, we can pretty much nail down the only possible location. All recent publications seem to point to the same place (for those not speaking polish, the red forces are the poles, the blue are the Germans):
The Polish force, led by the Prince Mieszko I and his brother Czcibor would be (in total circa 3000 men):
1) some ~800 "Drużynnicy" armoured superior sword&short spear cavalry (perhaps some 200 of those 80 will also have bows)
2) Some ~1400 "Tarczownicy" mdium infantry defensive spearmen.
2) Some ~600 average medium infantry archers.
4) Some ~200 local rural levies of the licicaviki tribe (armed with axes or maces) which makes them average swordmen mob (average as these guys are literally fighting defending their homes).
The German Marches forces led by Count Hodon and Zygfryd von Walbeck would be:
1) Some ~1200 noble armoured lancers
2) Some ~2400 heavy average infantry defensive spear.
3) Some ~400 average medium infantry archers
So while the German contingent is larger, its mostly heavy infantry facing the Polish medium infantry and the vast majority of the map will be roght terrain (swamp, wooded hills). So the Germans will have to make the most of their numerical superiority, while the Poles will have to try to make the most out of the terrain features.