The Sally against the Greeks at Adana, 1364
In a surprise to Matthias, Captain Ermanes, who had been marching on the Iron Bridge and Andreas, had turned his army around and besieged Adana. Perhaps he thought the Turks had weakened the defenses, and that a battle here, closer to reinforcement, was the wiser course of action. Perhaps greed motivated the man, the bounty on Matthias's head was higher than Andreas's. Perhaps the Greeks valued Adana more than Antioch. Matthias did not care, the move played into his hands, Andreas would be free to move his army to the port serving Antioch in preparation for the long delayed move on Cyprus. The only fly in the ointment was that Matthias would have to break the siege this year, so the newly cast Basilisks could be pre-positioned to meet Andreas on Cyprus. True, the Turks had been cast off in one sally, but the Greeks, as always, were a tougher foe. They had a major advantage in horse archers and cavalry, a deft hand would be needed to convert the Imperial advantage in foot archers and artillery into victory.
Matthias surveyed the Greek army from walls and sighed. The scene before him was familiar.
"Troubled, my Lord?" asked Adalric.
"A little, unworthy thoughts, when I was Chancellor, I dreamed of being remembered as a great leader. Not just for battles, mind you, but for bringing the Reich to the fore front in trade, great buildings, diplomacy and influence within the Church. And for a time, it happened, until it was wiped away by one man's hubris, and maybe a bit of my own. The buildings were destroyed, trade crumbled, we were excommunicated and almost all of Europe, including the nations I had made peace with, united against us.
"Now, since the Cataclysm, it has been battles. Almost nothing but battles. We have rallied, but our enemies are like the legendary Hydra, for every army we destroy, two take its place. I have become a butcher of men, not a builder or a diplomat, but a butcher, Matthias the Merciless, and God help me. . ."
Movement in the Greek line drew his attention, leaving Adalric to wonder what was left unsaid. Matthias spoke again.
"We must defeat them in detail to break the siege. We don't have the numbers to crush them all at once. First, we must neutralize their horse archers, so we can deploy the cannon, and then the heavy cavalry, so we can destroy the infantry from range with our archers."
Adalric looked doubtful, "How do we bait the horse archers into range of the walls?"
Matthias smiled grimly, "We give them someone important to shoot at. Prepare my bodyguard and the foot for deployment."
The Vardariotai and Byzantine Cavalry took the bait and galloped forward to fire on Matthias and the infantry. However, since the Imperials were in a loose formation and it was raining, losses were light.
Massed fire from the walls took a heavy toll among the horse archers. Matthias, seeing that they had been reduced from a threat to a nuisance, ordered the Pavise Crossbowmen to stop firing. Their remaining ammunition would be needed later in the night. It was now safe enough to deploy the cannon and the new basilisks.
The artillery raked the Greek lines as the few remaining horse archers continued their ineffective skirmishing. A lucky shot provided a boost for the Crusaders.
Though Matthias was in the front and Captain Ermanes in the rear, it was the Greek who died. Cannon fire continued to fall among the confused Byzantines. Their last horse archers scored a hit on one of the crew members of the basilisks, but one massed volley of bolts from the walls ran them off. The artillery was soon spent, but it had left its mark.
With a lull in the battle, Matthias ordered the two least experienced units of crossbowmen off the walls to take up position in front of the infantry. The Imperial line, now back in a tight formation, crept forward, hoping to lure the Greek heavy cavalry in. They obliged.
Their charges were met by spearmen rushing forward and the few cavalry left to Matthias.
The cavalry was repulsed. They routed, but rallied outside of the range of the archers. Again they came in, and again spearmen and fire from the crossbowmen ran them off. The third time put paid to the Greek horse and they fled the field completely. Now that the cavalry was gone, Matthias moved all the rest of the crossbowmen off the walls and into a line in front of the footmen.
Together the Imperials moved forward. It was the Greek infantry's turn.
Matthias was impressed with the morale of the Greeks. Lesser armies would have broken by now. Yet these men stood their ground. However, at this stage of the battle, that made it easier to kill them.
With the crossbowmen out of bolts, it was time to administer the coup de grace. The Imperial infantry advanced against the ragged remnants of the Greek siege force.
The lines met, and finally the Greeks broke. It was far too late for them to escape, and they were run down.
The siege was broken. The Greek army eliminated.
Not wanting to face the few prisoners in battle again, or risk that they would move onto Antioch, the captives were executed.
Adalric approached Matthias as the Viceroy beheaded a Varangian with Iron Faith. Not batting an eye, he asked, "My Lord, I am curious, what were you going to say before the battle started?"
Matthias turned to Adalric, a fresh splatter of blood across his face, and replied with a grim light in his eyes, "Yes, the endless battles, the butchery, the never-ending fight against an implacable foe. . .God help me. . .but I love it so."
Re: Battle reports thread - King of the Romans PBM
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