The Battle of the Iron Bridge


Prologue:

Both sides of the Orontes River were freckled by the soft glow of campfires burning in the night. The river itself glistened, basking in the glow of the fires as well as the moonlight. It was almost as if the river knew that this was the last night where it would look so peaceful, so blue. Tomorrow it would run with blood.

It is on the northern bank that we turn our attention to, where, despite the superior numbers and quality of his troops, Andronikos Komnenos is fretting along with his fellow generals in the command tent. Frankly, there is no reason that he should be doing this. He has the clear advantage, and is not to mention somewhat feared ever since the Battle of Edessa where he caught and massacred a doomed Theo Petzeas.

Still, though, he is worried. It’s just that bloody bridge.

No matter his military advantage, Ioannis Tagaris and his allies have the massive tactical advantage of defending a chokepoint. While Andronikos is thankful to God that Tagaris does not have enough money to construct proper fortifications, he has created rudimentary defenses around the area. These basic impediments combined with the bridge might just spell doom for Andronikos’s army. At the very least, it would certainly deplete his forces to the point where he wouldn’t be able to take on the remaining claimants to the Byzantine throne.

Fretting throughout the night, he is about to retire when the command tent opens. Three men enter: Andronikos’s two guards and an oddly-dressed man who most certainly does not have the look of a Byzantine about him.

“Forgive me for intruding, your Highness,” says one of the guards, addressing Andronikos as if he were Basileus even though the men across the river would probably have something to say about that. “This man is a local and knows the area well. He says he has information that would be of a help to you. We have searched him and he has no weapons.”

“Thank you guards,” Andronikos says, dismissing them. Turning to face the new man to get the measure of him, the general continues speaking. “You clearly are not a Byzantine. Speak, then, tell me why I should listen to you.”

“My name is Matthias,” the mysterious man says. He is not at all taken aback by the presence of powerful men staring him down. As a matter of fact he seems used to it. “I was born into the Holy Roman Empire before moving out here a while ago to be closer to the Holy Land. I have spent much time around this section of the Orontes and know the area of the Iron Bridge very well.”

“And your information?”

“The river shallows it several miles to the east, enough so that your men may attempt a crossing. It is not widely known, as the hue of the soil hides it, but it is definitely there and definitely crossable. Send scouts out to search it, if you wish. They will confirm what I say.”

Andronikos, his eyes now gleaming, rubs his hands together. “Is it close enough where the soldiers I send to cross it will be able to get back into the battle in a reasonable amount of time?”

Matthias grins. “That depends on what ‘reasonable’ means to you, General. They will lose a significant portion of the day doing so. But then again, once they do arrive they will almost certainly have a greater effect than were they to simply be bottled up on the Bridge, doing nothing but pushing forward and being shot to pieces by the enemy’s archers.”

Andronikos rubs his head with his right hand in thought. By the time he looks up, Matthias is gone. The information he passed along, however, remains.

On the south side of the bank, Ioannis Tagaris was also deep in thought. He too knew of the ford, having thoroughly scouted every inch of the river in several miles of direction ever since he arrived. He would not waste a man to defend it, however, as he needed every man he could get to start out with. He was promised reinforcements, but he wasn’t sure if they would be enough to stem the tide awaiting him. Hopefully his men, his loyal men, would be enough to hold on long enough… and then that his reinforcements would also manage to stay alive.

Background (mostly sniped from TinCow):

The War of the Four Basileis continues, entering its second stage. After initially gathering up all of their possible forces, the generals have all begun consolidating, and in some cases, moving.

Andronikos Komnenos (woad&fangs) marched back north, across the bridge west of Edessa, where he met his ally Nikitas Moschos (Ituralde). Together, the two armies turned west and began a march towards Antioch, along the north bank of the Euphrates. This route bypassed the bridge guarded by Iosef Ek Artas (mini), but it was initially without roads and thus the going was slow at first. When the river turned away to the south, they continued west, towards the north bank of the Orontes river and the famous Iron Bridge.

At this point, the outriders of Iosef Ek Artas' (mini) army, investigating the sight of the large dust cloud in the distance, caught sight of their foes. They immediately returned to report the move to Senator Ek Artas. The Senator had not made any plans to leave the bridge (no orders received) and indeed had been informed that the armies of Basileus Ioannis Tagaris were marching to join him at the bridge. Unsure of whether to abandon his post or not, he decided to dispatch messengers to the Basileus' approaching armies. It did not take long for these mounted riders to find Ioannis Tagaris (TheFlax), who had begun marching north immediately from Tortosa along the coast road to Antioch. With him was Aleksios ek Kerkiras (Ibn-Khaldun), who had merged his ragtag band of peasants with the main force.

Upon being informed that Andronikos and Nikitas were marching for Antioch, Basileus Tagaris decided to fortify the river crossings and hold them against his foe. He had specifically made plans to fortify his encampment, but with the Empire bankrupt, he was unable to obtain sufficient resources to build a proper fort, and the only one in the region was on the wrong side of the river. Instead, he did what he could to prepare some basic defenses, such as stakes and a shallow ditch, while he waited for his allies to join him. Of these allies, only Georgios Angelos (Tristan de Castelreng) was on hand, having marched alongside the Basileus with his fast-moving cavalry. (No orders received, but previous turn's orders were to join with Ioannis Tagaris, so that order remained in effect in the absence of new orders.)

Vartholomaios Ksiros (Rowan) had immediately begun marching north to join with Basileus Tagaris, but he was much farther to the south and the Iron Bridge was near the limits of his marching distance. Realizing that Andronikos and Nikitas would arrive at the north side of the Iron Bridge before Vartholomaios Ksiros would arrive to aid him, Basileus Tagaris send the riders back east to notify Iosef Ek Artas of the impending battle. Iosef ek Artas immediately made preparations to march to the aid of his Lord, but his lack of preparation for this eventuality resulted in a slow start.

As dawn breaks over the Iron Bridge, Ioannis Tagaris (TheFlax), Aleksios ek Kerkiras (Ibn-Khaldun), and Georgios Angelos (Tristan de Castelreng) hold the south bank against Andronikos Komnenos (woad&fangs) and Nikitas Moschos (Ituralde). The three members of the Tagarian Alliance are heavily outnumbered and the quality of their troops is inferior. However, they have taken the wise precaution of constructing some primitive defenses, which may buy them a small amount of time. The Battle of the Iron Bridge will surely be determined by their ability to hold their ground until Vartholomaios Ksiros (Rowan) and Iosef Ek Artas (mini) arrive to reinforce them.

Thus the Battle of the Iron Bridge begins. By day's end it is quite possible that the War of Four Basileis may be down to three - possibly even two.