Byzantiad - Pecheneg Raid 2

 Pecheneg Raid - Battle of Adrianople

"Following his hard-fought victory over the Romans at Anchialus, Khan Torol led his Patzinaks deeper into the Imperial interior, rieving, sacking, burning and plundering all the way. His army might have been tracked by the smoke of burning farmsteads and villages, and the tales of woe from refugee townsfolk.   

Byzantines try to envelop the Pecheneg left

Undaunted by his earlier reverse, the Strategos, Isaac Salonikos intercepted the raiders on the banks of the Lefkopotamus River, its early spring spate this day somewhat abated to little more than a rill.  Lining the near bank with his main body, he left his better cavalry bandon hidden on the other side of the river, ready to fall upon the Patzinak left as they pushed forward.

That Salonikos had no intention merely to defend the river line was very soon made clear.  All along the front, his line advanced, and the battle quickly developed into the Roman attempt to envelop the raiders' left wing.  Although the Patzinaks held the wings, and even inflicted loss upon the Romans, their centre was driven in.  The early auspices seemed to light upon Roman arms..."
Michael Psellophanes, Byzantiad.

The fighting is favouring the raiders so far...

This really and truly ought to have been a Roman (i.e. Byzantine) victory, despite the early blood-letting (losses of strength points) very much in favour of the raiders.  However, the driven Pecheneg centre was soon back, and the battle between the bowmen and the peltastoi was then settled in favour of the former.

The peltastoi have lost 2SP and must rout...

At once, the Byzantine reserves had to be thrown in on the left, whilst the battle on the rest of the front remained unresolved. True, the flanking cavalry was forced back, but that setback was only momentary. Once again they returned to the charge. All the same, the loss of 4SP against just 1SP, indicated that the Byzantines might be facing a second defeat.

Salonikos himself shores up the broken left

Fearing for his bowmen on the right, the Khan joined that part of the fight with his entourage of nobles. The fight between his light horse archers and the Byzantine heavies ought to have been settled in favour of the latter, but the lighter horse were more or less holding their own. The cavalry routed one band of light horse, but the skoutatoi having been driven back across the stream, freed a second light horse band to prevent an immediate breakthrough. Despite the disparity in losses, and the disappearance of the peltastoi the Byzantines seemed at least marginally to have the edge.

The fighting grows keener

For a space, the deadlock remained unresolved, the Byzantines even losing another strength point (5-3 now in Pecheneg favour).  Then the unengaged skoutatoi once more entered the fray, just as the cavalry in the centre put the opposing light horse to the rout.  Salonikos now had the victory in the hollow of his hand...

Initiative roll - a very rare Byzantine 'win'

... and here is where I made a rather large mistake. Those two dice you see is the initiative roll at this point - and it was a very rare 'win' to the Byzantines (the Pechenegs seemed to have a monopoly on the initiative during these battles). Since it was the Byzantines' move, and the Pecheneg reserve area is empty, I ought to have called the battle here - a Byzantine victory. I have no idea why I didn't.

The situation critical for the Pechenegs

Seeing the Pecheneg centre disappear scattering across the plain, the local cavalry commander bethought himself to strike into the rear of the embattled Pecheneg right. Meanwhile, the other flank looked equally parlous for the raiders.

I might have guessed how it would go. It were ever thus. The cavalry's 'shooting before combat' was a frost, and the close combat into the rear of the Pecheneg horse went D6=1 for the Byzantines; D6=6 for the Khan. The hit upon the Byzantines meant to kiss a strength point goodbye. 

Utter disaster for the Byzantines! The kill off the 
bowmen, but at such a cost!

The follow-up went no better. Once again the Pecheneg horse went unscathed, the Byzantines took a second hit, and routed. On the riverbank, Salonikos took over from his hyperkerastai and finally spitted the enemy bowmen upon his lances. The cost was high, his personal command depleted. Upon the Khan's counter-attack, they promptly collapsed. Salonikos himself was caught up in the rout and barely escaped harm (the dice roll for risk of personal injury was OK). By a miracle, the Kkan Torol had broken out of encirclement.

  

Having successfully fought his way out of a trap
Khan Torol now sets out to finish off the
enemy

So quickly had fortunes reversed, and they didn't end there. The hyperkerastai soon went the way of the kavallarioi. The long unresolved fight upon the Byzantine right at last reached its conclusion - the remaining Byzantine heavy horse also breaking off and fleeing into the hills. It was left to the skoutatoi to make their way from the field. Themselves battered from the tough struggle, the Pechenegs let them go. 

No wonder. They had lost 8SP, the Byzantines lost 11.  But the raid could continue...

Now, as I really ought earlier to have called the Byzantine victory, I did consider (looking back over it) doing so, and ignoring the subsequent game events. But that seemed to be a waste of further exciting moments, so I stayed with the result of this one as narrated. Two victories have the Pechenegs chalked up. When next Salonikos catches up with them, it will be not far from the Gates of Byzantium...

To be continued - the Battle of Heraclea