ADLG - Game Report 287

Andalusian Arabs (133) vs Maurikian Byzantine (125)

And there was time for one final practice session with the army before the Dodderers met in anger. Robin was also attending the event and wanted to try out his army selection as well. I was invited to attack in the plains. With such a wide-open right flank I felt it imprudent not to place my Heavy Cavalry there, with the expectation that hopefully after the disaster against the Zapotec's they would arrive in a sufficiently timely manner. On the left the Infantry command was designed to hold and be damned.

We advanced the minimum it felt reasonable to do so and allowed the Byzantines to advance to me.

The cavalry moved forward to close the Byzantine's down, but at this stage there was no sign of the flank march.

It seems the Byzantine's wanted to try and expend their arrows to attrite me on the way to contact, and where necessary evade their horse. Consequently, the right wing has started to outpace the left, and still no flank march.

Although the enemy infantry on the Byzantine left is attempting to wrap around the Cavalry command's left our right is doing the same to their Cavalry wing on their far left. The infantry command has hardly been bothered by the arrows or the odds against them. As a footnote still no flank march.

And finally, the flank march has arrived in time to bayonet the enemy wounded! The enemy flanking movement against the cavalry has been partially successful although it hasn't been without loss to them. However, despite the Andalusian cavalry losses the wing, with the support of the Light Cavalry, is well placed to continue the battle. The enemy infantry lines have engaged.

On the right the Andalusian Cavalry have successfully engaged and destroyed most of the enemy cavalry, and it is a question who can regroup the quickest to continue the fight, although this all might be moot as the enemy camp is in range of the Light Cavalry. The Infantry are fighting hard, and although the mediocre spearmen have been destroyed the Andalusian infantry remain confident.

Outcome

An Andalusian victory in which they suffered 18 casualties.

Lessons Learnt

Once again if the Light Cavalry hadn't arrived, we were looking down the barrel of another defeat.

A flank march is a high risk gamble but with high risk comes high rewards – or so they say.