Teutonics Try Troubling The Tzar

My Teutonic Orders first outing - invading Russia.

On Thursday night Treβler, Marschal and Hochmeister Vain von Wotz lead the newly completed Teutonics* in their first battle where they invaded proto-Russia and attempted to capture the town of Bobovgorod.  Unfortunately he ended up walking home through the snow drifts in a blizzard.

Even with plenty of foot troops to add bulk this Teutonic Army remains small by any standards. 

Bob rightly suggested that a first outing of such a tricky (both to use and face) army should be a historical match-up and he put together an Early Russian OoB (Order of Battle (see Glossary at the end)) with a Polish ally that required a number of figure morphs from a few of our armies.  For reasons I don’t seem to recall (or I missed the discussion) it was decided to use our long ignored white cloth as a winter ground cover and place the battle in winter as both protagonists have snow bound winters.  I quickly realised that this would, in a cold climate, freeze any marsh into good going and ruin my plan*****.  However on checking the aggression factors (Teutonics=4, Russians=0) they are as wide as possible so it was inevitable that we’d invade Russia but they had even less terrain options than we do and I decided that a wood would function just as well.

As it turned out Bob and Antony bought multiple wood features and they were placed first, as defender and my large wood wouldn’t fit so was discarded.  Not that it mattered, there were four woods on the table and the town on the Russian rear table edge.  The weather threatened a snow storm.

My [vaguely] able Livonian Landmeister Nashonivich took the left wing of the army with the massed levy (10 hordes) to delay anything coming around the woods on that side of the table.  We would mass our knights and smash anything on the left of the town before turning our attention to the rest of the table.  I, as CinC, was to hold a line up the centre of the table protecting our forces which would initially occupy only the left side of the field.

Once the armies were deployed, the Russians were spread across the table so their left (our right) was unopposed and there was a huge psiloi supported spear command directly ahead of our massed knights albeit well back toward their rear.  On the left we were a bit uncomfortable with the stronger than expected enemy cavalry presence which if it wound its way around the woods would quickly overwhelm the hordes/levies guarding that area.  The hordes should hold up light horse for a while but bigger number of cavalry would be a problem.

DEPLOYMENT
And the Teutonics look even smaller when seen with
the unused table area.

Nash and I did discuss the option of using our regular commands mobility to change the point of attack and charge diagonally across the table left to right, ignoring the slow moving Russian spearmen until after we’d dealt to the Poles and Russian cavalry on the right wing.

However, once the Russians made the first bounds movement, I rolled out first PiP dice at 6,6,5,6 (the last being the dummy 4^th dice) which activated the snow storm and the blizzard effects on visibility, movement, command radius and bowshots.  The blizzard lasted almost all game lifted only in the last couple of bounds.

The first ever Teutonic PiP roll.
One point off perfect - but it also started
the Blizzard.

A minor diversion to remind players (and inform others) of the game effects of the snow storm (blizzard). 

·  Visibility is limited to 160p (paces) so you can’t see the enemy as usual and this reduces the blocking of march moves and allows more march (multiple) move options. 

·   Movement is limited to visibility plus 40p so the maximum speed is now 200p which affects the cavalry and light horse of the Russians (and the few Teutonic light horse) while the knights retain their normal 200p.  This will mitigate a bit the danger of cavalry out flanking us. 

·  All troops more that visible range from their general pay +1 PiP as if out of command range.  This changes command range from the usual 800p (2000p for light horse) to 160p for everyone and has a huge effect by using up extra PiPs to perform normal actions.  It counteracts the benefits of the more available march moves but also effects the irregular Russians quite a bit more than the regular Teutonics.

·  Bowmen are affected in two ways, their range is reduced to visible range (160p) and unless the wind/snow is at their back, they take a -1 distant combat disadvantage.  We both had crossbowmen but the storm was blowing from behind the Teutonics.

Overall, we thought it would hinder the pagans more than the righteous! ***

But back to the battle. With that many PiPs plus regular generals and troops we could make 5 march moves with two commands and 4 moves with the low control PiP allocated command!!  Amazing!!  And the visibility and command radius restriction was going to affect the longer distanced and spread out Russians more than us so their counter move would be slower than usual.

The quick discussion about a massed charge was tempered by the danger of Nash’s wing losing their flank guards in the process (I felt he’d left his light horsemen to wide and out of range but hey, it’s his command) and the decision was made – CHARGE into their face and see if they could react.

So we covered almost 50% of the table in one bound. 
They could hear us coming through the snow storm but couldn’t see us!

The view from the Russian side.
Remember that at the bound beginning we had been
on our own deployment line.  Luckily they had deployed well
back as the knights had passed the Russian deployment line.

Bob’s commands with nothing to fight formed columns and set off into the snow storm to find and outflank the Teutonics right.  While holding the impetuous spearmen in place and out of trouble Anthony suffered from a PiP shortage with the cavalry and struggled to turn them to engage with the rapid massed Teutonic knights advance rather than the original plan of marching all the way around the wood.  

Consternation among the Russian General Staff!!
(l)  New recruit to the group Anthony,  (r) Tzar Bob 

A quick about face was all that was possible but at this point Nash spotted an opportunity and turned the lefthand wedge formed knight element outward and caught the enemy general at the head of his column*** of cavalry, killed him (factors were even so a good dice roll was needed to have the instant Kn vs Cv kill kick in) and thus causing even more blizzard bound control issues for that command. 

Hunting Enemy Generals

Rule Error Warning:-  

Yes, the more astute playing readers will note the error, that knights in wedge formation are excluded from the general principle that knights instantly (QK/Quick Kill) cavalry.  Inexperience with wedges cause a universal memory failure on this point and we erred in our outcome.  While a significant error, it was a game of ‘what if’ points so it’s actual effect will never be known.  [Besides we were beaten anyway!!]

A degree of retribution was extracted in the next bound or two, as the knights hit the spear line that DBE element was mugged flank and rear by some unchallenged spearmen and was destroyed.  Here we learned that any player to actual achieve the destruction of a superior knight wedge was entitled to a generous shot of real vodka from Bob’s personal stock.  By the end of the night the debt remained unsettled.  :-)   It was not only the first wedge to be destroyed but proved to also be the only one on the night. 

This left the SBE knights with a harder task, and their flanks now exposed, while breaking into the spear line.  Initially they bounced but the arrival of my small command after clearing some delaying psiloi into the other end of the spearmen saw the Russians start to waver.

Stumbling around in the blizzard - look what we found!

Bob’s cavalry column stumbled out of the snow at reduced visibility into my CinC’s command and was caught with hard flanks as he never had time to redeploy and the only element of inferior ‘guest’ knights in my OoB had a remarkable run, assisted by our brotherhood spearmen, in doing quite a bit of damage to the Russian cavalry. 

But it wasn’t a neat set of combats, more a swirl and the Marschal joined the fray as a flank attack causing more Russian casualties.  Then, unfortunately, the Polish

Trying to contain the enemy column.

knights arrived with plenty of PiPs to use and in return front and flank attacked the Teutonic CinC.  I rolled a combat dice of “1” so he was tossed from his horse into the snow drifts.  Not fatally obviously as his command fought on for many bound but eventually disheartening and later broke.

The Marschal Bites The Snow!!

On the left we were fighting in a dangerously exposed mass with both sides taking casualties although our superior knights were more resilient than the Russians.  We disheartened, then broke, the enemy spear command.  The breaking command moral effect (the knock-on effect) left us 2½ ME from breaking the Russian army so that wasn’t to be.  However it did disheartened the right side Russian cavalry command - and the Poles - and, but for 20mm distance shortage or alternatively a less than 10mm line of sight blocked by the BuA, would have also disheartened the 4^th Russian command also.  A functional army without an undisheartened command would have been a very rare site to see – but that wasn’t to be either.  At this point the snow storm ceased.

Two centres of action both with very open flanks.
However remember at this time the snow storm reduced visibility, movement
and consumed PiPs so exploiting flank options was a hard thing to achieve.

So the last effective Russian command along with the still active Polish knights, proceeded to break my CinC’s command, which by the same knock-on effect, broke the Teutonic army.  The Teutonics are only 72ME over three commands and the knock-on can be devastating.  Without that 2ME penalty we would have survived and won the battle in the next bound****.

An interesting game with the snow storm effects totally changing the decision points although it probably hampering the Russians more than the Teutonics (as generally but unscientificl expected).  With normal visibility and full movement it would have developed much differently, we wouldn’t have made the long charge (I don’t think) and we could have controlled and maintained our flank protection much better.  Likewise the Russians would have used significantly longer movement lengths to outflank us and would not have been caught in columns.  ‘What-ifs’ that will remain unanswered until we get a similar battle in snow free conditions, but there were many such potential ‘what-if’ points. 

The much needed flank protecting ‘tails’***** formed to protect the heavy massed knighthood were never able to be tried and tested.  We did effectively fall to the required hard flank attacks on the knights so the missing protection and ‘tails’ cost us a potential victory. 

This Teutonic army using plenty of wedges is going to be trickier (and more fragile) to use than I first thought. 

Next game we hope will be on a bright clear day and that I can indeed test the predetermined battle plan.  Maybe next week, maybe a week or two later.

* = If correctly named they are the Teutonic Orders (DBMM Army List Book 4/#30) but I have always referred to them, and continue to do so, as (the) “Teutonics”.  This is open to confusion with the Teutonic tribes that moved into and settled the modern German lands over previous millennia.  I apologise in advance if your accurate knowledge of such history causes you any confusion.

** = Righteous but errorous and distinctly dishonest.  In effect just political effective businessmen. 

*** = He had sensibly been at the rear of the column initial but the 180deg turn placed him at the front.

**** = Three wedges of knights including two generals was going to hit the Russian baggage camp, with factors that almost guaranteed breaking the baggage command, for knock-on effect and army total casualties that would have taken the Russian beyond their limit.  All speculative of course, the dice gods could be fickle as shown by wedge formed superior knight generals twice being held to a draw by psiloi in the open during the game.

***** = A delayed blog detailing the development of the Teutonics, which should have already appeared but hasn’t.  In addition to comments on development and intended plans, it will explain the ‘tails’.  Essentially they a semi linear formations of non-knight elements trailing back towards the home table edge designed to minimise the danger of hard flanks on the wedges and outflanking and rear attacks on an army expected to be smaller than any opponent and thus vulnerable to such.

Glossary of Terms
A quick list of terms for the non-players which may assist in understanding the narrative.
Aggression Factor:-    A rating number allocated to each and every historical army within the rules that gives a relative measure of the likelihood of being the invading army.  Range is 0 to 4.
CinC:-  The Commander in Chief of the army.  A singular element in each army with a few special attributes.  We occasionally personalise them.
DBE:-  Double Based Element.  Game slang where two groups of troops a represented permanently group together and often obtain some special advantage (and disadvantage) for doing so.  Some are compulsory.  The term SBE (Single Based Element) is occasionally used to distinguish the normally arranged format.
Landmeister:-  A regional army commander and administrator of a area under control of the Teutonic Orders.  Subservient to the Order's higher hierarchy.
ME:-  Moral Equivalents.  A game mechanism for measuring the strength of an army, or the commands within it, in terms of their ability to overcome negative events.  In short their "staying power" or morale.  They are also used to indicate when an army will admit defeat and quit the field.
OoB:-  Order of Battle.  The list of soldiers to be used by the army, arranged into commands with factors, data and indentities as required by the rules.
PiPs (& Dice/Rolls):-  Player Initiative Points.  A game mechanism that determines the amount of command and control the generals have over the troops at a given point in the game/battle.  Like the real life situations it's randomly variable and managing that is a game skill mirroring the skills of generalship.
Psiloi:- A group of unarmoured, agile and dispersed troops who use bows, slings & javelins to harass, annoy and slow down enemy troops.  They have major disadvantages in face to face fights so avoid these.
QK/"Quick Kill":-  A game slang term for the ability of some troop types to destroy other types in specific circumstances even with a slight advantage in combat outcome.  
Treβler, Marschal and Hochmeister:-  Treasurer, Commander of Armies, and the Supreme Master of the Teutonic Orders, usually three separate people.  After all I have to pay for and paint the models, general them around the table and use the supreme powers to be allowed out after dark to play with our "little friends".