Manlii v Julii Game 23

Game 23 – Byzantine Era 5: Komnenan dynasty

Komnenan Byzantine (Gordon 190 pts) v Principality of Antioch (Alec 180 pts)

Minor Invasion 1137 CE (ADLG Std, 28-June-2023).

Battlefield Effects: Principality of Antioch: Terrain Advantages

The Plan (penned in advance of the battle)

We rolled a Byzantine Minor Invasion of the Principality of Antioch in 1137 CE.  I was happy to let Gordon have a 10 point advantage in points as the Principality of Antioch had the advantage of a Battlefield Effect - Terrain advantages.

To win his two Prestige Points Gordon will be obliged to attack aggressively, whilst the Byzantine heavy cavalry in this era have lost the ability to fire bows so will be at a disadvantage against an army of knights and heavy spearmen. This is going to mean Gordon is going to have to come up with something inventive in order to overcome my forces, I certainly intend to make him work hard for a victory.

I have minimised the number of impetuous knights as, due to the army’s limited command ability, they will be quite hard to keep in order once battle is joined. Consequently I have maximised the number of heavy spearmen and crossbowmen in the army and will try to line the spearmen up as a first line supported by the crossbowmen and keep the mounted knights as a reserve. This is going to be a counter-punch army.

At some point I will hopefully be able to use the Battlefield Effect to gain some local advantage, either via a piece of terrain or in the Universal Battlefield Effect option. To that end I have rolled …. a one, so I have the option of placing two extra pieces of terrain on the table if I wish.

The exact choices will depend on what Gordon chooses for the battlefield region – Plain or Mountain, but if possible I will create a line of bad terrain across the table in order to funnel the Byzantine forces into a small area where my infantry can outnumber and outfight them; if I can get a coastal zone to guard against flank charges all the better.

That’s the plan!

The Battle

Gordon chose the Plains option as expected. I maxed out the terrain choices, successfully getting both a coastal zone and a village, plus a field, a plantation and a plantation-covered hill; and when it was completed placed the extra terrain pieces allowed by the Battlefield Effect across the middle of the table - two more plantations. Gordon placed a field and a road. Terrain ended up as follows:

As usual I'm on the left of the picture.

Deployment:

I deployed my army with two infantry commands on either flank, composed of mediocre heavy spearmen and crossbowmen, and my cavalry in the centre, I also placed two ambushes on my left flank - one with two units of crossbowmen on the hill and one with three units of light infantry bowmen.

Gordon placed an infantry command in the village on his left, a command of Latinikon knights and light horse in the centre led by his family representative and a command of heavy cavalry and light horse on his right.

The position of the armies at completion of deployment ended up as follows:

On turn one Gordon advanced across the table. On my left Gordon exposed my light infantry ambush and in the centre advanced into bow range of my light horse. First turn shooting was ineffective by all parties. The position at the end of Gordon's first turn:

On my go I revealed my second ambush of crossbowmen and advanced my infantry into positions on the edge of the plantations, on my left I retreated with my light infantry. Only in the centre would Gordon be able to attack me unimpeded by the terrain.  In the shooting phase Gordon got lucky, scoring two hits on me for nothing in reply. 

The position at the end of my first turn was as follows:

In Gordon's turn he continued the advance of his units across the table and charged with his light horse in the centre, driving off mine; and on my left two charged into the plantation against my light infantry where I stood even though one was flanked - the light infantry won destroying one of Gordon's light horse.

In my turn I turned my left wing light infantry to fight his other light horse disordering it, and in the shooting phase disordered one of Gordon's light horse. The position at the end of my second turn:

In Gordon's turn he continued his advance across the board. On my left Gordon charged my light infantry in the plantation with his heavy cavalry, I was tempted to stand and fight them with the two light infantry, in the end I chose to evade as they would have been somewhat unsupported. 

The position at the end of Gordon's third turn was as follows:

In my turn I decided to put more pressure on Gordon to attack so advanced my right wing infantry to threaten his which I outnumbered on that flank. In the centre I prepared for Gordon's attack and similarly on my left. 

The position at the end of my third turn was as below:

In Gordon's turn he charged one of my mediocre heavy spearmen in the centre with his Latinikon knights, disordering it. The position at the end of Gordon's fourth turn:

In my turn not much changed,  however time was ticking on. The position at the end of my fourth turn is as below:

In Gordon's next turn he went in with his right wing heavy cavalry, disordering my spearmen yet again. The position at the end of Gordon's fifth turn was as below:

In my fifth turn I decided it was time to charge in with my reserve knights in the centre against the Byzantine knights - winning both combats. I also charged a heavy spear unit into contact with one of Gordon's heavy cavalry in a plantation causing two disorders on it, in the same turn however I lost one of my spearmen units.

The position at the end of my fifth turn:

In Gordon's turn he moved into contact with some of my infantry on his left flank but I managed to destroy two of his Latinikon knights and one of his heavy cavalry pulling the teeth out of the Byzantine attack somewhat (my counter punch tactic was working). The position at this point was that I had lost 9 towards my army break-point of 25 whilst Gordon had lost 13 out of 23, but we had run out of time so the game ended in a draw.

So the position at the end of Gordon's sixth and last turn of the game was as below:

 

Gordon's comments

 Pre-Game

I again decide to bid to invade to win some points. Very much the triumph of hope over experience.

Alec will be the Principality of Antioch. He can have lots of knights, lots of spearmen or a mix. I strongly suspect he will go for lots of infantry, which should work well with the Battlefield Effect. Looking at the Byzantine list there is not much I can choose to beat a solid infantry army with defensive terrain – the infantry are poor and basically the same as his, so it would be very much who gets the lucky die rolls. Also, if the terrain turns out to be more open as I would like, then even impetuous knights have the ability to outmanoeuvre and outfight the infantry. So, I have to go for a strong cavalry force to win the game, and hope that by choosing plains I can minimise the expected awfulness of the battlefield.

So, a strong force of knights, a strong wing of good impact cavalry and a largish but mediocre infantry command. A few light horse to shoot someone and maybe annoy his knights if the terrain goes my way.

Three Brilliant generals in case I get the chance to manoeuvre and to rally troops if I don’t.

 The game

Oh dear! The terrain was worse than I feared. Basically, a wall of rough terrain in which I cannot fight, with one gap into which to throw my knights to their death while the cavalry tries to infiltrate through the rough terrain (and cavalry are noted for their effectiveness in poor terrain). His left flank is slightly weaker in the absence of the secure flank.

Alec set up lots of infantry on his right and centre and a small number of knights as a reserve in the centre. This left flank appeared weaker but had some ambushes, so could still have some rough terrain capable infantry here.

Well, I have to win. So, despite my initial despair and feeling that is all too unfair, I develop a plan.

1.      My left flank will be the infantry to slowly advance to keep his infantry in check. There is no need to fight here.

2.      Put the knights in the centre to try to get lucky with combat and open a gap while not taking too many losses.

3.      Put the cavalry on my right to try to get through and/or around whatever is hiding and then hit the spear and cross their fingers for rolling “6”.

My light horse advance to reduce his potential for manoeuvre and try to shoot up his apparently fewer light troops. It didn’t go well and I had the worst of shooting and combat. Despite that my cavalry go through the rough terrain and charged the spearmen – some lucky dice resulted in winning combats.

The centre went forward as fast as possible and some lucky dice rolling resulted in some dead Antiochene spearmen. A charge against his crossbowmen resulted in lots of dead knights. Then his knights joined in and started to wipe out my knights. Without them I was not going to win.

On my left the infantry slowly moved forward to pin his troops. I think he had the best of the shooting here. At a late stage I had to commit here to protect the flank of the centre. Alec forced the pace here and I had to engage even though I didn’t want to.  Despite that I seemed to be reasonably well

 And then we ran out of time.

 Post-Game

At the end I had lost. There are a couple of Alec’s spear who could be destroyed in the next round of combat, which would give me options, but it was not looking good for me.

Don’t know what else I could have done to win. Take a bit longer to get my left flank into a better position before committing in the centre? Time was against that, as in any game, but the poor terrain made it more of an issue. Also, the less pressure on that flank the more time for Alec to prepare. 

 Result

 Draw - Minus one Prestige Point to the Julii