54mm Battle of Dorylaeum refight

 

For the next crusades game I decided that we would re-enact the battle of Dorylaeum from the first crusade in 1097 AD.

This is very interesting scenario, which presents tactical problems to both sides. The Crusaders were marching in three contingents, the first of which was attacked by overwhelming numbers of Saracens, the second two contingents came up in support and the Saracens were eventually defeated.

As before we used the Neil Thomas rules but I have tweaked the army lists from the last game.

The lead contingent of crusaders under Bohemond consisted of four units, two of men at arms and two of Knights. These were surrounded by overwhelming numbers of Saracens both horse and foot. The relief force started at the far end of the table, the cavalry in front and the foot behind.

The game started with the Saracens trying to whittle down the surrounded crusaders by missile fire, however when this had little impact they charged in and the Crusaders were soon surrounded by an absolute sea of Saracens.

The cavalry contingent of the relief force charged off ahead of the infantry, desperate to come to sword strokes and relieve their beleaguered brethren. The Saracen general detailed his cavalry to intercept.

A mighty struggle between the two cavalry contingents now ensued, with The Crusaders having the upper hand but not able to break through. In fact the swirling cavalry melee blocked most of the relieving crusader infantry from coming forward. The exception was some light troops on either flank who made their way past the cavalry melee to try to relieve Bohemond’s troops.

This turned out to be a really bad idea, as the light troops were promptly blocked and wiped out by Saracen infantry.

The unit of peasants was annihilated without inflicting a single casualty!

Meanwhile Bohemond’s contingent were on a very sticky wicket as we say in England. The men at arms had all fallen, and only knights were left standing. However the Templar Knights revelled in the face of overwhelming odds and with loud cries of “Deus Vult” cut down any Saracen unwise enough to come too close.

By now the cavalry of the relief force had defeated their opponents and the way was clear for them to sweep through with knight Templar infantry support to relieve the first contingent which from a starting strength of 16 bases had now been reduced to three.

However this came too late. A count of bases last showed that both sides had now lost over 50% of their bases and were technically broken. The Crusaders had had exceeded the 50% margin by more than the Saracens and therefore the game was judged to be a draw with the advantage to the Saracens.

It had been a tremendously exciting game and right up to the end it wasn't clear which side was going to win.

In summary the Saracen general did everything right and the crusader general – me - did everything wrong.

The Saracen general used his cavalry to block the relieving crusader forces which meant that much of the crusader army never even made it into contact, and as he was able to take advantage of his numbers to overwhelm crusader units.

The crusader general however played the game very historically.

The headlong charge of the crusader cavalry without waiting for the infantry is typical of many battles of the period. Often this tactic worked, just as often it fell disastrously.

Overall it was an excellent game and we are looking forward to the next game which is likely to be the battle of Antioch.

54mm crusades wargame

 This game was played using the following figures. saracen infantry are all Britains made in England or in Hong Kong. the ones made in Hong Kong are cheaper to buy on eBay because they are of less interest to collectors but they're actually better painted. saracen cavalry again are Britains with the exception of the camelry which are Supreme and word purchased from Hobby Bunker in the USA.

the crusader cavalry is all Timpo foot knights Timpo and other infantry is either airfix or an anonymous modern Chinese manufacturer.

I bought most of these figures in quite large lots on eBay UK they actually work out cheaper than buying 28 millimetre metal figures and they come ready painted and can just go on the table.

for this game I used the Neil Thomas ancient and medieval wargaming rules but I did make a number of amendments to these.

The Crusaders had 13 units and the Saracens had 15 units, it was a straight up battle.

Saracens took the first turn and were inclined to see what the Crusaders would do however when the crusader crossbowmen open fire and caused some casualties this stung with the Saracens into advancing as quickly as they could. as soon as they came into range they opened up with a volley of arrows along the line which inflicted a sprinkling of casualties on the Crusaders.

The Crusaders retaliated by attacking the saracen cavalry on both wings.

the infantry lines now advanced towards each other continuing to trade arrows and crossbow bolts. one of the crusader crossbow units was quickly illuminated by missile fire.

the lines clashed, the better armour and morale of the crusader Knights started to tell, however the saracen made use of gaps in the crusader line to carry out of flank charges wherever they could. These flank charges did not seem to bother the Templar Knights in slightest.

after a couple of rounds of melee it became clear that the Crusaders were prevailing. on the crusader left flank they had been unable to break through the saracen cavalry, however on the right flank they had broken through and were ready to sweep around and take the saracen army in the rear. at this point we did a count of bases lost and found that the Saracens had lost over 50% of their bases and therefore the Crusaders had won. also they had lost all three of their army commanders in combat.

it was a really good game and using the Neil Thomas rules was played out in only a couple hours.

in retrospect the Saracens probably needed a couple more units to even up the odds and would have benefited from a larger table where they could have used the superior whenever mobility of their cavalry.

The two armies face each other

Supreme camelry

Britains Saracens

Saracen left flank

Crusader right flank

Templars and crossbows

Crusaders sweep forward

Saracen countercharge

Anonymous chinese made crossbowmen

General view of the Crusaders

Clash of cavalry

The opposing generals face each other

The peasants are converted chinese figures

Crusader general gets stuck in

Templars are flanked - they don't care

Looking sticky for the Saracens

Crusader cavalry break through on the right flank

AWM rules and lists for Crusades

Crusaders

Holy order mounted knights – armour 4+, morale elite

Holy order foot knights – armour 4+, morale elite

Crusading mounted knights – armour 4+, morale average

Crusading foot knights – armour 4+, morale average

Men at arms – armour 5+, average morale, medieval infantry

Crossbowmen – armour 6, average morale, heavy archers

Crusading peasants – armour 6+, morale levy.

Artillery – as the rules, fires in alternate turns.

Saracens

Guard cavalry on camels – armour 4+, morale elite, heavy cavalry

Standard Saracen cavalry – armour 5+, morale average, heavy cavalry

Saracen infantry – armour 5+, morale average, medieval infantry. Move as warband.

Greek fire throwers – D3 automatic hits no save in the first round of combat.

Changes to the standard rules

Crossbowmen – may move ½ and fire;

Saracen infantry and cavalry – may move and fire bows; 1 bow shot per 2 bases in a unit rounding down.

Saracen cavalry may move and turn without penalty. They may fire after moving. They may withdraw from combat with crusader cavalry in the second and subsequent rounds. Standard Saracen cavalry move as light cavalry.

Commanders – Saracen units with a commander count as one morale level higher. Crusader units gain an extra dice in combat.