The 5th Century in Britannia: Part 9, Arthur’s battle of Cat Coit Celidan; Battle of the River Croquet, June 488AD.

 This article is my personal interpretation of the events at that time. Any mistakes are my own.

During the Winter Solstice of 487AD, Arthur, with Merlin in attendance meets with the Kings at Caerleon. They are;

Tutagaul, King of Alclud.

Einon,  King of Gwynedd.

Cadell,  King of Powys.

Geraint Llyngesic,  King of Dumnonia.

Iddon Ap Ynyr,  King of Gwent.

At this time, the Seaxons were not staging any major incursions into Briton territory apart from sporadic raiding. Reluctantly, the Round Table Council have come to the conclusion that they cannot dislodge the Seaxons from the South and East coast, with more arriving every month. Arthur tells the Council that he cannot go on the offensive, lacking the troops to do so.

The decision is made to stay on the defensive with the border along the river Trent and Ouse being patrolled. King Geraint confirmed that his fleet would continue to cover the West Coast in order to deter Irish raiders.

As 488AD commences, the new recruits and Veterans are bought together at Caerleon for formation training. The Commitatus numbers 4,800 men. Arthur is still the Pendragon. By now the Suebians under Rogatainus are an established part of the Army

THE BRITON ARMY; 4,800 = 4.8pts  x 10 = 48 points.

Arthur,s Bucellarii = 400 = 0.4 pts x 10 = 4 pts. 1 stand of Heavy Cavalry @ 4 pts.

Light Cavalry Regulars = 400 = 0.4 pts x 10 = 2 stands of Regular Light Cav @ 2 pts = 4pts.

Line Infantry Veterans = 1,200 = 1.2 pts x 10 = 12 points = 4 stands of Regular Infantry @ 3pts = 12pts.

Auxiliary Infantry ( the Suebians ) = 1,200 = 1.2 pts x 10 = 12 points = 6 stands of Auxilliary Infantry @ 2pts = 12 points.

Regular Lt Infantry Archers = 800 = 0.8 pts x 10 =  8 points = 8 stands of Archers @ 1 point = 8pts.

Arthur @ 3 points.

Owain  @ 2 points.

Rogatainus @ 2 points.

Cadwy @ 1 point.

As the Army trains, raiding and counter-raids continue across the frontier.  Merlin is also using his powers of perception and network of spies to ascertain movements of the enemy. Merlin has quietly warned Arthur that Medreut with Cadwallons help, is fomenting discord among the Kings to the detriment of Arthur’s position as Pendragon.

As April turns into May of 488AD the relative calm at Caerleon is shattered by the unexpected arrival of Tutagaul accompanied by 300 of his Bucellarii and a troop of horse warriors from Gwynedd.

In a hastily assembled Council, Tutagaul relates the events in Alclud. Tutagaul has been deposed in a coup led by a noble named as Caw, assisted by his son Hueil. Both have gained the support of Drest 2nd, a high King of the Picts. Also supporting Caw is Loarn Mac Eric, the High King of the Dal-Riata ( the Scots-Irish ). Loarn has sent Briacat, Grandson of Hengist and son of Pascent!.

The conclusion is reached that Caw will not invade Gwynedd. Einon has a powerful army lately reinforced by troops loyal to Tutagaul. The “ Caledonian “ Army could head south-east to attack the territory of the Votadinii, a Briton tribe on the eastern side of Alclud. The possibility is that the Caledonians could ally with the Seaxons of Lindsey.

Arthur’s mind is set. He is aware that his army is not strong enough for a major offensive, but he cannot let the Caledonians rampage south or link up with the Seaxons. Five days later, the army is marching north to Luguvallium ( Carlisle ). Along the way Arthur has requested troops from Einon, who sends 1,000 Gwynedd Militia backed up with 1,000 troops of Tutagaul,s.

From Luguvallium, the army marches east to Onnum ( an old cavalry fort ). This position is between Lindsey to the south, and any army approaching from the north. Scouts are sent north along Dere Street and The Devils Causeway. It is not long before they come back on lathered horses. The Caledonian Army is a days march away, camped on the north bank of the Coccuueda ( river Croquet ) and spread out east to west across the Causeway road.

The next day Arthur orders a short march and encampment with the troops sleeping under arms. The following morning the army, in full panopoly appears at the river. Greeting them with a huge roar is an 8,000 strong Caledonian army of Picts, Scots-Irish, and bolstered by 2,000 Saxons. Once again, Arthur is facing an enemy army across a small river in desolate country, quietly praying that his men will prevail.———-.

THE ALLIED CALEDONIAN ARMY; 8,000 = 8pts x 10 = 80 points.

Chieftain;  Caw @ 2 points.

THE PICTS 2,300 = 2.3 pts x 10 = 23pts.

9 stands of Pict warriors    @ 2 points = 18 points.

2 stands of archers/crossbows @ 1pt = 2 points.

2 stands of Light Cavalry @ 1pt = 2 points.

1 Warleader, ( Hueil )  @ 1 point.

THE DAL RIATA ( Scots-Irish ); 3,500 = 3.5pts x 10 = 35 points.

12 stands of warriors  @ 2 pts = 24 points.

4 stands of Light Chariots  @ 2 pts = 8 points.

2 stands of Light Archers  @ 1pt = 2 points.

1 Warleader ( Briacat )  @ 1 point.

THE SAXONS; 2,000 = 2pts x 10 = 20 points.

9 stands of warriors  @ 2 points = 18 points.

1 stand of Light Archers  @ 1 point

1 Warleader ( Aelfhere )  @ 1 point.

GWYNEDD MILITIA: 1,000 = 1 point x 10 = 10 points.

4 stands of Militia Infantry @ 2pts = 8 points.

2 stands of Light Infantry Archers @ 1pt = 2points.

ALCLUD MILITIA; 1,000 = 1 point x 10 = 10 points.

Tutagaul  @ 1 point.

2 stands of Light Cavalry @ 1pt = 2 points.

1 stand of Light Archers  @ 1 point.

3 stands of Militia Infantry @ 2pts = 6 points.

As the two armies face each other,the archers of both sides pepper each other with missiles. The Briton army wins the missile exchange. It is to much for the Picts, and Caw, seeing his warriors starting to surge signals his warriors to attack. As the Picts charge the Dal and the Saxons follow. The Chariots of the Scot- Irish try to skirmish and, although the river is shallow the chariots are either immobilised by missiles or forced away from the battle. 

Arthur’s infantry have the advantage of ground on their side of the river and after a long fight the Caledonians and Saxons start to tire. Finally the Caledonian army starts to break and Arthur unleashes his Cavalry.————-.

GAMING THE BATTLE.

* The battle is played for 8 Game-Turns.

* The Britons retain the Initiative Point for the entire battle.

* The Caledonian Army moves first on the first Game-Turn. Game-Turns 2 to 8 are diced for as given in the rules.

* The river Coquet does not impede movement. The river is very shallow in June. Stands may also fire and engage in Close Combat with no restrictions while positioned in the river.

* The Britons win any tied results.

HISTORICAL NOTE;

When Nennius wrote of Arthur’s seventh battle he said;

  “ Septimum in Silva Celidonis quae Bryttanicae cacoit celidan nominatur “.

This translates as; “ The seventh in the wood of celandine which is called the cacoit of Brittanicae celidan”.

All the established Historians put the battle north of Carlisle in the Caledonian Forest. I’m not so sure.

Celandine is a plant that looks like a giant buttercup. This plant grows in abundance on the eastern side of Britain because of the soil.

The word “Cat Coit” is given as Cacoit and I looked around the Ordinance Survey Map of Roman Britain, to see if I could find any similarity with Cacoit, and found the river Coquet. In a document called “ The Ravenna Cosmology” circa 700AD, the river is called the Coccuueda.

In a paper by the Bernician Studies Group published in 2021, the river was also called the Cocwudu. The river rises in the Cheviot Hills and flows eastward toward the east coast. As it does so the land becomes more open.

The Roman Road of Dere Street crossed the Coquet from Corbridge on Hadrians Wall, all the way north to the Antonine Wall. Dere Street ran through hill country. The Devils Causeway is further east, running from Corbridge, north- east, up to the Roman port of Certisnassa ( Berwick- upon- Tweed ). There was a further road running east to west connecting the two main roads. North of the Coquet the land gradually rises up toward Rothbury Forest and the start of the Cheviot Hills.

Why would the Caledonians fight here. My reasoning is;

* The Picts were concentrated on the eastern side of Caledonian and had the use of Roman roads which went through Briton territory.

* The Scots-Irish could not move by sea southward because of the Briton fleet guarding the west coast. They would move across country via Loch Lomond.

* The Caledonians would not want to move directly into Briton territory down the west side of Brittania.

* The ground within the Votadini territory was more open with settlements ripe for raiding.

* The possibility of joining up with Germanic groups to create a larger force to invade the Briton Provinces.

POSTSCRIPT;

Caw and Hueil are both historical characters. Pascent and Briacat are not verified although I have found their names given in historical listings.

During the last part of the battle Hueil was captured. Many of the Picts and Scots Irish were killed during the pursuit. Arthur carried on this action for two days before calling a halt. Caw and Briacat had managed to escape along with a number of Saxons. Arthur did not want the army to fragment because of the continual threat of Seaxon incursions.

On his return to Caerleon, Arthur encamps his army at Deva ( Chester ) where he meets up with King Einon. The King requests that Hueil be handed to him for royal execution. This is because Einon is of the Votodinii and wants revenge for the death of his kin.

Arthur was hoping to use Hueil as a bargaining chip with Caw, but realised that he needs to keep the peace with the Briton Kings knowing that treachery is ever-present. Einon has Hueil taken to Ruthin ( Castel coch yng Ngwern-for ) which is regarded as a mystical place. Tutagaul, in a ritual execution has Hueil put to death.

Note: There is a stone marker in Ruthin marking the place where Hueil was executed.

Arthur continues his march to Caerleon knowing he has only gained a breathing space for the Briton Kingdoms. Merlin has foretold of the storm coming once again.

Having made it back to Alclud, Caw calls all his supporters together. Realising that Arthur has not razed his territories, Caw uses the situation to point out how weak the Briton army has become. It can win battles but cannot win Wars! Now is the time to plan an attack on Arthur’s stronghold in league with the Seaxons and swears revenge for his son!

THE SET-UP;

The figures used are mostly from Hat Industries, using the Goth and Roman Medium Infantry sets. The Picts are from Red Box. The chariots are converted from Hat British Chariots..The Roman Light cavalry are from Hat and the Native Light Cavalry are from Hats Gothic Cavalry.

Arthur and some of the Roman light archers and the Bucellarii are from Newline designs, Nearly all the standards are homemade except for Arthur’s standard and the Bucellari shields which are from Little Big Man Decals. The shields are from Magister Militum.

The hills are a mixture of those made by Brian of Essex Miniatures and home made ones from cork tiles. The trees are made by various manufactures, Guagemaster being one of them. The road and river were cut from thin card. The battle was laid out on a 3 foot ( 90 cm ) x 2 foot (60 cm ) board of 2” ( 50cm ) squares.

The Way of the Pike.( inc The Paperboys of Peter Dennis),

 In Table Top Battles, I have given basic instructions as to the use of stands of Pike, both for the Ancient era and the 16th-17th Century. I thought I would expand on the original text.

SARISSA ARMED PIKEMEN.

* Pikemen are placed on a stand, and used as an independent unit.

* A stand of sarissa-armed Pikeman can only move through the face of a square not a diagonal. 

* When engaging in Combat on the forward face, the stand of Pikemen is worth 4 points. However if the stand of Pikes is attacked in the flank or rear in close combat while being attacked in close Combat from the front, that stand is only worth 2 points.

* The Sarissa-armed stand cannot engage an enemy stand to its front if there is another friendly stand of any type to its front between it and the enemy stand.

THE 15th AND 16th CENTURY.

* This was the Renaissance of the Pike as an offensive weapon used en masse, particularly by the Swiss.

* Each stand of Pike operates as an independent Unit like the sarissa-armed Greeks.

* These stands can only move through the face of a square, not a diagonal.

* These stands are worth 3 points on their forward face. However, if engaged in close combat on the flank or rear while being engaged from the front, the stand is only worth 2 points.

PIKE SUPPORT FOR MUSKETS AND CROSSBOWS

THE TERCIO;

If Pikemen are in an adjacent square to a stand of muskets/crossbows, which are engaged in close combat by attacking CAVALRY; The points of the Pike stand is added to the adjacent musket stand under attack. The TERCIO must be formed as shown for stands of musketeers to claim the points of the Pike.

If a stand which is part of a TERCIO suffers a “ Move-Back”, that stand is removed from play. If the entire Tercio is involved in Close Combat and suffers a “ Move-Back”, the ENTIRE TERCIO IS REMOVED FROM PLAY.

INFANTRY COMBAT; 17th and 18th CENTURY;

* In the 17th century century, Musket armed infantry became the mainstay of European armies. Although Musketeers were not afraid to mix it with Cavalry, ( using the matchlock musket as a heavy club! ),Pikemen were still required to anchor the line and to spearhead  any assaults.

 All European armies had various formations integrating Pikes and Muskets. The density of these formations became more shallow as Artillery became more powerful and more mobile.

In recent times, historians have surmised that the Pikemen in English Civil War Regiments stayed together as a group rather than being dispersed among the muskets. The musketeers of a company manoeuvred around their Pikemen.This may have been the case leading into the 18th century

By the early part of the 18th century, the Pike had virtually been made redundant by the invention of the bayonet. However during the Great Northern War the Swedish Army still had one third of an Infantry Battalion  as Pikes, even though bayonets were used.

The British Army had Pikes but these were carried in wagons and used as field defenseworks! having mastered the use of the flintlock.

* Pike stands are an individual unit.

* Pike stands can move through a face of a square, not a diagonal.

* The Pike stand is worth 3 points on its front face. However if a Pike stand is attacked in close combat on it flank or rear whilst being in close combat on its front face, the stand is only worth 2 points.

* If a Musket or Pike stand is in close combat with an enemy stand to its front, and, has a friendly stand of Pikemen in an adjacent square to the rear of the friendly stand in combat: the points of the Pike stand are added to the friendly stand in combat.

THE PAPERBOYS OF PETER DENNIS:

These little blocks have a smaller footprint on the table than the standard 40mm square stand. Each block has a 40mm x 15mm stand. Therefore;

* Two blocks of Infantry are allowed within a square.

* Both blocks must face in the same direction.

* If the front block suffers a “ move-back”, BOTH must be moved back.

* If the front block suffers a half or less score in firing only the front block is removed from play.

* If muskets are in the front rank and Pikes are in the second rank, this means that Pikes can be involved in a close combat.

* If the pikes are in a separate square behind the muskets ( or Pike ) the Pikes CANNOT be included in the close combat.

*  If BOTH stands are involved in a close combat and suffer a “ move-back”, then BOTH stands must be moved back.

* BOTH stands are removed from play if the front block suffers a half or less score.

* In order to form a Tercio two blocks of Pike must be back-to-back within a square. The muskets must be in each square around this square and all may claim protection of the Pikes.

I hope this article helps to clarify the use of Pikes on the table.