NICOPOLIS 1396

[fogman]

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1396. The steady advance of the Ottoman Turks spurred Christendom into one last round of holy warfare. Trumpets sounded for the gathering of Christ's warriors. The great lords of Burgundy and France, chief among other Westerners, answered the call. East they marched accompanied by the host of the kingdom of Hungary at its vassals, Transylvania and Wallachia. In the lower reaches of the Danube the Ottomans confronted them. On the day of battle, their vanity and reckless courage led the French knights to charge, well out of reach of the supporting Hungarians, into carefully prepared defensive positions where, forced to dismount, they were surrounded on three sides. Sensing defeat the Transylvanian and Wallachian contingents withdrew. Those who remained and survived would be haunted by the slaughter that occurred that day, on the other side of Europe, at a place called Nicopolis.

Designer's note:

The battle has two distinct phases. The charge and annihilation of the Franco-Burgundian cavalry and the following clash between the Ottomans and the Hungarians. If the scenario was to start at the very beginning, when the French cavalry were still with the Hungarians, Transylvanians and Wallachians, then what is being simulated is not Nicopolis, but a what-if-the-french-didn't-charge-off-stupidly scenario. This is a key event that defines the historical idea we have of Nicopolis, and has to be reproduced.

The design had to be such as to make possible the crusader player's victory (in game terms) despite the sure loss of his best cavalry (and the Transylvanians and Wallachians). It was an interesting challenge where the use of immobile units that was crucial to the Bouvines scenario got refined further.

In terms of of strategy/tactics, the french knights, as they go down fighting, have the opportunity to destroy a fair amount of Ottoman infantry and they also need to decimate as many Ottoman cavalry units as possible. this is key for the second phase because a relatively intact ottoman cavalry will shoot the Hungarians to pieces. While seemingly straightforward, this first phase requires some well thought-out chess-like opening moves to maximise results. The second phase is a completely different type of warfare that calls for good cavalry management on the Ottoman side and good coordination between infantry and cavalry on the crusader side.

[Micha63]

Thank you.