Kozcon, Hundred Years War English vs Persia

A Headless Body Production

Venue:  Ferrell Fire Company Hall, Monroeville, NJ 
Event:    Kozcon 
Players: Phil Gardocki running Timurid Persian  
                   Dan Hazelwood running  Hundred Years War English (HYWE for short)            
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 200 points per side.
Theme: Open, no restrictions
Scale: 25mm


The Forces:

   Timurid Persian circa 1400: Commanders  Timur the Lame (Strategist), Zombie Ulugh Beg, who earned his title by being the first general killed this day, (Brilliant) and Babur (Competent)
      4 Persian Heavy Cavalry, Impact, Bow (elite)
      4 Persian Heavy Cavalry, Bow (2 elite)
      4 Turkomans, Light Cavalry, Bow (elite)
      2 Light Infantry Bow
      4 Persian Archers, Bowmen (Mediocre)
      2 Hostages, Levy Expendable, (Mediocre)
      2 Stampeding Herds
      1 Elephant
Breakpoint...19

Henry the Fifth, after giving a rousing speech, burned all documentation of his armies doings, leaving us with only conjecture as to his size and deployment.
      6 Foot Knights, probably (elite)
      3 Heavy Spearmen
      4 Longbowmen, also probably (elite)
      2 Crossbowmen.  (Probably ordinary)
      2 Medium Infantry, Sword (mediocre)
      2 Light Infantry
Breakpoint...20
 
 

KozCon is held in memory of our good friend and avid gamer Dave Kozlow who passed away in 2012.  If you've ever had the opportunity to play in one of his many games at HMGS events you know that he was not only a great person but also a notable credit to our hobby.  In light of Dave's five year battle with cancer ALL proceeds from KozCon are donated to the American Cancer Society.

The Board:

Timur the Lame wins the initiative and selects to attack in the plains. Henry V is only up to "And crowns for convoy put into his purse;" and so his terrain looks a bit sparse.  Dan  actually chose a coast and a village, but failed both die rolls to get them, he then named a hill, which didn't fit, two fields and a gully.  The Persians chose 2 plantations.  Of these, only the gully had any bearing on the game.

Deployment:

On the HYWE right, we have a mix of Foot Knights and Longbowmen.  They are anchored to the fortified camp.  We all see the camp now.  Right?  There is one idiot in the room that did NOT realize that the camp was actually deployed there.  I thought Dan had just not gotten around to putting on his edge.

The middle is another mix of Longbow and Foot Knights.  Off in the distance an oration* has started.

Ditto the left flank.  The round dish is the gully, with two ambushes.

On the Timurid left is Zombie Ulugh Beg.  His command consists of Heavy Cavalry Bow (two elite) A herd of stampeding Cattle, and 2 Turkomans.  At this point I still don't realize that the camp in the way is really there.

The Timurid center, and place of honor is commanded by Timur Tamerlane, and consists of Heavy Cavalry Impact Bow (elite) A herd of stampeding Cattle, and 2 Turkomans.

On the right is Babur, with an elephant, a horde of archers (mediocre) and hostages (also mediocre).

Babur really expected the gully to be empty, and was in a hurry to occupy it.  But it was not to be.

The air thrums with the sound of released bows, the sky darkens, and over the sound of the screams and the dying could be heard, "I am the most offending soul alive."

 Turn 2:

Bound 2, and I finally get the point, there is a camp to be looted.  As long as I can disjoint the camp guards in the way.  If only this was the cavalry force with Impact Bow, instead of just Bow.

Timur is not going to rush a line of longbow.  Lets see how the left is going to do. 

Babur, flush with command points, decides this is not the day to challenge elite Longbow in the gully.

 

The HYWE Javelin armed Light Foot, step out, and disperse the cattle herd.

 

Henry's words are too motivational.  His longbow don't wait, and advance and loose their arrows.  Timur's Turkomans are dispersed to the four winds.

 Turn 3:

As one, Zombie Ulugh Beg and Timur Tamerlane charge forward.  Longbowmen are scattered like chaff on the field.  Timur smirks, "If he who sheds his blood will be my brother, then I'll be happy to make you one big happy family."

 

Fortune favors the prepared, as 6,6,5 beats 1,1,2.

Since the Longbow came out to play, Babur decides to play as well.

The HYWE attempt to recover from this disaster by conforming their Foot Knights into the battle.  But Ulugh Beg realizes what a great victory this was and evades.

With the concerted cavalry charge, the Timurids had managed to surgically remove the elite Longbow from this flank, as well as fragment the HYWE lines.  Sticking around would only give the HYWE a chance to recover with their Foot Knights, which frankly can take apart non impact Cavalry.  Time to take the win and run, and use mobility as an advantage, without the worry about being shot at.

Timur's center is being flanked, but he is trying to squeeze out two more foot units before running.

On the Timurid right. The HYWE Longbow decided to retreat, rather than face an elephant.

Turn 4:

Most people are thinking why I am not going for the camp right now.  Because the odds of getting it with two cavalry units is 31%.  The odds of losing two cavalry units to Foot Knights attacking a flank approaches 90%.  The camp is not going anywhere.   I have 2 units of Foot Knights to deal with.

Timur's command destroys the last Longbow unit facing them.  Only one missile troop, a crossbow unit, remains from the English center to the right.  The last unit in the line, a Foot Knight, has 3 hits on it as well.  The second herd of cattle is stampeded, but is defeated in the diceoff.  Time to retreat.

Babur charges!  Elephant on Knight!  With Support!.  And loses!

The HYWE win one, striking down a Persian Cavalry.  The remaining cavalry escape and begin reforming the lines.

Babur's command is being taken apart.  Of all the brain-farts I had this game, this was the worst.  This command needs to survive, nothing more. 

"4 days before Saint Crispin's day!"** orated Henry.  "No, wait, that's not right, the cadence is all wrong, William!  Come here, this needs a rewrite."

Upper right, the Persians have made a Foot Knight Sandwich.

From beginning to end this was poorly played.  From the initial advance, the retreat, then the charge.  This was just giving the Hundred Years War English points.

Due to oversights, the Turkomans were caught and killed.

The Timurids are at a score of 12 towards their break point of 19.
The HYWE are at a score of 8 towards their break point of 20.

There is just no good face to put here.

The Foot Knight sandwich (still upper left) is still undamaged.

Persian Archery is becoming a factor here, as hits are placed on Spearmen and Crossbow. 

And the HYWE are just cleaning up the Timurid right flank.

The Timurids are at a score of 13 towards their break point of 19.
The HYWE are at a score of 11 towards their break point of 20.
Turn 7:

After 3 rounds of combat, Zombie Ulugh Beg joins the fight.  His extra plus was important as the final total of the dice was a win by one.

The Persian Cavalry destroys another Crossbow, disordering the unit behind them, turning the flank of the HYWE line.

A poor photo, but showing 2 more points scored for the HYWE.

The Sandwich is destroyed, the camp can be attacked!

But it is too late.

The deluge of points earned by the HYWE had put them over the top.  The final score is 19-16, the Hundred Years War English win.

What went wrong was easy.  First, was the total lack of situational awareness.  Not realizing that the camp was being used as a flank guard.  My best command should have been sent there on a rush, supported by the number 2 command.  Then there was the nonsense of committing the right flank to battle.

Despite that, on the left and center, my Persians played well.  They hung out of bow range, giving the HYWE an opportunity to advance and get the first shot.  Which they did.  Then charging to engage the bowmen without their benefit of stakes.  Then retreating before the Foot Knights.  That all went well.  

If my right flank had not been committed and destroyed, the score on the bottom of the seventh would have been closer to 16-10, my favor, and then it was just a matter of attacking the camp till a 6 appeared.  Even without the camp, there were several flank charges becoming available that could have taken me over the line.

*With apologies to William Shakespeare.

**What is all the nonsense about 4 days before St Crispin's Day?  This game was on October 21, and St. Crispin's Day is October 25th.