Our spies had told us the usurpers were again on the rise and that they were planning some tactical changes. The Biggest, Fluffiest, Most Comfortable Kushan (and rightful King) was required to again go forth, with a new cunning plan, and smite the foes.
Having lucked in to second deployment twice in a row, it was unlikely to happen again so the plan needed to cover deploying first. The Kushans, for all their world beating KnX interspersed with ElO might, manoeuvre like a brick and their fearless KnX/ElO wall of tusk and steel (including generals) rarely have opponents who stand still long enough to actually achieve contact. (We await the joyous day when we get to invade a nation with a heavy foot army - or anything non-steppe really).
So the answer lies in making our Kushans more manoeuvrable than their Kushans. Additional ideas include terrain use to force match-ups favourable to ourselves and starting well back with a light horse screen.
The two light horse commands, optimised for disheartening points, remained unchanged, one Chiniote LhS, the other Kushan LhF. All the elephants went into one smaller command, again optimised for breakpoints, with minimal support elements so that all the PiPs could be used on the elephants themselves. That left an enlarged C-in-C command, with all the KnX and almost all the foot based on the idea that the knights in column with the free C-in-C PiP could move quickly either away from opposing elephants or into a safe target rich environment.
The dangers were a lack of PiPs when the knights needed to get into line and/or expanding/wheeling elephants onto the right heading. To overcome this they need to start deep and get targeted early and deployed into formation with time to spare if the PiPs deserted at the wrong time.
To deploy deep I wanted a narrow frontage so planned to use, if defending, two 2FE early(ish) laid terrain pieces, an oasis because its first up and a BuA as I can place it on an edge as required.
As I was delayed by BKK traffic we started 30 odd minutes behind the intended time and things started to go wrong immediately. As invader Bob picked first terrain including a wood (Wd) which under the Kushan list excludes my oasis (Oa) so it converted to a marsh (M). But in the end I got my left flank protected my the march and my right protected by the large BuA, while front and centre running along Bob's deployment line was a long rocky hill (RH) and on his left flank (my right) was the wood.
Deployment showed that I had actually made the frontage too small and fitting everything in was a problem with both light horse and knights forced into sidewards facings columns to stay within their deployment rectangles. The two light horse commands ran across the front of the battle commands with the intention of quickly moving to the flanks if the match-ups allowed the elephants and knights to get good combat options.
Bob then deploys, clearly at least one command was missing (concealed, flank or delay marching or ambush were all possible) with all the KnX failing to show on table but a line of elephants including the C-in-C on the crest of the hill. "Good grief" I said, "elephants deployed in the difficult". The horror on Bob's face was instant - having not put the rock markers on the hill he'd forgotten and used it as a GH. Or he's a good actor and it was part of his cunning plan - something that nagged at me for the next few moves.
First PiPs and the Chionites are reliable with a 6, plenty of PiPs to get up close to the hill and block the elephants onto it so they have to fight against a QK from their difficult terrain if they wanted to exit the hill. The other all light horse command goes right, leaving the command behind open to advance, and the Lh head for the road through the BuA from which it hopes to eventually emerge into the space between the BuA and the woods and thus attack the usurpers flank.
Up come the first rule query. Roads it turns out, are not good going but undefined. Combat on roads is clearly stated as being as per ajoining terrain but it's also specific it's talking about combat effect and not any other effects. After stumbling around the rules for a while we came to the conclusion that a BuA is a difficult area regardless of if its got a road painted on it or not. This caused me tactical problems as road speed is only achieved for an entire march move along it, the entry onto the road (its an internal road only, no extension across the table) and the exit are at difficult speed which really slowed up the columns overall speed.
Bob's turn and his Chionites are unreliable - they don't have the latest fashionable hats and wouldn't play until they got equal treatment**. But his base edge delayed command does turn up, a mix of KnX and LhF and comes on as far away from my elephants as possible. Apart from that Bob concentrates on putting as many PsO between my LhS and his elephants so he doesn't have to risk the QK.
I wasn't keen on fighting PsO up hill in the rough with my LhS but saw a standoff thereby nullifying the elephants as a worthwhile position. I was going to get my KnX wall into the opposing Lh without fear as those match-ups where there for the taking. The LhS were in two groups so I only needed 3 or more PiPs on the green Chionite dice, 2 would be okay and of course they rolled a 1. So eager to prove again the value of shiny new hats** off the impetuous LhS go into the rough to fight PsO at a disadvantage and not a QK in sight.
The AxO foot were moving left to re-align in front of the elephants to take over the blocking role when the LhS withdraw had they stuck to the plan but failed to clear our KnX line in one move which delayed the wall of steel from advancing far. Next move that task would be completed but by then it would be too late - the impetuous Chionite charge had got to close to the unreliable enemy Chionites and reactivated them.
From this point on we played a game that for me kept deteriorating - the well dressed Chionites were never going to have enough PiPs/combat outcomes to get away from the RH and they were outnumbered and occasionally hard flanked. The other light horse command now trying to emerge from the BuA after the slow movement issues but were boxed in by the re-activated enemy Chionites who had switched formation and sent a majority of their element toward their flank edge to open up space for the delayed command to come into the battle line.
On our left our elephants, while they had adaquate PiPs were positioning themselves to do damage also had to be wary of being out flanked. While I can't complain about a lack of PiPs this part of the plan was not really successful, elephants in column, aligning then expanding just takes too long and is so easily signalled to the enemy that they can avoid contact. The elephants didn't play much part in the battle, they were more a threat and a block, than effective (actually taking a loss as well) and floundered around for the whole of the game albeit by the end they were finally in position to engage enemy knights.
We knew there were still a few enemy KnX unaccounted for and the Chionites soon found them lurking behind the hill.
Despite sterling efforts against the odds the LhS finally broke but taking some enemy elements along the way, their general fighting on broken to do more damage until finally run over by a uphill KnX. By then the foot were well in place to try and hold up the elephants and the steel wall (8 KnX including 2 generals and with LhF/O flank guards) was doing damage to enemy KnX and plenty of LhF/S from 3 different enemy commands (this becomes important later).
We needed a big result from our wall of steel and needed it fast before things went bad elsewhere, as we knew they would. This was not assisted by a round of PiPs consisting of 3x1s and a 6 - the 6 belonging to the broken Chionite command whose general was in combat.
The boxed LhF took the LhS charge on the lead element only, as planned, expanded out with good PiPs and did good damage in return (the Lh vs Lh low factor lottery) but then were in trouble in the enemy move as LhS on LhF took a big toll, leaving us one element off demoralised (a demoralised LhF command is as good as dead).
The enemy elephants came off the hill, charged our foot with overlaps, and rather ignomiously all of them bounced back. But that fight was to continue and by the end we had swapped two AxO for an ElO, all from hard flanking.
While this was going on, I, the C-in-C, broke out of line turned 90deg and rear-ended a LhS that had played hard flank the move before with the plan of following up into the flank of the enemy Chionite general who was to be engaged. Bob kindly reminded me KnX don't purse so we had to plan to do that damage over two moves with my rear protected and other threatening enemy elements ZoCed - so I thought.
It was the Chionite general I wanted as his loss would break them so I killed the Lh and ZoCed him. He turned to fight, not having an exit route and found a LhF from over the hill to provide a hard flank on me - whoops hadn't seen that - so its +3 vs +3 and I die on a draw or worse!!
We are made of stern stuff and always carry a Plan B for these situations - so we diced our way out of trouble!! *
Bob's post has explained the interference of the psiloi on the intended general's escape route (although measurement was a little more respectable than 2mm), so in out next move we charged again with support and crushed him and the enemy Chionites broke, only just in time for our light horse command who were about to collapse as well.
At that point I thought I had a breathing space to work out want to do with the elephants on the left and the LhF on the right. The wall of steel rolled on and took another bound to take just enough enemy elements to break a command and with that the knock-on effect and the spread of damage across Bob's commands it collapsed the army.
I was a bit surprised, as I was still without a clear plan to force the issue and my elephant command had still to close down the enemy, my LhF almost damaged beyond use and Bob's elephants could only be held up for period of time and would eventual break through.
So I'm still King Kushan, ruler of the sofa. While the wall of steel got engaged this time, and it worked, the elephant manuover ploy didn't and the terrain was not the best arrangement. But we pulled it off. I think I'll give the Kushans a rest for a while and find something else to engage Bob's new Hepthalite monster (like AxS & ElX toting Khmer ;-) )
Wayne
On a nice reclining sofa
Tha Luang, Lopburi, Thailand
5th March 2012
* Plan B = "Dice Your Way Out of Trouble" is in most players manuals.
** See early posts about the effect of newly painted improved hat details.
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