Mongols v Feudal English Round 2

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Sally
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Mongols v Feudal English Round 2

Post by Sally »

And so seven days after their first encounter the same two armies faced each other once more. Andre was given the task of laying out the terrain before engaging in a game of ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ on the adjacent table with James. A quick study of the relative positions of hills and forests would suggest that the layout was not as ‘Mongol friendly’ as the previous game but there was still a fair amount of open ground around the central area of the table. Dave’s Feudal English won the dice roll for choice of table edge and second deployment, which did enable the English army an opportunity to use some of the terrain features to protect the flanks. The forest areas to left and right of the English deployment and the small hills to their front were to play a key roles in the battle.
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The English army moved first and advanced in column, archers to the front with the obvious aim of gaining ground quickly and establishing an solid line of missile troops to confront the Mongol light cavalry. Tony’s quick moving Mongols, in their first move gained control of two thirds of the table and lined up opposing the English archers in the centre. Dave, in response, put all his archers into line formation ready to receive any attack with his mounted nights and sergeants in reserve along with his 4 generals.
English Army initial deployment
English Army initial deployment
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Mongol Heavy Cavalry in reserve
Mongol Heavy Cavalry in reserve
In Tony’s next move he made a direct attack on the English archers, avoiding a shooting match. The archers failed to stop all but one of the Mongols making contact and found themselves in hand-to-hand contact with their opponents enjoying an up-slope advantage on their left. In this encounter the ‘B’ class Mongols had a distinct advantage over the ‘C’ class archers a few of which were already disrupted through shooting. In the centre the English archers were soundly beaten, units recoiling and fleeing, but the ends of the line put up a very stubborn resistance: two disrupted units with hand-to-hand combats values of -4 and -5 against their opponents before the D6 dice roll, managed to hold their ground. As result Dave managed to re-establish the English line in his next tactical movement phase, thus preventing the Mongols following-up on their initial success. In addition the Mongol light cavalry on the extreme right of their line were pinned with their backs against a woodland area, unable to gain advantage over the English mounted sergeants and archers confronting them.
The Mongols attack
The Mongols attack
Mounted Sergeants counter-attack near the woods
Mounted Sergeants counter-attack near the woods
Fighting in the woods
Fighting in the woods
Both sides had lost just over 4 units each but the English losses were far less in terms of point value and they now enjoyed a secure position within the now favourable terrain. Both sides then resorted to a missile battle: if the Mongols could eliminate enough of the English archers, the rest of the army could be picked-off without resorting to more risky hand-to-hand combat. However, with their front line of archers ‘giving as much as they got’ and the constant threat from the English knights behind, Tony shifted his attack from the centre to the English right and the ongoing fight in the forest. Again the English performed well and forced the Mongols back into the woodland where their mounted troops were fighting disrupted. Both sides were still losing units at an equal rate and although the English army had lost seven units of archers, one of mounted sergeants and a general, the Mongols had lost their hero general and six and a half units and were close to their breaking point of seven units plus.
The English archers depleted but not defeated
The English archers depleted but not defeated
The final act came when a unit of heavy cavalry after initial success was surrounded by English knights and foot and was dispatched very efficiently. A victory, and revenge, to the Feudal English in one hour and fifty minutes, but if the initial Mongol attack had been a success I think they could have defeated the English in less than an hour.

Written by Paul K.
Ratty
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Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:42 pm

Re: Mongols v Feudal English Round 2

Post by Ratty »

Hurrah for good old Blighty!
Great game, the English archers held well this game. I think the terrain helped, but the English formation seemed to hold up well to the concerted cavalry assault,
Thanks for posting.
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