Byzantines vs Ghaznavids

[Chris]

BYZANTINES vs GHAZNAVIDS


This, the first of three planned scenarios was played with the GRAND TRIUMPH rules. The tabletop engagement was inspired by Nicholas Barrett's very brief as well as rather old battle report published in the July 1981 issue of Slingshot, wherein Ghaznavids faced off against Late Byzantines.

The terrain would be the same for all three scenarios. The look of my 6.5 by 3.75 foot tabletop was based, in as much as it was possible, on the simple map provided with the original report.
Starting on the Byzantine left flank and stretching across the model battlefield to the left of the Ghaznavid position, there were several one-tier hills or gentle rises. The one closest to the Ghaznavid deployment was the smallest of the four. There were two medium-size hills; these were in front of the Ghaznavid left wing and on the left of the Byzantine formation, respectively.
The largest hill or gentle rise looked like a boot, sock, or capital letter L, laid on its back, with the toe pointing at the center of the Ghaznavid formations. In terms of other terrain features, there was a very small patch of woods and scrub just in front of the Ghaznavid right. There was also a think line of trees and scrub extending from the medium-size hill in front of the Ghaznavid left to almost the short-edge of the field on this side of the tabletop.

For the GRAND TRIUMPH! game, the 144-point armies (approximately) were selected from these two lists: https://meshwesh.wgcwar.com/armyList/5fb1b9efe1af06001770a07a/explore and https://meshwesh.wgcwar.com/armyList/5fb1b9ebe1af060017709e53/explore.

The Byzantine right wing contained 5 units of Pavisiers, 3 units of Raiders, 3 units of Light Foot, 1 unit of Skirmishers, and a unit of Elite Cavalry which served as the command stand of the formation. The Byzantine center included 5 units of Pavisiers as well, along with 3 units of Spear and 4 units of Elite Cavalry. The commander of the army was with one of these Elite Cavalry stands. The Byzantine left was the cavalry wing of the army. This formation was composed of 3 units of Javelin Cavalry, 5 units of Bad Horse, 3 units of Horse Bow, and 1 unit of Elite Cavalry, which served as the command stand of the all-mounted force.

On the opposite side of the arid plain, the Ghaznavid right flank had 8 units of Elite Cavalry (all with the "shower shooting" ability), along with 1 unit of Javelin Cavalry and 1 unit of Horse Bow. The army general was with the formation. The center of the Ghaznavid army contained 6 units of Bow Levy, 3 units of Horse Bow, 3 units of Spear, and 4 units of Elephants. The commander of this division rode on an elephant. The Horse Bow units were held as a kind of reserve. ON the left flank, the formation consisted of 3 units of Javelin Cavalry, 3 units of Raiders, 3 units of Warband, 2 units of Light Spear, and 1 unit of Elite Cavalry. As per usual, the sub-general in charge was attached to or embedded with the Elite Cavalry.

It took just 5 turns of play for the Byzantine army to collapse. The decline started on their left wing, when their cavalry formation was taken apart by a combination of "shower shooting" and effective melees, wherein the Ghaznavid units ganged up on isolated Byzantine units and rolled much better dice. The subsequent demoralization of this wing was compounded by several units being out of command when the division was demoralized. These units lost heart and ran away.

Over on the Byzantine right wing, the fighting was more even with the opposing units of Raiders pushing each other back over the course of a couple of moves. The Byzantine Pavisiers disrupted the enemy line, but the Ghaznavids recovered and launched a few excellent charges into the ranks of spearmen supported by archers. The Ghaznavid Raiders and Warband units were able to overwhelm a unit of Pavisiers and then expand this gap in the enemy line. A turn later, and following a few more uneven melee rolls, the Byzantine right was also demoralized.

Even though the Byzantine general and his command had been untouched (in fact, they had yet to come to grips with the slow moving Ghaznavid center), with his flanks in tatters, he decided to order a retreat, yielding the field and the honors to the Ghaznavids.

In brief summary, I think the deployments and plans of both sides were sound. (Opinions will differ, of course.) This was one of those wargames that saw one side plagued by very poor dice.