Revisiting Byzantium - Playtest narrative

Byzantines moving up past Mesymbria village

As this was something of an encounter battle, a die roll decided who opened the ball; the Bulgars 'seizing the initiative'. And at once the activation roll was complete frost: a '1' on the die, and hence just 4 units stirring. The light troops on the east flank pushed forward beyond the Heos village. The Byzantine activation roll was equally dismal.  The best they could do was to respond to the Bulgar moves. The right flank heavy horse (kavallarioi) moved forward to cover the right beyond the village of Mesymbria together with light horse prokoursatores.

Map of my table set up for the Battle of Potamos Creek

Winning the initiative for Turn 2, the Bulgar activation roll was average, so were able at least to begin a general advance. Their light horse archers pushed up to about half way between Heos and Mesymbria, whilst the javelin light infantry entered the former village. The Byzantines responded sluggishly at first - another '1' on the die roll, but they were able at once to engage the enemy light horse with two units of heavies and their own lights. 

First clashes - not a lot happening here

...A-a-a-and the dice tell the tale. Both sides scored nothing from the shooting before contact. In the close quarter combats, the heavier Byzantine horse rolled an extra die (SP+1), with the lacklustre outcomes you see in the above picture. True, the horse archers close by Heos were driven back behind their comrades, but that was the sum total of the opening clash.

Bulgar horse archers under the hammer...

Emerging from the Mesymbria village, the light infantry showered the Bulgar light horse with javelins, to no effect (the double-4).  Although having so far little effect on the Bulgars, perhaps encouraged by such success as had so far been achieved, the Byzantines at Turn 3 not only out-rolled the Bulgar initiative dice, but rolled the maximum activation as well!  

The javelins of the akontistai this time caused a stir among the Bulgars: the pair of twos forcing the Bulgars to retreat two hexes. This proved impossible, as the one possible escape route lay through the hex immediately behind, occupied by their recently defeated compatriots. Had the facing been the same, no doubt the forward unit could have passed through them and beyond, but as it was, no retreat was possible, and the forward light horse unit was destroyed.

(This was decided during the game, but I now think it would have been fairer to let the retreat happen. So this remains the first 'thought point' arising from this play test) 

Forced retreat with nowhere to go...

Now the Byzantines began pressing: the red cloak kavallarioi attacking the remaining horse archers. Again, the 'shooting before contact had no effect - this really was pretty dismal so far - and both sides fell back, the clash inconclusive. 

Another Bulgar light horse unit holds its own against 
heavier opponents.

The blue kavallarioi attack upon a body of Bulgar heavy horse was even less effectual. 

Heavy horse stand-off

So far, the fighting between the eastern flank horse had been a whole lot of very little happening, but then came a disaster for the Byzantines.  Following up the Bulgar light horse retiring from their recent clash with the kavallarioi, the prokoursatores light horse decided to chance their arms against them. Though they pushed the horse archers back a space, the latter exacted a fearful toll. The prokoursatores vanished from the field.

Bulgars avenge their lost light horse!

Apparently gaining an ascendancy, the Bulgars upon their own turn - with a pretty reasonable activation roll - also put their main effort into wining the battle near the east villages. A unit of heavy horse charged the 'blue' kavallarioi, with the solid result that both sides lost a stand - a strength point. 

A blood letting among heavy horse. One SP 
lost by both sides

Now the Byzantines were being served the same as they had earlier delivered. Weakened as they saw off a horse archer attack, but the Bulgar javelinmen emerging from Heos finally put the Byzantine heavies to rout.

A depleted kavallarios unit outnumbered 5 to 1.
It can end but one way...

So far, the Bulgars had gained more than their share of the honours: for the loss of one light horse unit, they had destroyed a heavy and a light, though one of their heavy cavalry units remained depleted. Four SP lost to the Byzantines; three to the Bulgars. That rather left the remaining Byzantine heavy cavalry isolated, and the akontistai light infantry exposed in the open in front of the Mesymbria village. By this time, Demetrios Psychopathes was leading the heavily armoured cataphracts up the east bank of the slight stream of the Potamos. He had at the same time, called one of the left flank cavalry from the far side, over the bridge, to follow the heavier unit.  

In the distance, Demetrios leads his kataphraktoi
past the woodland

All this while, a unit of protected bowmen - skoutatoi - had been moving slowly up to crest the hill standing between Mesymbria and a small wood. From there, they could spray the approaching Bulgar spearmen with arrows. 

Very little was happening west of the creek. Bulgar light horse appeared to be manoeuvring towards the flanks of the Byzantine lines, but they were facing a formidable array of horse and foot.

Very little action on the other side of the river!

The main action continued on the eastern flank, as the Bulgars made a determined effort against the Byzantines defending their village. Whilst the javelin light infantry tried to hold off some Byzantine cavalry from the spearmen's flanks, one unit attacked the akontistai whilst another, supported by light horse, made a trial of the skoutatoi on the hill. 

Action at Mesymbria

The results were as you see them. The akontistai held off the spearmen - neither side inflicting any harm upon the other. The battle for the hill was bloodier. The light horse archery was ineffective, but both sides' heavy foot lost a SP (the fives). But the Bulgars got the better of the struggle, and forced the Byzantines off the feature (the green four).

Note that, against 'protected bowmen', the spears would have got an extra die for close combat, but for the fact they were fighting close combat uphill. 

Whilst I think of it, I'm also considering re-working of the whole close combat scheme between spearmen and the mixed skoutatoi units. Rather than adding 1 die to the spearmen, they simply get their 4SP worth of dice: four. But perhaps the skoutatoi ought to get 2 dice for their bowmen, and 2 for their spears. The action would go like this:
(a) At range shooting, the skoutatoi get 2 dice. 
(b) If a close combat is brought on, the skoutatoi 'shoot before contact' - 2 dice only. This is regardless of which side brings on the close combat
(c) In the hand-to-hand phase, the spears get 4 dice (supposing all have survived the missilery) and the skoutatoi 2, again. 

My Georgian army has some close-order bowmen. Now a 4-stand unit is a formidable volume of incoming for some poor wights. However, as they lack shields, and don't have the agility of light infantry, opposing skoutatoi would get an extra die for shooting and for close combat, i.e. 3 for each. That still leaves the bowmen with the 4-3 advantage in shooting and hand-to-hand. It seems reasonable to limit the bowmen hand-to-hand to 2 dice only. 

As a stocktake indicates 6 Georgian bow stands, I'll probably make them into 2 units @ 3SP, getting 3SP for shooting, and 2 SP for hand-to-hand. Opposing spearmen would get 0 for shooting and 4+1 (shieldless) for close combat; opposing skoutatoi, 2+1 for shooting and 2+1 for close combat. 



Following up this success, the weakened body of heavy horse attacked the akontistai. Having but one stand (SP) remaining it ought to have received just two dice instead of the three shown in the picture (one for the SP, one for the target being lights). Rather than reroll I just rolled for which of the dice to remove. Instead of being ridden down, the akontistai lost a stand. 

The extra green die removed

However, the akontistai showed at least they had teeth, the twos rolled causing the Bulgar horse to retreat two hexes. 

The Bulgar advances around the village of Mesymbria were leading them into some danger unless they could reinforce their successes. The Byzantines were still, rather tenuously, holding the village, and were steeling themselves to counter-attack. But the real danger took the form of the powerful body of kataphraktoi, led by Demetrios himself, pushing forward between the wood and the stream.

Overview. Byzantine right flank under pressure.

Shrugging aside a body of horse archers to be dealt with by the kavallarioi following behind, the super-heavies made straight for the nearest body of spearmen, hard by the riverbank. Quailing before the thundering oncoming mass, the spearmen failed in the test - not a single hit scored, as the four '5's' show (see below). With Demetrios wielding his sword, the kataphraktoi had 5 dice to roll, enough to knock off a SP from the spears, and force a retreat. Rather than retreat to incur yet another drubbing from lance, mace and sword, the spearmen took the extra SP loss.

Note: my comments regarding the mixed archer-spear skoutatoi ought possibly also to apply to  the kataphraktoi. However, the 2 dice for shooting and 2 for close combat would put them on a par with the other horse, with the sole advantage of being the larger, 4SP, unit. It might be reasonable to add an extra dice for close combat against lighter horse. Yet another idea that will call for testing!  

Demetrios Psychopathes and his kataphraktoi
smash into Bulgar spearmen

Meanwhile, the following kavallarioi sailed into the Bulgar horse archers hovering on Demetrios's flank. The picture immediately following tells the story...

Following kavallarioi go after some inconvenient
horse archers...

... as both sides vanished from the field. They had destroyed each other! 

The tide of Bulgarian success now began to recede, as the left wing began to receive reinforcements from their second line. 

Of course the Bulgar light infantry could not hold the heavier Byzantine horse for long, and they began to be forced back upon the Heos village. Shooting before combat (for a wonder!) knocked off one light infantry stand, for no loss to incoming... 

Heavy horse versus light infantry

... and the close combat forced the remainder of the enemy to retreat through the village to the hex beyond. The cavalry saw fit themselves to pull back a space.

Meanwhile, following up their charge, the kataphraktoi simply rode down the remaining spearmen facing them (three 6's!). The victorious kataphraktoi rallied back a short distance (the red 2 forcing a retreat). although they too thought it well to pull back slightly. 

I seem to have omitted the pictures of the Byzantine counter-attack that retook the hill near Mesymbria village. Themselves weakened in the earlier fighting, the spearmen on the hill had to face the incoming javelins and arrows from front and flank, and then the skoutatoi closed in. The spears routed and scattered, their unit destroyed. The akontistai felt emboldened thereafter to re-emerge from the village to shower the other spear unit with javelins, occasioning some loss.

The tale of disasters to the Bulgar foot - two units destroyed and a ninth SP also lost - took the Bulgars well past their exhaustion point and very close, withal, to their rout point. They had lost a further 5SP from their horse, and one more from their light infantry - a total of 15SP lost.  For their part, the Byzantine losses, though substantial, did not reach their exhaustion point. Nine SPs: three mounted units destroyed, two SP from one of the skoutatos units, and one from the javelinmen.  For most of the battle the losses were tracking close together, until the disastrous finale the routed the Bulgar army...

The Bulgars never got close to the action beyond the river.

There was plenty of food for thought arising from this action. I've noted a few here and there throughout this narrative, but there is one other I shall have to bear in mind. The 'shoot before contact' as a phase separate from the hand-to-hand battle itself, and hence a complication. But at the moment, it seems to be adding something to the game system, creating distinctions between the Byzantines and their disparate enemies...

Another play test will follow ... sometime!