Knife through Butter - Tropilium versus Treyine

The Tropilium General led the pursuit of the defeated Brethren lackeys of Treyine and slew many personally. It was a great victory and ...

The Tropilium orderly shook the Tropilium General a second time.
"Sir, the Brethren are upon us and make to cross the river."
The Tropilium General shook his head. "What? Crossing the river?"
"Yes sir. What are your orders?"

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Outscouted and outnumbered , the  Dice Gods favored the Brethren and they became the attackers. Troplium rolled for terrain and it was pretty clear except for a river cutting the table in half. The Tropilium army deployed with their light cavalry on the flanks, the first rank of missile troops, the next of Legionaries with the right anchored by the Black Company. Let's see how cavalry fared against their pikes. The General was in the third rank on the Equites.

The Brethren plan was simple. A front line of missile troops and the one infantry unit, the cavalry in the second. They would cross the river at speed and hope that their missile troops could weaken the enemy until the Brother Knights could mount a charge at the center of the Tropilium line in hopes of killing their general.

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Here's the set up with the Tropilium Army on the this side of the river.

The two sides fire and eventually the Brethren missile troops are silenced.

As the Brethren cross the river their missile units come under fire and rout off. The Brethren Knights and Sergeants charge across the river, taking casualties. But the Tropilium missile troops and Mages run for it.

One of the Legionaries at the end of the line routs from the Undead cavalry while the rest brace for impact. They exchange casualties but morale waivers (boxcars?!) and the Tropilium infantry rout away.

The Tropilium General counter-charges but one against two, Rep 4 against Rep 6, are no match. They retire from the field. Their light cavalry never enter the fight and the Black Company, having lost their missile men fall back, never having gotten into the fight.

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Casualties were non-existent, the Brethren army too small and slow to provide a pursuit.

Mangu versus Mirish - Double Envelopment - Double Edged Sword!

Spring 992 - Fields of Blood

"General Pereira, there's a Captain..."
"Pereira! Are you going to sit on your duff all day?!"
General Pereira grinned when he heard the gruff voice of Alfred Badenhorst, commander of the mercenary Black Company. Extending his hand Pereira strode towards the giant of a man. "I heard you had been hired by the Prince."
"And a damn smart move on his part if I say so myself", Badenhorst replied. "What's your plan?"

Pereira explained the overall plan to the mercenary Captain and the role the Black Company was to play in the upcoming battle.

"Aglaron, eh? I owe that Elf fop some payback," Badenhorst said with a snarl. "I'll keep that fool on a pin while you finish off those gloomy pointy eared pompous..."

"Still hate Elves?" Pereira interjected.
"With a passion!"

*******************************************************

Terrain was rolled for three times with each result being more congested with woods and rough terrain. Good for the Elves, bad for the mounted army of Mirish. After surveying the third battlefield the choice was a tough one. Pass on the battle and lose morale or fight in close terrain.

The Elves set up in a Static Defense deep in the woods. One line of missile troops to the front with melee troops to the read. The swifter Disciples, barbaric Elves would hold the flanks, the heavier armored Brethren the center and Aglaron, the Dark Elf Hero in the center of the front rank.

Pereira set up at the edge of the woods, his infantry and elephants to the right and center with the Black Company to the left. The pikes of the Black Company would be useless in the woods as would the second line of heavy and extra heavy cavalry. Attacking through the woods would be tough going for the Mirish army, perhaps fatal.

Except Pereira had a plan.

At the outset the whole Mirish army turned to the left and marched towards the left side, towards the clear, cavalry friendly area of the battlefield. This put the Elves on the horns of a dilemma. The Elf General realized that the Mirish army was maneuvering to form on his right. The Mirish plan would be to attack the right side of the Elves, overwhelming one end while the other could not help.

The Elf General gave the order to wheel towards the right.

As the Mirish army reached the clear area they wheeled towards the Elves who now had reached close to the clearing but still in the woods. On Pereira's command the right and center of the first line moved into the woods to engage the Elves. Fired on by archers and threatened by the advance of the elephants the Elves charged forward. It was a mismatch as the heavier armored Elves broke the Mirish line. In victory they pursued out of the woods and into a hailstorm of archery and Blast spells from the Mirish magicians.

The Mirish magicians repeatedly cast Blast spells at the undisciplined Disciples. This caused them to charge towards the casters who were with the Black Company. Arquebusier fire first halted then broke the impetuous Elves.  By the time the Elf army had formed on the right edge of the clearing both sides had lost 1/3rd of their army.

After a short lull in the battle both sides had reformed across from each other. The Elves at the edge of the woods and the Mirish army in the clearing. Pereira sent his skirmishers out to harass the Elves in hopes of goading the Disciples into leaving the woods. And they did routing off a skirmisher unit. Out of control they pursued forward into a hail of archery fire from the Clibinarii who then rode the lightly armored Elves down.

This left the Elves in the center alone. I decided that they could stay where they were and wait for the Mirish forces to attempt to draw them out again or they could unleash their Hero. It wasn't a difficult choice.

Aglaron led the charge followed by the Black Brethren and Brethren. The Elf line hit the Black Company and Mirish cavalry. The Mirish casters fired more Blast spells until only Shazam remained, the rest carried off, exhausted.
The Black Company arquebusiers fired into the Hero as he charged home. Inspired by Captain  Badenhorst and his pike men to the rear in support the shooters held.
The Mirish Clibinarii fired their bows and met the charge. Although they inflicted casualties they were forced to retire, one unit routing away.

Soon the Hero and his entourage had routed off the arquebusiers and the last caster. But Badenhorst and his pike stopped his advance.
The retiring Clibinarii units returned to threaten the Elf General and his Black Brethren who had pursued away from the battle line. They charged and archery fire rained down on the Elves. Melee was again joined but the horsemen could not break the Elves and were forced to retire a second time.

The crisis in the battle had been reached. At the head of his Cataphacts, which he had held in reserve for just such a moment, Pereira wheeled and charged into the weakened Elf right flank, routing off the last Brethren unit and slamming into the Elf Hero. Taking heavy casualties, the Hero unit held off the pikes and forced Pereira to retire away with casualties.

As Pereira charged into Aglaron the second unit of Cataphacts wheeled and charged the Elf General to the rear. The constant casualties from continuous fighting combined with the charge from the rear was too much to bear. The Black Brethren broke and fled the field, the Elf General swept away in the confusion.

As the Elf army fled Aglaron prepared for the final charge. It never came.

Instead Pereira ordered his men to fire at the Hero and only melee if charged. As the sun set Aglaron retired from the field, the Black Company allowing him to do so.

 

Casualties on both sides had been high with the Mirish army having only five units left to pursue. This resulted in the loss of 1 Disciple unit and 1 Hunters. 

Autumn 989 - Go to Jail, Go Directly to Jail

Dear Griselda,

First off apologies for the length of time it has taken me to write to you. I have been having to save paper to write this. Sorry about the size and thinness of the sheets, still at least they are quilted. Sorry also about the reddish ink. Again this is another of the reasons for the delay in writing, rats seem to have very little blood in them.

Well the battle didn’t go quite to plan, in fact not to plan at all. The invading Treyine greatly outnumbered us and the fiends were using magic. I did the only sane course of action and surrendered to them. This at least would save the men.

This means I am now a guest of the Treyine. Although their idea of hospitality does seem a little strange. Still the cell does remind me of my first room when I joined the order. If anything the food is slightly better than the priory.

It was hard also to see the spear of Saint Lindorf go back into enemy hands. Still while there’s life there’s hope. Speaking of which, they are talking about hanging me in a week's time. Something to do with murder, robbery and spoiling the sanctity of holy ground. Still as I said while there’s life etc …

One of Barbax’s messengers came to see me today. They are seconded to the Treyine army at the moment. She offered any help they could to the ‘Father of the Nation’. I didn’t quite understand that, but it seems I’m still a bit of a hero with the Hykar. Not sure what help they can give as apparently they are having quite a bit of trouble at home. Something about not recognising an illegitimate son as a prince, I think.

Any way I’ll have to finish now as the crow is getting restless and is starting to peck my hand. Sorry about the handwriting.

Yours in bondage,
Brother Cedric

The course of the battle
The armies deploy for battle. The Treyine anchor their left flank on the woods and deploy their archers in the usual hedgehog pattern designed to take advantage of Brother Cedric's known propensity for charging headlong into everything:


Brother Cedric charges as expected. The Treyine cavalry attempt to flank the Brethren infantry while their wizards cast a Stench of Weakness on the Brethren left flank:


Sir Alaric Fitzhugh rides out to meet Brother Cedric in single combat as is only proper between heroes, while the Brethren cavalry contacts the Treyine infantry but is driven off. The rest of the Brethren army fragments:


The Treyine sorceror summons a demon that frightens the Brethren cavalry's horses. They are last seen heading north at high speed. The Treyine archers move out to support their cavalry and cut Cedric down if he wins the single combat:


Brethren dart hither and thither and Brother Cedric finally decides to save the lives of his men by surrendering:

Autumn 989 - Campaign Update

With the Hykar threat eliminated, the Treyine army is now free to deal with the Brethren and has marched northwards. The Brethren must make a decision. Will they hold off pursuing the Mirish army and deal with the Treyine threat, or will they split their army and try to punish the Mirish while holding the frontier against the Treyine incursion?

No other nations have chosen to go to war this season. Clearly they would rather gather harvests and stockpile food.

State of affairs at start of 989:

Summer 989 - Barbax Rides Out

My dearest Cedders,

It is with heavy heart and belly that I have to tell you that my attempts to join you have been thwarted by the Treyine army. The blighters have invaded Hykar. I could not believe the cheek of them when I found out. Anyway, I led my army out to meet them and proceeded to surround them just as the Hykari Battle Book tells us to. They advanced to meet us, as is only proper, while my ponygirls were riding around onto their flank.


So, anyway, then they suddenly stopped and planted stakes and other impedimenta in front of their lines. Dashed if I know what they were doing but it certainly upset the ponies. Worse yet, they had a wizard, who summoned a demon that spooked the ponies. I mean, what kind of an idiot comes to a battle and spooks the ponies? How are you going to catch them again afterwards? And what is the point of going to war if you cannot win some ponies to bring home? Idiots.


Worse yet, they summoned two of the things. Well, that set the girls right on edge and next thing we knew a whole bunch of them were bolting from the field of battle.


I decided that I should have to lead the charge home myself, despite my condition. Well, those Ekran knights are no gentlemen. That is all I shall say. The girls were positively mortified by the treatment they received. Worse yet, most of them had decided to head for home.


I decided I needed to make a break for it and charged at some of the Treyine footsloggers but that did not work as I expected. Next thing I knew my pony was bolting for home and me unable to do a thing about it. Ridiculous. These Treyine wallahs really should learn how to fight a battle properly.


So, this letter finds me currently a bit indisposed. I know you will be concerned, but you need not worry. I and my little treasure are fine but you will have to wait a little while longer before we can meet again. I am impatient for that moment and I know you must feel the same.


As a token of my esteem for you, I am sending these six ponies to you with the messenger. She will carry any message you care to send back to me. Please write. You have not responded to any of my previous posts and I fear for you.

SWALK,
Barbax Gutripper

The Treyine juggernaut once more pounded one of its opponents so badly that they had to submit. Hykar is now at peace with Treyine and must provide them with an allied contingent. Treyine lost no troops while Hykar permanently lost six stands of light cavalry. Ouch!

Summer 989 - Cedric Takes Charge

Dear Griselda,

Hopefully I should be on my way home soon. We met up with the Brethren Army and they seem to be having a few problems. General Miles Kristi has died, so when the Mirish came across us I had to take command. You would have loved it they had elephants and everything.


We met at the boundary of Hergest Ridge and the plain outside Levin-on-the-Jett. I must admit that this whole thing of being in charge of an army, seemed a little daunting. Still, I put the years of tactical training my father had given me into practice, and we charged to meet the enemy.

At first things seemed to be going badly, with, our allies, the Goblin wolf riders turning tail and fleeing the battle, never trust a Goblin, unless he’s dead. The spearmen were having difficulties in the centre against the elephants. Even my fellow brother Knights were forced to leave the field.

Eventually I managed to break through and attack their general, who turned tail and fled the field taking a lot of his men with him. This just left a little mopping up for us to do. Unfortunately the scouts have said the Treyine army is now heading this way.

Hope things are well at home and I’m sure I will quickly be able to sort out the Hykar Lawyer.

This game saw Brother Cedric pounding the heck out of the Mirish army. The rest of his troops were not particularly spectacular in their performance, but Cedric was awesome. I suspect it is because I allowed Steve to use a 28mm figure to represent Cedric rather than the more proper 6mm figure that it should have been.

Summer 989 - Campaign Update

Following the brutal attack on their provinces in the Spring, Treyine launches a retaliatory attack against the Hykar. Their general, Lord De La Warre, has returned to the army following his grievous injuries of last year and has decided to focus there rather than split his forces as a result of intelligence received from Mirish this season.

The Mirish, flushed by the success of their campaign versus the Goblins, look for other targets and fasten upon the former Border Kingdom territory held by the Brethren. Clearly the Treyine generals are keen to see how this attack fares first before committing their own troops to the area. Fortunately for the Brethren, Brother Cedric has bravely stepped up to the mark and will lead their army in lieu of Father Miles Kristi, who died in the Spring of this year.

There is also a strong 'hawk' contingent among the Seniir. The leading families are almost equal in power but the Flavians outnumber the Claudians slightly, giving them the edge in most disputes. Unfortunately for the Flavian hawks the senate vote is sufficiently divided to keep the Seniir army within their borders this time around. Perhaps the Flavians will be able to make a few offers to the other senate members that they cannot refuse by the Autumn.



The current status of all armies is now listed on the Campaign Army Lists page.

Spring 989 - The Battle of Hamnorthtoun

After rather too long we finally got around to the next campaign battle. It is Spring 989 and the Mirish army has invaded the Goblin-held territories that were once the Border Kingdom. Near the ruined town of Hamnorthtoun, the two armies meet up. The Goblins have adopted a defensive position on a large hill to the north and the Mirish army must drive them from it. A large but sparse wood occupies the Mirish left flank.


Seeing the enemy ahead of them, and being brave and dashing cavalry types, the Mirish army advanced quickly on its right flank. Meanwhile, on the left flank the skirmishers headed for the cover of the wood.


As the Mirish cavalry approached, the Goblins decided to descend from their hilltop eyrie and try to catch the cavalry on the hop. The Goblin hero in his chariot, with a wolfrider escort seemed to be trying to ride past the Mirish army and caught the eye of a passing elephant or two. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


With the Goblins in range, the Mirish cataphracts and clibanarii (that's cavalry to you and me) charged and drove off some of the Goblins without even breaking into a sweat. The elephants were now facing the enemy and the great Goblin hero could be heard yelling for ale as he turned his chariot and prepared to deal with the Mirish army. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


The Mirish cavalry turned around and prepared to charge the Goblin infantry again. Mughrant's wolfrider escort had been driven off by the elephants and he had turned his attention to the Mirish light cavalry. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


And so the Goblin line disintegrated and was destroyed piecemeal. The Goblin skirmishers finally decided to join the fray in the centre. But it was really too late.


In a last ditch attempt to salvage something from this fracas, the Goblin general girded his loins and prepared to charge. The skirmishers were moving into position to deal with the elephantine nuisance in the centre and Mughrant had seen the writing on the wall. He kept his chariot moving away from the battlefield.


Naturally I got too excited to photograph the final turn. Needless to say, the photograph would only have had a very small number of Goblins on it. The Goblin general charged the Mirish general and drove him back. Following up he attacked again, screaming fearsome cries as he cleaved his way towards the Mirish general. Then fate struck. Whether he tripped over a root, or just stepped in someone, we shall never know now. As he stumbled a Mirish clibanarius drove his spear through the general's body. The Goblin standard fell and soon the whole Goblin army was in rout. For the loss of just a few clibanarii, the Mirish army had utterly routed the Goblin horde. The Border Kingdoms were now back under human control.

This will be one of our last WH battles. We shall be upgrading to Rally Round the King at the end of this campaign year. The battle saw the Goblin army routed and their national morale utterly destroyed. The Goblins have sought peace. As part of that they will now supply a contingent to the Mirish army for the next six years.

Rally Round the King

Rally Round the King has now been released. This is an updated and refined version of the Warrior Heroes rules that we use for our massed battles and very fine it looks too upon a first read through. I must admit to having had some input into this iteration of the rules, so I may well be a little biased, but I am thrilled to see the rules back in print and brought into line with the newer sets from TwoHourWargames.

So, what does this mean for our campaign? Well, there are subtle differences between the two rules sets, and the army lists in the new version have been altered slightly, mostly by the addition of the Undisciplined ability and allowances that need to be made for that. Since we plan to use these rules largely as written, including the new army lists, we shall finish the current campaign year using Warrior Heroes and then transfer over to the new rules in the Winter refit phase. This should ensure a seamless transition between the two, not that there are huge differences really. I am looking forward to playing using the updated rules.

Spring 989 - The Battle of Three Rivers Crossing

Brother Cedric was fleeing before the Treyine army when he saw the Brethren army approaching. He was saved. But wait, what was that? The thunder of thousands of pony-sized hooves were approaching from the other direction. That looked like Barbax Gutripper's troops. Brother Cedric wondered if he would be able to reach the Brethren army before the Hykari reached him. Their ponies were fast and might well get there first. Suddenly he heard a shout and saw the advancing banner of Sir Alan Fitzhugh.


"Hold, knave," yelled the Treyine knight, " Are you such a coward as would refuse my challenge."
With his retinue around him, Sir Alan couched his lance and charged. As Sir Alan and his retinue tore across the emerald sward, Brother Cedric remembered his duty and:

Brave Brother Cedric ran away.
Bravely ran away, away!
When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Brother Cedric turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Brother Cedric!

Or maybe it was the sight of Barbax forming her girls on their ponies into neat columns and rushing them across the bridge in a bid to apprehend him that spurred him on his way.


With Brother Cedric disappearing as fast as he could, the heart seemed to go out of the Brethren force. As the Brother Knights and Sergeants charged towards the Treyine forces, the Treyine archers in a well-disciplined move swiftly hammered stakes into the ground before them, a move designed to disrupt the charging knights. At the same time Dennis Moore, who had pursued Brother Cedric summoned a demon right in the path of the knights.


Their horses were spooked and they retired quickly to regroup. The other lance of Brother Knights had passed the demon and engaged the Treyine archers. They fared little better and were driven off but not before many Treyine archers lay dead. In their retreat, a single arrow found its mark and the Brethren general fell to the ground mortally wounded. The Brethren soldiery stood firm. They knew their duty, but the loss of the general was too much and their efforts were disorganised. Soon they were surrounded by yelling girls on ponies and they had to retreat or suffer a fate worse than death.



Meanwhile, on the Treyine right flank the White Company had advanced together with a small contingent of archers. They faced a holding force of girlish cavalry. The archers were confident that their superior range would ensure victory and the knights of the White Company knew that their mounts and armour were superior to those of the Hykari warmaidens. Their confidence was well-founded. Soon ponies and girls were fleeing the field.


The other ponygirls regrouped and considered the situation. With the Treyine archers forted up behind their stakes, a frontal assault would be suicidal. Barbax decided that her search for Brother Cedric was more important. She had gifts of ponies for him that he must not refuse! She led her remaining troops from the field in good order.

Will Barbax get her man? Can Brother Cedric reach safety in time? Tune in later to find out.

Losses
Brethren
General died
1 Brother Knights
1 Heavy Spears
1 Crossbows
1 Peasant Archers

Hykar
4 Cavalry

Treyine
1 Archers

This battle was an experiment that turned out to be a bit of a curate's egg. We tried making it a three-way game using the solo rules, which worked well enough, but the dice led to decisions that disadvantaged Steve's Brethren force too much. They were justifiable within the campaign context but that did not make it any better and they made it rather easy for the Treyine to win. It also meant that the game went on too long and we had to call it before the ultimate conclusion, which was a shame. Still, it has been a while since we played Warrior Heroes and it was good to get back to it. We are now looking forward to the next game, which will feature the Goblins taking on the Mirish army. That should be fun. As a consequence of this game, Steve has decided to try something called 'tactics'. I'm really not sure what he means by that though.