The Second Battle of Pozsony

A Headless Body Production

Venue:   Walts Man Cave
Event:    Prep for Barrage 2019
Players: Phil Gardocki running Nikephorian
               Walt Leach playing Medieval Hungarian
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 200 points per side.
Theme: Prep for Barrage 2019

History is littered with millions of battles over thousands of years.  A few of them are worthy enough to have been described by a historian.

This is not one of them.


The Forces:

Nikephorian Byzantine

Nikephoros, the Brilliant, Adidasphoros, the Brilliant and Pumaphoros, the ordinary, and somewhat unreliable.

      4 Thematic Kataphractoi, Medium Cavalry Impact

      4 Petchnegs, Light Cavalry, Bow

      1 Turkomons, Light Cavalry, Bow, Elite

      2 Varangians, Heavy Swordsmen 2HW, Armor, Elite

      8 Skutatoi, ½ Heavy Spearmen ½ Bowmen

      4 Light Infantry, Bows and Javelins

Breakpoint of 24

Medieval Hungarian
A core of 6 Heavy Knights, supported by Heavy and Light Cavalry, and quite a lot of light infantry.

Breakpoint of 20

The Hungarians win the initiative and elect to attack in the plains.

The Board:
Hand provided by Monty Python's Flying Circus without permission.

Pozsony County, Little Carpathia.  Off in the distance the scenic Red Cup of the Virgin, said to hold Mary's still frozen ice is visible.

Oh and in front are a mix of heavy knights and cavalry.

But on the landward horizon appeared the silhouette of a dice cup. Another came, and another, striding over hills and trees, plunging into the field and blocking the exit of the Hungarian bow armed horse.

Adidasphoros's Skutatoi deploy to cover the flank.

Nikephoros's main line of battle is anchored to the hill

Matching the Hungarian shooters 1 for 1 are mercenary Petchnegs and Turks.

 Turn 1:
 

Slowly the knights moved towards the Byzantine line; then, with a deafening roar and whoosh of spray, they tilted their lances and drove at full gallop towards the waiting Psiloi.

On their far right, Tatars advance and ready their bows.

The Psiloi isn't even going to think about getting in the way of the knights, and heads for the dubious cover of a nearby field.  There he is met by some friendly hidden archers.

Nikephoros parses off one Skutatoi to assist his right flank, the remaining battleline cant's to his left.

The Petchneg's advance to not quite effective range.  Pouring out of the plantation to their rear are 4 units of Theme Cavalry.

 Turn 2:

The Hungarians begin the field clearing operation.

The Psiloi are clearly over-matched by Croatian bowmen

A bit of a highlight is a more successful exchange of arrows on the far right.

The Hungarians have 2 points towards their demoralization level of 20
The Byzantines 3 points towards their demoralization level of 24

But now it is the Skutatoi's turn to bend a bow, and some find their targets

Nikephoros recalls his Psiloi, and parses off another Skutatoi to assist his right flank.

The Theme lancers advance to charge range, in time to see mass disorder down the Tatar line.

The Hungarians have 7 points towards their demoralization level of 20
The Byzantines 3 points towards their demoralization level of 24

Turn 3:

The knights push forward, but only their left most knights are in charge reach for next turn. 

By the luck of geometry, range and dice, a shower of arrows falls upon the left most knight in the line.

 The Tatar commander runs down the line imploring his men to reform the lines, and a series of 1's and 2's result, 4 for 4 rally fails, a 1 in 16 odds. Coupled then with more successful shooting by the Petchnegs.

The Hungarians have 10 points towards their demoralization level of 20
The Byzantines 3 points towards their demoralization level of 24
 
Turn 4:
Walt was being a good sport of it, but we both can see this slow moving train wreck that is about to happen.

The Hungarians hope for a bit of luck, but find none.

Into the valley of death...

But on a side note, the Varangian Guards, the best units in the army, are pretty much out of the battle, defending the Byzantines from two light infantry units.

The Tatars withdrawal, buying a turn of not being shot at.  The Petchnegs immediately pursue, followed by the Thematic lancers.

The contest for the field is still raging. 

Will the knights charge? Or won't they?  Off course they'll charge.  The Hungarians have already paid the sunk cost.  One knight is shot away before reaching the lines, another rolls badly.  But, the remaining Hungarians have turned the line.

The Hungarians commit their final reserves. 

While the Tatars draw another line in the sand.

A Skutatoi falls, but so does a knight.  Adidasphoros anticipated the loss and has pulled another unit out of the line to cover the flank.

The Varangians unsheathe their axes and approach the Hungarian reserve.

 In retrospect, and 20/20 hindsight, I should have anticipated what was going to happen next.

But that is next turn.  The Petchnegs have more shooting to do.

The Hungarians have 15 points towards their demoralization level of 20
The Byzantines 6 points towards their demoralization level of 24

 Turn 5:

The last Psiloi in the field is disordered.  5 turns of distraction, mission accomplished!

Another Skutatoi is run down.

A moment of glory for the Hungarians.  3 hits on each of the Varangians. 

Another Tatar is shot away.

 My lights have never shot this well.

But, another knight falls, the routers disorder their compatriots.

The destruction of the Varangians offers no solace.  Two units of Thematic Lancers have arrived, charging the flank of one knight, and pursuing into the next.

From hells gate, I spit at thee, shouts the last Tatar, and his arrow flies true, causing the last hit of the game.

The Final shot of this epic encounter.

What went right?  First, the much maligned ambush containing 4 lancers worked very well this game.  The Hungarian left saw an advantage in the shoot out in front of him and went for it, only to find out the Petchnegs had a lot of backup.

The center command had more units in it's battleline then it needed, and parsing off two missile units sealed the deal on the Hungarian left.

On the Byzantine left, the focus of the lights is simply survival worked out, as the Hungarians spent a bit more points in troops and command control to finally take the field.  

In the center, I think the Byzantines were just devious enough to let the knights do what they wanted, and shot at them all the way in.  No cunning plan there, sometimes your opponent just makes a mistake and you have to let him make it.