The Battle of the Iron Bridge

[GeneralHankerchief]

Turn 1 feedback

Komnenian feedback:

Feedback to Andronikos

You order a direct assault on the Iron Bridge, ordering your lined-up infantry as well as your own bodyguard into the fray. However, as a breach has not yet been achieved, the Tagarian bottleneck is at work and only your front two regiments engage the defenders this turn.

They fight the defenders to a bloody standstill, although the draw is largely thanks to your supporting fire coming from the east side of the bridge. Without those three regiments of archers (and a favorable bank), the Tagarian first line would surely have held. However, your archers on the west bank were useless this turn, as they couldn't reach their counterparts on the other side of the Orontes.

A bloody gap has now appeared on the south side of the bridge. Your two infantry units are poised to exploit it, and it will be a race to see if you can get past the Tagarian defenses before Ioannis's second line arrived (and please note that the map is not to scale, as in the battle, units are by lines and not columns). If your men win, then the Tagarians will lose the advantage of their defenses and you can personally join the fray yourself.

Nikitas has arrived, ready to support you. It's up to you to decide what to do next.

Feedback to Nikitas

You deploy your men in support of Andronikos. You can begin to assault the Iron Bridge this turn, however, you probably won't actually see combat unless Andronikos maintains the breach and orders your infantry in rather than his own.

As Andronikos is also feeling a bit ill, you may also have to assume overall command of the Komnenian forces. However, since you are not Andronikos each of his divisions may not listen to you (OOC: orders test). You pray that they will, though, and also that it won't even come to that.

Tagarian feedback:

Feedback to Ioannis

Well, that defense had mixed results. The good news is that Andronikos's first wave got slaughtered. The bad news is that so did your first line, and you now have to push your second line like never before to get to the prepared defenses before the second Komnenian wave arrives. If they don't... well... you don't even want to think about that.

In addition, the Komnenian archers on the east side of the bridge are also going to be a problem, as it was their supporting fire that prevented a defensive victory last turn. Your men on the west side, due to your ordering of them in a loose formation, would probably have won the archery duel, had they been able to reach the opposite shore. You will probably have to find a better use of them this turn.

With no sign of Vartholomaios Ksiros coming up, the best you can do is grit your teeth, continue holding fast, and pray that your men get back to the defenses before Andronikos's men do.

Feedback to Aleksios

You watch as the battle in front of you turns into a massacre for both sides. You and your loyal peasants are one step closer to being in the front lines. You're not quite sure how you feel about that, but they may see action if Ioannis's remaining defenders don't win the race to the defenses.

(OOC: Sorry about the short feedbacks, but there's not much I can do when you have three regiments of peasants in reserve! )

Feedback to Georgios

You and your cavalry watch as the main melee takes place to the west. You note that Nikitas Moschos has deployed in support of Andronikos rather than appearing to move on the ford.

Feedback to Bart

"Forward!" you keep crying to your men. This battle is going to be enough of a close-run thing as it is without your intervention. Hopefully that's the Orontes you see up ahead and not a mirage.

Suddenly, over the marching, you hear a loud "CRACK!" That can't be good. It turns out that an axle on the Great Cross your men have been carrying for good fortune has broken. Your men are working very hard to fix it, but they will not abandon it (that's bad luck, you know) and you will be delayed at least a turn. You can only hope your men fix it quickly so you're able to deploy next turn.

Orders:

Komnenian orders:

Romanos, exploit the gap and secure the ground on the other side of the Tagarian defenses. Anthimus, continue to fire at the enemy infantry. Peter, shadow the enemy archers. If they come into range, commence firing upon them. If Romanos can secure a foothold on the southern bank, I will come across and personally join the fray. Nikitas, I wish for you to ride alongside me.

Nikitas will follow Andronikos with his bodyguard across the bridge once Andronikos deems it fit to do so.

Division III form up in a column and prepare to cross the bridge in reinforcement of Andronikos Heavy Infantry.

Divison IV and V also be prepared to cross once the initial defenses are breached. Division V will be protected by Division IV then.

Tagarian orders:

Ioannis Tagaris' Orders

Division I: Move Back.

Division II: Rush to take up defensive positions on the western side of the bridge defenses.

Division III: Maintain position, adopt a tight formation and fire on any unit crossing the bridge.

Ioannis Tagaris' Orders to Aleksios ek Kerkiras (if Ibn could not submit orders)

Division I: Move to the side of the Ioannis Tagaris' Division I.

Division II: Rush to take up defensive positions on the eastern side of the bridge defenses.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

No orders from Ibn-Khaldun. TheFlax’s orders will be vaguely interpreted.

Still no chance of crossing to Andronikos' side as there seems to be no opposition ?

If possible, will cross with all cav units under my command with the intent of engaging Nikitas left wing (skirmishing with the HA). All other cav will try to single out units straying from the main army and take them out without taking too much risks (Ie, charge, withdraw and repeat as many times as necessary).

If not possible, all cav units will realign at the back of Ioannis line.
with HA in the first rank to peper Andronikos units on the bridge.
Should a breach in Ioannis line occur, then HA will retreat to safety and all other cav will charge the units responsible for the breach and withdraw, charge again, etc...

Note: I told Tristan that if the Komnenians made no approach on the ford this turn, his men would be free to cross the following turn. Naturally I will tell the Komnenians about this as well.

OOC: I'm sure Matthias can sympathize...

Bart:
"Bodyguard! You two head to the front of the column, you two head to the rear. At least some of the peasants must be wagonsmiths. Get me them here NOW! The wagonsmith will take the other horse and one of YOU will walk back! We have no time to waste! Rest of the bodyguard, dismount! Rise that platform off the axle and prop it up with rocks! Peasants, HURRY to that forest and get the straightest tree you can find that has the diameter to carry the weight of the cross! If this cross isn't moving in an hour you will be CARRYING it to the battle!"

At least he gets to show his logistics traits, for once.

Umpire notes for Turn 1:

Units inactive this turn: Andronikos’s eastern archers (with IK absent, I did a special roll for TheFlax ordering around Aleksios’s peasants – it passed).

A lot of my resolutions were contingencies based on whether Andronikos got his men to Ioannis’s defenses first or not. As such, my first resolution was simply a race based on rough battle map positions. I must stress that the map I post and send does not necessarily accurately represent actual unit positions or formations, since unit cards are in “column” forms and most of the infantry (save for the infantry on the bridge) is in line formation.

Playing the attackers, I couldn’t get the AI to cooperate with what I wanted it to do so I discounted its result. Playing the defenders, I deployed my men a bit back from the bridge, representing the second line not being in position. Naturally, the AI infantry stormed across. Once I judged it to be in the right position I paused the game and gave my orders, then resuming play. The Tagarians won the race. However, their ceding of the part in front of the center defenses allowed the Komnenians to being over one extra regiment (one of Nikitas’s Division III infantry).

When simulating the battle, the lack of archer fire (plus the support of the Tagarian archers) really hurt the Komnenians. Andronikos’s lead unit got obliterated. The other two infantry regiments, specifically trying to maintain and if possible expand a foothold, did slightly better. Andronikos’s final remaining regiment of his Romanos division took the brunt of Tagarian fire and also accomplished little before being destroyed. However, Nikitas’s first regiment, taking the peasants to the east, destroyed Aleksios’s first regiment and is still making trouble.

A moderate breach has been achieved and the Komnenians are in a decent position to exploit it. The Tagarians are most likely robbed of some of their eastern defenses unless Aleksios’s remaining peasant units can somehow beat back Nikitas’s infantry and fast.

Roll for Bart (needs 2-6): rolled a one!
Roll for Iosef (needs 4-6): rolled a two.

Bad luck for the Tagarians as Bart will only be able to deploy on Turn 4. Iosef ek Artas may deploy on Turn 4, but if a one is rolled will have to deploy on Turn 5.

I will inform all sides that Georgios Angelos and his cavalry may commence with crossing the ford.

Public feedback for Turn 2:

"Forward! Go! Go! Go!" Even from a safe distance, Matthias can hear Andronikos Komnenos screaming at the top of his lungs, urging his infantry to move faster, to get by the Tagarian defenses before Ioannis can deploy his second line. On the south bank, Ioannis is also animatedly ordering his men around. It is not a straight move-up however, as he is shifting his good infantry to the left. Meanwhile, Aleksios ek Kerkiras's trusty peasants have taken up the right side of the bridge.

Even with this shifting going on, the Tagarian infantry still reach their defenses with seconds to spare. Not opting to put a regiment in front of the center defenses this time, Ioannis has instead given the Komnenians a funnel of sorts once they get to the south side of the Iron Bridge. In order to squeeze some of Nikitas Moschos's men across and get them into the fray as well, a regiment of Andronikos's infantry takes the bait and is summarily annihilated.

Indeed, this would seem to be the case with all three Komnenian regiments of infantry that made it across the bridge this turn, as Matthias sees for some reason that their archers are not firing, and the Tagarian archers on the western side of the bridge are instead providing enfilade fire to any infantry crossing the bridge. At least they can hit something, Matthias thinks, and continues to watch the melee.

The Tagarian archers primarily hit Andronikos's final regiment of bridge-engaged infantry, and they too were defeated, heading for the west and thus the stronger infantry. However, in the east, Nikitas's first regiment over, relatively unharmed by archer fire, were met by only peasants. Naturally, they were decimated.

With the latest wave over, Matthias takes note of the situation. While the Komnenians have taken more numerical casualties, they have achieved another breach, one that the Tagarians will be hard-pressed to overcome. Ioannis and his followers must destroy Nikitas's regiment before help arrives or else the floodgates are open. With Vartholomaios Ksiros still not in position and no sign of Iosef ek Artas as well, this next wave could be the supreme moment of the Battle of the Iron Bridge.

Matthias notes that, despite his scouting, the Komnenians have made no attempt to take the ford to the east. A very impatient-looking Georgios Angelos, realizing the same, may take the initiative and cross it himself. The German has many things to watch for.

Map:

DEADLINE FOR TURN 3 ORDERS: April 2, 18:00 GMT-5.

As mentioned in the above, Georgios Angelos and his cavalry may cross the ford.