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Friday, April 14, 2023

Battle of Huesca, 1105

After the parade-goers had cleared away, the battle could begin in earnest.

With feelings of guilt still lingering from his stomping of my Sumerians in an earlier outing (see Going Down for the Last Time), Marked opted to take command of what appeared to be the weaker of the two armies.

He chose the Muslim army of Ali.  The two armies were arrayed as shown in the photos below:

While Alfonso's Spanish army looked larger in numbers, initial impressions can be deceiving.  All of Ali's heavy infantry are supported by a unit of archers.  In Basic Impetvs terms, these formations qualify as Large Units.  Again we play on a grid.

Did Mark choose wisely?  Let's see how the battle panned out for Ali and his Moors.  As the battle begins, Mark looks quite relaxed.  Seeing the wrap on his hand, he may have taken a tumble from his trusty steed.  Bad omen?
Mark (Ali) looks on, satisfied with his deployment. 
Ali takes the initiative as the two armies close.  The Moorish light cavalry swing wide right in an attempt to outflank the enemy.  Tossing javelins as they speed by disrupts the leftmost Spanish heavy cavalry.  Ali's heavier cavalry in the center (one heavy mercenary cavalry and two camel cavalry) veer off to the right.  Sensing an opportunity, Alfonso strikes!  The Spanish hit the enemy horse and send them reeling back.  The retreating cavalry take Ali with them.  This may, indeed, be fate showing her hand early!   
Initial cavalry charges send Ali packing!
While Alfonso fails to spur his cavalry into pursuit, the Spanish cavalry on his left drive on.  The pursuing Spanish knight's path is blocked by more Arab camelry.  The already disordered and weakened Spanish are repulsed.  The Infidels turn-about and head for the rear.     
The pursuers are driven off but the Moors do not pursue.
With the Christian cavalry in the center occupied, Ali presses his light cavalry forward on the wings.  A unit of Spanish skirmishers is overrun, and the light cavalry penetrates deep into the Spanish rear.  Turn 3 and the Spanish left already looks compromised!  Having seen his left crumble, Alfonso wonders if he is a bit exposed in the middle of the battlefield with enemy in the rear.
Moorish light cavalry swing around the Spanish left.
Alfonso feeling a bit exposed.
Alfonso need not wait long for an answer.

The Muslim heavy infantry with archers in support marches forward.  Alfonso and his knights, despite some hacking and slashing, are met by a hail of arrows and the threat of facing a wall of long spears.  He falls back.  To cover Alfonso's withdrawal, the adjacent knights attack.  Unfortunately, the block of long spears cannot be penetrated and the knights pull away to join Alfonso. 
Alfonso under threat!
Spanish cavalry are repulsed and
sent on their way to the rear.
To cover the hole left by Alfonso and his retreating cavalry, Spanish heavy spearmen guide right to fill this void.  Both battle lines march forward to close.
Plugging holes and filling gaps.
With Alfonso's knights out of the way, Ali's infantry strike!  All across the battle line, the dense Moorish infantry formations close with the enemy.  In an attempt to reach Alfonso's retiring knights, the Berber spearmen lunge into the Spanish heavy infantry blocking their way forward.  Surprisingly, these Spaniards, having only just slipped into position, repulse their attackers with heavy casualties.  Unfortunately, the victors cannot muster the enthusiasm to pursue.    
The Muslims attack!
Fateful decision on their part.  While they hesitate, more Moors come on!  Already wavering from their earlier exertions, the Spaniards break and flee.  Their rout carries them into Alfonso and his knights.  Alfonso's knights are pushed even further into disarray before scattering.  Alfonso turns about and heads off to rejoin the battle line. 

On the Spanish right, Muslim heavy infantry drive into the enemy spearmen.  Almost everywhere, the Spanish find themselves falling back under heavy pressure. 
Destruction of the Spanish center.
While the Spanish fall back on the right,
the Spanish center is ripped apart. 
One bright spot for Alfonso and his Spanish army is that, having joined one of the remaining body of knights in the main battle line, Alfonso drives off the enemy's Black Guard.  Casualties are heavy. Very heavy.  With the remnants of the Black Guard ripe for slaughter, Alfonso fails to pursue.  On the Spanish right, the enemy is driving into the battle line and splintering the defense.
The Black Guard attacks
and is driven off!
Spanish center is no more.
With the Spanish line crumbling all around, a few Christians stand in silence ready to repulse their attackers.  As the enemy closes in on their position, they see the Spanish right gives way and breaks.  Isolated, the survivors have no choice but to withdraw. 
A desperate defense.
The battle is over.

Seeing destruction all across the battlefield, Alfonso has little choice but to retire.  His army is destroyed.

Mark (again) played a great game by keeping pressure on the Spanish seemingly everywhere.  First, the Spanish left was compromised then the Spanish center was ripped to shreds.  Finally, the Spanish right bent and then broke.  No doubt that this battle was over.  Convincing victory by Mark.  Well-played and well-earned.  

What can I say?  How about, "can I have a rematch?"

As always, great fun in a very entertaining game.

Thank you, Mark!  

56 comments:

  1. I kept expecting the Spanish to turn the tide but it was not to be. Would a pursuit and destruction of the Black Guard have made much of a difference, or was there already too much pressure in the line elsewhere? An entertaining battle and medieval Spanish are now one of my favourite armies of the period.

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    1. Lawrence, I was hoping for a turn-around too. By the time the Black Guard was driven back, the writing was already on the wall with or without pursuit. Had Alfonso and his knights pursued against the retreating cavalry early in battle, the outcome may have been very different.

      So, Medieval Spanish Army up next for you?

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    2. Did Alfonso and his knights have to roll to see if they can persue, or can you choose to do so? I imagine the former...

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    3. Yes, pursuit is an option and requires a successful dice roll. Knights are impetuous so must pursue. Die roll determines how far. Many of the Spanish pursuit distances were ZERO…

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    4. I did actually complete a medieval Spanish army just over a year ago and they have seen a game. I really like the variety of troops available to them, at least in the DBMM army lists.

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    5. Of course, you did! I remember how great the army looked.

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  2. Well, that was quite a surprise ...like Mark, I thought the Muslim army seemed the weaker of the two. His generousity of spirit was rewarded by the dice Gods, it seems!
    Alfonso's Spaniards seemed to lack the spirit for the final push to finish off a half beaten enemy...several times, they won a melee, but failed to take full advantage by pursuing....that seemed to be their undoing here.
    Another lovely looking game and an entertaining report, Jon...hopefully you can get a win soon!

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    1. Keith, both armies are on equal footing, points wise, but looks can be deceiving. Mark played a much better game leading the Muslims than I did leading the Spanish. Oh, what might have been for a successful pursuit or two!

      Glad you enjoyed the report and game photos. I feel a win a brewing...

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  3. Way too generous a report as usual. Lucky die rolls on my part and winning the initiative twice when it was really needed were key factors in this battle. If you’d just managed to pursue Ali when he was falling back things would have been different. As it was both Ali and two strong cavalry units were so badly beaten they spent the rest of the game hiding behind my lines - too damaged for me to dare to commit them again. Great game, great fun to play. Looking forward to doing it again from the other side of the table. My insane run of luck cannot last!

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    1. Mark, I call it as a remember it! Did I get any details wrong. Well, did leave out your two, four-hit attacks against the Spanish right that blew that wing apart.

      Yes, what might have been. Had the Spanish cavalry pursued, we could have seen a completely different battle. I had several chances to pursue and drop a heavy blow but it was not to be.

      Next time. Yeah, next time...

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  4. Another fine game and I thought that Alfonso and chums would bounce back after the initial clashes, but twas not to be. A game that could have gone the other way a few times by the look of it, if only the pursuits had come off. Nice to see these forces in action again and hope you get chance for a re-match.

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    1. Steve, I thought Alfonso could regroup and carry out a profitable offensive but, alas, no. My major mistake early on was stopping to put my knights back into good order. Charging disordered may have been a better call. While it may not have looked that close, the battle could have swung the other way without too much intervention from the Dice Gods.

      Pulling these armies out for a parade and battle have been really good fun.

      Thanks for your comments.

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  5. Cracking game, visuals and write up, as mentioned it could have gone either way at times but for the Spanish appearing to be deserted by the dice gods at crucial times.

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    1. Thanks, Phil! Much appreciated. While it may have gone either way, it did not...

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  6. A great looking game with plenty of action. A few pursuits failed to happen for you and limited your ability to follow up on successes.

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    1. Thanks, Peter! BI games almost always provide a lot of dynamic action. For Alfonso, these were the pursuits not taken…and that made all the difference. Apologies to Robert Frost.

      If this battle interests you, let me know.

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  7. Lovely looking game JF! Poor old Alfonso...still it's another couple of hundred years before the Reconquista! Great AAR- thanks for sharing. The grid seems to make movement so easy- no arguments about a millimetre here or there!

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    1. Thank you, John! Yes, poor old Alfonso. At least he was not cut down and hacked to bits in battle.

      Playing on a grid simplifies do many things.

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  8. A great game. It's building my own enthusiasm to get my own El Cid collection on the gaming table. Looked a few times at the Impetus rules, but the army would need rebasing and that is a task for a later day

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    1. Thank, Neil! If I can muster a bit of inspiration, my job is done. As for basing schemes, I find that as long as the two armies are similarly, most rule work including BI.

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  9. Excellent looking game and great report Jonathan. Pity about the dice rolls and there is always next week. 😊

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    1. Much appreciated, Ben! There is always another day, for sure. Besides, getting the sympathy vote has value too.

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  10. A superb looking game Jonathan. Despite the result using those armies on the tabletop would be a real treat.

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    1. Thank you, Oli! It is fun to see these armies back in action again. I realize I could use some more Spanish. Always a risk when you pull out the armies for a parade.

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  11. Great looking game, you're definitely successfully luring Mark in by throwing every game! He says he was just lucky, we all know Napoleons view on that!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! Yes, my cunning plan is working. Working almost too well. Soon, Mark will be unstoppable.

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  12. Great looking game, Jon. Good to these fine fellows on the table again (as well as the earlier parade).

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    1. Glad you like the look of the game! Yes, very good to get dormant armies back out for a game or parade.

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  13. Lovely looking game Jonathan! I need to return to this period again.

    Christopher

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  14. That's lovely battle report Jonathan!

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  15. Another brilliant-looking game.

    Try, try again Jon!

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    1. The game may have looked brilliant but my play was not! I never give up.

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  16. Epic looking ding dong.
    Well done Mark.

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  17. Wonderful looking armies. The period was my first real foray into historical minis and I always love seeing it on the table.

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    1. Happy you enjoy the armies! Do you still have your Reconquista armies?

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  18. You have a wonderful collection of diverse forces. Another lovely action. I note in several of the actions, heavies can’t wait to get into action - do the rules encourage that over lights opening things up (and surviving)?

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    1. Thanks on both armies and battle!

      The Spanish have no light cavalry so that option is eliminated. In BI, units charging into contact receive a bonus. Therefore, when in doubt, attacking offers an advantage. Against camels, these bonuses are lost. To lead with heavy cav is really a player’s choice. Few can resist this temptation.

      Ali made good use of his lights to threaten the Spanish left.

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  19. That's a great game with splendid armies! It's a period that tempts me but I shall resist...;-)

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  20. Another splendid looking and sounding game Jonathan…
    It’s good to see action across the whole table.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks, Aly! Yes, there was non-stop action the length of the table. we will see a repeat of this battle on Monday.

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  21. Great report Jonathan, you really don't seem to have much luck do you?

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    1. Thanks, Ray! It will turn around some day, right?

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  22. Nice shots of the battle from the table. It seemed close there for a little bit. 😀
    What’s the time difference between you and M?

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    1. Yes, close for a little bit.
      We are nine hours apart.

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    2. I ask bc maybe you could *arrange* it so that his time is super late/ early and while your time is well rested and fresh. Maaaaaaybbbee. 😀

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    3. We play mid-morning for me while it is evening for my European gamers. Theoretically, I should hold the advantage on being well-rested.

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  23. An enjoyable set too Jonathan, a fierce battle.

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  24. That's a really impressive battle. Nice to see you gaming again and again.

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    1. Thanks! I am seeing a steady stream of games on the table.

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  25. Another crashing loss Jon!? Dear O dear....

    I honestly didn't see an advantage to either side from the outset. Those light cavalry units can be quite a pain in the rump when used like Mark did to disrupt flanks. Very historical too.

    Great report mate.

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    1. Yes, another loss. I find myself in a serious rut. Mak did a great job commanding the Moors. If you skip ahead to the replay with Mark v Steve, you will see that Steve may have learned from Mark's earlier success.

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