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Friday, April 21, 2023

Return to Huesca, 1105

The Battle of Huesca, first fought solely against Mark (see: Battle of Huesca 1105) saw an encore engagement fought remotely pitting Mark against Steve.  Coming off from a convincing victory as Ali, Mark wanted to switch roles and take command of the Spanish under Alfonso.

Without further ado, let us see how the battle panned out.

With both armies drawn up for battle, Alfonso makes only slight adjustments to his army's deployment as the Moors begin their advance. Watching the Moors advance toward the Spanish army as Ali throws out his light cavalry to harass the enemy, the Spanish remain calm.  Calm but nervous underneath, perhaps.  The only movement in the Spanish line is pushing skirmishers and archers hesitantly up toward Huesca to counter Ali's light cavalry.  Alfonso is definitely allowing the Moors to come to him.
Armies arrayed for battle.
Alfonso steadies his line.
The Moors advance while the Spanish wait.
The Moors begin harassing the enemy line.
Ali's wall advances as a singular force. 
Tired of the annoying javelin fire from the enemy light cavalry, the Spanish right advances to Huesca to drive off the enemy skirmishers.  Alfonso's knights in the center of his line continue allowing the enemy to come to him.  Is he awaiting the right moment to strike?
The Spanish right
Yes!

Alfonso sends three of his knights crashing into the enemy's battle line.  The heavy cavalry blows land upon the enemy right.  

The first blow falls against the Muslim camelry.  In a fierce clash, the Spanish knights are driven away in full retreat. The second blow sees a second body of knights overrun the skirmishing bowmen between the lines before crashing into an enemy block of heavy spearmen.  As these knights close, they are met by a hail of arrows from the spearmen's support archers.  Weakened, the knights carry on but are repulsed as the enemy stands firm.

Finally, Alfonso, himself leading the away, follows up against the wavering camelry.  In a swift clash, the enemy camelry is sent packing.  In the pursuit, Alfonso smacks into a light cavalry unit and scatters these light horsemen to the four winds.  This pursuit carries Alfonso deep behind the enemy's battle line.
Alfonso attacks!
Wave after wave of Spanish knights charge in!
Ali's camelry is sent packing.
Alfonso in headlong pursuit
but Ali's infantry battle line remains firm.
Seeing the hole widening on his right, Ali attacks against the enemy right in an effort to rebalance the battle.

Against the walls of Huesca, Ali's heavy infantry advance.  Their first opposition encountered is a unit of massed archers.  Despite suffering mightily at the arrows of the enemy, the archers are dispatched in heavy fighting.  In pursuit, the Moors swing behind the enemy's line to strike Spanish knights surprised to see the enemy upon it.  Initially caught unaware, the knights regroup and battle back.  The Moorish spearmen, already weakened from their earlier fight, break.  The knights follow-up although heavily battered in these exchanges.  Ali sends his Black Guard forward into the thin Spanish line of spearmen.
Ali 's heavy infantry attacks!
Having scattered the archers,
 spearmen careen into Spanish knights.
Spanish knights counterattack.
The Moors are scattered.
The Black Guard smashes into the enemy spearmen after first sending a volley of arrows into the footmen.  The Spanish infantry do not last long.  Quickly cutting the enemy down, the Black Guard swings into the next Spanish spearmen in line.  

These Spanish, hit from the flank, fail to hold the line.  They are overwhelmed as were their brothers in arms.  Back they go!  The black-clad warriors do not ease up.  Coming up on the already wavering knights, the appearance of enemy on its rear scatters the knights. 

The Black Guard are not finished quite yet.  Still they come on, overrunning fleeing Spanish infantry.  The Spanish left has been ripped apart!
Black Guard attacks!
Victim #2 in sight!
Victim #3 in the crosshairs.
Spanish knights destroyed!
Victim #4 dispatched!
With the Spanish right destroyed and the line ripe for turning, Alfonso, although far removed from battle, concedes that the day is lost. The seige of Huesca has been lifted and Ali is victorious.
Alfonso loses an army
While Alfonso pursues to nowhere, his Spanish Army is destroyed.
Victory to Steve and his Muslim Army!  Congratulations!
as Ali holds the field.
Watching this battle unfold was really quite exciting, dynamic, and with plenty of action.  

First, watching the Spanish patiently waiting for the right moment to strike and then striking out against the enemy.  Tensions rose as the Moors advanced.  Some of these attacks worked.  Others did not.

Second, Ali's attack against the Spanish right was breathtaking.  I have never witnessed such complete damage wrought against an enemy.  Given only half a chance to pursue, the Black Guard succeeded until there were no enemy within reach.  Casualties were high.  Remarkably high.

In the end, Steve played a great game in destroying Mark's Spaniards.  Still, Mark was laughing in the end and took the defeat in good humor.  While the result was decisive, the outcome could have been much different.

Great battle!  Thank you both!

40 comments:

  1. Another nail biter and nice read, an interesting period Jonathan.

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    1. Interesting period, for sure, benefitted by the fact that not many battle details are available. Wargamers have almost free rein. This was another great contest.

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  2. A cracking encounter, well done to both players

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    1. A cracking encounter, no doubt. Both players played with great thought and energy.

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  3. Wow, now that was an exciting read Jonathan! It jus looks like Ali's army just can't be beaten, regardless who is wielding it. Was this a remote or live game using your minis? Great stuff!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the battle account! The game was fought remotely with my figures and table in Spokane. Mark was Zooming in from France and Steve was Zooming in from England.

      I think Ali can be beaten...

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  4. The Ride of the Black Guard - poets across the Mediterranean are sharpening their quills I am certain!

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  5. Super report Jonathan and well played Mark and Steve.

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    1. Much appreciated, Richard! Yes, well-played by both. I wonder what story Steve brings back to tell around the Rejects' Table?

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  6. Another spiffing encounter, Ali's men were certainly up for it this day

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    1. Thanks! Yes, Ali had his army firing on all cylinders.

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  7. Having previously observed that the rules reward aggressive play I sat back defensively for too long - waiting to see what Steve would do rather than attempting to make him react to my own moves. Lesson learned. Enjoyed the game and had to admire Steve’s very professional beat down. Next time maybe.

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    1. With the Impetvs bonus only available when attacking and the ability to pick a target, being aggressive can pay dividends. The game was great fun to watch. You certainly opened up Steve's right with your cavalry. You may have waited too long to respond but who can say for sure?

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  8. You obviously need to replay Jon, to see if Ali can actually be defeated! The domino pursuit by the black guard was entertaining but we no longer allow that sort of thing in our house rules ( written by Mark of 1866) ....a unit can do one break through or pursuit, then it stops. A similar rule in your game might well have benefited the Spaniards and kept them in the game a bit longer.

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    1. Can Ali be defeated"? We may never know.

      The multiple pursuits are OK with me. Such a ruling may have benefitted the Spaniards but that really isn't Basic Impetvs then, is it? It lends great drama and tension to the game. Besides, the Black Guard's run had a very low probability of actually seeing that many pursuits. A quick probability check shows only a 6% of pursuing that many times even if a victory is guaranteed in each melee. Very low odds but Steve defied the odds.

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  9. Again I thought this was going to be a win for Alfonso, especially when he crashed through the Moorish line. They are proving a much tougher nut to crack than I thought.

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    1. Much tougher than I thought too! Those large units supported by archers can be deadly. I am confident that Alfonso can win but that answer must wait because I am returning to the ECW for a couple of games next.

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  10. Excellent game and commentary Jonathan! I really must get my Spanish Reconquista back out on the table.

    Christopher

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    1. Thank you, Christopher! Glad you approve of the battle report. Yes, get your collection back out onto the table, please.

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  11. Wow, another cracking game there Jon! Well done to steve and Mark and of course yourself for putting on such a good show. After the Spanish knights ran out of steam, the Moorish Black Guards were simply devastating. With many 'Ancient' battles having little info, it does allow us a nice bit of leeway to come up with fun games:).

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    1. Steve, this action saw plenty of drama and tension. The Black Guards fight across the table was an effort to behold. With few historical details on these battles, it is fun to line 'em up and smash heads.

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  12. Oh, that's looking amazing Jonathan! Great to read and watch!

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  13. Great game. I like the discrete use of arrows and crosses to show exactly how the action went.

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    1. Thanks, Justin! Good to see that the arrows help to follow the action.

      Great to see you stopping in to leave a comment!

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  14. Enjoying the armies here - El Cid was always one of my fave historical epics - but definitely a hankering for some terrain and a bit of green.

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    1. Thanks, Anthony! Perhaps some green and terrain next time I roll these armies out?

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  15. A fine AAR Jonathan complete with many pictures capturing the unfolding drama.

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  16. What a splendid game …
    There were some hard fought actions there but the Black Guard really stole the show…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Much appreciated, Aly! The Black Guard stole the show and wrecked the Spanish army in a series of impressive pursuits.

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  17. nice looking Game JF. getting some good use out of the armies. I'm sure folks are lining up to play online with you (where's the line anyway?).

    though it ALWAYS throws me off that the troops face a hex point and not a side. 😀

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    1. Thanks, Stew!

      I am getting a number of armies that have seen little action back out onto the table. Good to make these fellas earn their keep.

      The queue may be long but VIPs have ways to cut the line. Soonish, I hope to get the ACW armies back out onto the table. Next up are the ECW armies.

      Facing a hex point makes for prettier lines than facing a hexside.

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  18. Lovely game and proof that whoever commands the Spanish will get beaten, no doubt a salve to your conscience!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! Well, Alfonso is 0-2 for now. I still believe the Spanish can be successful.

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  19. Excellent gaming with great looking figures as always, Jonathan!

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  20. Ali 2, Alfonso ); he needs a winning strategy!

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