French Ordonnance vs Ayyubid Egyptian
Almost all French Ordonnance I saw playing were based around the mix of RKnS and RBwS. To experiment something new, I prepared a late version with a different organization: the center was made by a large contingent of french RPkI. The attack wing had RKnS, supported by LhI, LhO and IPsO. The defensive wing had an artillery train, ShI and RCvO. A large host, 86ME in total.
I played this game versus an Ayyubid army, invading and struggling in a very open battlefield
My opponent deployed first with just two corps on the table. He set up a big Lh command in front and a reserve with RCvS behind. The set up made me think there was a flank march on the right. I refused a bit my right, to avoid being immediately outflanked and angled my line to have the opportunity to charge straight ahead pushing the enemy army with the back to Bua and table edge. This would mean expose the right flank to the flank march of course. I had a lot of room to manouver my CvO on the open enemy flank or to protect my right.
Ayyubid pips were very low at the start. I decided to be aggressive, so I marched all my army straight to the enemy, to force a decision before the missing corps could intervent, enjoying for the time a C3 superiority over enemy
Muslim heavy cavalry reserve rolled four times in a row 1 pip having the lowest command dice. It manouvered slowly and gave me time to push forward two corps against one
I advanced in echelon and the Egyptian charged my Pk block keeping its LhS outside charge reach of my gendarms. To speed up the battle, I marched RKnS to contact starting the carnage. In the meantime my left corps, having no opposition, outflanked the enemy aiming at the baggage and the militia stationed there
I engaged the largest enemy corps with two and an half of mine. The number superiority counted and soon the losses mounted for the Ayyubids
The combat went back and forth for some rounds. When finally the muslim heavy cavalry was in position, the egyptian ILhS command was already crippled and the baggage under attack
The flank march entered at the sixh turn. The battle was already decided, but the french right wing having suffered casualties, was now in danger
The Ayyubid coordinated well the attacks and broke a french corps before losing his army. 19-6 for the French
An interesting game, with both of us taking big risks. The game was decided, apart the flank march timing, by a terrain placement mistake, with the BUA positioned in a way that hampered the arab manouvering and did not provide any cover to the baggage. The french attack in the jaws of a flank march was reckless, and could easily turn in a disaster should the march have entered a couple of turns earlier, but you know, "fortuna audaces iuvat"