'Byzantiad' - A Pecheneg raid

Byzantines versus Pechenegs. 

Having read Bob Cordery's account of a battle between the Byzantine strategos, Demis Roussos (an incarnation of one Professor Gary Sheffield, or maybe it was the other way around), and that inscrutably unscrupulous Seljuk Sultan Chor Derrai, I was reminded that I had work to do on a Byzantiad rule set that the Archduke Piccolo was suggesting about the middle of last year.  Bob very kindly told me that their battles were inspired by my chapter in the Third Portable Wargames Compendium. 

Even with ten units against nine, the Pechenegs 
look rather sparse: 34 horse figures plus two war 
wagons against 80 Byzantine figures

Well, in turn, what I read inspired me in turn to return to the Byzantiad and investigate further the ideas I began exploring last August. The battles fought between Bob and the Professor were played out on a 10x7 square grid, with 6 units the side. That offers plenty of room, in which especially the more mobile Turkish light horse might flit about. That didn't seem to help the Turks so much, though.

First contact: Pecheneg horse archers at once rout 
the Byzantine light horse.

Now, I had been looking to 12-unit armies on my hex-grid table. That seemed to be a good 'fit'. Check out the link above. But it seemed in the context of their game to see how things would look on my 10x10 square grid. It fairly quickly became apparent that 12 units might be a bit on the much side, but as 6 units looked (to me) a tad sparse, I settled on a 9 unit army standard, with the Byzantines the benchmark.

Now, this whole topic also induced my scratch-building a couple of War Wagons for my Turkic Pechenegs, and a couple of battles between a provincial Byzantine Army of the early 11th Century, and a force of Pechenegs - two more disparate armies one could scarcely hope to field. At once a certain problem presented itself. To explain, let us begin with the armies:

Provincial Byzantine:

Commander Strategos Kantharos Khymos (+1SP)
1 x Strategos Retinue: Heavy Cavalry = 2SP (elite, Commander's unit)
3 x Thematic Heavy Cavalry (Kavallarioi) @2SP = 6SP (average)

1 x Light Horse Lance (Prokoursatores) = 2SP (average)
2 x Protected Bowmen (Skoutatoi) @4SP = 8SP (average)
1 x Loose Order Spearmen (Peltastoi) = 4SP (poor)
1 x Javelin Light Infantry (Akontistai) = 2SP

9 units, 25SP, including the commander's +1. The army is exhausted after losing 9SP, and routs upon the loss of 13.

Pecheneg Raiding Party:

Commander: Tyrach Kosma (+1 SP)
1 x Commander's personal retinue: Heavy Cavalry = 2SP (elite)
7 x Light horse archers @ 2SP = 14SP (average)
2 x War Wagons @4SP = 8SP

10 units, 25SP, including the commander's +1. The army is exhausted after losing 9SP, and routs upon the loss of 13.

Now the reader who hasn't fallen asleep will observe ten rather than nine Pecheneg units. The reason has to do with the composition of the respective armies and their strength points. A 9-unit Pecheneg army has fewer SPs, a deficiency possibly exacerbated by the qualitative differences: the heavier Byzantine horse, for starters. So, standardising the unit numbers upon the Byzantine, other armies may add units to equalise the Strength Points. Then the question of balance becomes a matter between one side's weight, and the other's mobility.


 

The lines close. You would think that the Pecheneg 
horse archers would be overwhelmed by their weightier
adversaries, wouldn't you?

So to the first battle. And right away, the Muse of Wargame battles, Hexahedra, makes a mockery of all our cogitations. The first clash, between the prokoursatores and the horse archers, went wholly and at once in favour of the latter. Although the Byzantine horse archery was enough to force their Pecheneg adversaries to give way; by way of requital the latter's archery simply shredded the prokoursatores out of the battle. 

The Byzantines charge into close contact...

I won't report this battle blow by blow, except by the captions in the pictures. Suffice otherwise to say that the action went just about all the Pecheneg way. I played them pretty aggressively, charging in even against the heavier Byzantine horse, and taking on the infantry as well. Losing 9SPs to just 4, The Byzantines drew off, under pressure but in good order. They escaped without further loss, that is to say, they were not reduced to rout.

Initiative roll, and activation die

The heavier Byzantine horse gets an extra die for
close combat. Both sides retreat 2 squares

Next along the line, shooting before contact:
nothing much happening here! 

Pechenegs get the better of it here,  
forced back but at heavy cost to the Byzantines.

In their own turn Tyrach's entourage also takes losses 
though forcing back the Byzantine kavallarioi

Both sides lose heavily in this clash: 1SP each.

The point at which the Byzantines concede the palm. 
A heavy cavalry unit destroyed, and the skoutatoi 
reduced to half strength.

This action was very brisk: all done and dusted in four turns. So decisive was the Pecheneg victory, I decided that the jury was still out on play balance!

Pechenegs...

I have at last constructed a couple of war wagons for my Pecheneg 'army'. 

Scratch built from matchsticks, wheels cannibalised from some spare Airfix French artillery (a fine source of wheels), and two pair of HO-scale horses bought a zillion years ago to supplement an equine draught deficiency in a whole other army. They are over-scale, sure, especially my first-built taller vehicle. But I imagine these vehicles historically to have been pretty substantial and sturdy - mobile castles, withal.

The question remains concerning what colours to paint them. The first vehicle looks pretty weathered as it stands, and I've given it a fairly minimal(ist) decoration. I'll probably give the second vehicle a similar treatment.

 After some thought, I decided to place the war wagons in 'draught mode'. At first I thought I'd leave the horses off as 'notional', but I like them better this way. At that, probably draught oxen might have been a better choice, but I had horses, and just one long-horn ox. 

Now, these war wagons appear to have been formidable battle assets for the Pechenegs. Story goes that they won every battle in which they were present, and lost every battle they were absent. 

It has occurred to me that for my own 'Portable Byzantiad', special rules have to be devised for war wagons. Readers might recall that I use the following combat system:
Units roll 1xD6 per current Strength Point. 
Hits are achieved depending upon the target:

• 6 = -1 SP on foot
• 5 = -1 SP on foot
• 4 = foot retreats OR -1 SP (optional, or if retreat is not possible)
• 3 = -1 SP on mounted
• 2 = mounted retreats OR -1SP (optional. or if retreat is not possible)
• 1 = -1 SP on artillery or war wagon
  

If playing FP3x3PW, I suggest war wagons ignore retreats, with no SP penalty.

In any rule set, I also suggest that, despite appearances, War Wagons have no 'flank': they offer all round defence to their crews/ defenders, with no penalty dependent upon direction of approach.

A FP3x3PW Pecheneg army with
war wagon

Now, reading Sultan Chor Darrai's recent encounters with Demis Roussos's (Strategos of Antioch?), his Byzantines, about Edessa (see Bob Cordery's blog Wargames Miscellany), it seemed that the light Turkic horse were in combat against heavier horse somewhat at a disadvantage. They ought, given a sizeable enough board, to derive some benefit from their greater mobility, but it is true that at some point (so to speak) they will have to get within range of the sharp stuff. Having got within range, the getting out of range might prove problematic. 

A Pecheneg DBA army, with two war wagons

Note that the WWg base with is DBA standard.
Figures all Tin Soldier, but many with modifications 
(javelins and shields)

I am going to suggest that on a 'Mounted retreats' result, the light horse can draw back more than one grid area. Question is: how much? A number of possibilities suggest themselves, but for a 'first pass', I suggest light horse can 'flee' up to their maximum move allowance of 4 grid areas, and hence out of immediate charge range of the heavies (even if the heavies follow up 1 grid space). I would offer the same suggestion in respect to light infantry as well. Mounted foes in a standard move will still catch up the foot, but heavier are foot less likely to do so.

Of course, much will depend on who has, or wins, the initiative subsequently, and what flexibility the activation roll will permit.

My 9-unit Pecheneg army for larger game boards:
1 HC, 6 LH, 2 WWg

Here I have found a seventh light horse unit
that looks as though they are also Pecheneg. 
Second hand, the 7th stand manufacture unknown to me!

So far I have been thinking that, unless I rope in some proxies - I have plenty of those - or allies (the Bulgars come to mind),  a nine-unit army was all I could field of these guys. But I discover I have at least one other stand - not of the same make - that can also be fielded as Pechenegs,  and a quick squizz at my Essex Bulgar light horse, though rather more gracile in form, can also pass muster... Two more units will yield my 12-unit army.

At the moment I'm thinking 9-unit armies for my 10x10 square battle board; and 12-units for my larger, hex battle board.

H'mmm... Looks as though the northern border regions of the Empire are about to be raided... again... 

Work in Progress ... or Projected

Just to keep this blog spot ticking over for the time being. I'm hoping to gat at least one battle in over the long weekend. It has been a long while. Meanwhile, I have been catching up upon some backlog of long standing - particularly in the 'War of the Imperial Succession' project. 

Cavalry. Last century I bought several packs of Revell 7YW horse. Some have been painted up - Khevenhuller Dragoons and Nadasti Hussars in the service of the Empire, and I began the White (Puttkamer) Hussars in the service of Altmark-Uberheim. The Imperial Kalnoky Hussars were begun, but never quite finished.

On the tray pictured Are two further Imperial Dragoon units (one understrength with just 15 figures), an Uberheim Dragoon unit, and, in the middle of them all, two stands of 15mm 'barbarian' spearmen for the Byzantiad project (mainly to use up surplus paint...).

Then there is this box of oddments, mostly horse. I have wondered what to do with those Hussar drummers. They'll probably fetch up attached to Altmark-Uberheim Army HQ.

A fair amount of flocking (or othe rkind of base decoration) required here. Right to left: Khevenhuller Dragoons, Nadasti Hussars, a squadron of chevau-leger/ light dragoons, and, half obscured, the 'new' Batthyany Dragoons. 

A word on the light dragoons. They are assembled from Airfix Napoleonic artillery battery commanders, and some surplus Revell hussar mounts. The surplus was actually due to deficiency of troopers, mangled for reasons best known to their previous owner. I found I couldn't resurrect them so into the bin they went. 

But those battery commanders I long had it in mind to form them into some sort of unit. So they have become a 9-figure squadron of light horse. Probably in Imperial service.

On a whole different topic: I still have churning away on the back burner, my Napoleonic 'War of the Nations' project. Recently I picked up in the local 2-Dollar shop a bunch of coloured pin-markers. I figured on making a campaign map mounted on some pin-permeable surface.  Most of the pins had cubic heads, the rest some sort of 14-faced polyhedron.  The former became Army Corps or large garrisons; the latter cavalry formations or small garrisons.

Napoleon's Army (above pic) comprises nine Army Corps, the Imperial Guard and two Cavalry Corps; and has provision for two large and four small garrisons. The Army Corps VII - IX are Allies. As I have almost no Allied figures, these will actually be formed from a French-looking army. At that, they are all three of them quite small formations - the three together about the equivalent of one and a half Austrian army corps. 


Above are the other armies:
Blue = Prussian: 3 Army and one cavalry corps, with a provision for 4 garrisons;
Orange = Austrian: 5 Army Corps, one Reserve Corps Infantry and one Reserve Corps Cavalry formations, plus provision for 5 garrisons,
Green = Russian (these ones I had to paint): Left, Centre and Right, plus detached cavalry Division;
and four garrisons.

I have yet to settle upon a map - or at least, how the map is to be represented. I have several A4 pages of Central Europe mapped out, from memory stretching east-west from Posen to Erfurt, and north-south from somewhere above Berlin to Bohemia south of Prague. That seems to me a pretty reasonably sized theatre of war for the forces involved. 

The premise is that, having wintered about Smolensk, Napoleon abandoned his Russian campaign early in 1813 still with a good half of his army. Actually, the narrative won't present it in quite that light. It was a disaster - well, he lost half his army - and had to struggle to rebuild it against the rising tide of Germanic nationalism. The Austrians begin the campaign, as historically, sitting on the fence but the Russians and a corps of Prussians drive out of Poland the Corps of Marshal Davout (III) and Prince Poniatowski (V). This will probably form a 'First Chapter' of the whole War of the Nations - whenever I get around to it!