Slitherine

Hello, a friend of mine has told me that "gascon brigans", Ax (x) in dbm's 100 years war English continental army, should be Offensive Spearmen (being their main weapons a sort of short pike with a hook, etc) instead of Swordmen. So here I tell you for your consideration.

Regards,
Javier.

moncholee wrote:Hello, a friend of mine has told me that "gascon brigans", Ax (x) in dbm's 100 years war English continental army, should be Offensive Spearmen (being their main weapons a sort of short pike with a hook, etc) instead of Swordmen. So here I tell you for your consideration.

Regards,
Javier.

That is certainly the DBM view of them. However, they seem to have been armed with mixed weapons and seem unlikely to have formed a concerted spear phalanx - which would be necessary for them to be classified as spearmen. Classification of swordsmen seemed better to represent their capabilities.

Thank you very much.

Regards,
Javier.

Classification of swordmen seemed better to represent their capabilities.

Even that is dubious at best! They are the worst part of the french army in this time. Better suited to loot and rape ( even their own camp) than fight in orderly means! .

Olivier ,

the Gascon brigans prefered to fight with the english against the french for their own profit all along the 100 HYW as it is write in a recent " the pretorien " trimestrial parution named "Gascon contingent in the 100 HYW , I will give give the interesting book next Friday ;

regards

thefrenchjester " Gascon recruitment and painting for the next version of my "chevauchée "

olivier wrote:

Classification of swordmen seemed better to represent their capabilities.

Even that is dubious at best! They are the worst part of the french army in this time. Better suited to loot and rape ( even their own camp) than fight in orderly means! .

Indeed. We felt that they should have some weapon capability otherwise why would anyone bother to hire them? MF with swordsmen capability only is not very good.

who would hire them ?

me of course

1* because they are brigans
2* they are cheap recruits
3* they are cool to paint

regards

thefrenchjester " subcontractor of Gascon troops "

the Gascon brigans prefered to fight with the english against the french for their own profit all along the 100 HYW

Gascon was a regional name but brigans came from all the part of the kingdom and fight alongside any army (and specially in the civil war betwenn Armagnac and Burgundy).
Their reputation were so bad that their name give the french words " brigand, brigander and brigandage" who mean highwaymen and robbery. (nota interestly the usual term in this period was " bretonner" following the infamous method of Du Guesclin" ).

We felt that they should have some weapon capability otherwise why would anyone bother to hire them?

Because they are cheap! and expandable! and numerous... They were used in siege for all the menial job: To dig trench and tunnel, cut the wood for the war engine, collect the stone, soak the arrows before the good troops , etc... In battle their main job was to make number and pursue the broken troop, eventually fight each other... After the battle, they loot deads or near deads ( killing them in the process) and bullies the nearby population.