Battle Reports Thread: King of the Franks game

[OverKnight]

The Battle of Staufen, 1087

My lord Hugues de Champagne, when faced with difficulty, usually charges straight ahead at the problem. This time was no different. Faced with encroaching Germans, the Duc attacked their closest settlement, Staufen. It was lightly garrisoned, only the German Prince Henry and his retinue, and my lord hoped that this would grab the attention of our foe, so they would react to our thrust rather than march into our own lands.

Or at least that is what the Duc told me afterwards. I cannot vouch for his thoughts when the rather large relief force arrived.

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Fortunately, the Duc had chosen a defensible site from which to conduct his siege. The enemy would have to cross the Rhine to reach us. We were still heavily outnumbered. Additionally the Germans had a marked advantage in horsemen, heavy infantry and bowmen.

To negate this advantage my lord placed our spears at the foot of the bridge in a U. Only so many of the enemy could fight at once. Our bowmen were deployed on a slope facing the bridge, allowing them to loose arrows into the flank of the enemy as they crossed. My lord positioned himself behind the spearmen, close enough to inspire, but far enough away not to be drawn into combat until needed.

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Dieter von Magdeburg sent his dismounted knights over the bridge first. A good choice, his best infantry. They were met with a storm of arrows as they crossed.

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It was because of the presence of such heavily armored knights that my lord had requested permisision to recruit the mercenary crossbowmen from the Seneschal. Bolts punch through steel better than arrows. A fifth of their number perished before they made it across. The rest of the German foot, even the archers, followed on the heels of the vanguard, with only a company of spears staying behind with von Magdeburg and the horsemen.

The two armies met with a crash.

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Our spearmen gave little ground, the Germans had numbers but were confined to a small patch at the foot of the bridge.

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After the battle we found Germans who had not perished from blade or arrow but who had been trampled by their fellows in the crush.

Impatient at the lack of progress, Dieter von Magdeburg charged in with the rest of his men. My lord ordered the bowmen, who had been sending missiles into the scrum at the base of the bridge, to loose on the new arrivals.

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It was hardly the ideal use for cavalry, the congestion at the foot of the bridge became even worse. The Germans had little room for maneuver in what was becoming a charnel pit.

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However, despite such inelegance, sheer weight of numbers pushed our men back. The German salient expanded. The Duc could see that von Magdeburg was trying to break out and charge our bowmen. He brought his own men around to stop this.

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Dieter and a few of his guard managed to break free despite my lord's efforts.

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But faced with concentrated volleys from the bowmen, for my lord had yelled at them to focus on the enemy commander and his men, Dieter was forced back. He was surrounded and killed by my lord's retinue.

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Seeing their commander dead, the Germans broke.

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My lord would have gladly pursued, but Prince Henry was approaching. Forty two of the Empire's best warriors, fresh, if a bit late to the battle, were bearing down on us. Our own men were tired and bloodied.

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My lord ordered the spearmen to reform a line and prepare for a charge. The bowmen began to loose on Henry, but he was on us in a flash, trampling his fleeing countrymen who obstructed his path.

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He fell on the spear militia on our right, inflicting grievious harm. However, this allowed the other two depleted companies to fall on his flank and rear.

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With Henry's momentum stalled and his men bogged down, my lord charged in as our bowmen continued to loose into the melee.

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The Prince was brave and only ran when he and just three of his men were left alive.

With the enemy fleeing, the Duc turned to pursue the only remaining company left on the field, a company of bowmen running west. Our remaining spearmen paused to take in the carnage they had inflicted.

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Bereft of men, Staufen was easily taken and sacked. My lord was grieved to hear that Prince Henry had died of his wounds taken in the battle. He had fought valiantly. In another world, perhaps, they would have been friends.

The day was ours.

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