I'm imagining a low-tech medieval fantasy world where an attack at dawn such that the defenders are forced to look into the rising sun conveys a huge advantage. The effect on my fantasy humanoids would be many orders of magnitude greater than anything humans experience. The armies are mostly wooden shield and spear equipped levies and normally a shield wall puts attackers at a disadvantage. On open ground at dawn, however, sun-blinded defenders, could have their line broken easily by a charge and face disorganization and defeat by a much smaller force. I'm hoping this will lead to interesting tactical decisions where terrain that defends against an east-to-west attacks becomes invaluable and forces are constantly maneuvering and taking risks to try to get the sun on their side.
My question is this, is there a portable tactic, or inexpensive tool that would allow defenders to avoid being blinded by the rising sun?
- The extremely vulnerable period lasts about 1 hour at dawn and dusk, however these humanoids lack night vision, so presumably a dusk attack is not as advantageous.
Medieval Oakley sunglasses are out due to expense.
Other more expensive weapons and skilled soldiers like cavalry, archers, or heavy infantry are plausible only as small supplements to mostly non-professional armies
- Fabian strategies are allowed, but preserving villages and farmland is preferred