The interesting challenge for both sides in this game where the armies are fundamentally different from each other in composition and fighting characteristics, often creates a brain spinning scenario! Each side endevours to play to its strengths and exploit the weaknesses of the opposing force.
The Ottoman army with 6 bow armed cavalry, 5 light and medium and one ‘A’ class unit of Quapakulu heavy cavalry verses the 4 units of Hungarian heavy cavalry and single unit of horse archers is an obvious miss-match! The 2 units of Hungarian war wagons supported by crossbows, handgunners and bowmen is escorted by 8 units of peasant hordes at just 3 points each to boost the overall number of units to qualify the use of 4 generals at the standard 5:1 ratio of units to generals. One of these generals was a ‘hero’ general deliberately chosen to give much needed support to the ‘D’ class peasant hordes.The Ottoman infantry consisted of Azab archers and spearmen in equal numbers and the army also had 4 generals but no hero!
The terrain layout saw a scattering of 4 and 3 hex areas of woodland with a road snaking across the battlefield linking the deployed armies. There was a limited amount of high ground in the form of a couple of small 4 hex hills towards the table edges.
My Hungarian army moved first and in anticipation of a swift attack by the Ottoman light cavalry I quickly established a shooting line a third of the way across the table from my table edge. Tony in response split his cavalry; one heavy and two medium to the left and the three light Akincis to the right. The Ottoman infantry moved to a central 4 hex wood adjacent to the road and stopped.
I sent 4 of my peasant hordes at their blistering pace of one hex into and behind a 3 hex wood to create a bastion on my left flank to try and stop the Ottoman light cavalry from getting behind my left flank and rear. This turned into a chicken shoot as Tony prosseded to pick off my peasants sheltering from the Ottoman bows at a rather alarming rate!
Having reluctantly accepted the fact that the Ottoman infantry was not going to advance in the centre against my shooting line, I advanced my 2 war wagons forward to take up position next to the road, and therefore facing Ottoman infantry occupying the wood on the other side. This brought my shooting line just forward of half way across the table, and would have exposed my rear except for the self-sacrifice of my quickly diminishing peasant hordes which were being shot to pieces. I sent 3 more peasant hordes in support, but they were too slow to make any real difference.
The Hungarian heavy cavalry which had so far been sheltering/hiding behind my shooting line would have to make some contribution to the game. There opportunity to do so came when Tony committed the Quapakulu heavy cavalry and the 2 Sipahis to charge the left of my shooting line. My unit of horse archers stood their ground and didn’t evade. My bowmen found their targets and although the horse archers were quickly demolished by the Quapakulu, my Hungarian heavy cavalry were ready and waiting to counter-charge.
The Ottoman infantry lead by a unit of halberd armed Janisaries attacked my war wagons which thankfully withstood the onslaught. The Hungarian peasants, or what remained of them, were finally driven from the wood by the Ottoman light horse and I had little choice but to shift my last units of hangunners and crossbows along with a heavy cavalry unit across to form a secondary line of defence.
An overview of the game at this point showed a pretty even confrontation in the centre, with the war wagons providing a vital bastion to the now very thin Hungarian line. The Ottoman heavy and medium cavalry defeated on the Hungarian right and their archers and heavy cavalry were beginning to sweep around behind the Ottoman centre. However, the reverse was happening on the other wing as the all conquering Ottoman cavalry, which had probably by this stage accounted for at least 75% of the Hungarian casualties, mostly peasants, were able to outflank the much slower Hungarian infantry. The whole battle was beginning to look like a giant wheel with the war wagons providing the hub. I think we accepted that neither side had after 2 hours of play gained a tangible advantage over the other so we agreed a draw!
Game Analysis
This was very much a game of two wings! When the Ottoman cavalry charge went pear shaped the Hungarians chance of victory was prevented by their/my inability to deal with the all conquering three units of Ottoman light cavalry. These chaps had slowly but steadily demolished 6 units of Hungarian peasants and a unit of archers without losing a single stand!
