Su HUUB wanted to test his first Nikephorian army list and wanted a potential historical opponent and I choose Ghaznavid .
He got to choose terrain but I was lucky and outscouted him by 80 %
As you can see on the 3 picutres terrain was relativly open except for the 2 brown terrain, rough terrain that I did choose . The woods would protect my flank . As usual I would be on the left side, Huub on the right side . Huub did deploy his cavalry ( 2 sup tagmata and one sup kataphraktoï ) in the dark valley and I countered with 2 large spearmen units , 9 bases strongh and the nellies ..My bow cavalry to the flanks, some lancers in reserve and the ferocious dailami ready on my right to go and defeat the skutatoi unit that protect his flank
He wanted to put pressure advancing his right flank
and I countered on my right flank . His cavalry fearlessly advanced in the center .
and his armenian mercenaries also advanced in the center ..
Manoeuvring ...his powerfull cavalry assault is already disorganised ...he has to protect his flanks . But I do not have a free hand ..;4 sup Ghilam is a bit light weight vs 6 sup tagmata ..
The dailami just advance trying to get to those skutatoI .
He still puts pressure on the other flank . His infantry are a 9 bases armenian mercenaries, LS, 2 TUGs of average russian varangian infantry and some slavs .
Charge ...the kataphracts have seen how to kill nellies in LOR .( and they will do it )
Did I tell you HUUB is quite agressive ?
So rather inconclusie but one nellie down at the charge ..
Nothing of importance he just got a flexh wound
So I managed to put a TUG in his flank when moving but he just killed the nellies, a white die, a blanck one, 2 wounds ..and the tagmata also begins to grind my infantry . But the kataphraktoi are stuck where they are .
Going for the byzantine skutatoi . I need to be quick
So what happened . His armenian LS are advancing and I advanced the kurdish lancers in the flank of the tagmata . I charged first hitting the byzantine cavalry in the flank but by doing so presented my flank to the armenians who went for it . The byzantine tagmata suffered heavily and will break in melee, the kurds also will break in melee but job done . My army is bigger than his .
and he keeps pushing
But I got to grip with the skutatoi , a frontal charge by DC infantry followed by a flank charge by SUP cavalry ..
So in the center the 2 spearmen unit still do battle with the outnumbered kataphraktoi and upper right he made a mistake and turned his lancers forgetting I had stil a unit to move who did move in his back ..
Is there someone behind us ? they do not seem friendly ! neither the guys to the front
3 TUGS to try to kill that units ..my dice were just very bad and his pretty good but he will die ( and I nearly )
That was hard
On the other flank , I managed to turn his mercenaries flank and tried with another unit to shoot him down or desesperatly fight his infantry . It will be very close but if I kill that unit, game over .
The charge was a good one, and he was going to feel all alone and my surviving infantry is coming to help his infantry on the left hand of the picture is to far away to save that unit . it will die so 15 - 4 . It was a very hard battle and as HUUB said, he rolled as more skulls and wounds in one battle than all other battles before ...
Next week, the Nikes come back for another test .