| “ | On the horizon of the grassland they could see the advancing army. Although it was an army of 70,000, due to the fact they were not marching abreast, it did not appear to be as large. But in reality, all 70,000 were there. Soldiers wielding weapons, Mages armed with spells, cannons, demi-humans like orcs and trolls, dragon knights… Knights riding phantom beasts. None were missing, all 70,000 were there.
— Zero no Tsukaima
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The Albion Army consists of both commoners and mages. The commoner forces are mainly armed with shortswords, pikes, or longbows, some of them do carry flintlock muskets.
The mages all carry identical staffs, and attack using fireballs that have a charge up time of a few seconds before firing. The fireballs seem to travel slower than a bullet, as they can be seen flying through the air, although this could be an artefact of Saito Hiraga's near superhuman speed.
The Albion Army also have massive roughly 25-30 foot tall troll-like creatures armed with clubs as heavy forces and large bombard cannons for artillery, each one of the guns has a barrel length three to four times the height of an average man. All of the units appear to wear at least a steel helmet, with some wearing a steel cuirass and or shoulder guards. The mages all wear capes.
Battle vs. Uruk-hai (by SPARTAN 119)[]
A force of one thousand Uruk Hai, with 40 catapults in supported stared down a force of one thousand Albion soldiers, supported by cannon.
The Uruk-Hai general ordered the catapults to launch their projectiles. Stones and gunpowder charges flew towards the Albion soldiers, the stones rolling and bouncing through the ranks, crushing men, as the gunpowder charges impacted, two of them blowing up Albion bombards, while others exploded in the ranks, killing dozens of men and sending their remains flying through the air.
The Albion bombards returned fire with a thunderous roar, the cannon fire mowing dozens on Uruk-Hai as the balls flew lethally through the air, bouncing as they hit the ground and continuing their path of destruction, blowing off limbs and heads and reducing mangonels to splinters. One of cannon's balls found the Uruk-Hai's supply of gunpowder charges, setting them off in a ball of fire that blew apart ten catapults and about 100 Uruk-Hai.
The commanders of both sides ordered their archers to nock their arrows, and on their order, Albion longbowmen and Uruk-Hai armed with crossbows and shortbows loosed their arrows. Arrows and crossbow bolts rained from the air, piercing through helmets and armor, cutting down soldiers on both sides.
At that moment, the Uruk-Hai commander pointed his sword towards the Albion army and ordered his men to charge. About 700 Uruk-Hai charged towards the Albion lines in a wall of swords and pikes.
The Albion Army, however, stood firm, the front ranks opening up to allow the musketeers to aim between them. As the Uruk-Hai horde reached about a hundred meters, hundreds of flintlock muskets blazed as the longbowmen loosed a second volley. Bullets and arrows went through armor and flesh, cutting down the front ranks of Saruman's horde.
Finally, the two armies met, the forces of Albion raising their pikes, impaling the first ranks of charging Uruk-Hai, as the rest of the army drew their longswords.
The Albion pikemen hurriedly dropped their pikes and drew their swords as the orc horde made it way through the wall of spears, colliding with the main formation in a clash of steel.
The black rectangular blades of Uruk-Hai swords met the shining blades of Albion longswords. The orcs swung their blades in wide arcs, clashing against longswords with a shower of sparks, or else cleaving through arms and necks.
The soldiers of Albion retaliated, taking advantages of opening in their guard as the Uruk-Hai wielded their large slashing sword, thrusting the points of their longswords forward, through the Uruk-Hai armor, impaling the orc on their blades.
The Uruk-Hai commander felled two men of Albion as he charged towards the Albion Army commander, making a wide slash, which the commander of the Albion army blocked with his sword, before dodging another slash and countering with a slash to the Uruk's unarmed neck. The blade sliced through the orc's neck, separating his head from his body.
With the fall of the Uruk-Hai commander, the Albion Army counterattacked breaking the Uruk-Hai line, splitting them into small groups and surrounding them. The Uruk-Hai, who felt no fear, fought to the end, fighting to the bitter end.
When the clash of swords fell silent, the battlefield was littered with bodies, the Uruk-Hai had been wiped out, but at the cost of 400 Albion soldiers.
WINNER: Albion Army
Expert's Opinion[]
The Albion Army won this battle mainly due to their superior technology. Their cannon and longbows would give them the ability to take down the Uruk-Hai at long range, while their muskets could cut down the front ranks of a charge from behind a wall of pikes. In addition, the Albion longswords were more versatile, being capable of slashing thrusting, while the Uruk-Hai swords could only slash, lacking a point. This advantage in weaponry allowed the Albion Army to overcome the superior strength and fearlessness of the Uruk-Hai.
To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Haradrim (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Ten Mumakil of a Haradrim Army loomed large in on the opposite side of the field, surrounded 100 horsemen and 1000 infantry, slowly advancing across the fields. Opposing them were a group of Albion Army, newly arrived from a portal into Middle Earth. They carried with them weapons this world had never seen before: muskets and cannon.
On the order of the commander of the Albion Army, the ten massive bombards opened up on their foe. The guns gave off a thunderous roar as ten metal balls flew towards the Haradrim. The first shot impacted a group of Haradrim cavalry, blasting them into the air, as, at the same time, a cannonball struck a Mumakil right between the eyes. The great beast slumped over, killed instantly, the tower of its back collapsing as it fell. A second Mumakil was felled by the cannon fire, as were dozens of Haradrim soldiers.
The Haradrim were shocked by the power of the new weapons, but kept moving forward. Soon, their foe would be in range of their arrows. At about two hundred yards, the Haradrim foot archers drew back their bows. A cloud of bamboo and steel flew out at the Albion army. Some of the arrows simply glanced off their plate armor, but some struck home. Some of the arrows ran through the head, bringing a quick death to their targets, however, other struck in limbs or the lower torso, bring excruciating pain, rather than immediate death.
As the arrow made their impact, the Haradrim cavalry charged forth, firing arrows as they reached about 100 meters distance. A few Albion pikemen went down, but the rest stood firm. The Albion musketeers took aim from between the gaps in the pikemen, and the longbowmen fired above them. A could of smoke arose from the Albion line as the musketeers fired, shooting Haradrim cavalrymen off their horses, as arrows pierced their armor.
Unable to break the Albion lines, the cavalry retreated. However, the Mumakil and infantry kept advancing forth, now only about 100 yards. The archers on top of the Mumakil fired arrows down on their foes, cutting down Albion soldiers seemingly at random.
Through the chaos, the Albion commander yelled, "Stand firm! Artillery, target the elephants!"
An Albion bombard crew who had just finished reloading turned the gun on the nearest Mumakil and fired. The blew through the great beast, causing it to let out a shout of pain as it fell to the ground, dead. The rest of the cannons fired, cutting down six of the surviving Mumakil.
One of the remaining Mumakil was wounded by arrow and musket fire, while another had the tower on its back blown clean off. The giant elephants went berserk, trampling men, both Haradrim and Albion. One of the Mumakil knocked an Albion troll aside, before breaking through the lines and smashing a cannon to pieces.
While the berserk Mumakil had broken through, the fierce resistance of the Albion infantry kept the Haradrim from taking advantage of the breach. Musket fire cut down rows of men, Trolls crushed the Haradrim under their giant clubs, while the Albion infantry's longswords proved more effective than the Haradrim scimitars in close-in melee.
While the main ranks held off the Haradrim infantry, two smaller units surrounded the berserk Mumakil. Dozens of the men and two trolls were trampled by the beasts, however, the Albion musketeers and archers brought their weapons to bear on the creature's ankles.
As the last two Mumakil were brought to their knees and were finally overwhelmed, the Haradrim infantry were forced into retreat. Even after they turned and fled, hundreds more were shot dead by arrows and muskets, or else cut down by retreating Albion troops. Less than quarter of those Haradrim who went into battle left the fight alive.
WINNER: Albion Army
Expert's Opinion[]
While the Mumakil were formadible adversaries and the Haradrim were masters of mounted warfare, the Albion Army had much more advanced technology, most notably muskets and cannon. The cannon could eliminate the Mumakil from a range, while the musket fire was effective in volleys, and had as much a psychological impact on soldiers unfamiliar with gunpowder as it did a direct impact.