Zallaqah 1086

On Monday just passed, five of Postie's Rejects gathered around the remote gaming table for a return to the Reconquista.  Today's action would focus on the 1086 Battle of Zallaqah (or Zalaca or Sagrajas).  The historical battle was fought on 23 October so this fight was nearly an anniversary edition.

Since details of the battle are spotty with accounts varying wildly, I take liberty to interpret and field as I wish.  With player Battle Briefings distributed and any questions answered we tucked into the game.

Ray and Lee chose to fight for the Christian Army under the leadership of King Alfonso VI deployed as below,

Alfonso's Army

while Richard, Steve, and Surjit stepped into the commands of the Almoravid and Taifa Armies under Yusuf ibn Tashfin.

Yusuf's Army

In the historical battle, King Alfonso struck first with a massive heavy cavalry charge into the Taifa infantry.  Would Ray and Lee's Spanish Army do the same?

Let's find out.

Before the battle begins, the two armies face-off across a narrow valley.  Alfonso has all of his heavy cavalry in the first line with his infantry behind in the second line.  The Taifa forces from Badajoz, Sevilla, and Granada form the Muslim first line with cavalry out on the wings.  Yusuf's Almoravids are drawn up in a second and third line behind.

Armies drawn up for battle.

View from behind the Spanish lines.

View looking down the Muslim left.

Rather than beginning with a heavy cavalry charge bang, Alfonso's cavalry step forward slowly.  Both armies begin to close the distance.  Taifa skirmishers, out in front, come within missile range and pepper the knights with arrows.  Taifa heavy infantry backed by bowmen in tercios advance to missile range too.  Their volleys manage to disorder two of the Spanish heavy cavalry.  

Armies close the distance between their lines.

Possibly surprised that his forward positions were not immediately overrun by the Spanish cavalry, Yusuf springs into action.  His light cavalry in the hills and the medium cavalry in the valley descend upon the right flank of Alfonso's Army.  Setting to work, the light cavalry overruns a careless skirmisher and then turns inward to envelop the enemy battle line of horsemen.  Following up in close pursuit, a body of medium cavalry smashes into Spanish light cavalry.  With enemy light cavalry now in its rear, the Spaniards choose to stand and accept the charge.  Overpowered by the Muslim cavalry, the Spanish cavalry falls back taking casualties as it passes in front of the Muslim horsemen.  The Muslims continue in pursuit destroying the enemy horsemen before they can reach safety behind their own lines.

Muslim cavalry charge in...

overrunning skirmishers and...

pushing back enemy light horse.

Enemy is caught and destroyed before making an escape.

With its blood up having destroyed the retreating enemy cavalry, the Muslim medium horsemen throw themselves into a line of massed crossbowmen.  Shot up as they closed, the crossbowmen repulse their attacker but not before taking serious casualties.  Seeing that the enemy is wavering to its front, Muslim light cavalry renews the attack.  The light cavalry cut through the nearest body of crossbowmen before reaching the second mass of crossbowmen.  In the face of such destruction, the crossbowmen are forced to fall back to the safety between two heavy infantry units.  Now, with its flank exposed and no possibility to evade, the Muslim light cavalry is scattered as the Spanish heavy infantry moves up to engage.  

Arab cavalry repulsed.

Light cavalry attacks weakened crossbow
and destroys them.

Pursuit forces the second crossbow to retire...

but a counterattack scatters the cavalry.

The Almoravid cavalry clash is not over quite yet.  Emerging from behind the Badajoz infantry, a body of camelry charges into an awaiting body of Caballeros Villanos.  The camels are driven off and the Spanish cavalry counter charges in pursuit.  After having overrun a body of skirmishers who failed to evade, the Caballeros are put to flight when they smack into a steady body of Almoravid spearmen shooting arrows and bolts into the heavy cavalry on the approach. 

Camelry charges into enemy horse and are repulsed...

while enemy skirmishes are run down.

Having failed to break the enemy tercio in the first cavalry charge, Alfonso sends forward the red knights.  While the red knights concentrate their attack against the massed crossbow to the left, the tercio lends some of its weight as support.  The tercio's long spears also negate the knight's impetus bonus.  In the first clash, the crossbowmen are destroyed, and the knights suffer only light casualties.  The supporting tercio is forced to retreat and falls back into the Black Guard.  The Black Guard give ground and become disordered from the chaos.

Red knights attack!

Pursuing into the gap left by the destruction of the crossbow, the red knights hit the unsupported tercio.  Casualties are heavy with the tercio losing its back stand of bowmen.  With great luck, the red knights pass their cohesion test and only become disordered.  With the tercio continuing its retreat, the red knights follow up keeping the pressure on.  Again, the tercio is hit but this time the Black Guard can offer support.  More Muslims fall.  Yusuf's men are forced back once again. The red knights ignore their casualties and forge ahead against the retreating Almoravids.  For a third time, the red knights crash into the enemy and the enemy is driven back.  While driving back the enemy, knights suffer heavy casualties and fail to pursue.  The attack of the red knights creates a HUGE gap in the Almoravid battle line. 

Pursuit carries the red knights...

deep into the enemy line.

A Big hole opens in the Almoravid battle line.

In an attempt to stabilize what appears to be a rapidly deteriorating situation, the Almoravid right launches an attack.  The Arab camelry hits Spanish heavy cavalry and the camels immediately turns about in retreat.  The Spanish pursue catching the camels in the rear.  Even with support, the camels are scattered and their supporting cavalry falls back.  Still, the Spanish cavalry come on.  As with the exploits of the red knights in the center, the Spanish manage to pass several cohesion tests after each melee.  Having neutralized much of the Arab cavalry on the enemy right, the Spanish horsemen swing in to contact a tercio.  Here the Spanish meet their match and their maker.  The Almoravid tercio stands firm, destroying the Spanish.  For now, the Almoravid Right is secure, but it came at great cost.  

Camels attack and retreat!

In pursuit after pursuit...

the enemy is driven off.

Until, that is, the Spanish meet their match!

With the threat to the Almoravid Right squashed, Yusuf counterattacks in the center against the weakened red knights.  Those heroic Spanish knights are dispatched quickly.  Still, Alfonso sends more cavalry forward.  That body of heavy cavalry forces the Arab tercio to its front to give ground.  Arabs fall back, rally, and then march forward back into battle.  They still have some fight in them!  The Spanish are seen off!  The Almoravid battle line begins to reform and consolidate its position.   

Yusuf attacks and scatters the red knights!

An Almoravid tercio moves up to attack enemy cavalry.

Enemy cavalry retreats!

Muslim battle line reforms.

Battle ends in a draw.

After three-and-a-half hours of play and seeing Muslim line reform with a wall of spears facing the enemy, we declare the battle a draw.  Neither army had broken and there was still fight left in both armies but both sides had been seriously depleted.  With the hour getting late, everyone agreed that a draw was an appropriate conclusion.  The Butcher's Bill favored the Spanish but having lost two bodies of knights is a hard blow.

Butcher's Bill

The points of special note in this game were Lee and Ray's drives deep into the Almoravid battle line.  Lee split the Arab left-center and Ray knocked out the Arab Right in a series of amazing cohesion check passes.  I will spare everyone the probabilities of these two events!  Even with those extreme events, the Arabs managed to stabilize the situation and were prepared to take the fight to the Spanish.

Thank you all for a very entertaining game!  Good fun!