Another Crusader Recruitment Drive

A Headless Body Production

Location:  Allen Kaplan's Man Cave
Event:        Quick throw together.

Players:     Philip Gardocki playing Welsh

                      Allen Kaplan playing Later Crusaders

Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, about 200 points per side.
Scenario:  It's time for another futile crusade against the infidels in the east.  Recruiting is proving difficult after the disasters of the previous 4 failed attempts, so the volunteers are being sought in areas that haven't heard of, or even care about the Pope's call to liberate the holy lands. 

The Forces:
The Welsh are lead by the Princes Llywelyn, Daryn, Daryn, all competent commanders.
 

     10 Welsh Warriors, Medium Spearmen
       1 Foot Knight (elite)
       2 Billmen, Heavy Swordsmen, 2HW(mediocre)
       3 Small boys, Light Infantry Javelin
       3 Welsh Horsemen, Medium Cavalry, impetuous 
       6 Longbowmen
       1 Light Horse, Impact

       Break point 26

The Later Crusaders have A brilliant Chief Recruiter, and 2 secondary recruiters, one competent, and one ordinary.

      1 Heavy Cavalry, Impact
     4 Medium Knights, some impetuous.   
    12 or so heavy foot, some mixed spear and crossbow.
     2 Light Horse
Break point 20 

Deployment:

The Welsh win the initiative and elect to receive in the mountains.  They select 3 steep hills and a woods.  The Crusaders select a road and a field.  After the dice are thrown, the woods was removed.

The Crusader knights deploy on the road with their single heavy cavalry in the vanguard.  The Welsh deploy with a strong left and center.

The rest of the Crusader line is just down the line.  The Welsh line continues along Bryn Rholben, with other troops hiding behind.

With the sun rapidly crossing out of view, better pictures will soon to be had.

 Turn 1:

The Crusader commander advances as fast as he can, but his knights are still in a traffic hill along the steep slopes of  Ysgyryd Fawr.  The first traffic jam on the A465!

The supporting infantry advance nearly as fast as the knights.

With 4 command points,the second infantry command manages a triple move.

The Welsh lights advance and trade shots. 

The Longbow advance and snipe at the lead knights.

Daryn's command holds fast.

The other commander Daryn reveals his ambush, four more units.  2 Longbowmen ascend the hill and begin to shoot the Crusader lights.

 Turn 2:

The Crusader knights try to spread out.  Llywelyn's forces are bent favorably and continue to score missile hits.

Crusader foot continue their slow advance. 

The other Crusader foot command split their forces and advance as well.

Daryn advances his heavy infantry to cover Llywelyn's flanks.  His mediums command the slopes of Rholben hill.

Crusader Crossbow proves very effective.

Turn 3:

Up until the end of turn 2, the missile exchanged was entirely in the favor of the Welsh.  6 hits distributed down the Crusader line.  But a flurry of 1's against the crossbow caused a number of hits bringing this to a tie game at 6 hits each.

Crusader knights charge all down the lines.  Winning every exchange, they pursue, hacking and slaying where they will.  The only victory was the Welsh light horse (impact) wins it's fight against Crusader heavy cavalry.

The Crusader foot is ready to follow up their knights.

On the right, more arrows and bolts are let fly.

Welsh counter attack.  One knight is charged frontally and on the flank and destroyed.  Another is struck by Billmen, and has a very unfavorable die roll, and is destroyed as well. 

Daryn prods his foot knights forward, supported only by solitary billmen unit.  He would have liked to have brought in more troops, but limited command points would not allow, so his remaining forces continue to stand on the hill.

The other commander Daryn, waxing eloquent and with an excellent set of rally rolls, fully restores the faith of his forces.

Turn 4:

The Knights are not dissuaded from their casualties and continue to attack.  By barest luck does the Welsh Horse avoid destruction.

Losses mount on both sides in the center.

On the Welsh right, meh....

Crusader Knights rack up many points with the total destruction of 3 Welsh units.  The Welsh mass up to try to overwhelm a single knight, but fail to cause any harm.

The same in the center.  Billmen hang on with the help of supporting warriors.  Welsh mercenary foot knights, fresh from destroying a unit of Crusader spear, "conforms" and continues to ravage the Crusader line.  Welsh longbow, keep up the pressure in pinging the vulnerable hanging edge of the Crusader center positions.

Both sides are playing this flank cagey.  The Daryn is exploring the flank looking for an advantage.

Turn 5:

What to do with a badly damaged Heavy Cavalry unit?  Race for the enemy camp.

The captains of the Crusaders are sensing a win, but need to pursue a few points somewhere.  And so, the disordered spear are pushed forward to the hill.

On the right, Crusader crossbow continue to be effective.

Another Welsh warrior is run to the ground by Crusader Knights.  But another knight is flanked by Welsh bowmen,  Better still a Crusader Knight is destroyed by the Billmen, and a Heavy Spearmen is also destroyed by the mercenary foot knights.

Welsh troops race off the hill and engage a single spear unit.  If the bowmen survive, there will be several flank charges next turn upon the Crusaders.

The other Commander Daryn seems to have lost interest here.

Turn 6:

Despite flanks and losses, the Crusader Knights have won the flank, and with that, the game.

It was won in a timely fashion, as the Crusader center was in risk of total collapse. 

On the last turn, the fight was engaged on the Welsh right.  The results were 1-0 and too late to change anything anyway.

It is a win for the Crusader Knights!

At first, this game looked very favorable for the Welsh.  The Crusader Knights were bunched up on a steep hill, and were taking bow fire, disordering the first three units coming off the hill.  Once engaged, the results were fairly mixed, which should have been to the advantage of the more numerous Welsh.  But quality won through.  Knights began picking up medium foot, and racking up points.  The Welsh could have done better, but their commanders were only competent, and often lacked the command points for decisive moves.  Many times the action was down to deciding on which flank attack to make.  Command points only allowing one.

The center went fairly well.  The Welsh foot knights killing two enemy units by themselves, and the Billmen, even though only mediocre, fought continuously and scored a kill as well.

But losing the camp proved decisive, just pushing the Welsh over the edge into retreat.  It was a good game.