Grrrr ...........ate!! (Parthian Civil War Part IV)

Having fallen off my horse the previous week, then crawled into the sewer*, I needed some new friends.  By merging with the Hatrene ally troops (from both sides) as they returned home I was able to slip away un-noticed even though it meant acting like a pauper for too long (boy, do the girl’s attitudes change when you’re down and out!!).

So I ended up in Hatra trying to regroup some forces.  However the usurper, Bobarsaces (the unspellable) got wind of our endeavours and advanced on the city.  We had to spend our last remaining gold on hiring the cities forces, as our own gatherings were as yet to meagre to lead the way.  Of course the local leading warlord wasn’t going to hand over command of 80% of the forces so I sent out the Uncle’s nephew’s sister’s brother to command our loyal Pathians under the arrogant uncouth’s ‘leadership’.  I did give appropriate warnings about olive groves and quiet looking hills**.

On the day Bobarsaces was met by Hatrene Arabo-Aramaeans with a compulsory Parthian ally.

In standard dishonest fashion the usurper almost voided the field, entering only on the far right side with a small self-lead force hiding behind some more hired Hatrenians.  Either he had been abandoned by his supporters or he’d instilled total cowardice in them and they were in hiding somewhere over the horizon.  Bobarsaces and cowardly (assassinate***) actions go together so we suspected the later. 

Where oh where have the renegade Parthians gone??

That’s all there is, folks!!

His deployment area was cut in half by a Dune, a favourite gimmick of mine, yet he appeared to have ignored the potential of an Orchard on his right flank while we were using a Dune in the centre right forward position as an anchor for the bowlines.  This line extended onto a Rocky Hill in the centre left position which was ended with a free moving BdO general and some PsS in ambush behind the ridgeline. 

On the right of the Dune were the Parthians, as many as we had collected, with the young family commander suitably positioned as towards to table edge as possible****.  This was supported by some Lh and Cv of the CinC’s own command as an extension of the ambush placed diagonally across the Dune.  On the left flank, in imitation of another Parthian command, was an all LhF Hatrene command.  It’s job was to be mobile, block enemy advances, fill gaps, protect flanks and especially not die before the battle’s end.

With two cowardly commands still to be accounted for (despite the missing baggage trick in evidence) we were not about to go charging off randomly across the open field.  The opening bound was done with restraint and only those with enemy to engage, or their flank protectors advancing.  A sensible decision made by me (yes, time to admit I paid a bit extra in gold coin and was hidden in the Hatrene CinC’s entourage and was in fact directing much that was done) as on the next move Bobarsaces Hatrene allies, in fear of the array before them went unreliable and there was the sight of raised dust on our left, complete with appropriate hoofbeat sounds* (I checked with Bob*).  Now we had time to organise to smash the unreliable enemy at our leisure, one of the missing commands had been found and we were ready to receive it.  .

We had two distinct sides of the field to deal with.  On our left, facing the unexpectedly larger flank marching Parthian command of KnX and LhF, was my distinctly smaller all LhF command which was not keen on tackling the KnX (including general) head on so retired such that the Rocky Hill with its ambush covered and advanced their flank.  It was supported by the main bowline command’s PsS ambush and the lone BdO general who’d pushed out wide to act as a flank threat (maybe too wide and unsupported although not even renegade Parthian mounted would be daft enough to charge uphill into rocky ground against a BdO general, would they?).  This was going to be a bum-clencher of an engagement and as PiPs allowed some bows were wheeled off the main line to support and threaten flanks.  

When the last enemy delayed command came on a short time later, behind the right side enemy unreliable Hatrenians, the cry went up* (in Aramaic of course) “What??  Bl**dy bows in the wrong place yet again!!”  Another impossible re-deployment required.

The Unemployed - Bows without targets.

The problem was now quite concerning, on the left due to quality and quantity we were faced with needing a delaying action while the right wing won the battle, despite that wing being out numbered three commands (albeit one currently unreliable) to two commands, and being outnumbered about 2:1 in heavy horse.  We needed a clever plan (which wasn’t easy to identify) or some serious luck BUT most likely both.  I wasn’t confident and considered myself out- deployed strategically.

Developing the right flank – Avoid reactivating enemy until it's opportune.  

On the right the only bright spot was that the bulk of enemy cataphracts were now near the table edge and getting them back into the combat was going to be PiP intensive as I had faced them off with LhF and the Parthian ally general.  However I still needed to act quickly

On the left Bob’s better equipped, larger flank march was closing down on a weak LhF command which needed to use constricting terrain to survive.  The bowline command, more than 25% of the force, was unemployed, forcing the remaining two commands to take on three stronger enemy commands.  So the left went into delay and harass mode while the bows were to do the almost impossible manoeuvre thing and set off to provide support in the event they ever had enough PiPs to arrive.  On the right I needed to get lined up favourably out of range of reactivating, and get a decisive charge into the enemy Hatrenians and sweep them away as quick as possible, the plan being to get back to fighting one command on one enemy command.  At the same time I had to keep the enemy cataphracts occupied but not engaged so they stay out wide.  Bob of course was looking to disrupt my obvious plan as much as possible.

Now we get down to the most tense and oscillating battle of the series.  And it was heavily influenced by that denizen of warfare – luck.  I have to say that it appeared we had normal dice spreads but there was a lucky pattern that appeared, when the 1-6’s (and close extreme results) ran against me it was in places that just losing would have had the same effect but for Bob whenever these extreme dice differences turned up they turned a non-descript situation into a bad one.  And it happened several times, enough to produce that ‘dice frustration (what did I do to the dice gods?)’ kind of feeling that we all get from time to time.  Bob’s frustration, while taken in his usual well mannered way, was a little noticeable and it had an unfortunate effect later.

On the left wing - Impact Coming

Let’s concentrate on the left wing for a while.  With good PiPs Bob pushed the cataphract forward as much as possible as quickly as possible to try and get to grips with my LhF, something I wanted to avoid.  To cover their flanks from dangers on the hill he pushed his LhF line onto the hill, having realised that even on losing outright to the PsS I had there he would at worst be spent, something I discovered to my annoyance on the first such outcome.  This bought the realisation that if I spent too many it would make the command effectively unbreakable without actual defeating the cataphracts head-on – ouch!!.  So I used my Lh on the hill as well, took a few risks in the really low combat factor lottery, using the PsS as hard flanks if possible, plus the few bows and their general to whittle away at the LhF end of Bob’s command.

Hanging on - only just!!

But I was taking casualties and had only depth to absorb the damage and hold the cataphracts up.  It was tense stuff, with no good outcome in sight until I took a risk and attacked the KnX general with LhF and two overlaps, the best possible odds I could arrange. 

Bows to the rescue – ETA next week some time.

He died!!  As per the dice spread pattern mentioned previously.  That changed the picture on that wing and with a couple more LhF picked off shortly thereafter the danger was dealt with.  Bob realised, but I didn’t yet think of it, that his broken command would have the unreliable Hatrenians switch to my side.  

Threat over – Pheeww!! 
(Notice missing KnX general & bows trying to U-turn.  Their game was over while the LhF did make it across the table but not in time for combat).

But instead of saying such, he was off to the right flank with a measuring stick checking distances.  “Well”, he says “I think you’ve made a boo-boo”.  
He’s polite like that, I’d have used stronger words like “you’ve screwed up”.  I stared at the element of mine that he was indicating, thinking of how to respond, it was clearly half a base with too close to the very outside of the reactivation area of the Hatrenians, having strayed there while performing an essential flank overlap provision for a wider combat.  So, to paraphrase, as my language may not have been as polite as Bob’s, my reply was along the lines of “Oh dear, I do seem to have made a boo-boo”.  So having managed to pull off the almost impossible on the left my inattention to a detail had cost me the game on the right.

But as I had added a few casualties to Bob’s side all I now needed was to deal with his Hatrene command which I was ready to charge and who had their right flank on a Dune but was open to an unchallenged approach from an angle which was something my CinC (under direction of Watagases) and a few friends did.  With Bob’s and my cataphracts both pushing forward they had pasted each other and between them, that is to their respective right rears was a confusion of opposing LhFs all looking for gaps and hard flanks.  I had no intention of fighting against the cataphracts and the Parthian general and LhF were there to stall and mostly protect the open flank of their own cataphracts as they crashed into and hopefully destroyed the Hatrenians to their front.  Such Lh on Lh combats are a lottery so rather than fight them I spent PiPs putting double cover on all the positions on the basis that one or two would go bad on me so the gap fillers were already in place.

Cataphract line about to pass .......

....and passed.  No reverse gear on these steel monsters!!  

While the right became a swirling, fighting, counter fighting, and anticipating how to give protection sort of tense, on your seat edge kind of battle, my cataphracts got into the enemy bowline and the bows died.  

Some damage done.  The 'big swirl' tense action starts ........

...... and continues.

But it was to go on for a few bounds, in a nerve wracking way, before the nasty dice pattern confounded Bob again and my support LhF also took out some bows alongside the deadly attack of the CinC. 

Having approached outside the line of bow fire my CinC goes in supported ......

............ and the final damage is done.
The remanent Lh command from the left wing arrives behind the CinC to add support just too late to be involved.

 Bob declared the bows and psiloi behind dead, his command broken taking with it the army.  Unfortunately, as it dawned on me early the next morning (and I emailed Bob to check), the frustration of another extreme dice roll in a critical position caused Bob to make a rules memory error and announce and accept undue damage, the same damage cause legitimately by the KnX CinC on the previous roll.  I was, to my embarrassment, and because I aren’t normally daft enough to charge lone LhF into double ranked and supported BwO, still doing the maths as to the result of the combat itself rather thinking of the outcome. 

In my defence of accepting the victory, the corner had been turned, none of my commands were in danger of breaking over the next couple of bounds, I had the Hatrene flank opened and vulnerable and my third command was arriving to add to the attack on Bob’s allies.  Bobarsaces knew the game was over******.  (Luckily Bob’s still talking to me!!)

I would like it noted that Bobarsaces spent the battle close to the table edge, an action he has previously demeaned as cowardly****.  I think he knows the tide is turning.  Watagaces will be back with the full family resources being bought to bear on the usurper - watch this space!!

* = Refer to previous battle reports.

** = See the danger of such in the previous battle.  Having also seemed to have left all suitable virgin/non-virgin sacrifices in a previously looted baggage train we were also forced to dispense with such precautional activities*****.

*** = See the off table comments in the previous battle commentary.  Also see below.

**** = A favoured tactic to guard against an untimely demise in the event of an unfavourable outcome.  Much used of late.

***** = The battle outcome dictates we should permanently desist from such activities, as the sole victory was sacrificeless.  This is a better decision than the unthinkable alternative – that mere uncouth Aramenian mercenaries can out-general a refined, civilised, handsome man about-the-world such as the rightful King of Kings.

****** = And it was already late in the evening and the wife [Wf(F)***], on a rare game night visit having travelled down from upcountry, was asleep on the sofa having made it known a late night wasn’t recommended.

The innocent looking Egg Mayo Assassin planning another devious action.