Helvetii (Caesar in Gaul) Melee Ship

Medium Assault Raider - Short Swords

Able to withstand rough seas, these ships' crews can capture enemy vessels in any weather.

Brave, but unskilled, these men will fight and die for the tribe's honour.

Most of the northern European tribes were not naval powers, but there were still able seafarers to be found amongst them. Shipbuilding techniques were well understood, so while many vessels were small leather-skinned boats for inland and inshore use, bigger sea-going vessels were also made. Shipwrights used heavy planking for hulls, stitched together and then fastened to a wooden skeleton to create sturdy craft able to cope with Atlantic conditions. Julius Caesar was surprised at the quality of the enemy ships when his fleet clashed with the Veneti from modern-day Brittany. The Veneti vessels had flat bottoms to cope with shallows, but were also of heavy oak construction to cope with rough seas. This made them tough opposition for Roman galleys, and capable of shrugging off a ramming attack. Caesar said that the enemy ships "...were constructed of planks a foot in breadth, fastened by iron spikes the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables”. When the Romans were forced to board, they faced fearsome warriors used to close-quarters fighting at sea.

(Short Swords)
These irregular, novice warriors were drawn from among the farmers, hunters and young men of the tribe. They carried Celtic shortswords, which were cutting and hacking blades, unlike the thrusting design of the Roman gladius. The shortsword developed from the earlier Celtic longsword, and was not as expensive to make. With little armour and only a simple shield these irregulars may have been lacking in equipment and skills but they made up for it by their numbers. Some warriors would also carry javelins or heavy, weighted darts to throw in the last moments before charging into melee. This gave them uses as both skirmishers and light infantry.

Abilities

Medium Assault Raider

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• Resistant to Heat
  This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Medium Assault Raider

• Good hull strength
• Medium crew
• Fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Good boarding

Short Swords

• Average attack
• Weak defence
• Average damage but low armour penetration
• Poor morale

Helvetii (Caesar in Gaul) Units
General (3)
1.Noble Horse
2.Oathsworn
3.Spear Nobles
Melee Infantry (3)
4.Axe Warriors
5.Oathsworn
6.Short Swords
Missile Infantry (2)
7.Celtic Skirmishers
8.Celtic Slingers
Spear Infantry (3)
9.Spear Nobles
10.Spear Warriors
11.Celtic Tribesmen
Melee Cavalry (2)
12.Light Horse
13.Noble Horse
Fixed Artillery (3)
14.Celtic Giant Ballista
15.Celtic Bastion Scorpion
16.Celtic Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
17.Celtic Bastion Ballista
18.Celtic Ballista
19.Celtic Scorpion
20.Celtic Heavy Onager
21.Celtic Bastion Onager
22.Celtic Onager
Admiral (2)
23.Heavy Raider - Oathsworn
24.Medium Missile Raider - Celtic Slingers
Melee Ship (4)
25.Heavy Raider - Oathsworn
26.Persian Assault Teteres - Spear Warriors
27.Medium Assault Raider - Short Swords
28.Assault Raider - Celtic Tribesmen
Missile Ship (2)
29.Medium Missile Raider - Celtic Slingers
30.Missile Raider - Celtic Slingers
Artillery Ship (2)
31.Roman Light Artillery Quinquereme - Celtic Ballista (Ship)
32.Roman Artillery Quinquereme - Celtic Onager (Ship)