An Experimental Game - Crusading Warefare 3

Jerusalem has Fallen but Crusading goes on.   

King Guy, who lost his army at Hattin, is back in the saddle.   

He is accompanied by the brave and talented Conrad Marquis of Montferrat. Conrad is widely seen as the man who saved the Latin East by his vigorous defence of the port city of Tyre.  Conrad would like to be King of Jerusalem; he often says so.  

Along for the ride is the Master of the Temple Gerard de Ridefort. Architect of the Hattin strategy.  The Master is fanatically brave and in matters of war there is nothing else of merit to say of him.

The three intend, with their retinues, to boldly lay siege to the city of Acre.  They may be intercepted by the army of the Sultan Saladin its morale sky high after retaking the Holy City. Let’s join them on their expedition.

The Crusaders are in column of march.  The Master has taken the vanguard, the post of honour.  King Guy comes next and in the post of danger Conrad Marquis of Montferrat.  They seem to have company. Perhaps it is only a Bedouin band or a lone detachment.  The march continues.

 

There seem to be an awful lot of cavalry behind those Bedouin.  As a pre-emptive measure Gerard and the Templars decide to push for the high ground.  As they do more enemy appear. 

King Guy moves up to protect the Templar flank and Conrad also heads for the high ground.  Some of the Bedouin have now moved to Conrad’s flank.  A strong force of Ghulam now occupies the high ground.

The Ayyubids are, appropriately, in a rough crescent.  The Crusaders in a sort of arrow formation.  King Guy has the option of a quick charge or of waiting for the infantry to come up.

The Franks are playing it safe.  The infantry is now shielding the cavalry in all three Divisions.  The Ayyubids have taken the high ground.  A band of Bedouin are now behind Conrad’s troops and Turcoman have moved into close range of the Templars.

 

The Ayyubids move swiftly.  All of Keukburi ‘s horse archers Ghulam and Turcoman move to close range and shoot up the Templar vanguard. There are casualties and the situation is threatening.

King Guy moves up to succour the Templars.  His Crossbows punish the Keukburi Turcoman reducing them to half their number.  The Turcoman are stirred not shaken, but they won’t last much longer.  They shoot back further reducing the Templar foot.

Al Afdal’s own Turcoman get some sustained shooting into King Guys foot causing casualties.  The Syrian cavalry move out (they cannot shoot-no bows) so they threaten to flank King Guy’s troops.

Conrad intends to disperse the Gulams to his front.  He orders his crossbows to shoot until the job is done.  The Ghulam take severe casualties.

 

This is the situation at the end of the first move.  The Ayyubids are well on the way to stripping the Templar foot of their defensive spearmen.  It is likely to cost Keukburi what’s left of his Turcoman.  For both Keukburi and the Master of the Temple close fighting cannot be far off.

King Guy has taken the pressure off the Templars at a cost to his own troops. Opposing him, Al Afdal’s men are still fresh.

Conrad’s decisive action has thoroughly disrupted Zahir Ghazi’s plans.  Zahir allowed Conrad’s crossbows get too close to his heavy cavalry-and payed the price.  He is now frantically trying to rally a unit of Ghulam’s.  Without them he cannot hope to take on Conrad’s knights.

Men of the match so far? Keukburi’s Turcoman and Conrad’s crossbows.

Part 2 will be up later this week.  So far, for me, this has the right feel for a Crusades battle.