An Album of Albanians

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Freedom Hall, aka the Crestwood Community Center, NJ
Event: LeeCon
Players: Phil Gardocki running Nikephorian
               Mark Cribbs running Albanian
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

The Forces
Albanian (list 266)

Led by the Strategist, Dominus Albaniae, the undefeated, Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbej! Former Sanjakbey of Dibra, Chief Commander of Crusading Forces of Pope Pius II, ruler of Krujë, Sfetigrad and Modrič. Also present was some Italian, and another guy that didn't rate a Wikipedia page.

4 Heavy Knights, Impact, 2 are Allied
2 Medium Cavalry, Impact, Elite.
4 Medium Cavalry, Javelin
2 Light Cavalry, Javelin
2 Medium Swordsmen, Impact
4 Light Infantry, Bow
1 Crossbowmen, Pavise
2 Heavy Swordsmen, Polearm
2 Bowmen
Breakpoint 23

Nikephorian Byzantine(list 127)
Commanded by the Sneaker brothers! The brilliant Nikephoros, the unequally brilliant Adidiasphoros, and their ordinary sibling, Pumaphoros
6 Tagmata, Heavy Cavalry Bow, Impact, Elite
5 Petchnegs and Prokoursatores, Light Cavalry, Bow
2 Varangian Mercenaries, Heavy Swordsmen, 2HW
2 Varangian Guardsmen, Heavy Swordsmen, Armor, 2HW, Elite
2 Skutatoi, ½ Heavy Spearmen, Bowmen
5 Psiloi, Light Infantry, Bows, Javelins, Incendiaries.
Breakpoint of 22

Display Conventions: When you see a jagged word bubble with "Ωχ!", or "Xhoi!", or "Ouch!", this implies a disorder from missiles.

Letters in parenthesis represent some value change for the specific unit. For commanders it is 's' for strategist, 'b' for Brilliant, 'c' for Competent and 'o' for Ordinary, 'u' for unreliable. For troops it is 'e' for Elite, and 'm' for Mediocre. Other abbreviations, Hvy Heavy, XB Crossbow, LB, Longbow, Jav Javelin, 2HW 2 Handed Weapons, B Bow, Kn Knight, HKn Heavy Knight, HC Heavy Cavalry, Md Medium, Sgt Sergeants, LC Light Cavalry, Chr Chariot, Cat Cataphract, Pa Pavise, LI, Light Infantry, HG Hand Gun, FKn Foot Knight, Hvy Spear, Heavy Spearmen.

"XX" implies a unit killed in that location on that turn.

The Board: The Albanians win the initiative and elect to attack in the plains.

An allied command of Neapolitans take the position on the Albanian right.

 

And that is a gully, not a hill...

In their center, some ill remembered foot units.

It is on their left where their strongest blow will fall.  10 units of horse, lead by the Dominus Albaniae himselr!

 

 

Facing the Neapolitans, a week force of Psiloi, gathering chaff in a farmers field.

The Byzantine center is occupied by a strong force of foot.

And to their right, Nikephoros arrays his Tagmata and supporting horse.

 

And true to form, Pumaphoros's command is not visible.

 

Turn 1:

It is an interesting situation.  The Albanian Heavy Knights can run down the Tagmata 85% of the time. Even if the Knights have a cohesion hit, the knights still win 52% of the time.

 

On the other hand, the Tagmata beat the Albanian Mediums 85% as well.  But there are more Albanians than Byzantines.

 

To the shock of all, the Neapolitans, an allied command, go unresponsive!

In response to this bad news, the rest of the Albanians steps forward.

Their knights and impact horse move 3, while their javelin armed mediums move 4.

 

The Psiloi advance to face the enemy skirmishers.

 

An ambush is revealed.  Two more heavy foot cross the crest of the hill, and link up with the Adidasphoros's heavy foot.

 

Nikephoros advances the Tagmata just a bit. Sending his Lights forward to turn the flank.

 

I have to get better at managing my lights.  I think I have his end units ZOC'd and will be subject to a flank and front attack.  But the Albanians will get their turn, and has a lot more cavalry than me.

Turn 2:

The Neapolitans hold fast to their demands and do not move.  The Albanian foot continue to advance to bow reach and loose arrows.

To keep the flank position, the Byzantine lights stand.  And are run down for their trouble.

 

Byzantine foot advance.  The Varangian armor is proof against Albanian bows.

The Tagmata advances as well.  Their bows score one hit, but receive one as well.

Javelin Armed Medium Cavalry is new to Version 4.  I'm not used to seeing them, and so was careless to get into range.

Turn 3:
The bribe tendered by Nikephoros was to hold the Neapolitans till noon.  It seems to be holding.

 

Contrary to the arrows, the Albanian Polearms men did not advance.  But the Bowmen did retreat.

 

 

A Three Stooges step forward.

The Albanian shock troops charge.  A troop of Tagmata evades before the knights, but the others counter-charge the medium horse.

 

Adidiasphoros continues to advance his foot.  Flanking the Albanian knights.

 

This is a whirling cavalry fight.  Charges, evades.

 

One Albanian is taken in the rear and destroyed.

Turn 4:

Shooting continues in the center. 

 

The Albanian knights are in a bad situation.  So they charge and hope for the best.  They give better than the got, but did not win through.

 

Another Albanian horse is trodden.  Other Albanian horse have a flank charge, but to no avail as the Tagmata evade.

You gotta love the 1/2 bow armed troops.

The score is 10 points of the Byzantines towards their demoralization level of 22.

 

The score is 9 points of the Albanians towards their demoralization level of 23.

 

Byzantine foot charges, and frankly, are not impressive.

 

But a knight is taken the flank, and gravely disordered.  A Tagmata is dispersed, but so to another Albanian medium horse.

Pumaphoros with his two light horse arrive on the left flank.  But where to send them.  Do I activate the Neapolitans, but harass them to uselessness?  Or drive them at full speed elsewhere?

In the end, I sent them to assist Nikephoros's cavalry battle.

The score is 14 points of the Albanians towards their demoralization level of 23.

 

The score is 12 points of the Byzantines towards their demoralization level of 22.

Both sides need nine points to win.

Turn 5:

 

Byzantine bribes can only work so well.  Their honor impugned, the Knights from Naples ride forth to save the day!

 

 

Entering the field to save their allies from a total massacre. 

Byzantine horse is sorely pressed.  Another Tagmata is destroyed, a third avoids being flanked by evading.

 

 

 

In the upper left, the fleeing Tagmata flank charges a bowman.  Their Varangian Guards destroy the other.  Elsewhere, another Tagmata disperses an Albanian horse, sending the routers through their friends.

 

 

Varangians get a free swing against Heavy Knights, but do nought but dent their armor.

Turn 6:

The Knights from Naples enter charge reach of the Byzantine foot.  But not soon enough to save their own foot allies.

 

Another Tagmata is flanked, it is disordered, but holds.  An Albanian knight is hewed down.  Another knight charges off Pumaphoros's lights, and heads towards the Byzantine camp.

Another creative fleeing by the Byzantines.  Which puts the Albanian camp two moves away as well.

The Byzantine have 17 points towards their breakpoint of 22.

The Albanians are at 22.  The Byzantine foot form up before the Neapolitan knights.

 

The last Albanian bowman is taken in the rear.  Varangian Mercenaries barely hold on to against a mounted charge.

 

Not realizing the day was his, Nikephoros forms up his nearby Tagmata, sending the third to the Albanian camp.

So what went wrong?

I know that is a usual feature for my AAR's, but I am not sure I did anything wrong.  The Tagmata attacked what they could kill, evaded when they needed to, and applied bow fire in between.

The foot advanced upon much weaker, and much cheaper, foot, eventually catching and killing it.  Also they siphoned off a pair of heavy knights, giving Byzantine Elite Heavy Cavalry a free range to engage the Albanian Ordinary Medium Horse, .

This is coupled with Mark's rather tragic bad luck. It started with his allied command going unresponsive, taking out 25% of his effective fighting force, and continued throughout the game.  There were even a couple of flank and rear attacks he lost due to 1's verses 6's.  

It's difficult to boast because with all that significant bad luck, I struggled to pull out a 23-17 win.