The Huns Ride Forth

[Karvon]

A semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors.

1. Ambushing the Alans.

The Huns raided into Alan territory and met their forces along a river. The river, fordable at a couple of points, ran along the left flank. A chain of gentle hills ran down the center. The far right corner was masked off by forests. A couple of medium-sized woods lay just off our center on our right.

We deployed a large lancer command hidden in and behind the woods on our right. We had light horse screening both flanks and a couple of horse archer commands, supported by token lancer guards, placed on our left and center. Our plan was to lure the more numerous Alans forward on our left and center and then spring our lancers on them and sweep them away.

The Alans deployed several mixed horse commands of horse archers and lancers behind a screen of light horse. A small number of light foot archers extended their screen on their left. They rolled forward towards our smaller forces quite quickly.

We danced back a bit with our own light horse until we could suddenly make a massive skirmish barrage at the most effective range and angles. Combined with our superior bow fire, this caused a number of disruptions along the Alan front and in particular on his right where we'd concentrated more of our lights. The Alans unleashed their lancers to drive our horse archers off and give his troops a chance to recover. Our lights promptly evaded safely out of reach, drawing the lancers after them into range of our waiting heavier horse archers. These promptly shot up a fair number of his lancers, and our lights danced around them to continue harassing his horse archers and drove many of his light off, catching and breaking a few in the process.

The Alans move up his horse archers and the rest of lancers to deal with our horse archers and a mixture of skirmishing and some melees took place along the line. We lost a few evaders, but this also broke up his line as victorious horse pursued away from the action.

At this point, we unleashed our lancers, catching and quickly seeing off several pursuers and already disrupted or fragmented troops. The Alans pulled back where they could and tried to regroup, but they were pinned down in ongoing combat in quite a few places, and these were each flanked and routed as our wave swept across the field. Our lights joined in pursuit, which led to further sudden flanking attacks by the pursuing lancers and the Alans gave up and fled for home.

Final Score: Huns 63 Alans 38

[Karvon]

2nd in series in a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors.

2. The Alans Strike Back

Riding on deeper into the Alans territory, we came across a freshly raised force among some gentle rolling hills and lightly wooded plain.

We deployed on our far left, hoping to use some of the woods in the far left corner as a mask for our flank as we wheeled on the Alans, and relying on our massed warband block to hold our right.

Unfortunately, the Alan light horse screening their right managed to outrun and outdance our own horse in and around those trees fatally delaying our envelopment of the Alans. By the time our envelopment came to bear on the Alans, our warbands had been flanked and overwhelmed and our army lost heart and fled the field.

Final Score Huns 37 Alans 60.

[Karvon]

3rd in a series of a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors.

3. Another battle around the woods.

Regrouping with fresh recruits drawn to fill our losses, we returned to the Alans territory to seek revenge and finish off these pesky raiders. This time we found them in a more heavily wooded area, trees were scattered in large clumps in all four corners of the field and a few low hills broke up the otherwise flat ground.

We deployed a division in the center a bit back from the woods on our left and hid most of our forces in and behind those woods.

The Alans deployed with several divisions of horse archers, each supported by a handful of lancers. These initially gravitated towards our forces in the center, which we slowly withdrew and then shifted behind the woods to our left. We sprang our main force out of the woods and pounced on the Alans right, scattering their horse archers.

Cencentrating our superior bowfire, we rather quickly disrupted a number of their horse before they could reqroup and return effective fire on our advancing division. Our warbands repeated charged to further scatter and disrupt their horse archers and then pinned down several of their supporting lancers.

Our own horse, continued to concentrate fire and then our lights charged and broke the fragmented targets, chasing them off the field.

Our lancers closed in and engaged his surviving lancers, which we then flanked with our horse archers, disrupting them. Those that survived, were seen off by charges of our reserves and the Alans fled the field.

Final Score: Huns 40 Alans 5

[Karvon]

4th in a series of a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors; the first vs the Goths


4. First Encounter with the Goths.

With the successful campaign wrapped up vs the Alans, our horde road west into the lands of the Goths. We met their army on a lightly wooded plain. The enemy deployed between a pair of medium woods which covered each flank. Their right flank had a further smaller woods masking the larger one.

We deployed most of our light foot to probe the woods on our right, which had more open ground surrounding from which we could support them with our horse. We initially sent two mixed mounted divisions to follow up there. We dispatched another mixed mounted division, supported by a few light foot, on our far left to probe around the woods masking the enemy right. Our fourth division we held back a bit in reserve in the center.

The Goths had a mixed force of warbands and lancers in the center, with light foot deployed in the woods covering their flanks. A few light horse and horse archers sortied out from behind the woods on their right to confront my probing cavalry. They aggressively dispatched warbands and lancers from the center to counter my approaching light foot on their left.

Fierce firefights broke out on both flanks as we unleashed heavy barrages of arrows on the opposing mounted, and tried to pin and distract the supporting warbands on the enemy left near the woods. On our right, our lights cleared the woods, with help of our flanking horse, but then got flanked by warbands and gradually worn down. We shot down and ran off his lancers, which took some of our horse out of action for awhile in the pursuit. On our left, it was a slow game of cat-and-mouse as our troops skirmished and chased his around the woods, while slowly getting whittled down by his supporting light foot. Again, we managed to flank and drive off his lights using a combo of our foot and horse, finally clearing the woods. As on our right, we surrounded and shot down a few lancers he shifted to support his horse archers and either pinned or evaded the warbands that lumbered that direction.

The end game found nearly all the Goth horse and light foot destroyed and his warbands a bit scattered. Our own surviving forces were in disarray, having pursued his broken troops to various corners of the field. In the final hours of daylight, we converged our forces in the center and flanked and broke a couple of warbands, and the rest of the Goths had enough, fleeing the field.

FInal score: Huns 65 Goths 42.

[Karvon]

5th in a series of a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors; the second vs the Goths.

5. Along a Gentle Ridge.

We pursued the defeated Goths, and their tribes rallied and turned to face us along the slopes of a gentle ridge, which ran along the right side of the field. A few scattered trees dotted the ridge leading to a medium-sized woods in our right center sector and a larger woods, masking our right corner. Another medium-sized woods partially masked the enemy right in the far left corner of the field.

We deployed our light foot archers in the woods on our right. We placed a mixed mounted command adjacent to these woods. Our other two mixed mountec command we deployed on our far left.

The Goths deployed a division of warbands in the center with division of lancers on both flanks and in line ahead of them. Their front was screened by light archers in a long loose line.

We sent forward our light horse from our right wing to harry and draw forward his lancers, as we shifted part of our right horse around the woods to our far right, while the remainder fellback a little. Our left wing swept forward to harass and envelop his right. Our light horse charged his archers from long range, driving them back behind his horse on both wings.

The Goths took the bait on our right and his center and left lancer divisions galloped forward to engage our right wing divided by the woods. His warbands advanced in the center, without a clear target. His left wing lancers charged to drive off our light horse.

On our right, our foot archers sortied out of the woods on the flanks of the enemy lancers and showered them with arrows, joined by fire from our light horse and some of our cavalry, quickly shredding these. They charged attempting to close, but we mostly outran them. One did catch a foot archer, but that only opened it to flanking by some of our waiting horse. Our shooting from our waiting horse, further wore them down and our supporting lancers spurrred in and saw off the disrupted and fragmented survivors.

On our left, we enveloped and shot down the lancers which chased our lights. Once disrupted, our supporting lancers closed with them and then our horse archers moved in to flank them.

The Goths warbands futilely marched to catch-up and support their beleagured horse, but could not reach them before they were washed away.

Final Score: Huns 54 Goths 12

Initial deployment

[Karvon]

6th in a series of a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors; the first vs the Romans.

6. Along a river and across a stream.

Having subjugated the Goths, we pressed on beyond their lands into the those claimed by Rome. A Roman legion marched out to confront our forces and we met along the banks of a large river, facing each other across a stream. A large woods partially masked the Roman right and scattered woods filled much of our left sector.

We hid our light foot archers and parts of one mounted command in the woods on our left. Two other mounted commands and a small lancer reserve we deployed in the center.

The Roman legion deployed in the open space between the woods and the river. Their elite medium and heavy infantry were supported by a large number of horse, ranging from cataphracts to horse archers. A couple of light artillery were placed on their left along the river. A few lights screened their front.

We sent forward our horse archers to skirmish along the banks of the stream in the center. Our light foot archers swept forward to clear the large woods on the Roman right. We pushed our left wing mounted command across the stream to flank the woods.

The Romans very aggressively sortied out with his mounted to drive back our horse archers as his infantry plodded along behind. He detached a couple of lights and a medium or two to contest the woods on his right.

Our horse archers fairly quickly shredded most of his horse with concentrated bow fire and then chased off the survivors, breaching the Roman line in a couple of places. On our right, our light archers overwhelmed his hand full of lights in the woods, and with flanking support from our cavalry, saw off the supporting mediums as well. Our victorious left wing horse began a ride around the woods to envelop the Roman center.

The Roman foot pushed on across the stream in the center, and their right wheeled to face our forces in and around the woods at the end of their line. We continued skirmishing along this front and managed to shoot up and flank a couple more of his mediums and our exploiting lancers swept into his light artillery, seeing most of that off.

These losses proved too much and the Romans fled the field.

Final Score: Huns 44 Romans 5

[Karvon]

7th in a series of a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors; the 2nd vs the Romans.

7. Battle on the Plateau

The Romans rallied the forces and marched out to oppose our raiders. We met them deployed on a broad plateau astride the main road. Some woods provided some cover for both their flanks.

We initially deployed our light foot in some woods on the far left edge as a potential ambush of opposing horse or lights. We had three commands of horse archers deployed across the field backed up by a command of our lancers in reserve. We deployed a group of light horse on each flank.

The Romans deployed their foot in the center, a mix of some heavy foot backed up by some mediums, with horse divided to cover each flank in reserve and a few lights screening their front. Some artillery was deployed to the rear.

We initially drove hard on each flank with our wing commands supported by light horse while holding our lancers in reserve.

The Romans responded by sally out with their horse supported by some of their foot, spreading out their forces.

We abruptly redeployed our horse archers from the left and center to our right while pushing on with our lights on both flanks.

The Romans, naturally, attempted to regroup, redirecting their forces to support their now over exposed left, but could not do so as quickly as our horse.

Our massed shooting decimated and saw off most of their lights and horse, and our flanking light horse overran their artillery from the rear. We flanked and destroyed some of their medium foot, and the rest of the army broke and fled for home.

Final Score: Huns 40 - Romans 8

[Karvon]

8th in a series of a semi-historical campaign pitting the Huns against a series of their neighbors; the 3rd vs the Romans.

8. A Meeting in the Hills.

The Romans raised a third army to face our pillaging hordes, and we met them in a wooded hill country. A long steep ridge ran from the Roman right center edge to almost the middle of the field with lower gentler shoulders extending off to both the left and right. A large wood masked the right flank of that ridge. A large plateau rose off to the Roman left, its rear secured by a marsh and a large rough area along the left edge narrowing the open ground on its left. Several medium-sized patches of rough were sprinkled along the valley between these two hills, making the area very inhospitable for mounted. A long gentle slope ran from our center edge up to almost the middle of the field to face the Roman steep ridge. A large wood filled most of our right sector, reaching to almost the center of the field. Woods likewise filled almost all of our left sector.

Not wanting to have anything to do with that steep central ridge, we deployed on our far right with most of our forces. We did hide a few light foot and a small lancer command in the woods on our left, hoping to spring those out behind the Romans as they pivoted to deal with our main forces on the far right.

Mostly as expected, the Romans did indeed deploy primarily on their right, deploying numerous auxiliaries and a few lights on the steep hill and their heavier foot beside it. Their cavalry was massed to cover their left, which suited us just fine.

We aggressively advanced on the far right, stretching out to the very edge with our lights, while holding back a little with our heavier horse archers and our small lancer reserves. The Romans countered by swinging their cavalry command to meet us and slowing pivoting their infantry to their left in support.

Our light horse moved up and unleashed several volleys of arrows on his cavalry, prompting these to charge to drive them off. This brought them into effective range of our heavier horse archers, who shredded them with fire almost instantly. Our lancers moved up and finished these off pretty quickly, with our light horse taking up the pursuit to prevent any chance of rallying.

Meanwhile, the Roman infantry had come down off the central hill in belated support of their horse. We continued to fall back on our left, leading them further away from the hill, then our lancers swept out of the woods and overran the exposed lights and one or two of the supporting auxiliaries.

These losses demoralized the surviving Roman infantry, and they fled the field.

Final Score: Huns 42 - Romans - 0.

[Karvon]

Conclusion

After sustaining 3 straight defeats, the Romans decided it best to pay off the Huns with a large tribute, and the Huns retired with their long trains of booty and gold back to the frontier.

Thanks to all the folks who picked up the open challenges over the course of this campaign.

Regards,

Karvon