Collaborative Campaign Year 14

 In Game Year 14 of our collaborative campaign, the Year of the Dog (an auspicious year, uh, for dogs), the action once again moves South...

Martin Smith provides the text and photos (that are all his intellectual property) for the latest game.

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King of Kings Xeroz, almighty lord of Zigura was furious. The decadent, godless Pylonians had thwarted his moves time and again, the most recent seeing his faithful Master of Horse Mahariz slain and yet another army repulsed. But now he wanted closure on the business of control of the southern shores of the Great Sea, and the Priests of Taran proclaimed the hour to be right for revenge.

Never short of volunteers to seek glory on his behalf, he summoned Hulipakar, nephew of General Amukar (disgraced in the Battle of the Wastelands). A student of all things military, Hulipakar was not a liked young man, but had a reputation for a ruthless streak which Xeroz saw as a blessing. The thought that when Raphan province was taken the harsh and brutal suppression of its populace would follow gave the King of Kings a warm feeling. And so he assigned the cruel young commander his duties and sent him off to Nyos to settle the Pylonian conundrum.

Battle of the Utbaru

Ever conscious of the Ziguran threat, Hepu, Pylonia’s Governor of Raphan, kept his guard well and truly up. Hearing from desert tribe traders of the buildup of Ziguran forces in Nyos he despatched Mercenary Captain-General Imbrios southwards with the bulk of his bronze-clad Cyraenians, the Maraway archer-tribes in his pay and the few Pylonians he could spare to watch for any enemy thrust.

Camped east of the Great Ypokos river, on the banks of its tributary the Utbaru, the Cyraenian veteran waited by the Nyos to Raphan highway, sending out patrols to probe any likely approach routes. Sure enough, early one morning a returning patrol sent word of a large dust cloud spotted to the south. Hurrying back to the main force, the patrol’s militia spearmen soon found a Ziguran army hard on its heels, with Hulipakar at its head.

The young Ziguran leader’s plan was to form up facing the Utbaru and then pelt the defenders with his massed archers, and he skillfully manoeuvred towards that end.

Seeing the oncoming host, and assessing the missile threat Captain-General Imbrios did not hesitate.

Attack, the wily mercenary commander deemed, was always the best form of defence.

Orders flew out and his Cyraenian phalanxes started forward, splashing gamely into the fast flowing Utbaru to reform on its southern bank. Simultaneously the Maraway tribesmen, bows held clear of the water, waded a ford and proceeded to array themselves before the rapidly approaching enemy.

To either side of the highway a shooting battle commenced between the Maraway and their lightly armed Ziguran opponents, but no side could gain the upper hand, though the Ziguran skirmishers were forced to slowly give ground.

Meantime, in the centre, Imbrios’ spear wielding phalanxes pushed forward in two formidable lines. Ziguran archery was intense, but, shields up, the Cyraenians struggled on, despite their formation being greatly disrupted. Soon the two lines met, bodies rapidly piling up as bronze met flesh, both sides suffering terribly. But the stubborn Ziguran foot soldiers held, while their cavalry began to lap around the exposed Cyraenian left flank.

Pylonia’s mercenaries were now facing Ziguran regulars from the Nyos garrison, who were proving to be tough and unyielding. Many Cyraenians fell in the carnage, but their resolve held, and while seemingly equal numbers of Zigurans added to the piles of dead it was a relatively minor scrap nearby which tipped the balance : Aiming to break a small and isolated body of the bronze warriors, Hulipakar led his personal bodyguard in a headlong assault. However, his opponents locked shields and dug their heels in, and were saved when a mass of Pylonian militia ploughed into the flank of the horse-riding nobles, causing instant chaos. In the confusion Hulipakar was pulled from his horse by a lowly peasant spearman and skewered…

Word of the unpopular commander’s death spread rapidly, and in an instant the Zigurans’ will to fight evaporated, with archers and spearmen dropping their weapons to flee. Lacking cavalry to press a pursuit, Imbrios sent light skirmishers to harass and chivvy the Zigurans back to Nyos, but there was no sign of them rallying, for which he thanked the gods.

Later, while overseeing the counting of severed hands in the established Pylonian way, Imbrios reckoned the Ziguran threat well and truly dealt with. One particular hand, brought him by a beaming peasant militia spearman, was seen to display a Ziguran ring of command, confirming the story that the lowest Pylonian had felled the highest Ziguran. The handless remainder of the downed general was lost among the great pile of his slaughtered countrymen.

Once again the Pylonians had defeated a Ziguran invasion force, but at the cost of great loss among their prized mercenaries from the Cyraenian Pentapolis. A weary Mercenary Captain-General Imbrios now began to wonder how he might beg God-King Hipohap for his release from service payment.

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Many thanks to Martin for another splendid battle report - Looks like it's time for the King of Kings to concentrate on defending the land he's managed to grab to date....

Will the Pylonians attempt to recover the land they've lost? Only the dice can answer.

Plug for another Blog

 In case any reader of this blog has yet to read the latest post from Les Riflemen de Bourg en Bresse, I urge you do so and especially to watch the video at the end LINK which features AI animation as good as I've seen it so far using photos of miniatures - Bravo Phil! Very clever and beautiful presentation.

Collaborative Campaign Year 13: Part 2

The last post in this series saw Picenia attack and take control of the City State of Sentis, a member of the Cyraenian Pentapolis. In today's episode there is further action in this theatre.

Mark once again takes up the tale... (Text and pictures are © Mark Cordone).

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The Battle of Cyllene

After the battle of Aphidna, Demetrius, and the Picenians began to consolidate their control of the city state of Sentis.  While this was happening, the rest of the Pentapolis city states met to decide what to do.  With the Therissian's abstaining, the other three cities voted to back the claim of Anaxander, Antonatus's brother, to the throne.  An army under the Kartosian king Doryssus was raised to invade Sentis.  It consisted of some 3000 elite, disciplined Kartosian hoplites, around 100 Herelion armored elphas supported by about 4000 peltasts and archers, and a Cyraenian phalanx of 4000 with 2000 additional cavalry.

Governor Auteus Callosus the Picenian province of Luss had the 5000 disciplined men of the 8th Legion and 2000 Kigali cataphracts.  In addition Demetrius fielded a 4000 man phalanx, 3000 archers and about 2000 unreliable peltasts from Sentis.

On the 4th day of the 11th month of the year of the Hippopotamus the armies met along the coast near the sleepy fishing village of Cyllene.  It was warm and sunny with only a few clouds in the sky as the armies deployed for battle. Auteus deployed his phalanx in the left sector with their flank resting on the beach.  In the center he placed the 8th Legion and on a hill to the right he deployed his archers.  In reserve he had the cataphracts and the unreliable peltasts.

King Doryssus was with his vaunted elite, disaplined hoplites on the left, the elphas were in the center and in the rough ground in front of the hill he had his archers and peltasts.  In reserve were the Cyraenian phalanx and cavalry.  Anaxander was with the horsemen.

The battle began with an archery duel on the right which saw the Herelion's emerge victorious and take possession of the high ground.  They then began to shoot into the flank of the 8th Legion as the elphas advanced.  This was too much for the legionaries, who broke and fled. 

As Auteus tried unsuccessfully to rally them his peltasts briefly retook the hill as the cataphracts charged but were scattered by the elphas.

As this was going on the vaunted Kartos hoplites advanced along the beach only to be routed when their king was killed in the melee.  They could not be rallied but Anaxander took command of the army.  As he did so some very effective shooting from the Sentis peltasts panicked the elphas who stampeded to the rear.  

Keeping his cool, Anaxander sent his reserve phalanx forward on the left.  In the subsequent melee both sides were exhausted but charging with his cavalry up the now wide open center of the field Anaxander broke the enemy who fled pell mell to be mostly slaughtered during the pursuit.

Sentis was retaken, and governor Auteus Callosus was killed trying to rally his shattered army.  Demetrius was captured and quickly tried and executed as Anaxander established himself as tyrant of Sentis.  Thus the Picenian attempt to gain control of Sentis came to an end.

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Thanks to Mark for another excellent, and beautifully illustrated, battle report, including a Leviathan! Picenia has been thwarted for now.....