Goat Jalfrezi

After the rather poor showing in the last battle, no-one in the Sassanid army was keen to return to Persia, and answer awkward questions such as "what happened to the old king", so the newly anointed (and imaginatively named), King Bobroes II decided to lead the army for some RnR in India. Consulting his Horsebacker's Guide to the Subcontinent, he found a little place that was rated 5 stars for its goat jalfrezi, and decided that a good meal would be just the thing to revive the mens' spirits.

Not expecting any trouble, Bobroes rode up and politely requested a table for 50,000, only to be met with the surly passive-aggressive response "Do you have a reservation ?", Suppressing the urge to answer "Do I look like a *#@**## Red Indian", Bobroes drew himself up to his full height and inquired "Do you know who I am ?", only to be met with the rejoinder, "I don't care if you're the Shah of Persia, you're not getting in without a reservation." Of course the only suitable response to such insolence was to draw his sword, and remove the greeterwallah's head with a single stroke.

Now perhaps it's a cultural thing, but this totally justified act seemed to annoy the Indians greatly, and there was a great deal of shouting, finger pointing and probably some bad language. More and more angry Indians started to arrive, and after a while an ugly chick on an elephant turned up (apparently her name was Anne-Toni Gupta), and the Indians squared up for a full on battle.

Resolving to instruct his scribes to send in a one star review (rude staff, unable to handle large parties), Bobroes took stock of the situation, and drew up his army to meet the insolent Indians. Their army was formidably large, and drawn up in a strong position with their left protected by a wood and a village, and their right by a large area of scrub. The open ground between was filled with two commands, combining their SpI to make a central infantry block, that was flanked on each side by BwI and HdO. Each side also had some elephants behind, and one had a large block of 8 CvO held back in reserve*. Some psiloi and horde held the the wood on the left, and the third command lead by Anne-Toni herself occupied the scrub on the left with elephants, fast blades and archers.

The armies square up

Bobroes plan was to ignore the Indians in the scrub, unhinge their position by seizing the wood on their left, and then ride down their infantry and cavalry frontally with the Asavaran, while trying to avoid engaging the elephants. A force of psiloi occupied a wood in the center of the Persian position, with the task of engaging any elephants who ventured forwards, before they could engage the Persian horse.

Once again, many of the Indians were overawed by the magnificent sight of the Persian army, and the central Indian command was unreliable, and only agreed to fight after several turns of cajoling by Anne-Toni. Meanwhile Bobroes moved up his crack Dailami infantry to seize the wood, forcing the Indian cavalry reserve to cover them off. This cleared the way for a frontal attack by the Persian heavy cavalry, who make short work of the Indian archers and horde, and on their right broke through and started attacking the Indian reserve cavalry.

Persians storm through the wood

Having already taken losses attempting to defend the wood, the Indian left, collapsed, but the center held firm, and with support from Anne-Toni's elephants that had moved across from the scrub, counter-attacked the Persian left. The light infantry in the center, who had been supposed to counter any elephants, never got enough pips to get into position, and were masked by Indian infantry. Since the Persian left was the low pip command, it was unable to disengage quickly enough, and its horsemen were trampled underfoot by the Indian pachyderms.

The Persian center now engaged with spearmen of the Indian central command, while each side endeavored to intervene with their victorious flank. While the Persian center took considerable losses, eventually their regular C and C prevailed, and they were able to break the Indian center before losing their own, and win the game 19-6.

The battle unfolds

Once again, the Indian cavalry and foot were vulnerable in the open to Persian CvS and they had no answer to the Persians AxS seizing key terrain. Having to deploy first, and with an unreliable central command, the initial Indian play seemed a bit passive, but it turns out this was a cunning plan, and a flank march was expected on their left, whose mission was to intercept the Persian thrust through the wood. Had it arrived in time, it would have caused considerable difficulty, but in the event it didn't arrive at all.**

Still craving goat jalfrazie, rumours reached Bobroes that the annoying Tibetan shopkeeper (the Deli Llama) was now heading for Persia. Reluctantly he prepared to march the army back home, hoping to get their in time before the whole place started to reek of yak's milk.



* This was an exaggerated size stratagem, and there were actually only four.
** Of the three flank marches attempted that night, only one showed up. The following day, the local news carried a story about a contractor hired to repair a canal bridge, who'd removed said bridge, but neglected to leave any warning signs, resulting in three cars and a motorbike ending up in the water. Perhaps the missing flank marches suffered a similar fate.

Tinpot Tibetans fail to crack Hindu nut

Having lost their leader and been dispossessed of Kapissa by the dastardly Bobroes of Persia, the Hindu expeditionary force returned to their native lands for a bit of well-earned R-n-R. Or at least, that is what they thought.

News came through that the irritating Tibetan shopkeeper (better known as the Deli Llama in historical texts) had once again sent out a force under the command of Zhayne Yahwot to seize all manner of delicacies for his business. Rumour had it that number one on Zhayne’s shopping list was elephant balls and that he had already seized those of Gnash the Hepthalite. Now, he was supposed to be looking for those belonging to the Guptas. Thus, it came to pass on one fine spring morning in AD 563 (or thereabouts) that the Tibetan knights approached the Hindu army peacefully relaxing by a riverbank.

The Indians took advantage of a gentle hill in their centre with psiloi securing the wood on their left flank and hordes blocking approaches from across the river on their right.  The Tibetans deployed almost out of sight, but from his hilltop vantage point, the new Hindu general, Antarthritis of Creakybhony, could tell that the small Tibetan force had even less horsemen than even a small Tibetan force should have. Thus, he immediately suspected a devious ploy to get as yet unseen horsemen behind his elephants and grab their balls from the rear.

At dawn, the Tibetans began their morning exercises, parading up and down in front of the Hindu hill. “Here we go again” opined the Indians and most went back to sleep knowing they would be safe for a couple more hours. Most that is except for some intrepid sailors who took their boats down the river looking to do a bit of outflanking of their own.

With no enemy in sight, the intrepid sailors jumped off downstream and went in search of booty. They ran around the wooded hill on the Tibetan left and stumbled across the Tibetan camp, protected by nothing but a fence. Gleefully, the leading company attacked! (Thus, the first combat of the encounter took place between Tibetan baggage in temporary fortifications and a marauding Indian iBdF. Watching the ‘action’ elsewhere up to this point had been much like watching windscreen wipers doing their stuff on a rainy day on a car stuck in traffic.)

However, the deviousness of the Tibetans knows no depths and at this point, a whole contingent of Nepalese cavalry revealed themselves on both sides of the encampment. Stunned, the Hindu sailors did their best to line up and fight off the cavalry on their side. Hearing of their predicament, their general rushed to the aid of his men (or at least, as quickly as his bow could with spartan PIP dice).

Seeing the Hindu bow and elephants disappearing round the wooden hill, Zhayne decided to give chase, at first with the other Nepalese and then with one of his own light horse commands. Oh, what a merry go round it was around the hill: the blade falling one by one to the Tibetan cavalry, the Hindu general rushing to save them, the light horse chasing those reinforcements and more Nepalese behind them. Would the general arrive in time to save any of his men? Would the light horse grab his elephant's balls from the rear first? Ooh, the drama!

At this point, the Hindu general rolled a calamitous 1 on his PIP die. Either he turned in an act of self-preservation, leaving the rest of his force exposed to rear attacks, or kept everyone going to stay away from all but the leading light horse. Valiantly, he took the latter option, the nearest light horse tried to grab his other elephant’s balls, they fought, the elephant won, he turned, and suddenly that light horse was not looking so happy. Next Hindu bound, the PIP die was kinder and enabled the general and one bow to turn while also allowing the other bow to keep on going. Now facing the pursuers, the bow got off the first (and only) shot of the entire battle, killing the nearest enemy light horse.

Way over in the opposite corner of the field, some other Tibetan light horse took on brave psiloi who had eschewed the safety of the wood for glory. Unremarkable in itself, but deserving mention in this tale for it enticed the commander of those light horse forward while still being in an apparently ‘safe’ position. Safe it was not for lurking unhidden behind the tropical foliage were more Indian warriors (iBdF in ambush) and the enemy general had strayed within strike range. A good PIP roll enabled them to not only engage said general but also get some psiloi onto his flank for a potential quick kill.

Oh the agony as the ambushers rolled just 2 in combat, but the stunned general could only muster a 1 and the agony turned to ecstasy as the Tibetan fell from his horse. (Editor's note: This is called karma as my CnC died on a 2-1 in similar fashion last time out.)

Their general gone, the rest of his command became disheartened and the threat of them outflanking the Indians was all but removed, so the Hindu foot became emboldened to move up and close on the Tibetan knights.

Furthermore, with the Tibetans either trying to either get around the wood on their right or on the wooded hill merry-go-round on their left, they had all but vacated the centre, allowing more wild Hindu warriors (spontaneous iBdF) to burst through and harry another general (the commander of the light horse engaging the elephants).

At this point, Zhayne decided that an orderly withdrawal was better than defeat, so opted to break off the fight. Antarthritis’ ally general had turned the tables on the pursuing light horse by getting his elephants around, and with that light horse general being under personal pressure the whole command was in a sticky position. More importantly, the knights on the other side would have had to fight off two-thirds of the Indian army single-handed (odds of perhaps nearly three to one), not being able to rely on the wavering light horse without their general.

In sum, a battle of posturing and movement with very little actual combat. The Tibetans failed to draw the Indians out of their defensive position (not least because the central Indian command struggled for PIPs most of the game and took an age to get off the hill) while the Indian attack on the Tibetan baggage sucked half the Tibetan army away from where it needed to be. The Indians held their ambushers until the right moment, and because the ambush worked, the showdown looked set for an Indian victory. The Tibetans were saved by the bell. Final result: 13-12 to the Hindu Indians.

The Death Throes of Bobroes 

or

 'Oh, for the love of goat!'

The following is a passage from the diary of Dyfyd Llewllyn, the legendary Victorian explorer, who left Wales in 1871 on an expedition to survey the Silk Road routes of Central Asia and subsequently never returned to his native Dinas Powys:

2^nd March 1873

Today was a tough day. We tried to find one of the old burial mounds as was left by the Hepthalites (or White Huns, as they are known to the natives) back in the 6^th century AD, but there it was, gone! We camped overnight on a hill overlooking a curving river. Lovely it was. And, it was here that our old guide, Gerupta Singh spun us a wonderful yarn, as he does every night as we sit around the camp fire. Particularly good was this one, so I have taken the time to write it down as best I can recall. About a famous battle it is, and if what he says is true, we are camped right in the thick of the battle ground, we are!

The old Indian man told it like this:

It had been a bad year for Ganasha of the White Huns. Although he was a son of the old king Toramana, he was a bastard, and as such he had had to fight to win his place at the head of the White Huns. He was used to victory but Shiva had not been with him recently. His last two battles had gone badly and he had been direly wounded in both of them. First the Persians and then the Tibetans had twisted fate to get the better of him. But he was not deterred and on this day he was planning his revenge on the Persian pretender Bobroes the Herder.

The White Hun army had seen an opportunity and invaded the Kush in winter. The Persians had been caught tending their goats (1). The two armies manoeuvred but the Huns got the upper hand. The terrain was mostly good for their horse archers although the wily Persians had secured their left flank with a river (or so they were thinking!).

The two armies faced each other with a gentle slope separating them. It is this very slope on which we are encamping this night, and it is this river upon which we see the stars reflect that ran with blood on that day. To the west, the marshes still call out with the ghostly voices of the slain.

(As I look around from this hill I can clearly survey this land for miles around. While not a patch on South Glamorgan, a wonderful pasture it is, and perfect for horses. Other than some scrub and two small patches of marshland it is quite flat really.)

Ah but I must be hastening my story. As dawn was rising and the mists were clearing on a fine morning, it is said that Bobroes himself was slow to leave the warm embrace of his favourite goat. While he was distracted, the glorious Ganasha’s Huns, arrayed with allies from Nepal and the Tibetan steppes at the fore, leaped forward like a magnificent tiger and, good gracious me, caught the goat lover with his trousers down! (2)

Rushing forward the Nepalese cavalry rode up this hill while their infantry swarmed across the river to harry the Persian flank. Meanwhile, the Zhang-Zhung horse archers swept to the opposite flank, and the Huns moved towards the centre. Well, as you can be imagining, the Persians were quite taken-aback. And goodness gracious me, Bobroes himself having finally stopped mounting his goat and mounted a horse, ran around in circles like a monkey with brass nuts.

But Shiva be praised, there is another hero of whom we have not be hearing of yet. This is the great Hun general Fagash the Heroic, brother of Ganasha. Oh deary me, he was the very best horseman in the world. He and a few brave warriors had been riding through the night facing great perils and dangers to come around to the Persian right flank and strike like a cobra!  (3)

The goat-herding Persians were not being prepared for this, and Bobroes was mightily angered. The battle was bloody and there was much killing. In the centre, Ganasha’s command, although fighting like wild elephants, were beaten back. But, by Khali’s loin cloth,  they had killed many of the Persian Asavaran cavalry. On the Hunnic left Fagash the Bold with the help of the nomad horse archers had wiped out the Dailami foot.

Both sides had taken many casualties and the dance of death was a bloody spectacle. The two armies were teetering on the edge of doom. Now it came to pass that in desperation, and maybe because he wanted to impress his favourite goat, Bobroes himself and his royal escort joined the fray. His heavy cavalry charged the light horse archers, but I have to be telling you that this day it was not meant to be. Blessed Shiva shone her light upon Fagash the Brave and this light was like a blazing beacon shining into the hearts of the White Huns and their allies. First, they pushed the Asavaran back in to the marsh, then they darkened its waters with the blood of Persia’s finest warriors. Many goats were saddened by this.  

*(The fight gets messy)

*(Meanwhile, on the other flank, the Nepalese psiloi finally get accroos th eriver to the rear of the Persians.)

Bobroes suddenly found himself surrounded on 3 sides by horsemen. And I am telling you, it was Fagash the Mighty himself that charged straight at the Persian pretender. He raised his sword high in the air and goodness gracious me his cut went through the Iranian King faster than a spicy mutton curry! (4) As Bobroes fell his gaze flickered toward his tent and the four-legged lover inside and then he died. A ripple of panic flashed across the Persian army and a faint bleating was heard from the King’s tent, but his army stood firm.

The Persian retaliation was swift and cunning. Bobroe’s brother Bobadh the Effete launched himself against the flank of Fagash the Isolated with a passion and virility much like that which had been seen in Bobroes tent earlier that morning. It was now Fagash the Surrounded’s turn to be in the direst of straits! The whole battle was hinging on this encounter.

Bobadh the Effete brandished his weapon, but it was small and by this time quite bent from over use. Fagash the Blessed raised his sword again, striking back at many opponents slaying all those to his front with much ferocity. Bobadh the Effete was pushed back in humiliation and quavered as he realised his rash act of passion (the second today, but goats don’t tell tales) had left his rear exposed to the enemy.

Emboldened by the heroic deeds of Fagash the Unstoppable and following his lead, the remaining horse archers surrounded the enemy leader like vultures to a corpse. Bobadh the Effete, gave one last longing look to the herd as Fagash the Unstoppable screamed his war cry of ‘Bum Shanka’ and hacked his foe from his saddle. (5) With that the Persian’s turned tail and fled the field, not even pausing to take their goats with them.  

                                                         *(Final positions)
That my friends is how this hill came to be known as Hunavasaha and those marshes to be haunted by the ghosts of Bobroes and Bobadh and to this day the villagers report of goats going missing in the night never to be being seen again!  Now Pot-Wolla, how is that goat curry coming along?

As we sat and ate our evening meal of curried goat atop this hill, I looked out across the plain. All was still, it was; accept for a mysterious glow and a ghostly howling sound coming from the marshes to the west, punctuated at irregular intervals by an alarming bleating. Needless to say, it was not a good night’s rest and we were happy to move on the following day.

Later in our expedition, I was able to quiz Gerupta Singh again about this battle. Together we managed to piece together some illustrations to accompany his tale.   

1. The holder of the top table has the option of choosing to defend or 'Minding the goats'.

2. The Huns were invading but doubled the Persians time of day dice-roll and thus gained the opportunity to move first.

3. A successful flank march (on a roll of a 6)

4. Fagash, rolled a 1 to Bobroes' 3. The result was a draw. However, as Fagash was Superior Light Horse he gains a +1 on a draw. Bobroes having been flanked could not recoil and was destroyed.

5. Fagash rolled up this time 5-1 against the enemy LH and killed it outright. This left him free to manouvre and the Persian general greatly exposed. Rolling high for pips in the next bound meant that we were able to surround the enemy general.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The final result was 15-10 to the Huns. The game was so close and I was fortunate that Fagash stood his ground or my army would have collapsed. I now how full access to the goats and will face Wayne's Tibetan's again next week.

1. Fagash's flank march came on in the 3rd turn but had to skirmish before moving back in for the coup de grace. 

2. Allied fast light horse controlled the left flank and successfully assaulted the enemy foot.  

3. The CiC's command of superior LH and 1 elephant did a lot of damage to the enemy before it was broken.

4. The Nepalese cavalry spent most of the game dominating the centre by remaining uphill. They eventually did charge and achieved nothing. 

5. I had hope Nepalese psiloi would distract Bob and get around the flank more quickly. Unfortunately, 4 turns of low pip dice held them in check.

6. The Persian dead pile 

7.  Asavaran charge the centre and do damage but not as quickly as one would expect.

8. Bob's reserve was committed quite early but struggled to get  into contact for a few turns.

9. Bobroes and his cavalry escort zig-zagged around the marsh and held the flank march back.

10. Persian fast light horse lurking and trying to tempt Fagrash in to contact and into the range of the cavalry. 

Kapissa is Mine

Now you may recall that in the previous installment, King Bobroes the Magnificent of Persia, had defeated the rampaging hordes of Hepthalite Huns, slain their leader Gnash, and began marching towards the pleasant valley of Kapissa, which he reasoned would be an excellent place from which to control the crossings over the Hindu Kush, and prevent any powers from India interfering with his plan to control the Silk Road.

However, as he drew near, he learned that King Chantony Gupta from India had already crossed the Kush, and taken control of it. This would mean war.

Now in his heart of hearts, Chantony knew that Indians had never successfully invaded anywhere. and unwilling to risk too much of his own army in the endeavor, had concocted a sort of military pyramid scheme, and coerced invited all his Maharaja chums to take part. Thus besides Chantony's own contingent, the army that faced Bobroes contained no less than three allied contingents, two from India, and one from Arakan in Burma.

Starting Positions

Chantony drew his army up in a strong position, with his centre protected by an area of enclosed fields, his right protected by a wood, and his left by a large area of scrub that would hinder the Persian horsemen, but present no obstacle to his own elephants. He placed one Indian ally on each flank, and the Burmese (who were all light footmen with no elephants) in the center. His own contingent of elephants, armoured cavalry and well drilled (if someone effete) spearmen, deployed in reserve behind the centre.

King Bobroes the Magnificent deployed his own contingent of armoured cavalry (known as Asavaran) on his left, another contingent of armoured cavalry in the centre, and yet another contingent of armoured cavalry on the right. Each contingent also contained some light foot, that on the right some light horse archers, and his own contingent contained many Dailami, the best rough terrain troops in central Asia.

As the armies faced off, it became apparent that Chantony's marketing materials had mainly focused on the balmy climate, pleasure gardens, and the cuteness of the native goats, and had made little mention of conflict with angry Persians Kings, or the possibilities of expedited entry to the next life. Faced with the serried ranks of armoured horsemen, the commitment of his allies started to waver, particularly that of the Burmese and the Indian's on his left. However, with many blandishments (got six for his first PIP dice, and spent them all on persuading his allies), Chantony convinced the Burmese to join battle, but the Indians to the left remained obdurate that they would not fight.

Main Movements

Seeing the disharmony in the enemy ranks, King Bobroes determined to strike on his left (the Indian's right). He lead his own contingent on a long march around the outside of the wood to outflank the enemy, while the central Persian contingent moved towards the gap between the wood and the enclosed fields, and the rightmost force, moved into the centre, ignoring the unreliable allies on the Indian left.

It was apparent to both commanders that the area of enclosed fields in the centre of the battlefield was a crucial piece of terrain. Chantony ordered four companies of fierce swordsmen (IBdF) from his rightmost ally to move up and line its edge. As karma would have it though, while Chantony had put much study into that famous sutra, he had neglected the deebeehememasutra, and was surprised when his force did not stay on the field's edge as expected, but instead rushed impetuously into it, seeking battle and glory. King Bobroes though, well understood the command difficulties involved in clearing such difficult terrain, and had arranged converging forces from three different commands to occupy it. With the Indians falling into disorder as they rushed forward, the Persians fell on their flanks and utterly routed them, securing the enclosed fields and allowing their own cavalry to advance safely.

Tiring of arguing with his allies, Chantony resolved to take action against the Persian threat. He ordered the rightmost ally to throw out some cavalry to screen Bobroe's flanking maneuver,  while moving its elephants and archers up next to the wood. The Burmese command moved rightwards to cover the enclosed fields, and Chantony's own command moved to the right behind his ally with the intention of  making a solid front against Bobroes.

Only slightly worried as it was the Indians bound next

King Bobroes rounded the wood, and started to engage the Indian cavalry screen. Initially the encounter did not go well, with the king at one stage in danger of being surrounded, but eventually the heavier and more numerous Persians prevailed.  However, by this time Chantony had brought his own force of spearmen and archers up to prevent further Persian progress. Meanwhile the Persian cavalry had moved up to attack the long column of marching Burmese. The later launched a surprise attack and scored some initial success, but lightly armed footmen (AxO and I) fighting heavy cavalry in the open are always going to have a difficult time, and eventually they were defeated and their contingent routed. At the same time, Persian cavalry, being almost immune to arrows, had killed many archers of the right-hand Indians, and with their cavalry and swordsmen already destroyed, that contingent too, broke and routed.

If you're going to make a final desperate charge, don't roll a one

This left Chantony himself in very exposed position, facing off Bobroes in a line from the wood to the battlefield edge, while Persian cavalry from the centre poured towards his rear. Realizing that all was almost lost, he spurred (or goaded or whatever you do) his elephant on and attempted to engage King Bobroes in personal combat. The latter, being somewhat disadvantaged by being mounted only on a horse, did not think it unkingly to give a little ground, and as Chantony pursued, Persian cavalry fell on his flanks, pouring arrow fire at his elephant, until maddened by its injuries, it through off poor Chantony, and trampled him into the ground. With this the remainder of the Indian army broke and fled.

So with another glorious victory, King Bobroes secured control of Kapissa, but even as he began to relax beneath a pleasant date palm, rumours came that once again the Hepthalites were mobilizing. It seemed that like cockroaches, however many you killed, more will always come.

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.