This week was back to ADLG for a Medieval Feudal period fight. I was running Eastern Seljuk while Ian was running Germans. I out scouted him and chose to attack on plains. Some brush narrowed the battlefield on each side. I pressed up in turn 1 to slow his advances.
On my left was my foot command - medium elite impact with an elephant - my Mussaphant! Two bases of HC bow swung out to the far left to flank. This command faced knights backed up with some foot of variable quality. As usual, Ian struggled to get his troops into a line.
My centre was mostly HC bow but one cataphract and one bowmen mediocre did appear.
Ah, my mussaphant! What deeds will you do tonight?
My right fanned out and rushed up at full speed. This was a mix of LC bow and MC bow. It faced Ian's homage to Richard I - a mass of crossbow support with heavy spear ... in one big blob.
Frederick Barbarossa led the German heavy knights.
ON the left, my HC bow flanked the Germans and faced down two bases of MC crossbow.
Then Frederick lost his mind and charged the mussaphant.
The centre stopped for a while as the Germans were confident their large block of crossbow would achieve serious wounds on the Seljuks. My light cavalry were pushed forward to absorb the blows. Unfortunately, my cataphract took an early bow wound then another when charged by knights.
The right was working for me. My LC were flanking the whole line while others poured fire onto a plodding spear unit. The MC waited for a tasty flanks to present itself.
And my mighty mussaphant ... dear Allah! It annihilated the elite knights of Christendom while the swordsmen did the same. Frederick narrowly escaped by a flanking charge was ready to employ.
And yet the centre ... where the Germans had the advantage ... looked on with little action. The sultan did manage to rally a point from the cataphracts. They were back in the fight!
The right progressed. My LC bow were closing on the German camp.
Brown trousers time for Germany! The knights were dead, Frederick had fallen and now this marauding death star smashed into bowmen.
The Germans in the centre pulled their finger out and charged but ... as you can see ... the double line formation of German foot simply could not deploy in such as way as to bring its power to bear. This totaled about 40-45% of the total German force. My HC bow in the centre were getting beaten ... but they had the strength to die slowly. This enabled me to press my advantage elsewhere.
And the Sultan fell in battle. It had only lost him and one base of HC thus far.
Then my centre was all gone ... I'd now lost 4 bases ... but Germany's damage was insurmountable.
My right wing skirmishing continued quite well soaking up units that could be elsewhere.
Look at the back ... the camp has received the sack!
And now the mussaphant crushed the bowmen utterly (with elite impact swordsmen friends) and this formation was not getting tucked into the German spear. In the far background, my HC bow had decimated two MC crossbow. Both German flanks were gone.
Well, Germany held most of the centre but elsewhere their forces had been scattered and battered. Seljuk losses were about 55% of their 23 morale. The Germans were crushed. Their general killed (the sultan had died too) and their camp sacked. The death star of mussaphant and elite impact sword had been traumatisting. Frederick had charged directly into the teeth of a horrible threat and paid the highest price ... his life was forfeit and all his knights were dead. This exposed the underbelly of the German force which could only mount a piecemeal defence against a rampaging force of Turks.
A typical horse archer army victory with wins on the flanks while losing the centre. You can never win without loss with the old horse archers. The German force had all the tools to beat my Seljuks but could not bring these forces to bear to their own advantage. Initial deployment did significant harm and the mussaphant fought as well as any such beastie can fight ... and they are very hit and miss in ADLG - which is exactly as they should be. The panic the mussaphant spread among the knights was a real slap that made them vulnerable to the charging foot. A victory that will be hard to repeat as the turbaned cat is most definitely out of the bag ... but then again ... such as deathstar is always a potent tool.
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