A Thinning of Byzantines, Part II

A Headless Body Production
Venue:   On Military Matters Bookstore.  Owner Operator: Dennis Shorthouse

Event:    Prep for USTT 2020


Players: Phil Gardocki running Burgundian Ordinance
                  Dennis Shorthouse running Later Byzantine
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.
Theme: Second game of the day

The Forces:

Burgundian Ordonnance

Commanded by Lawrence, the Competent, his brother Darryl (Which turns out to be French in origin)  the Competent and his other brother Darryl , the Ordinary, and somewhat unreliable.
5 1/2 Heavy Spearman 1/2 Longbowmen       
2 Foot Knights      
3 Men-at-Arms, Heavy Knight, Impact, 1 Elite  
2 Light Cavalry, Crossbow
2 Demi-Lancers, Heavy Cavalry Impact
2 Handgunners, Elite          
2 Crossbow, Pavise

Breakpoint of 20

Later Byzantine

6 Medium Knights, some elite
4 Medium Cavalry, Bow, some elite
6 Light Cavalry, Bow
2 Bowmen
2 Javelinmen
2 Light Infantry, Bow

Breakpoint of 23

Dennis has a wonderful bookstore in Hopewell New Jersey, that he has been running for many decades.  Imagine going through a library that is nothing but military history.  If you don't think you knew him, he is a long time supporter of Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, and held the coveted #1 spot in the dealers area for over 20 years.  So if you have been to any of HMGS's events at the Lancaster Host, you probably have met Dennis at some time.

The Board:
The Byzantines win the initiative and elect to defend in the plains.
Along the river (rolls 3)
By the town of (rolls 2)
Having been beaten soundly by the Byzantines earlier in the day, Lawrence retreats along the Via Venito, only to find the Byzantines have stolen their march and are arrayed again against them.

On left side of the board is a gully, a field and the via Venito.

The Byzantines have a rough terrain command consisting of 2 Javelinmen and 2 Bowmen on their right.

6 Knights are arrayed in the center, flanked by Kataphract, Bow

Darryl's flank guard command is assigned to hold the left.  Ordinary he is out gunned for this job, but not today.

Today he has heavy Spearmen, Pike and Crossbowmen against the 4 LMI he is facing.

Lawrence's command of heavy spearmen/longbow and foot knights seem well lined up to face the Byzantine knights.

His brother Darryl with knights and heavy horse are squeezed in on the edge.

Turn 1:

Larry and Darryl double march forward.

His other brother Darryl extend their lines and also march at the double.

The Byzantines veer their medium foot to the right, and are intercepted by a solitary firearm light foot.

Also, the Byzantine knights decide they don't like the match up and turn right and head for the road.

Missiles fly

Unlike the last game, in this game the Burgundians have opportunities to shoot.

The Byzantines have 3 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 1 points towards their breakpoint of 20
Turn 2:

Darryl rallies his Crossbowmen, but at a cost of not retreating his Handgunners.

The main line advances, but the longbows fail to find their mark

Darryl's heavies aggressively advance.

The Byzantines push hard against no resistance on their right. The toll collectors along the highway do not offer a bulk discount.

Byzantine Psiloi and Turkomons withdraw out of range.

While the Byzantine Kataphracts and lights maneuver out of the trap they are in.

The Byzantines have 4 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 1 points towards their breakpoint of 20

Turn 3:

Both players are going for a massive right hand punch. Two full commands of the Byzantines flanking the Burgundian left.  And ditto for the Burgundians.  The difference is the Burgundians are slower, but have long range weapons, and the Byzantine camp has been uncovered.

A command pip sends the handgunners scurrying away.  If they survive the missile fire, maybe they will lead the Byzantines far afield.

But in case the Byzantines don't take the bait, Darryl is going to retreat his Crossbowmen to the hill behind them.

Lawrence keeps advancing, as there are still plenty of targets to shoot at.

Darryl's Knights keep up the pressure as well.

The Burgundian lights have been dispersed by massive missile fire, but have lead that command far afield, possibly they will never get into combat.  Especially if the knights block them on the road.

It looks like the Byzantine Kataphracts have extracted themselves from the trap, but they are still in missile range, and 3 out of 4 are damaged.

The Byzantines have 6 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 3 points towards their breakpoint of 20
Turn 4:

This field is going to be critical when the lines get turned.  The Knights are not going to want to go through it, so it is important to deny the Byzantine lights to it as well.  One Psiloi is destroyed by gunfire.  A single Longbow/Spear unit faces the knights just out of longbow range.

Lawrence is command point starved.  He only moves forward just enough to slide left to keep the Kataphracts in range.

Darryl's knights are in close pursuit.

The Crossbowmen have reached the fielded hill.  When they turn, they will create a valley of death for the Byzantine knights.

Those knights have double marched and turned to get off the via.  The foot command can only move once as they are within 4UD of the ambush in the gully.

The Byzantines recognize the importance of the field and invest it with what they have.

Their heavily damaged Kataphract command has managed to pull away from the Burgundian knights and can now be considered "Safe!"

The Byzantines have 7 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 3 points towards their breakpoint of 20

Turn 5:

The game has proven to be an interesting chess match so far.  It is now a matter of who can turn their lines around faster.  The Byzantines have the advantage of speed, command points and their knights are already facing the correct way.

The Burgundians have the advantage of having a good hold on the shoulders of the gap, and they don't have to actually go any where, they just need to turn and wait for the knights to show up.

Lawrence splits his line in two, each with 2 Longbow and a Foot Knight.

One group to keep shooting at the Kataphracts.

The other has been turned and double marching to the gap between the fields.

The Byzantine camp is under attack.  Burgundian Light Horse are closely following the Kataphracts.

The Byzantine foot command sends a unit to investigate the ambush.  They'll be able to double move next turn.

Brave Hand Gunners, outnumbered 4-1, challenge the field.

The Byzantines have 8 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 3 points towards their breakpoint of 20

Turn 6:

The Burgundian crossbows were aimed and the bolts are flying fast.  The first bolt hits a knight, they knew he couldn't last...

10 points for anyone that knows where I paraphrased that from :)

The pursuit continues.

The Byzantine camp falls.

Lawrence's redeployment is almost complete.

Byzantine bowmen find their mark.

The Byzantine Knights compress their line to protect their wounded.

The Kataphracts have drawn a line.  The line is here, here and no further.

The fight in the field still rages.

The Byzantines have 17 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 4 points towards their breakpoint of 20
Turn 7:

The knights are having a tough time of it as half of them are now disordered, and only one can charge to make contact this turn.

In the field, the Burgundian Hand Gunners are still holding their own

The Kataphracts are making a brave stand.  But it's pretty easy to posture when you are out of charge reach.

The Byzantine foot command has finally gotten in reach. Better late than never.

The Burgundian Pike, which Darryl has been trying in vain to rally since turn 3, are charged, and put up a poor showing.

The last Hand Gunner falls.

The Byzantine commander tries to rally his Kataphracts, but his words have no effect.

"It's all Greek to me", exclaimed one trooper.

The Byzantines have 17 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 5 points towards their breakpoint of 20

Turn 7:

The crossbowmen shout out their last great act of defiance!

The Pike hold their ground!  A storm of arrows dispersing a Byzantine Knight before it can reach charge range.

All of Lawrence's longbows have targets now.

The Byzantine pause to catch their breath has allowed the jaws of the trap reopen.  Aren't they just a tease?

The Byzantine assault is picking up steam.  Their foot command almost has cleared the hill, and the Pike unit has been eradicated.  So the Burgundians no longer hold the shoulders.

Turkomons have flanked a Spear/longbow unit doing 2 points of damage

The shootout in the field is working in the Byzantine favor as well.  One of the Kataphracts has chased off the Burgundian Mounted Crossbow.

As the sun sets, the armies are forced to disengage.  The wounded and dispersed are reassembled into working armies overnight for another engagement in the morning.  Where the Burgundians will be stripped of their lights and pike, but their main force survives intact.  The Byzantine ranks will be thinned and, thanks to their camp being looted, unfed.  This is a winning draw for the Burgundians.

The Byzantines have 18 points towards their breakpoint of 23
The Burgundians have 10 points towards their breakpoint of 20

So what went wrong here?  One easy point to make was the Burgundian Heavy Knights, never found a target.  You can't win when your best troops, representing 1/4 of your points, never engage.  Yes they chased a bunch of Kataphracts around, and their supports took the camp, but that only mitigated the problem.  

What went right?  Taking advantage of the terrain largely negated my opponents superiority in command control and speed.  The Byzantine commanders had a Brilliant and two Competents vice two Competents and an Ordinary.  And Knights having 3 UD movement vice 2 UD. The Byzantine Knights only were minorly engaged.  But yet ended the game with 4 out of 6 units damaged.