Thursday 3 April 2014

Summer 995 - The Battle of Craggy Bluffs

Mirish ignored the incursion of the Black Moon Army to focus on decisively defeating The Abyss. It might be said that the Black Moon Army and The Abyss were equally bad and this decision to focus on defeating one in detail was wise. Would events bear this out, or would the military planners of Mirish have egg on their faces by the end of the year?

The Mirish army deployed with skirmishers on each flank. Their centre comprised a front rank with shock troops including their elephants and a rear rank with still more shock troops including all their cataphracts and clibanarii.
The Mirish army advanced quickly with the right flank to threaten the pitifully small quantity of undead, who had deployed with all their infantry together and a small cavalry reserve.
 As the Mirish army advanced, the undead sounded the charge. They had but one hope: to drive through the centre of the Mirish army and defeat the general. It began well as the cavalry reserve saw off one unit of skirmishers and the infantry routed one unit of elephants and their supporting infantry, although the ghouls were driven back in the process.
However, their efforts were not enough. They drove off the elephants and piled into the cavalry behind, routing two units, but the damage they took in the process reduced the undead to nothing, leaving only their general behind. He was soon surrounded by cavalry and skirmishers, and was cut down in short order. The undead cavalry drove the Mirish skirmishers back once more, but they rallied, surrounded the undead cavalry and cut them down.

In the pursuit, the Mirish army caught and cut to ribbons one unit of ghouls and one unit of zombies. With only one province left and only three units in their army, The Abyss must surely surrender. But no, I rolled a double 1 and they chose to continue the war even though it must surely mean their utter annihilation. One can only think that the Necromancer has a greater plan than mere territorial domination.