Sebian Empire Vs Later Polish

Hi,

I thought some fellow Fanatici might like to hear about a battle I enjoyed recently. I was fielding my Serbian Empire army (IV. 22) against my friend Ian’s Later Polish (IV. 66).
I’ve played Ian Poles on several occasions so I had a rough idea which options he’d be fielding. With that in mind I selected the following Serbian army; 6x3Kn, 4x3Bw, 1x3Ax, & 1x2Ps. I was the aggressor so Ian placed the terrain, opting for a Marsh in the centre of the board, a river 6 inches in from (what ended up being) my left flank, and a small patch of compulsory woodland to the left of his eventual deployment zone. I had first bound, rolled a 6 and spent a couple of PIPs throwing my lone psiloi forward to occupy the Marsh. 3 elements of my bowmen formed a column and entered the Marsh. My single element of Auxilia also took up residency in the Marsh, occupying a position where they could comfortably exert a ZOC reaching almost to the river bank – the hope being that they would close off that avenue of attack, and frustrate any attempt by Ian to attack en-masse with his numerically superior mounted troops. My general and 3 elements of Knights wheeled forward into a position where their next move would see them occupy a the good ground that stretched from the edge of the marsh to my right table edge. I held the 2 remaining Knights in reserve, whilst my remaining Bow occupied my camp where they would, hopefully, act as a deterrent to any lightning raid by the Polish Light Horse.
Ian’s first bound saw him confidently sending his 2 elements of Light Horse (which he had deployed on the far side of the river) foraging ahead on his right flank, as his imposing line of double based Crossbows strode forward, intent, it seemed, on contesting control of the marsh. Meanwhile his general and an element of knights anchored one flank on the edge of the forest whilst his cavalry formed a line on the other side of the woodland.
I rolled a 5 and my column of Bow quickly deployed into a line with orders to hold the edge of the marsh. My reserve of Knights formed a column and headed towards my left flank where Ian’s light horse looked poised to plunge through the river and wreak mayhem behind my lines on his next bound…
Ian’s Light Horse were already costing 2 PIPs to move when disaster struck, with Ian rolling a 6 as they attempted to cross the river – his subsequent roll of a 2, meant that his light horse were stuck on the wrong side of the river.. His flanking manoeuvre might have had ground to a temporary halt but his crossbows continued their relentless advance and, finding their range, darkened the skies with a volley of bolts. This unnerved some of my archers, forcing them back as they sought cover deep within the marsh. It was now my turn to fill the skies with death and my remaining archers managed to destroy an element of Ian’s crossbow.
I rolled a 4 and my reserve of Knights rode on to the river bank, taking up a defensive position and all but ending Ian’s hopes of crossing the river with his Light Horse. My psiloi broke from the marsh and headed for the copse of trees between Ian’s general and cavalry. They managed to cross the open ground and took up a position within the woods, exerting a ZOC on Ian’s general… Ian’s next PIP score was low and his turn consisted of moving his remaining crossbowmen back into range where they managed to get themselves shot to smithereens by my massed bow skulking within the marsh..
My psiloi, emboldened by the cover of the trees, charged Ian’s general’s flank, forcing him to turn and engage them at -2. My psiloi lost the combat, melting back into the trees and thus avoiding destruction at the hands of the knights.. Ian decided that things were looking grim and sent his cavalry charging forward to engage my knights and settle this battle one way or another. One element was forced to pull up short - distracted by an element of bow who had moved to the edge of the marsh and were preparing to fire (a really inconvenient ZOC). The remaining cavalry continued, charging home. The impetus of the charge forced some of my knights back but the others, steeled no doubt by the proximity of their king, managed to hold. My recoiled knights returned to the fray next bound, as others charged into the flank of Ian’s now vulnerable looking cavalry. My psiloi again threw themselves at his general, fleeing deep into the woods when his martial prowess proved too much for them.. My knights managed to force some cavalry across the edge of the battlefield but their celebrations were short lived as their pursuit carried them into the path of the panicked flight of another unit of Polish cavalry…! It was however too little too late! The Polish, demoralised and outnumbered, decided to sue for peace..
Overall this was an exciting, hugely enjoyable game where control of the marsh proved pivotal. Ian was extremely unlucky with the river (that’s been 3 difficult rivers from my last 4 games featuring a river!!) My psiloi were excellent though – exerting a ZOC on Ian’s general and “unkillable” when attacking Knights from the safety of the forest - the worst result they suffer was a “flee”!!

I hope you were entertained by my little battle report.. Any distortion is poetic licence – the privilege of the victor…!

Enjoyed your battle report, Nixon. It's always good to hear of Psiloi in Bad Going wreaking havoc!

One general rules question: Knights do not have to pursue if they will "enter" bad going but do they have to pursue if they are already in bad going, as was the case in your game?

I'm just interested to know how you play this one.

Look forward to another report.

Best wishes.

Dunctator

PS

Although maybe your Psiloi were in Bad Going and the Polish knights were "in close combat with enemy in, bad going..." and thus also qualifying for the -2 Tactical Factor?

Dunctator

Great battle report. If the two of you are regulars, how about refighting the game but switching command of the armies. I would be interested to read a successful LH flank attack and how that would have upset the Serbs.

Still, this was a fine example of how nicely placed terrain can work in your favour.

cheers,

PS

Although maybe your Psiloi were in Bad Going and the Polish knights were "in close combat with enemy in, bad going..." and thus also qualifying for the -2 Tactical Factor?

Dunctator


Dunctator,

The psiloi v's Polish Knights combat was as above..