Little Great War - The Naval Action concludes...

 

So far into the action, both fleets had taken serious damage. On the Azurian side, Amiral Duperre had been sunk, along with a torpedo boat. Though all Hellenic vessels were still afloat, Georgios Averof and Hierax were in a near-sinking condition, the armoured cruiser barely under way, and the destroyer dead in the water. Psara was also badly damaged enough to force its withdrawal from the action, escorted by Hydra. Lemnos had also not long before this taken heavy damage from a torpedo hit. But...

... To reach safe haven they would have to pass by their respective adversaries. The action was not yet by any means over. 


Seeking once and for all to put Averof under, torpedo boats TB3 and TB4 set off in pursuit. This was a risky enterprise, Averof still having three of its four main guns in action, and all of its secondaries. The destroyer Leon was also escorting the battered cruiser northward. TB3 unable to launch its torpedo, the reliance was being heavily placed upon TB4 to complete the mission.

The risks were to prove too high. Both torpedo boats took heavy damage from incoming fire. TB4 had its torpedo launchers wrecked before it could fire off the projectiles, and their popgun armaments failed to score any hits. Their mission a failure, both torpedo boats turned away from their more powerful adversaries, and began to seek a way out of the battle.

Meanwhile, exchanges of gunfire continued between the surviving capital ships, with some damage being inflicted on both sides. Although crippled, with its speed reduced, Psara still had teeth and could use them with effect. The Hellenic battleships set a course to the northeast, whilst Hoche and Carnot fetched a wide circle to try and put some distance between themselves and their enemy before settling upon the opposite course.



So the action might have ended here, both sailing off out of the strait. However, Admiral Poliomyelitis was not yet prepared to let the matter rest. Ordered 'to engage the enemy more closely', Hydra closed the range towards Carnot. Both sides took heavy damage. Hydra having so far taken more hurt than had Carnot, was the sooner forced to break off the action. For its part, Carnot was better able to absorb the punishment, but apprehending the approach of Lemnos still adding its big guns to the carnage, was also interested in getting away.

At this point only Lemnos of the Hellenic fleet was in a condition to take the fight, if it chose, to the enemy. On the other hand, Hoche and Carnot, despite considerable damage, were still able to maintain their battle line and to give Lemnos a tougher fight than it would want. Hoche had taken so far only superficial damage from a couple of hits. The encounter with Hydra had inflicted more serious hurt upon Carnot, but not enough to keep it out of a fight with Lemnos if it came to that...

...And then Hydra let fly its parting shot. About to turn away out of the battle, the ironclad launched its port side torpedo, just as Carnot itself reciprocated with its own. Carnot's torpedo missed altogether. Both sides' gunnery was largely ineffective. But fortune favoured the ironclad: its torpedo slammed into Carnot's portside near the stern, doubling the damage already taken. 

Hoche and Carnot - the latter's speed unimpaired by the torpedo hit (5FP) just taken - slipped by Lemnos, the range between enemies widening rapidly as they sailed on opposite course. TB2 long having departed, it remained for the remaining two torpedo boats to thread their way by the Hellenic fleet to escape. TB4 didn't make it...

As expected, Athenae trumpeted its victory over the vaunted Azurian Mesogesean Fleet. It was hard to deny that the Hellenic Fleet had scored a significant tactical victory, and a strategic one, too. The failure of the Azurian 'show of strength' in favour of its Turcowaz ally was undeniable. A capital ship and two torpedo boats sunk against no loss the the Hellenes would be hard to explain away - which didn't stop the Lutetia Lucifer mentioning the fact, in large headlines. The damage to Azuria's most powerful vessel, and its early departure from the action, also drew notice.

But it was not all brimstone and treacle for the Azurians. Three of Hellenia's four capital ships would be in drydock for months - possibly years, given than country's lack of major naval repair facilities. Lemnos itself was in a battered state that would require weeks in port, at least. Azuria still had Hoche, which could repair and replenish at sea, and the two flatiron gunboats that Admiral Ganteaume had carefully kept out of the battle. Let the Athenae owl crow, thought the Admiral - no ornithologist, he - Azuria was still in a position to give seagoing support for the Settee Empire, and Hellenia barely in any position to hinder him.

For the record, here is an abridged summary of damage to the respective fleets

Azuria:

Amiral Duperre - 17/12SP damage (sunk)
Charlemagne - 15/16SP  (12 from torpedoes)
Carnot - 10/16SP (5 from torpedo)
Hoche - 2/14SP
TB1 - 7/5SP (sunk)
TB2 - 4/5SP
TB3 - 4/5SP
TB4 - 5/5SP (lost, sunk)

Hellenia:

Georgios Averof - 11/12SP damage
Psara - 8/12SP (6 from torpedo)
Hydra - 10/12SP
Lemnos - 13/20SP (5 from torpedo)
Leon - 1/5SP
Panthir - 3/5SP
Aetos - 4/5SP
Hierax - 2/5SP 

The Hellenic destroyers surely bore charmed lives in this action!

A couple of post action points to mention:

1. The effect of the torpedoes was devastating in this battle: every roll for effect being a 5 or a 6, the latter predominating. But that gives rise to the question: suppose the 'effects rolls' been 1s and 2s instead. I am now inclined towards an alternative method of determining the effect of a torpedo strike: adding the other two green dice. The minimum damage would be 2SP, the maximum 12 (three 6s on the three dice), and the mean 7SP. 
2. But that in turn raises the question of whether torpedo hits are too easy to obtain. Scoring at least one 6 with 3 dice is less than a 50-50 proposition - a little over 42% - but still seems a bit high. In this last action, both sides were fairly lucky with their torpedo attacks, especially the Hellenes. I'd probably leave it as is, simply because the torpedo boats and destroyers are under-represented compared with their historical naval antecedents.
3. Questions remain as to whether a torpedo may be launched in each of successive turns from the same vessel whilst projectiles remain and launchers remain serviceable. I find it difficult to determine the arrangement of torpedo launchers upon these vessels, and whether torpedoes may be launched (leaving aside spar torpedoes) forward or in broadside. As a convention, I am leaning towards the following:
   
   - If there is an odd number of launchers, ONE may be launched forward.
   - All other torpedoes are launched abeam.
   - Exception: Romanian torpedo boats have twin tubes firing forward only.
   - All torpedo carrying craft have limited numbers of projectiles: one per launcher only. This number is given in my table of ship 'stats'.
4. I discover I had forgotten the effects of waterline hits upon target vessels. That had a considerable effect on the battle: as fought Georgios Averof would have gone under shortly after the rest of the fleet turned up. I'm not going to worry overmuch about that, but methinks a hardcopy printout of this schematic might be worth keeping by!
   
   
   Well, so much for my overture to the upcoming - I'm not yet sure how soon that will be - Little Great War...
   
   

Little Great War - The Naval Action continues

 

Azurian capital ships under close attack from torpedo boat destroyers

As Charlemagne bore off to the southeast, the victorious Hellenic destroyers continued to shadow closely the Azurian battleline: Heirax keeping pace with the wounded battleship, Aetos running the gauntlet reversing the course of Hoche and Carnot. Charlemagne's secondary gunnery improved enough to damage Hierax, but Aetos continued to bear a charmed life beneath the fire from Carnot.

Reserving their main guns for engaging the enemy capital ships, the Azurians did rather better. A parting shot from Charlemagne struck the superstructure of Lemnos, and Carnot's whole broadside went aboard Psara, though without hitting anything vital (the four 5s in a row).

The developing action - without Charlemagne!

Meanwhile, Panthir drove in under the guns of Amiral Duperre, still, though now bringing up the rear of the battle line, very much in the fight. A 13.5-inch shell striking Psara along the waterline, the secondaries did considerable damage to Panthir - but not enough to prevent the latter launching its torpedo. Tension mounting, the Azurian battleship's crew watched the missile pass under the stern. 

In the distance, TB1 and TB2 continued their waspish harassment of three Hellenic capital ships. TB1 seemed to bear a charmed life, the gunfire from Georgios Averof and the Leon destroyer ineffective. But Hydra scored a lucky hit from its starboard main gun, a critical hit that knocked out TB1's torpedo launcher.

An aside here about torpedoes. At the moment I'm fairly happy about their effect on the battle. Not a 'gimme' hit, but potentially very damaging when they strike. For torpedo boats and destroyers taking critical hits, what is considered damage to secondary weapons in the larger vessels is visited upon the torpedo launchers on the small. Whatever the number and arrangement of torpedo launchers, they are considered wholly knocked out. So TB1 was now without its main strike weapon, though it still had its bow mounted 37mm QF popgun.

A question cropped up about whether TBs and destroyers could continue firing torpedoes in immediately subsequent turns. In the above pic, Aetos might have fired off a second torpedo at Carnot, and maybe ought to have done. I was working on a move's delay, but there seems to be no reason for it.
The Aetos class of destroyer carried 6 torpedo launchers mounted three a side as far as I can make out. 

The Azurian fleet takes the battle to the enemy

 
The action so far, and the effective loss of Charlemagne might have induced Admiral Gastauve to order a withdrawal, but, his pugnacity undimmed, he resolved to bring the most powerful Hellenic warship, Lemnos, under close action from his two starboard wing torpedo boats, and from Hoche and Carnot. Amiral Duperre was ordered to continue its northeasterly course, instead of following the other two battleships, in order to hold off Psara and Hydra. Although Amiral Duperre had been in action all day so far, it had taken surprisingly little damage (just 4SP) - especially compared with Psara (5FP already). However, Hydra had hardly been under fire so far, let alone taken any damage.

No sooner hastily formed, the Azurian fleet went into action. Far to the west, TB1 finally succumbed to the gunfire from Georgios Averof, still crawling slowly northward. 

Amiral Duperre found itself engaged at point blank range against Hydra, and, out of range of Lemnos, Carnot engaged Psara instead. The forward facing arrangements of the Hydra and Psara placed them right then at a considerable disadvantage, as the Azurian broadsides doubled the firepower available to the Hellenic warships. This might have created a serious problem for the latter, were the Azurian gunnery a match for the disparity. Amiral struck Hydra twice for one hit in return; but Carnot could not find Psara's range. The distant Charlemagne, however, did manage, before passing out of range, to put a 12-inch shell aboard Psara that knocked out its starboard main gun.

Lemnos under heavy gunfire and torpedo attack!
Gunnery duel between pairs of capital ships.
Azurian TB1 runs out of luck.

For its part, accompanied only by the destroyer Hierax, Lemnos was finding the action a little too warm for comfort. Taking a hit from Hoche, Lemnos handed out two in reply. It's smaller guns fortunately knocked out the torpedoes aboard TB3, but TB4, unperturbed by enemy gun fire, slammed a torpedo into its starboard side. Now with a rear main gun out of action, and 5FP of damage from the torpedo, Lemnos was finding itself in a fight for survival. The strike was to remain unrequited. A torpedo from Hierax failed to hit Carnot.

The close fighting with Psara and Hydra rather induced the Azurian ships to drop Lemnos as the main target, and go after the sister ships instead. Perhaps, having dealt with them, they might yet finish off Georgios Averof. Torpedo Boats 3 and 4 struck northwestward to try to cut off Georgios Averof from safety. Although TB3 was without it torpedoes, it might yet aid TB4 to attack with its remaining missile.

Amiral Duperre was within range to engage the armoured cruiser with its forward main guns, but failed to find the range. In return, Amiral Duperre received a couple of damaging hits from Georgios Averof's main armament. Luck now deserted Amiral Duperre altogether. Struck by a third critical hit from Hydra, its secondary guns failed to stop or even to hit the Leon destroyer charging in and releasing its torpedo. Struck amidships on its port side, the seawater rushing in, there was no saving Amiral Duperre. The old battleship had taken 17FP of damage, 10 of them in just two turns.

Just as an aside, in this action the torpedoes were amazingly destructive - when they hit. This was another high 'effect' roll - a 5 this time. But it was not the last, at that.

The melee continues - with more effective 
torpedo attacks. Ten FP scratched off 
Amiral Duperre is too much...

Aetos, returning from the west, launched its torpedo at the stern of Carnot without effect. Carnot also get the better of a brief gunnery duel with Lemnos, scoring two hits to none. Although taking  close range hit from Psara, TB2 shoved a torpedo into Psara's side, for 6FP of damage. Badly wounded, Psara began to think about withdrawing from the action, but was now badly placed to effect this safely. The Hellenic fleet also lost one of its destroyers at this moment, not sunk, but no longer able to sustain an effective action.

TB1 and TB2 go after the near-sinking 
Georgios Averof, but the Azurian fleet is 
about to call it a day.

Both sides having taken considerable damage, with half the capital ships no longer able to keep station in a line of battle, a withdrawal seemed to be indicated by both sides. But there remained a difficulty. In effect, both sides found their adversaries effectively barring the way!

To be concluded...

Little Great War - A Naval Prologue continues...

 

The main fleets join the action

Continuing on from my previous posting of just over a week ago, we rejoin the action between the Azuria and Hellenia navies, just as the two fleets arrive to put an end to the single-ship duel between the ironclad battleship Amiral Duperré and the armoured cruiser Georgios Averof. It was probably just as well for the cruiser that its friends had turned up, for it had got so much the worse of the action, that its speed was halved, and one of its rear turret main guns knocked out. Amiral Duperré hadn't escaped unscathed - a couple of waterline hits to deplore - but was able, after fetching a wide circle under the Snifnos shoreline, to join rear of the battle line. 

It so happened that the respective fleets joined the action at very much the same time. This was decided by a die roll each, the low score arriving first, and the differential determining when the opposing ships arrived at the table edge. As it turned out, both sides rolled a 4. The remainder of the narrative will continue to offer asides concerning the game mechanics.

We'll begin with a comment in the last posting that concerned the relative technologies of Amiral Duperré and Georgios Averof. Had I accounted for technological advances in the 30-odd years between  the laying down of the two warships? Good question. Had I?

A check seemed to indicate that, insofar as we can conjecture what the net effects would be, the more advanced armoured metallurgy equalised the protection against the ironclad battleship's thicker armour, and the more modern guns, despite the considerable difference in calibre (9.2-inch vs 13.5), also equalised their effects. The two vessels under my 'stats' (close to but not identical to Bob Cordery's original) come out as very nearly equal in power. Georgios Averof, however, had a speed advantage, at least at the beginning of the single-ship duel.

 

As the fleets approached each other in the strait between the islands of Serifos and Snifnos, the Azuria torpedo boats TB1 and TB2 veered off to port to hunt down the Georgios Averof, heavily damaged, and attempting to crawl its way out of trouble. Admiral Polyomyelitis ordered his torpedo boat destroyers Panthir and Leon to cover the wounded battlecruiser.

The remaining Azurian torpedo boats remained on the starboard side of the main battleline, which itself began to turn to starboard in line ahead in order to bring the main-gun broadsides to bear. The peculiarities of the gun arrangements aboard the Hellenic coastal battleships Psara and Hydra dictated their plan simply to charge bull-headed at the Azurian line. The powerful battleship Lemnos turned due eastward, whence its main guns, outranging the Azurians', might be brought to bear.

Georgios Averof under heavy fire

Naturally, coming into range of the unlucky battlecruiser, all three battleships - Amiral Duperré not yet having rejoined the line - let fly. The three hits, two of them critical, were enough to induce the cruiser, reduced to just 2FPs (flotation points) to quit the battle if it could. It was lucky at that, for the Hoche put a 13.5-inch shell close under Georgios Averof's main gun turret, where the crew just barely averted an explosive catastrophe. Meanwhile, the first salvo from Lemnos failed to get the range of Charlemagne, leading the Azurian battle line.

As the Azurian battle line began their turn, two Hellenic destroyers, boldly handled, came charging in under Charlemagne's guns. Whilst the battleship's main guns engaged Lemnos, the secondaries tried to hold off the smaller vessels. Putting one aboard Lemnos, Charlemagne received two in return that started a couple of small fires. But the secondary gunfire proved woeful. Nor were the little torpedo boats able to offer much protection either. Completely unscathed, Hierax and Aetos fired off their torpedoes (the green dice in the pictures). Sixes required to hit - both scored!

Gun and torpedo fire. White dice = Azuria
Red dice = Hellenia
Big dice = primary weapons
Little dice = secondaries
Green Dice = torpedoes
Special dice = torpedo damage

Now here I added something to the game mechanics for torpedoes. I still rolled three dice to represent one torpedo, but only a six would represent a hit. Very chancy. But not only did it count as a critical, it also brought in another D6 to determine how many FPs were knocked off the target's flotation. Blow me down if both destroyers didn't roll a six! Twelve FPs Charlemagne lost at once, not to mention the two more at the hands of Lemnos. Reduced to just 2FP out of 16, Charlemagne had no option but to fall out of the battle line.

An alternative method has today occurred to me. Having scored a six to hit, rather than roll a fourth D6 to determine flotation damage, why not simply add up the other two green dice? In this case, Charlemagne would have lost 10FP, still disastrous, but there would have been a pretty decent chance the battleship would have become a feature of the Mesogesean Sea floor.

Disaster for Charlemagne - two damaging 
torpedo hits

Meanwhile, a gunnery duel between Hoche and Psara went in favour of the former. TB1 and TB2 tried torpedo attacks to finish off Georgios Averof. Unfortunately TB1 had its torpedo launcher knocked out before it could be fired. Instead it landed a pop-gun hit upon the cruiser. TB2's attack was intercepted by Panthir, but the torpedo missed. Perhaps the crew's practice was disturbed by the torpedo boat's receiving two heavy shells from Hydra.

I have adopted a convention that torpedo attacks come after all gunnery and gunnery results. If a TB is sunk before it can fire its torpedoes in the same turn, the vessel sinks, the torpedo unlaunched. I did toy with disabling torpedoes if the TB is reduced to 'get outta here' level flotation. But that seems too punitive. So, if it is already in range at that point, then it can launch. If 0FP means the vessel is reduced to an immobile hulk, rather than sunk, it is assumed the torpedo tubes have also been knocked out.

Charlemagne forced to pull out of the battle line

As Charlemagne staggered out of the battle line and the rest of the line completed their turn to the eastward, TB3 and TB4 went after Lemnos. The torpedo boats and destroyers seemed very keen to get up close and personal! For now at least, Georgios Averof's hurts had been amply avenged!

With the action in full swing, we will resume the narrative another time...

To be continued...

Little Great War - Prologue

Tensions throughout Europeia had been tightening as the Settee Empire of Turcowaz found itself under increasing pressures from all quarters. They began with the Ruberian expedition up the Pardis River that was only barely defeated a short distance from Sakhdad. There followed a desperate war (First Blacklands War) against former territories whose nascent independence proved insufficient to assuage their hostility towards their former overlords. More recently, a border war against the forces of the Czar, had, after a fine start, stalled after a sharp defeat that wrecked one of the main Turcowaz columns. Accounts of these campaigns may be found elsewhere in this blog spot.

Meanwhile Turcowaz had found a powerful ally in Azuria, itself having a long history of conflicts against its mortal foe, the Kingdom of Ruberia. Certain rivalries of trade, manufactures and primary production had long threatened to tip the Pax Europeia into all out war. We need not here go very far into the immediate causes, except to suggest that the rapprochement between the President of the Republic and the Sultan did much, if not to light the match, then to fan the flame.

Azuria and Hellenic scout ships approaching a
strait between islands Serifos and Snifnos

One of the first acts of Azurian goodwill was to send a great part of its Mesogesian fleet to visit Ionople. It was in this little mission that a 'bit player' in the recent conflicts chose to show its own displeasure. Any attempt, quoth the King Constantine's ambassador to Lutetia, by the Azurian fleet to contact the Supreme Door, would be opposed by the Hellenic fleet authorised to use force to prevent it.

Georgios Averof's opening salvo scores a hit!

Disinclined, as usual, to accept the dictates of any power, let alone the yapping of a newly created nation of no great size, wealth or strength, Azuria went ahead with its expedition. Rounding the Peloponnese without incident, the fleet entered the Aegisean Sea, the ironclad battleship Amiral Duperre scouting ahead. About to pass through the strait between the islands of Serifos and Snifnos, observers aboard Amiral Duperre discerned smoke upon the northeast horizon. The approaching smoke resolved itself into a steamship, a warship, withal, and finally to the formidable armoured cruiser Georgios Averof.

Ouch: Amiral Duperre takes a hit in the bows.

Ignoring the Hellenic vessel's signals to stop and/or turn about, the Azuria vessel ploughed on. At last, Georgios Averof loosed its final warning: a well aimed salvo that struck the Duperre in the bows. At once, the battleship swung off 60 degrees to starboard and began to engage the Hellenic vessel with its entire main armament. The battle was on.

At long range, Amiral Duperre 'crosses the T'.

Before continuing further, we'll outline the comparative strengths of the war ships. Although quite disparate classes, and Amiral Duperre was a much older vessel, they were something of a match.

Azuria:
Amiral Duperre - Ironclad Battleship
Flotation: 12FP, withdraw when FP reduced to 4.
Main armament 13.4", range 6 hexes:
Broadside - 5/4/3/2/2/1/-/-
Forward only - 3/3/2/2/1/1/-/-
Aft only - 2/1/1/1/1/-/-/-
Secondary armament 6.4" and 5.4", range 4 hexes:
Broadside only - 8/6/4/2/-/-/-/-
Torpedoes: 4TT

Hellenia:
Georgios Averof - Armoured Cruiser
Flotation: 12FP, withdraw when FP reduced to 4.
Main armament 12", range 6 hexes:
Broadside - 6/5/4/3/2/1/-/-
Forward or Aft: - 3/3/2/2/1/1/-/-
Secondary, 7.5", range 4 hexes:
Broadside only: 4/3/2/1

Superb gunnery on both sides, but the Azurian is 
formidable! Averof takes a hammering.

As the range closed, the fire grew deadlier with increased accuracy. But, formidable as the battle cruiser's gunnery was, the training aboard the ironclad would have won prizes. Georgios took a terrible hammering; its speed reduced by damage to its screws.

The tale of damage: four criticals on Averof to one
on Duperre. The damage to the former's motive 
power is the most serious.

With such a 'passing of honours', the combatants drew somewhat apart. Amiral Duperre completed a turn about to bring it closer to its own fleet, and in the hope of drawing Georgios Averof after it. After a bit, and spotting dense smoke far to the southwest, the latter vessel rather thought better of it. Georgios Averof began to reverse course, but, its speed badly impaired began to apprehend that its retrograde move had begun too late.

Averof takes a second hit to its drive shafts and screws

This was not helped by a second hit received under its counter that reduced its speed still further. 

It was very fortunate that the rest of the Hellenic fleet was also in the offing. Would it arrive in time to haul Georgios Averof out of the maelstrom - or, indeed , to exact a revenge upon the Azuran fleet? 
We'll leave the narrative here for next time... 

The main fleets arrive at the same time. How that happened
will be accounted next time...

Imagi-Nations - Work in Progress

What I've been doing lately - instead of writing up my latest 'Chubby Marine' naval battle.

Khevenhuller Dragoons and Nadasti Hussars now have their bases flocked...

Batthany Dragoons newly painted. I've added a squadron of chevauleger using Airfix RHA mounted officers on spare Revell horses.

The mounted arm in the service of the Principality of Ursaminor. They - or at least something very similar - have occasionally been seen in the service of the Reine d'Oro Royalists in the Gatonegro War of Independence.

Ursaminor foot. These were painted well over 25 years ago to create an army for my daughter, Ursula. I added to it about 10 years ago.

Additional units (5th and 6th Foot) in Ursaminor service. I have added a second Grenadier Battalion HQ. The 6 line infantry may then be organised as 8 battalions, 6 line and 2 grenadier.

Ursaminor militia battalions, and artillery. The nearer militia battalion was created out of some Airfix Imperial Guard (horrible figures, but they made OK militia. The other was made from selected figures from an American War of Independence set - manufacture unknown (to me).

Latest paint job: Palffy Hussars in Imperial service. 

Two units that have been adapted for service with the Landgravate of Hessen-Rohr - Cuirassiers and Uhlans.

Some of the horse and all the guns in the service of Altmark-Uberheim. 

A final pic of the Palffy Hussars. I wonder if my new phone has a flash...

W still very much in P, but the light at the end of the tunnel is looking a deal brighter!

 

'Byzantiad' - Further Tests

Further to play testing 'my' 'Portable' rule set for my 'Byzantiad' campaign in my 10x10 square-grid table, I ran three more battles. The Pechenegs were doing very well. Was that due to an inherent bias in the rule set (unlikely), an inherent bias in the army balances (I was more concerned they might favour the Byzantines), or was I playing one side very badly (or the other supremely well)? Battles Three and Four need not detain us long, apart from the pretty pictures: the Pechenegs won both.

Battle Three:

This one was pretty close, but the Byzantines exhausted themselves first. 

The Byzantines began well enough. Pushing the left-hand skoutatos unit well forward into the faces of the Kagan's elite horse archers, the akontistai javelin men penetrated the wood flanking the enemy. This ought to have been decisive. The Pecheneg heavy horse were driven back, but the Byzantines failed to destroy them.

Meanwhile, the Pechenegs enveloped the Byzantine right, and were able to develop the superior force on this wing. Early exchanges were fairly level, and the Byzantines even began to edge back the enemy light horse.

But the Byzantines were becoming the more worn down. The skoutatoi and akontistai were decisively defeated (terrible luck, this!), and although the battered Byzantine right chased away a unit of light horse, there were plenty more to take their place.

In a final 'throw of the dice', the peltastoi (loose-order spearmen), took on a troop of war wagons. The dice tell the story: no damage to the war wagons or their crews, whilst the 4SP of the spearmen were reduced to 1SP. The conclusion to be drawn from this - although the rolls were a little bit extreme - is that the War Wagons are bally near invulnerable. Sure, they can not initiate of themselves a close combat, but they don't need to.

The upshot is that I have reduced the War Wagon SP to 3 only - 3 'hits' to kill; 3 combat dice for shooting and close combat. That will make them quite formidable enough, thank you very much! In 'compensation' for the 'loss' of 2SP, the Pechenegs will get another light horse unit. The 'Byzantines' presenting the standard 9 units for this table, equalising the Strength Points will give the Pechenegs 11.

Battle Four:

When this battle was fought, I had not yet determined upon the 3SP war wagons. In this one, the Pechenegs placed most of their horse to the right of the village, bringing forward the war wagons, together with a horse archer flank guard, to the left of the place. For their part, the bulk of the Byzantine horse were there to face the mounted Pechenegs.

I have an idea that the ideas of a certain Vegetius Renatus might subliminally been at work here, massing the Byzantine horse of the left. Maybe. However four units were facing six, with very little advantage to the Byzantines for their weight. The Byzantine heavy horse get +1 for close combat only, and none for shooting. I have a feeling that the +1 for 'shooting before contact' ought to be appropriate. Although less well protected at a distance, the light horse are nippier, and possibly harder to hit. Maybe.

And then, of course, the opening archery exchanges drive the point home: the horse archers knock 1SP from two of the Byzantine cavalry, and force the remainder of one of them to retreat. In reply, the Byzantines chase of one of those pesky enemy units. More likely, the Pechenegs simply took themselves out of range.

Ouch!

The Byzantines are doing well here!

In the above picture, we see the Byzantines giving a pretty good account of themselves following the opening setbacks. Assailed by a unit of horse archers, the Byzantine toxotai bowmen flatten their assailants in short order, but at the cost of a strength point. In the distance, the Byzantine army commander drives off his enemy counterpart (the +1 for army commanders cancel each other out). Five Strength points of Pechenegs bite the dust  - and two whole units - for just 2SP from the Byzantines.

It didn't last. The cavalry of both sides were badly worn down, with little remaining as the battle drew to a close. On the weaker wings, the Byzantine prokoursatores took on double their numbers, which soon became three times their numbers in the mutual blood-letting. 

As a final act, the skoutatoi once again took on a war wagon, with a result more doleful than the previous go. The exchange of archery did some damage to the war wagons, but before the skoutatoi could get to within spear length, the whole unit was obliterated. 

Yet another Byzantine defeat.

Battle Five:

For this battle, the Strategos of the Byzantines changed slightly his methods. Clearly, the usual formation of infantry in the centre and cavalry on the wings simply left the Byzantine cavalry at the mercy of superior numbers of Pechenegs, whilst the foot-sloggers looked on.

On the other hand, the (my) Pecheneg method of massing most of the horse on one wing, holding the centre with war wagons and keeping a small flank guard on the other wing seemed so far to be a pretty effective formula.

For a change, I looked to the method associated with the Praecepta of Nikephorus II Phocas. Translated to this war game format, this spread the infantry across the front, leaving intervals for the cavalry, between infantry blocks and on the wings. The effect of this was to bring the foot units more reliably into the action.

This layout did not prevent the Pechenegs outflanking the Byzantine line. My rule set does not permit the deployment of any but light troops (light horse and 'psiloi' types) in the two columns of grid cells on either flank. That leaves the 6 centre columns in which to deploy the heavies. This is great for the Pechenegs, 7 units out of 10 (soon to be 8 out of 11 with the SP change to the war wagons) being light horse. The Byzantines have one light horse unit (lance-and-bow armed prokoursatores), and one light foot (javelin armed akontistai).

As expected, having won an early initiative, the Pecheneg line curled around the Byzantine left, committing the left hand Byzantine horse. At the same time the left-wing unit of skoutatoi found themselves assailed front and flank. 

I think at this point one ought to codify carefully what happens with flank attacks. Units should shoot directly in front only. If close assaulted front and flank, the defending unit gets the full combat dice allocation, and may divide them between opponents, not more than half being directed against the flank attack. Of course, the enemy get all the dice coming to them.

So a skoutatos unit facing a light horse attack front and flank is in real trouble, but might get lucky and chase off the enemy. So it happened here. The skoutatoi lost heavily - 1SP - but they handed out a few licks of their own.

Although the light horse has some success with their flanking manoeuvre, the prokoursatores drove back their immediate adversaries, and began pushing them into the rear of their embattled comrades.

Although they lost half their number, the Byzantine light horse chased the enemy well to the rear of the Pecheneg lines. The weakened kavallarioi also managed to force back their opponents, and relieve the flank of the skoutatoi.

This left the skoutatoi vulnerable once again on the flanks, but they wiped out the light horse immediately to their front.

 

Gradually the Byzantines were forcing back the Pechenegs on their left front. Meanwhile, the centre and on the other wing a stand-off prevailed whilst affairs were settled on the embattled flank. A unit of kavallarioi was brought over to help out the remains of the prokoursatores, and shortly afterwards, the peltastoi in the centre and the Strategos himself began to insert themselves into the struggle on the wing. The Byzantines evinced no special desire to try conclusions against war wagons, and the javelin men in the village seemed to offer an effective enough flank guard against the Pecheneg lights.

Fact is, the way the activation dice were running, neither side was getting enough to start anything funny in this part of the field.
 

With the reinforcement of the left wing, the Byzantines began a push and a drive that was eventually to force the Pechenegs from the field.

Not that the Byzantines had it all their own way. The Pechenegs had one more attempt to flank the line. Seeing this off, the blue-pennon kavallarioi cleared the skoutatoi left flank. These gentry had in the meantime chased the Pecheneg heavy horse up and over the rise in front of them 

 The final pictures show the Byzantine drive on the left wing, followed by a general Pecheneg retreat following on from that defeat. But before departing, the horse archers had one last fling.

Just as a weakened light horse unit collapsed in rout, another weak unit boldly attacked the Strategos's cavalry. It achieved success! One SP lopped of the elite horse, but the Strategos himself survived unhurt. The Pecheneg horse disappeared.

So ended Battle Five: a clear cut Byzantine victory. It was close enough fought 9 Pecheneg SP lost against 5 or 6 Byzantine. After the string of Pecheneg successes this was perhaps something of a relief.

A few small issues did crop up.
1. At the moment I think the +1 for the heavy cavalry solely in close combat is insufficient differentiation by weight. I've decided to add +1 in the heavy cavalry's 'shooting before contact' against light horse.

2. Although the 'shooting before contact' is easy to remember and administer (retreats being applied immediately, and not after the close combat phase), it is tempting simply to conflate the s-before-c and close combat, by adding one die (only) to units so capable in the single combat roll. Having said that, under the present system, an attacking unit whose shooting before contact forces a retreat may follow up to re-engage in the same way as allowed by such success in the close combat. However, only the assaulting unit may follow up. 

3. Units assaulted (not merely shot at) in flank turn and face provided there is no enemy in contact in front. A unit merely in the grid area in front does not count as being 'in contact'. One or other side will have to encroach across a grid area side (That is to say: one or other has initiated a close assault) to count as being in contact.

3. War wagons are now 3SP, not 4.

4. Note that javelin armed units don't do 'distant shooting', but are capable of 'shooting before contact'.

Suggested Provincial Byzantine and Pecheneg Raiding Force lists for a 10-square base line gridded table:

Provincial Byzantine: 

1 x Strategos (1SP, added to kavallarios unit to which attached)
4 x kavallarioi heavy cavalry @ 2SP (i.e. 2 stands) = 8SP
1 x prokoursatores light horse (lance, bow) = 2SP
2 x skoutatoi protected bowmen @4SP = 8SP
1 x peltastoi loose order spearmen (spear, javelins) = 4SP
1 x akontistai light infantry (javelins) = 2SP

9 units, 25SP including Strategos.
Exhausted on -9SP; rout on -13SP

Pecheneg Raiding Force:

1 x Kagan (1SP, added to the heavy horse archer unit)
1 x heavy horse archers = 2SP
8 x light horse archers @2SP = 16SP
2 x war wagons @3SP = 6SP

11 units, 25SP, including war leader
Exhausted on -9; rout on -13SP.