Before the Walls of Acre, with Soldiers of God

 One of our semi-regular returns to Soldiers of God for a one-off pick-up game, an open battle with 300 points aside. We both went for the same battle plan, both double-enveloping and both with our cavalry strike forces on the flanks and infantry in the centre. So we both though this might not take long, a quick charge to impact in turn 1. My cavalry, ghulam, the al-halqa guard and a few small units of horse archers in support, for archery really would try and smash his flanks, but these were knights, mounted men-at-arms and some supporting infantry in armed peasants and Turcopoles. The Saracen centre was mujihadeen and Sudanese mercenaries with rank and file infantry as a second supporting line. They would press in the centre, but try not to get wiped out. The crusader’s centre was men-at-arms with crossbows and two light war engines behind to lob rocks over.

Both deployed and we set-to with the furious action.

First, the ghulam on my right rode up, three ranks deep due to the village in the way, to meet his knights coming the other way. here would be the first melee, in front of the gates, at it by the end of turn 1. More cautious on the left and centre, they just moved up, whilst one horse archer unit tried a flank march, eyeing his baggage or the true cross in his centre rear (if they turned up again).

So, by turn 2 a long attritional melee in the front of gate had begun, ghulam with support vs knights with armed peasants rushing in behind. This fight swung both ways, but by the end of the turn, both the first ghulam and the knights had broken… advantage Saracens with the mere peasant now holding the line against my ghulam. His left was in some trouble, as the mounted men-at-arms had ridden off and got involved in a fight with Sudanese mercenaries, which used repeated Fear cards to intimidate them, and see them off – routed by scary foreigners!

The left was stand-off, both had Charge! card behind them and could attack at need, but to move up was to invite a thunderous charge, so both lurked, awaiting the cards to come right or for the other to blink first. No great rush to battle here, in fact the opposite. Hold! Hold! Let’s not be too hasty.

So, into the next turns and the battle seemed to be going the Saracens way to start with, just. But now things changed. The armed peasants but up a huge fight, against 2 ghulam units and, aided by the command stand boldly piling in, they held their ground and forced the ghulam to rally, then used a ‘God Wills It’ special event… inspired by their faith. The flank would not collapse, and this gave time for another unit of mounted-at-arms to gallop up and aid them. Damn, the chance to turn a flank was dwindling.

In the centre, my infantry moved up and took some incoming and accurate rocks on the head. The Crusaders finally broke the stand-off on my left and their knights charged, catching some horse archers that had been harassing them. The horse archers would be easily broken, but the Saracen counter-charge was now on, and the ghulams lowered their lances and rushed in. That prompted a ‘one-in, all-in’ cascade and in came his hospitallers to be met by the Al-halqa and one huge cavalry melee began. Here, the battle would surely be decided.

The melees on the left and right were fought out over the next few turns, eventually the armed peasants finally broke, but so did another ghulam unit, a good trade for them. The third (and last) ghulam unit was now facing the mounted men-at-arms and commander.

Both fought and rallied on the left, the Al-halqa a rock, but the Hospitallers not showing themselves as very elite (an unerring ability to roll 1s and 2s for Resolve tests). More infantry joined in and the big fight saw a ghulam unit beaten and broken by his knights… and advantage Crusaders here.

On VPs it was close, but the Crusaders had just edged ahead.

The end of the game came in the left’s big melee. Many cards played and discarded, saw Sudanese infantry cut-down and the Al-halqa now under a lot of pressure. Meanwhile, after all these turns, my flank riding horse archers had failed to turn-up and obviously just gone home! More VPs for their failure, for the Crusaders. I was loosing, so threw everything at breaking his weakening Hospitallers, and it almost worked, 1 more hit would have done it, but the men in black just survived in some exciting, critical dice rolls.

Adding up the VPs, the Saracens had fallen to -1, the Crusader still had 7 left. A win for the forces of Christianity then… but 5 of those points were the roll for the True Cross at the start of the game, so without that handy relic, it would have been very, very close.

Another great game, always love a ‘duke-it out’ game of SoG… nice to play without relying on horse archery for once, and it almost worked, a few better rolls (mostly from my rubbish ghulam on the right, failing to deal with armed peasants for 2 turns) would have changed the outcome.

Some pics of the action…

The battlefield, Saracens deploy from the right (pink), Crusaders from the left (blue), both with cavalry forces on both flanks, both advancing into a full attack.

The Saracen lines, two cavalry wings with an infantry centre.

The Crusader's line, two cavalry wings, with some infantry support, and infantry and war machines in the centre. This is their right, knights and knights hospitaller leading.

Saracen right, ghulam column, with some horse archer support (not shown here)

Clash in front of the gate, ghulam vs knights, with armed peasants moving up to aid in support.

and ghulam eventaully meet knights meet on the other flank too, again armed peasants moving up in support. A lot of armed peasants today... and inspired by their faith too.

Mounted men-at-arms plunge in to stop the Saracen centre from coming round the village to aid the ghulam. The Sudanese infantry's 'fearsome reputation' would prove too much and the men-at-arms eventual fled like cowards.

Still at it in front of the gates, the third ghulam unit, now against mounted men-at-arms, having lost two units, but for the return loss of the knights and the armed peasants - tribal cavalry have just arrived to help too... the baggage train guard sent to fight.

The big clash, as Al-halqa guard cavalry and hospitallers finally meet and both players throw whatever they can into a big melee... this will surely decide the day.

The Saracen centre kept pushing up, led by mujihadeen fanatics, but without a charge card, they just can't press home and instead face war machine rocks and crossbow bolts. Still, dying for Allah is their thing...

 

LA ROTHIERE, 1814 with SOLDIERS OF NAPOLEON, GAME 5

Well, this is a bit of an problem. In a 'senior moment' of clearing pictures off my phone, thinking I'd already transferred them, I mass deleted all the pics of the game from it. Gone!  I have 2 left... oops! So, La Rothiere ends with little record of it, but it did happen. 

The final scenario is for the last action of the day. The Russians had almost captured the village, of La Rothiere, so in the evening the battalions of the Young Guard were called up to counter-attack and take it back, throwing the Russians (Prussians standing-in in our games), back and allowing time for the French to withdraw from the field. As the snows fell and gathered, and darkness approached, the French counter-attack encountered, coming the other way, the full force of a Russian grenadier division (2 brigades)... so good infantry against good infantry here, and almost no cavalry (French have 1 weak unit of Guard lancers that were guarding the road and did advance into the village). All set for guns and ground-pounders then... 'Forward the Guard! '

It opened with some sparring around the village buildings, the Russian guns being dragged up and deployed and French skirmishers starting their work. One French battalion occupied the first buildings and that would later prove useful in fulfilling the 'tale a stronghold' objective. There would be skirmishing around the buildings for the rest of the game.

In the open fields, the Young Guard brigades started to advance and came under galling cannon fire from the big Russian batteries. The round-shot pummeling was short lived after ammunition ran low, saving the guard and allowing the really attack to begin unmolested. This attack would come on the far left, as Guard columns moved 'at the quick' against a weakened line. Skirmisher fire did not deter them and on they came, before charging in and driving the Russian line columns back in melee. One broke... the other two were hanging on, but the pressure was buildings. The French had had a good start and build up a healthy VP leads.

This continued as the Young Guard pressed home on the left and broke another battalion, then overran their supporting battery. The entire Russian brigade was wiped out next turn and the French VP raced to a big lead, 22 to 7. The Russians were looking at rapid and hefty defeat. They needed some help, and, thanks to the arrival of their Corps commander, and then the swift arrival behind him of two grenadier brigades of 8 strong battalions, in the centre and on their (now destroyed ) right. The grenadier columns marched up to face-off the Young Guard, who had already been in combat and were rallying for the next push, but here would be the climax of the fight.

And it was an epic clash of infantry. The French pressed the attack again, holding a 'grand assault' objective card and keen to win it with those VPs, they moved up, exchanged volleys and tried to press home. It didn't work, only 3 columns charged (not the 4 required) and the others came up short... allowing the grenadiers to unleash heavy firepower back and close range. The grenadiers also held their own in most of the melees and threw the Young Guard back... a hefty reverse and one Guard battalion broke and fled. The Russians were back in it on VPs. Next turn, they went for it, declaring their own charges and countering the Guard. Every battalion ordered charged (5 in all) and in the mass bayonet fight and brawling, the Young Guard could not hold out, losing four of the five melees. The Russians broke another battalion too, and suddenly, from a dominant French position the Russians had pulled it back to even-stevens. But, they had also completed their own 'grand assault' and rolling for the VPs scored the max, added to this, the punitive VPs from the French for failing their own... oh dear!

The Russians had, somehow, won it! From looking like a huge defeat, the last-ditch arrival of the grenadier battalions had turned it around and won the game. The French still needing 3 more VPs to break them, but completing the objective (after the French had failed the turn before, which would have won it) was the difference. A narrow Russian win, pulled out of the fire...

Great game, so close at the end, and an epic final turn of close melees. The marginal Russian win in game 5 means the campaign ended with a French narrow win at La Rothiere after 5 games. The French took 3 games, the Allies 2... so we are done. I shall now add this of the pile of work to turn into a SoN 'Great Battles' supplement, available as a pdf from Gripping Beast in the next few months (hopefully). 

The only surviving pics of the action... lesson learn, double check you have the pictures before deleting them!

 

La Rothiere sits between the (P)russian and French lines, lots of skirmish fighting. Young Guard deployed are to the left, to attack around the buildings. Here, faced by some line regiments, awaiting aid from grenadiers, en route

(P)russian lines, a big battery hammering the Young Guard, but ran low on ammo. Huge infantry brawl building to a climax. Prussians up against it, but grenadiers deploying at the quick.