INTRODUCTION

Peasants are widely underestimated by Bretonnian players, and some even choose not to take any. Their low leadership and bad combat skills make them poor warriors, event though their cost is low, and most Brets will take as few low-borns as they can to focus on the superb and powerful knights, the pride of the westermost kingdom of the Old World. This is sad, for well-used peasants can make the tide of battle turn. By the weight of numbers and missile fire, they give what knights lack, and that's why they work well together.
The dirty and poor serfs of Bretonnia look pathetic as miniatures with their missing teeth and old clothes, but a cunning general should be able to make them help in battle. Some say that Bretonnians have no tactics and that their way of fighting is simply charging wildly in the thick of combat and skewer their foes with their lances. That's false: knights are vulnerable. It's odd to say that considering their 2+ armor saves, but that's true. Their unique lance formation, although devastating on the charge, has large flanks and is not easy to manoeuver on the battlefield. Peasants are very useful to assist them.


GENERAL TACTICS

There are a lot of ways to use peasants depending on their abilities. Often used as human shields, preys for Fanatics and decoys, they can also provide missile fire and rank bonus. Their Peasant's Duty rule is a true blessing for three reasons: they can use the Leadership of any unit of knights nearby, their banner give no victory points to the opponent if captured and if they happen to flee, knights ignore their panic. For those reasons, low-borns work best when used along with knights. In fact, they are almost completely dependant of them: an army of Men-at-Arms wouldn't be very reliable. Keeping peasants at less than 6'' of knights will ensure that they don't get out of the battle before they have done their (usually dirty) job.



UNITS OF PEASANTS


Men-at-Arms

They are the least expensive unit of all Bretonnian miniature range. But even at 5 points each, are they still owrth it considering that Goblins worth 2 points have very similar stats? Well, maybe not, but they still have a few advantages. First, they are armed either with halberds (for more strength when you're fighting Orcs) or with spears (for more stopping power when you get charged). They also have light armors and shields. Not much, but a High Elven spearman worth 11 points doesn't have better equipment. Men-at-Arms also have the Peasant's Duty rule, which makes them more reliable than Goblins. They should always be taken with a champion, since that guy doesn't only add an attack to the first rank: he also adds +1 Leadership to the unit, for a total of 6. Not impressive, I admit, but it's still useful.
Men-at-Arms with halberds are good when kept ready to charge into battle. While knights smash the front of the enemy unit, your militia is useful to add rank bonuses and the weight of number if the opponent isn't broken by the charge. They can also be good to block all attempts to attack the vulnerable flanks of your precious knights and even engage the adversary if he comes too near to your liking. When equipped with spears, Men-at-Arms are ready to welcome the charge of the enemy, but don't expect them to hold if assaulted by Chosen Chaos Knights.
PROS: Expendable, high number, adequate equipment, Peasant's Duty.
CONS: Poor Leadership, low combat skills, not even quite worth their points.


Bowmen

A lot more useful than Men-at-Arms in my opinion, even though their Leadership is also pathetic. Their advantage is that they are not bound to a strict vow of honor and can therefore lower themselves to use ranged weapons (longbows in that case). They are adequate archers with their BS of 3 and their 30'' range. They also have defense stakes (negate all bonuses provided by the charge), but in my opinion it's not so useful: with or without them, if they get charged, they're doomed. They are absolutely useless in close combat and should be kept behind your lines to shoot down poorly armored enemy regiments. One unit of bowmen may skirmish for +1 point/bowman, and THIS is useful. It gives them a good protection against shooting (all shots are at -1 to hit them), enables to get the maximum number of shots out of them and gives them better mobility. Don't take the light armor option: even at one point each, it's still too expensive.
Archers are not often worth their cost by the number of foes they slay, but if they manage to make the enemy fail a panic test, they will have done their job well and will deserve the copper coin you will give them at the end of the battle. They should always target the weakest units, as the strongest will be engaged by the knights. Skirmishing bowmen can move fast and will therefore be useful to make Fanatics get out of their unit, screen your knights (they are actually the best unit to do this job) and, if a handful of them survive to their dangerous job, block the opponent's march moves.
PROS: Expendable, high number, good missile fire, Peasant's Duty, may skirmish.
CONS: Pitiful leadership, vulnerable, ridiculous in close combat.


Yeomen

Perhaps one of the most useful units of peasants, as they are the only fast cav available to Bretonnians. They combine high speed with adequate missile fire and low cost in points. Unfortunately, like all fast cavalry, they are lightly armored and quite vulnerable to missile fire. It requires great skill to use them but under the command of a good general, they can get you out of a lot of tricky situations. They are excellent to rescue your knights if they are being flanked, in addition to their ability to get anywhere on the battlefield very quickly... if they don't get slain before. Even though they only have normal bows, they can be used to turn around slow enemies such as zombies and dwarves and get them down one by one with their arrows. They should always be equipped with shields (at one point each, they're worth it). NEVER get them a light armor, unless you want to sacrifice their great speed for just a little more armor save. If that's what you want, take Knights Errant.
PROS: Fast cavalry, missile fire, Peasant's Duty.
CONS: Lightly armored, available only in individual metal blister packs.


Grail Reliquae and Pilgrims

Those crazed zealots carrying the remains of a dead knight's corpse will be most likely laughed at by your opponent. Their skill in battle is limited, their equipment isn't so good and even their appearance is ridiculous. Here's what they have that your enemy should fear: the special rules Hatred and Stubborn, a Leadership of 8 (making them the most disciplined of peasants) and the Grail Reliquae. Those guys are the best in all the Bretonnian army to receive a powerful charge and live to tell the tale. With their light armor, shield and hand weapon, they have an armor save of 4+ in close combat, and can also get the Lady's Blessing. More useful yet is their Stubborness, which gives them good chances to stand and fight. And if the enemy attacks the Reliquae (which also counts as a musician and a standard), it's a pilgrim who dies. This means that the enemy has to kill every single one of them and destroy the Reliquae right away, unless he receives the 4 counter-attacks of the sacred artifact. Sure, their WS is only of 2, but their Hatred make them much more threatening. They truly are a tough unit. However, they are the most expensive infantry of Bretonnia, at 9 points each, and they aren't so good at anything but holding their position. They won't be the ones who will crush the opponent, but they are what is best to replace a swarm.
PROS: Hatred, Stubborn, good leadership, Peasant's Duty.
CONS: Expensive for peasants, one unit only.


Field Trebuchet

The only war machine of the Bretonnian miniature range is a powerful stone thrower able to reach almost any spot on the battlefield and obliterate it. Most players will take Grail Knights as a rare unit, but a Trebuchet is very useful for defensive battles or siege scenarios. However, this mighty machine is quite vulnerable since its servants are very bad fighters and can be slain easily. Even scouts can kill them in no time. In addition, the Trebuchet is expensive points-wise. But it's a good support for knights, as it provides a ranged and powerful missile fire that bowmen and yeomen can't give you. It is recommended to keep it safely at the back of the battlefield, and far away from woods where scouts might deploy.
PROS: Powerful, long range.
CONS: Weak servants, expensive, takes a rare unit slot.




TACTICS: IN-DEPTH


Name: Holy Trap (!)
Units needed: Grail Reliquae and a few pilgrims, 5-10 Yeomen with full command.
Tactic: This is useful for defensive battles. Send the Reliquae to the forefront of your army. Have a large unit of knights that includes the BSB right behind them, at less than 12'', and an unit of yeomen on the side of the Reliquae (but make sure they have a line of sight to any enemy that would engage the pilgrims). The foe will charge your pilgrims, expecting to break them during the first turn and continue his charge right in your knights, avoiding to have to fight the yeomen. However, the pilgrims' Stubborn rule, their Ld of 8 and your BSB should prevent them to flee. The six wounds of the Reliquae will probably not be all lost (after all, it has a 4+ armor save and the Lady's Blessing), enabling it to deliver a full counter-attack. During the next turn, charge the enemy's flank with the yeomen. It should be enough to break your opponent: you have two banners (the Reliquae counts as a banner), maybe a rank of yeomen or pilgrims (or both), you are likely to outnumber the foe and you can probably inflict a few casualties. Plus, you negate the enemy's rank bonuses. Note that this strategy is more efficient against Elven or human light infantry than against heavy cav, Chaos warriors or Orcs.

Name: Screen of Flesh
Units needed: As many skirmishing bowmen as you can gather and an unit of knights joined by your general (or any paladin with the Virtue of Empathy)
Tactic: Deploy your skirmishing bowmen just in front of your knights and make them march-move. No, they won't shoot. But they will make an excellent human shield before your knights: they have a Ld of 8 as long as they're near them (Peasant's Duty), they block lines of sight (so the enemy can't charge or shoot your knights), they are skirmishers (and therefore all shooting is at -1 to hit them), they are inexpensive and your knights ignore their panic. Make sure they stay at least 10'' away from your knights to avoid that the enemy charges through the bowmen, break them and continues his charge right in your knights. When your knights come within charge range (or when your foe can charge you), your bowmen will probably have been slaughtered or driven off the battlefield. But IF there are a few of them still alive, continue to send them ahead to block the enemy's march-moves while your knights confront tougher opponents in close combat. They can also get your Goblin opponent's fanatics out of their unit.
Using this strategy, your bowmen won't kill anyone and will no doubt be slain to the last. However, they might disturb your foe's shooting and movement greatly, perhaps enough to make your side win. It seems dishonorable for Bretonnians to use their poor peasants for such a dirty job, but if you are willing to make sacrifices (or if you don't give a damn about honor), it's an efficient tactic. It works best against slow and very shooty enemies (but not Dwarves, as they are Relentless and therefore can march-move even when near of your troops).

Name: None Shall Sneak!
Units needed: Lots of skirmishing bowmen (again!).
Tactic: Deploy your bowmen in a straight line behind all your forces. Put them as far away from each other as the Skirmish rule allows. Make sure that they cover all angles. When the enemy will have to deploy his scouts, he will find nowhere to put them (unless there's a wood or something like that nearby) since he has to find a place out of line of sight of your army and so will be forced to put them far away from your troops. During your first turn, when you know where are your enemy's scouts, make your bowmen re-form to intercept the cowardly sneakers who try to stab you in the back.

Name: The Fearless Guardian
Units needed: Trebuchet, paladin with the Virtue of Empathy.
Tactic: It's not much of a tactic, really. Just deploy your paladin with the servants of your Trebuchet. Make sure that your opponent knows it. It will help you to protect your precious war machine against Elven scouts, who often choose to charge during the first turn instead of shooting (since they charge of 10'') and, even though they are not the best in close combat, have nothing to fear of your peasants. The paladin will most likely dissuade them to charge, but even if they do, you're ready to face them. If they come too close to your liking and start shooting at your servants, you send your paladin rip them apart.




CONCLUSION

That's about all I have to say about tactics with peasants. I hope it helped. Low-borns of Bretonnia are not to be taken lightly: when used with knights, they can be almost brave and can really help you to win the day as they have almost everything knights don't. A lot of Bretonnian players should pay more attention to them. Alone, they are useless, but when they join forces with the might of their knightly lords, they can truly make the difference.



P.S.: Hey Luc (or any other experienced Bret player), it'd be cool if you wrote tactics about knights. After all, they ARE the spine of the Bretonnian army, right?

Just added a few tactics. Never tested them, though. "In theory", they should work. If you test them and find them efficient (or if they're not), feel free to comment.

Though Ive never played wtih or against Bretts, I think you gave a good overview. At least it makes sense to me. Im pretty sure I would (almost) always use peasants alongside the Knights, mainly to get a cheap rank bonus the knights dont have.

A few comments:

- Ive heard that the stakes for the archers get discarded if they make the slightest move. Not being able to make a small swivel or move even half an inch is very restricting, so Id always leave the stakes out because of this, in addition to the reason you gave, that they are goners anyway if they are charged.

- You mention a couple of times that peasants can be used well as screens for the knights. Wouldnt it hamper the knights movement if the peasants are supposed to keep up with them?

- You pointed out the strengths of the pilgrems. But is their main strength, being stubborn, really so useful? Afterall, usually Brett armies will charge forward offensively and not have to rely on staying power.

-

Normally only one banner is counted in CC, or is the Reliquae an exception to this rule?

- One could add to the Yeomen that they, like all fast cav, are great at war machine/mage hunting. On the other hand I guess thats obvious... <_<


Well done! :)

I didn't know that only one banner was counted even though there are two regiments with banners fighting on the same side. I'll correct that.

Your information about stakes is correct: if bowmen take a single step, they lose their stakes, which is ridiculous. The idea of stakes isn't so bad, but it would be used better by archers who can do something in close combat.

You're not forced to rush into the enemy if it means being shot down to the last man. Bretonnian knights will usually try to reach close combat as soon as possible, but sometimes it's wise to take down enemy war machines and such before sending your expensive troops forward. Careful deployment and good manoeuvering can help moving the peasants fast without slowing the knights down too much.

Right. But while knights tend to be great at offense, peasants are better at defense. The fact that your heavy cavalry has one of the most devastating charges of the Warhammer universe doesn't mean that you are forbidden to use cunning tactics like traps and baits. Anyway, peasants are infantry, so they are very likely to get the enemy's charge right in their few remaining teeth.

You need to be really good at manoeuvering (and also very lucky) to get your fast cav with an armor save of 5+ and T3 at the rear of the enemy's deployment zone to hunt war machines. And they have a ridiculous Ld of 6 when there are no knights around. It's very unlikely that they will make it to their target.



Thanks for your comments, Funky. I appreciate your interest.