Skulking on the Silk Road

Recovering for the Tassle Tussle
(Campaign action as introduced <here>)

As noted previously by Vantonigivussakissa (don’t pronounce it sober) <here> the first force of the Deli (Llama) Delivery Service (known world-wide as the Shaggy Horse Excellent Sandwich Supply Service - SHESSSus) had met an uncomfortable end at the hands of low class Hindus with big cleavers while avoiding the pachyderms.  A classic example of a highly manoeuvrable army over doing the parade ground formation changes and getting mobbed.

The remains of the now timid Tibetans now headed south closing up on the equally chastised Hepthalite Hun chieftain Gnash the Gummy (aka the Toothless) at the head of another elephant laden army of apparently all ‘superior’ graded troops, whether the mammoths or the vicious steppe horsemen.

By this stage a major campaign error by Zhayne Yahwot (Hindus can’t spell) the distracted chief sandwich maker of the Deli was blatantly clear. 

While having the best, most attractive, well trained and efficient kataphracts in the whole continent, all the other dishonest lowly rulers contesting the western end of the Silk Road were all, and I mean ALL, packing numerous non-regulation ‘Pachyderm Packs’!!  Just because my alt-life was distracting me from paying sufficient to the campaign preparation didn’t justified a united effort to collect enormous elephant ensembles at all points of the compass.  Clearly there’s no honesty left in the areas around the Roof of the World.

We caught up to Gnash & his “S” graded rabble and challenged him just inside his home territory.  He turned to face.  The winter had passed and spring was upon us.

Our plan, being VERY small but near perfectly trained, was to close the field of battle down and fight frontally with the kats which could take on anything except the elephants which were to be contained by bow, spear and fast light horsemen long enough to push the rest of the enemy off the table.  We bought two super small commands of Ch’iang allies (rCvS + 7x iLhF + 1 Bg = 12ME) to tuck behind the wings to run interference and to die if required.  At 12ME they only produced a single “knock-on” factor and the high non-general casualty count required to break them gives a cheap amount of staying power.

We used two DH (difficult hills) for our plan.  The enemy swamped the area in difficult terrain too, most surprisingly, and we got the weirdest battle field I’ve seen in years - almost totally blocked by difficult going across the entire width of the table!! 

 

For two mounted armies this is plain DAFT terrain!!

Only three openings existed, a 4 element wide corridor on me left, a single element wide one on my right and a road through a BUA (built up area), nothing else.  I had a total of 3 psiloi elements for terrain work and I was sure the Hepthalites had very few as well.

I decided that with my strong manoeuvre abilities I’d sit tight and pick of the enemy as they came through the openings or over the terrain.  My fortified baggage imperfectly added some restrictions to the left flank which was the only side a flank march was viable on.  Nash deployed only two commands, and I was right to stay put and defend against attack although the elephants coming at my left were less than ideal.

Re-positioning by both armies 

I did a bit of re-positioning and waited.  The enemy u-turned on the road and set about a fast attack in support of his elephants on my left.  This was going to swamp my foot so using the regularness I u-turned them and drew up my position tighter.  I also sent the mass of kataphracts under the CinC leftward to past through the light horse and meet the expected superior light horse flank march from the left flank.

But let’s be clear, Nash had a clear strong plan for dealing with my strengths (and his weakness) and had used the terrain brilliantly in a most unconventional way to out play me so far.  I hadn’t understood what he was doing at all until this point when I realised I was trapped.

Trouble Arrives - Pressed from front & left!!

The enemy flank march arrived and contained more elephants!!  But it also looked small and combined with few hordes being on table, I expected hordes to follow it on next bound.  At this point it worried me a lot less than the fact I was going to get attacked on two fronts and chewed up by the on table elephants.  In my mind I had conceded the game but as I’m good at desperate defensive actions and could hang out for a time induced draw, I remained mostly silent.

Gnash came at me slow and steady, not getting strong PiPs and often being conservative in his actions, knowing I wasn’t able to get away and that he had plenty of time.  I didn’t get great PiPs either but with all regular or light troops, I was getting enough PiPs to mount a steady defence and keep my angled line intact.

Fighting for survival but keeping the pressure on.
Tibetan kataphracts scare off Huns in the urban area
without a fight.

This I did by always looking to fight combats at equal or just superior factors rather than go for more aggressive actions that would leave me exposed to enemy counter attacks.  Nash’s combat dice weren’t that strong so it was all staying intact.  I pushed up on his flank marchers forcing him to commit them to unfavourable combats or receive even more unfavourable attacks later. 

With his other commands streaming around me and my troops slowing being whittled down by elephants I was getting further into trouble without an answer and Nash, seeing this, committed his flank marchers but I got the better of the situation locally.  But to survive in the long term I needed to harm the enemy.  I had picked off a lucky kill on an elephant and broken up their groups a bit but never had any opportunities to turn the tide.  Time to start taking the cheap shots as I could no longer survive long enough even to draw.

In a bound with short PiPs Nash had used a CnC free PiP to turn and push an elephant into an annoying position which had stalemated the end of our lines. 

Taking the cheap shots!!
Honestly in fear of the imminent Tibetan defeat.

My bows had held up elephants and recoiled one or two and the area was confused and messy but generally flanks were secure on both sides.

I spotted an outside opportunity to take a cheap shot, by attacking an elephant in the flank with a kataphract and by ignoring his front I could turn it into a no recoil situation up against his CinC (with the fatal behind an El deal if I could pull a kill result).  Another kataphract supplies an overlap while on the other side I needed my LhF (with an overlap) to beat a LhS to remove then provide the second overlap in my favour.  We still needed to roll-up well in combat but I took the risk as we were beaten otherwise.

The light horse won its combat.  The other combats killed the flank marchers general and an elephant and a glimmer of light was coming through as enemy casualties suddenly spiked – Nash was now pensive.

The risks pay off!!  Diced up & defeat turned to victory.

Yep, you guessed it – I rolled up, let out a “yesssss” (sounds just like SHESSus) until Nash called it a draw – which stopped my excitement and we had to recount!!  The no recoil and no benefit of being an “S” elephant in enemy bound turned it into a doubling – destroyed hephalumps and Gnash the Gummy stomped to death underfoot in the ensuring stampede!!  In outright frustration Nash’s dice bounce off the table only to be caught and returned.

Knock-on effects breaks the flank marching command and a totally unbelievable and spontaneous victory is achieved!! 

Despite my own displayed jubilation I really felt sorry for a clearly annoyed Nash who played a brilliantly planned, prepared and well executed action but fell to the adverse vagaries (not even extreme) of combat dice (& the odd inconvenient PiP roll).

The Hephalites were last seen streaming back away the way they had come, towards the Kush where they were sure to encounter the new current Silk Road Surveyor (King of the Table).  In the meantime the Deli have added delectable elephant steak sandwiches to their impeccable menu list.

Hindus reign on the Tibetan parade

In the fine spring of 560AD, did the fine Tibetan knights stroll down from their upland pastures keen to secure the ancient silk road and the revenues it would bring the Deli Llama as he sought to create a Tibetan empire. In their way stood the massed ranks of the local Hindus, ready to resist the usurpation of their ancient rights.

Thus it came to pass that the armies of these two civilizations did meet upon a field and join in battle – the first such battle in what came to be known as “the Tussle for the Silk Tassles”.

The Hindus under the eye of their commander Chantony Gupta deployed between a rocky hill and little wood and prepared to face the onslaught of the well-armed and armoured Tibetans commanded by Zhayne Yarlung.

Hindu line

Hindu psiloi block off any flank attack around the hill with mixed foot and mounted ready to move where needed.

Blade are front and centre, supported by elephants.

Bow line up back from the blade, but will come forward on to their flank and supporting cavalry will line up behind. Hordes and psiloi occupy the wood and will do enough to thwart Tibetans trying to come through.

After seeing the Hindu line, Zhayne declined to engage in full-frontal combat, wary of the elephants awaiting his knights in the centre of the field. Instead he paraded up and down in front of the Hindu line probing for a weakness while his light horse tried to find a way through the wood into the Hindu rear.

Tibetan line

Light horse on the Tibetan left will fake left, then come right, then left again.

Bow will advance to face off Hindu bow.

The Tibetan knights will come around the scrub and parade in front of the Hindu blade.

Light horse on the Tibetan right will attempt to cut through the wood.

The killing zone - dead centre of this shot.

The Hindu swordsmen were not afraid to engage and had to be held in check by Chantony, who carefully wheeled them forward as the enemy knights came into sight around the scrubby flat. But one pass by the enemy came too close for the swordsmen to bear and they rushed forward. Seizing the moment, Chantony ordered everyone to attack, catching the Tibetans at a disadvantage. Zhayne valiantly rallied his men and countered, but there were too many of the Hindu horde, and one by one, the knights were isolated and destroyed.

Unable to break through and assist their leader, the Tibetan light horse on the flanks lost heart and fled the field. Result: Hindus 25 – Tibetans 0.

Silk Sash Bash

In a recent discovery at a famous monastery in Bangkok (Wat Yoosamokin), a remarkable document has been found, that describes a little known campaign in the area north of the Hindu Kush around 560 CE*. With the collapse of the Kushan empire, and the Hepthalite Huns being under pressure on the steppes from the emerging Gok Turks, a power vacuum had emerged, and several surrounding powers saw an opportunity to seize control of the Silk Road, and the wealth that flowed along it.

From the west came the Sassanid Persians under the rule of King Bobroes (probably the last of his name), who had long understood that without the army, there was no empire, that without money there was no army, and that without cash from the Silk Road, it was necessary to be nice to the peasants (which left everyone feeling a bit queasy). From the South East, came the Gupta Empire led by elephant and camel fetishist king Vantonigivussakissa (also known as Chantony Gupta in the Indian texts), and from the south came the resurgent Hepthalite kingdom in India, who had augmented their numerous horse archers, with a powerful force of elephants, and hordes of levied infantry. The final contender was a potentate from Tibet (apparently known as the Deli Llama) who possessed a remarkably well trained and equipped force, albeit one too small to actually be considered an army.

In the opening moves of the campaign, King of Kings Bobroes planned to march east and seize Kapisa, but before he could move, news came that a Hepthalite force under a chieftain called Gnash had invaded Persian lands, and Bobroes moved to intercept them. The armies met on a broken plain, with a small village to the Persian left, two marshes in front on the Hunnic position, and a couple of areas of rocky ground in front of the Persians. The Hun left rested on a gentle hill, and their right was secured by a fortified camp.

Position after first Persian (blue) bound.

While King Bobroes was confident his fine Asavaran would easily defeat the barbarians, he was aware of their annoying tactic of running around trying to surround their enemies, and how tiresome (and tiring) it was to chase after them, and therefore enlisted the help of a contingent of Gok Turks to help round them up. He placed the Turks on the right opposite the hill, some infantry in the rocky areas, with cavalry in the gaps, and his main force of armoured horse on the left next to the village. The Huns were divided into three groups of horse archers, with those on their right supported by some Indian cavalry of rather inferior quality, those on the left were supported by some Hunnic noble cavalry, and those in the middle were accompanied by a quartet of ferocious elephants. Hordes of infantry were deployed to the rear of both armies, but these took no part in the battle.

Turkish Allies (left) and Huns square up

The battle opened with Bobroes ordering the Turks to advance quickly on his right, were he expected that with many of them being in closer order than their opponents, they would quickly drive them off. The Huns appeared to be up for a fight, and furiously counter charged, before suddenly turning and fleeing, causing some of the Turks to stop in confusion, while others charged after them, only to be slain as the Huns turned around and renewed the fight. With the heavier Turkish cavalry left behind, a fierce fight ensued between the light horsemen of each sides, and while honours were mostly even, the smaller Turkish force eventually fled, but left the remaining Huns on that wing too weakened to play much further part in the battle.

On the left, the main force of Persian Asavaran armoured cavalry advanced, attempting to surround the Huns in the middle, while the  Persian centre advanced more cautiously, holding the terrain and the gaps between the rough going and marshes. The light horse on the Hunnic right retreated before the advancing Persians, while riding around in the center probing for an opening. Gradually the noose tightened on the Huns, and they were forced to turn and fight. Two of the elephant turned towards their right to confront the oncoming Persians, while another attempted to break through the Persian centre (the fourth had wandered off into obscurity on their left).

The battle unfolds

First to clash were the Persian Asavaran and the Indian cavalry, who proved to be of not such inferior quality, throwing back the former's charge, before eventually succumbing. A deadly swirling melee took place in the centre, with numerous flank and rear attacks, and many falling on both sides. Two of the elephants were slain, but one forged on throwing the Persian lines into disorder, and opening opportunities for the horsemen to attack. Gnash himself was directing the battle from the centre, when two companies of Persians saw him isolated, however Gnash fought like a man possessed (three consecutive sixes on the combat dice), smashing the Persians, and launching a final attack supported by his last remaining elephant, to try to break the Persian army.

King Bobroes

The Persians, shocked by the ferocity of the Hunnic onslaught, wavered**, but held on just long enough to commit their final reserve. At this point Gnash's luck ran out, and as he fell to the ground, a cry of despair ran through the exhausted barbarian army, and it turned and fled.

Meanwhile, King Vantonigivussakissa had brushed aside (in a 25-0 spanking) a raid form the Deli Llama, and occupied Kapisa. King Bobroes prepared to march to meet him, although his Turkish allies were less than impressed with the support they'd received from the Persians, and he was forced to give them all the loot from the battle, and then some, to keep them onside***.

* CE =  Certainly in Error
** One more casualty on the Persian left would have broken the army. It was a hard fought game that might have gone either way.
*** In the campaign rules, an ally that is broken can't be used again, unless VP are paid to restore it. The Persians gained 18 VP (which can be used for various things) by winning the battle 18-7, but had to spend 20 to retain the Turks, diminishing their starting pool of VP.