Normans

Another round of our club WAB competition last Sunday. My Sicilian Normans doing well again. Good firepower from the crossbow and bow armed infantry allows you soften up opponents. Then together with the Arab cavalry you can force some of the more defensive medieval armies out of their fixed positions. That's when the ferocious charge of the knights finish the job.

If you haven't seen the recent BBC2 series on the Normans get clicking onto i-player. Well worth a watch. I particularly enjoyed the programme on the Normans in the South. This really was an amazing story of how a few itinerant knights eventually produced the King of Sicily, and ruled most of southern Italy as well.

For a good read on the subject I would recommend John Julius Norwich 'The Normans in the South' and 'The Normans in Sicily'. He is a wonderful narrative historian.