Battle reports pt 2

As you might remember, the last time Joey and I played Kings of War, Bishop Frodo of Tryeaux was soundly trounced, and suffered the humiliation of having his lawn mower dragged away in triumph by the neighbours in Isengard. But he was not idle in the following months: rebuilding his forces and enlisting his allies. When Captain Lurtz marched into the bocage* of Normandy to claim Isengard's tribute, he found himself opposed...

The armies line up. The masses of infantry face each other on my left flank while my light cavalry face Joey's infantry on my right

Catching sight of each other at last, both sides swiftly drew themselves into battle lines. Frodo had placed all of his archers in a ruin, sheltered from Uruk crossbows by ancient stone. To their right stood the men and women of the fyrd, standing in a firm shield wall. Besides them stood the knights ahorse and afoot, with the bishop himself and the lighter cavalry on the right flank.

Lurtz had arranged his troops to mirror this deployment. Facing the human foot Lurtz stood with a great number of the fighting Uruk Hai, the pikemen (who had wrought great slaughter in the previous battle) in the van. In the ruins to their right the crossbowmen prepared to meet any human advance into the plain with a hail of bolts. The Orcish left was held by the remainder of the infantry and the scouts, who kept a measured distance from their enemies.

After the initial moves, my foot and mounted knights arrange themselves in a flanking position, the Uruks on Joey's left garrison the cottage, and my light horse go for his archers. 

The tension was almost palatable as the forces moved to attack, each seeking to position themselves for a decisive blow. The Uruks on the orcish left took up a defensive position behind the hedge on the far left, while the scouts peppered the advancing human horsemen with arrows. The human forces moved to surround Lurtz and his followers, the knights sweeping across the field, awaiting a chance to strike. 

Mindful of the havoc wreaked by the pikemen in their last meeting, the archers hailed arrows upon their ranks, as Autumn the Sorceress, who commanded the left flank, called upon her mystic arts to smite Uruks with great bolts of lightning. Their foes could do little to reply, as the human positions were well chosen, and the crossbowmen wasted much time manoeuvring into firing positions before they could strike the ranks of their foes. 

A few turns later and the pike phalanx is broken,  and the cottage-uruks wish they were a bit closer to the action.

Just as it seemed that the two armies would never come to blows at all, all at once the charge was sounded from both ends of the field. The human light cavalry had strayed incautiously close to the scouts, who were not only skilled with the bow but as stronger than a man and full of fight. With terrible cries they fell upon the horsemen, slaying many in their surprise and putting the rest into headlong flight. The right flank of the human army was dangerously exposed.

Meanwhile on  the left, the rain of missiles had caused a ripple of uncertainty among the pikemen, and the fyrd took seized their chance and surged forward, spurred on by the Bishop himself, eager to avenge himself on the Uruks. The troops behind blocking their retreat, the pikemen were trapped and slain to an orc.

The shield wall fail to break (huzzah!) even if they would rather have a cup of tea than fight again.

The humans drew back and reformed their shield wall, ready to receive the brunt Uruk counter-attack. Lurtz shouted an order and led his warriors to the charge. The fighting was fierce, the great orcs dealing savage blows to the beleaguered Fyrd, but the shield-wall still held, if only barely. Though they were almost spent as a fighting-force, the stalwart men and women had held the Uruk-Hai long enough for the knights to swing round on the flank. From the front came the foot knights, calmly striking with discipline and skill, and their mounted companions crashing into the exposed Uruk flank.

The knights seriously worry the Uruk horde, but Lurtz if free to counter-attack the shield-wall...

...which caves under the pressure. 

The great mass of Uruk-Hai were shaken under the pressure, and backed off from their foes, but Lurtz remained undaunted, and hurled himself at the centre of the shieldwall. Though he was alone, his mighty strength and superb skill-at-arms propelled smashed clean through the line and his foes scattered before him, routing in flight.

He knew, however, that his underlings were not of such mettle, and when he turned, he saw the remnants of his right flank fleeing back to Isengard. He prepared to face the human knights alone.

The knights reform to charge the scouts, while the rest of the infantry prepare to avenge their lower-class comrades.

It was a terrible struggle, the mighty Orc matched against the thick armour of the solid ranks of knights. Though he slew many of their number, he could not shake their ranks, and their weight of numbers began to tell. As the circle of warriors closed about him, he decided along with Falstaff that 'The better part of valour is discretion' and fled from them.

Lurtz decides, like Falstaff, that the better part of valour is discretion.

As the mounted knights chased off the Uruk scouts, Bishop Frodo and the rest of the foot turned to face the last of the Uruks. Still fresh, they had spent most of the battle racing with all speed to aid their fellows, and now were resolved only to avenge their fallen companions. They bore down on the Bishop himself, and struck great blows against him, but his armour and valour stood firm, and aided by the knights, routed the last of the Orcish forces.

The last unit of Uruk-Hai is surrounded and slain 

So there you you have it. I've finally got a win, and a rather convincing one too! Hats off to the shieldwall, who not only stood their ground wonderfully, but also got their own back on the Uruk pikemen who minced them before: I won't be underestimating how much damage they can do again! Congratulations also to Joey, who was a perfect gentleman on the field, and took his defeat with good grace. Hope to go back to a more regular update schedule now, with some new chaps painted and plans for terrain in the offing...

A victory at last! 

* If you've read any book or article about the invasion of Normandy in WWII, you'll know they ALL feel that the most important feature of the region was its hedgerows...