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Thread: Single Battles AAR

  1. #1
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    Default Single Battles AAR

    Since the idea was suggested, I've made this thread to gather some mini-stories I posted in the Third Age screenshot thread so they are easier to find.
    The Misadventures of Diabolical Amazons - Completed.
    An Orcs Tale, a Third Age AAR - Completed.
    Reviewed by Alwyn in the Critics Quill
    My Dread Lady, a Warcraft Total War AAR - 27 chapters done.
    Home to Midgard, a Third Age AAR about two dwarves, a spy and a diplomat - Completed (pictures remade up to chapter 19).
    Reviewed by Boustrophedon in The Critics Quill

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Single Battles AAR

    Small Battle Walkthrough:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Among the dark lord Saurons many subjects are obedient and dutiful men, orcs and trolls to depend on for carrying out his many tasks.

    And then there are also the Easterlings of the Sea of Rhun.

    Keeping with their proud record of untrustworthiness ranging from the betrayal of the less dark side at the battle of unnumbered tears, the Easterlings of today have made peace and allied with the men of Dale, the dwarves of Erebor, the elves of Mirkwood and even Gondor. Not only that, but Rhunic armies have captured the Black Gate itself as well as gained control over Barad Dur. In his fury, Sauron has withdrawn his protection of Mordor and disarray now characterize the Morgoth-worshipping political entities of Middle Earth. Desperate to reclaim their lost lands and prestige the forces of Mordor break the truce and attack the Black gate, commanded by the infamous Easterling Maltook. Not only is his lack of obedience an affront to dark creatures in general and Sauron in particular, but he mocks the very idea of evil sides by letting all his prisoners go free after capturing them in battles, time and again.

    After a catastrophical envelopment and mass rout outside the Black gate and the loss of the local mountain troll company and half a field army in a failed attack on the plains of Morgai the remnants of the northern forces of Mordor cower in the stronghold of Durthang while inventing new derogatory synonyms of Maltook and working up their previously battered sense of safety. The commander, Laglug, has already ordered two entire companies of scouts eaten and morale is sure to stabilize after the brilliant display of the fine Orc leadership. Luckily, Durthang is an impressive fortress, situated in a mountain valley with steep slopes and cliffs providing natural fortifications.

    Only a complete fool would attack a force three times as big holding the high ground in mountainous terrain.

    Seriously.

    That would be totally stupid.

    Idiotic.



    After replying to the sceptical looks from his valued colleague Margoz, the heir to the throne, with swaggering promises of glory and honorific suffixes, Maltacus evaluates the unsuitable field. The first Mordor army occupy a ridge halfway to the cliffs where the larger one is descending. The slope is gentle but very long. The scope of the strategic fiasco laid bare, the Easterlings instead chose to take a defensive position near some mysterious village at the south-eastern edge of the field. Two groups of building combined with the huge cliffs to the right create two fronts where vast Orcish units can swarm them.



    The Easterling army is both headed and spearheaded by the Dragon regiments wearing golden plate armour and brown clothing. Infantry with halberds and maces block the two fronts equally divided (3 and 4). The exceptional archers, nearly on par with elves, line up at the left where the ground is open (2). The less exceptional but enthusiastic Balchoth wait near the mountain to support the right front (5). Lighter and weaker infantry take position behind the middle buildings to block enemy incursions (6) while the heavy cavalry guarding the both generals wait unchivalrously far behind the left front (1). The “light” cavalry wait behind the right one. While covered in lamellar and scale and wielding strong lances, riding next to plated Kataphracts tend to put weight issues into perspective.

    Seeing the enemy intimidated enough to retreat the orcs advance, confident in their numbers. Behind his steel veil, Maltook sigh with relief. It would surely have been embarrassing if the enemy had simply stood their ground.



    From the attractive vantage point that at least would be attractive if there were any trees and water nearby Laglug and his minions experience both the picturesque Mordorian weather with lightning flashing without rain as well as the less picturesque sight of the Horse Guard cavalry slaying the pitiful ranged department of the first army. Slightly less visible is the vanguard pursuing them after they engage the right wing of the Easterlings and the Balchoth tribesmen do their best to blot out the enemy, currently lacking a sun to do it to.



    On the flat left front the orcs are less numerous but more dangerous. Uruks storm the lines of halberdiers along with less feared Orcish raiders. Two halberd companies make up the Easterling line while macemen stand ready as a reserve and mobile force. Fearing his lines being worn out prematurely, Maltook leads a sally and succeed in chasing them away. As the Orcish reserves rush in to fill the gap the left wing is again under pressure. Unfortunately for the orcs, only half the Easterling front is properly targeted and the left half is again open to a combined attack by cavalry and the macemen who flank the orcs, securing the passage for the cavalry and binding the enemy forces until the Kataphracts have had time to run around and slam into their rear.



    On the right, things initially go slightly better for Mordor after the somewhat pointy hailstorm has passed. While the ground before the halberd infantry is turning into a steadily more crimson tone, the macemen, lacking the spear wall capability, are pushing steadily forward into the enemy formation and risk becoming enveloped. Unfortunately, their captain involuntarily picks that moment to experience the less attractive part of being an orc and falls in the general chaos. Seeing the Orcish horde waver the Balchoth storm forward and drive them away along with the Dragon infantry. The second army is yet to be heard from but closing steadily. They have spread out a lot and are grouped in ineffective marching columns. That alone will be worth a lot unless Laglug can make them form up properly before engaging.



    Seeing the lack of Orcish interest of the middle buildings, Maltook fancies a guess that Mordor not only find them architecturally inferior but also inaccessible. Wanting to take advantage of the vantage point he sends forth his archers, unused until now, to switch place with the lighter infantry. His tactical blunder soon becomes apparent as Uruk archers prove their range and shoot down a dozen Easterlings before they can retreat to safer ground behind the buildings. From there one has excellent view of the right flank and the tightly packed Orc archers trying to elbow their way into firing position. A more tempting target than the Uruks.



    Contemplating the truth in the old statement that one has to do everything one wants done on ones own, Maltook leads the heavy cavalry in yet another sally whose similarity to the former ones approaches the mind-numbingly dull. As the macemen engage the current unsupported infantry Maltook and his cronies spread confusion among the archer ranks and attract the attention of Orcish reserves. Spearmen hurry to protect their archer comrades, or at least colleagues, incidentally blocking their view in the process. The archer threat is partially neutralised for the moment but fresh reserves pour in to renew the attack on the left wing. Still stubbornly ignoring the left portion of it.



    Showing it can match the left in every respect, the right front provides the same tedious repeat of past events. Only more amplified this time. The macemen again drift further and further into the enemy formation and every single soldier is locked in melee combat with one or more smelly, grunting grunts. The notoriously more successful halberdiers are left more or left alone and when the Easterling general at last spots their predicament he is forced to order them forward along with the infantry reserve in order to save something of the Dragon line. Not only that, but as the Kataphracts charge forth yet another time, orc archers simply push their way round the flank of the overwhelmed halberdiers on the left wings right wing. They get off a few annoying and very embarrassing (for Maltook) volleys before light cavalry and the Easterling archers catch them. Casualties are mounting among the Rhunic army as more and more of the orc archers get into positions on plains before them and the right wing suffer under continuous pressure from the main part of the Orcish infantry. Maltook and Margoz stumble forward on their trotting tin cans to reach the archers who are falling back up the slope. Simultaneously, the left wing is advancing to engage the orcs left behind by the cavalry.



    It is at this moment that Laglug falls to an unknown unpleasant object in the hand of an unknown unpleasant Easterling, presumably somewhere in the chaos on the right front. With the loss of their general, the Orc army falls apart and individual units fight to get away as Easterlings bear down on them. Soon the entire army is routing and the battle is over.



    Many orcs escape and many more are released by Maltook afterwards. Still, Durthang will be in trouble and Mordor loses vast forces.




    The Dragon infantry do their job well by all accounts, but suffer serious casualties. The halberdiers (Loke-Gamp Rim) prove their superiority when defending. The macemen (Loke-Flag Rim) are better suited for teamwork along with cavalry and a more mobile role. Their shields and heavier armour make them more resistant to arrows and they are a better choice for envelopment manoeuvres rather than stationary defence. The archers (Loke-Nar Rim) are effective as always but do not excel as the enemy do not focus their entire force on one esily hit point. The Horse Guard suffer notable casualties in the last phase of the battle when formations have been broken and all has become a mess. As always, they work best when assisted by some heavier unit.


    Last edited by Maltacus; January 05, 2013 at 03:01 AM.
    The Misadventures of Diabolical Amazons - Completed.
    An Orcs Tale, a Third Age AAR - Completed.
    Reviewed by Alwyn in the Critics Quill
    My Dread Lady, a Warcraft Total War AAR - 27 chapters done.
    Home to Midgard, a Third Age AAR about two dwarves, a spy and a diplomat - Completed (pictures remade up to chapter 19).
    Reviewed by Boustrophedon in The Critics Quill

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Single Battles AAR

    Siege of Orc fortress (Northern European fortress layout).
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Yaguf the random orc captain walks confidently around the battlements of Durthang. While the fortress is currently besieged by that heathen Easterling horde there is no immediate danger. Their dim-witted leader released all prisoners captured in the previous battle so the fortress is swelling with over two and a half thousand orcs. Even at half strength, the garrison is big enough to deter any sensible commander with an inferior force, even that insufferable slime Maltook, turmoil be with him.

    Soon someone will send a relief force and chase those golden desert lizards away. Just thinking of their silly scale armour…embarrassing.

    An orc archer is running up towards his wall. Seemingly in a hurry. What now?



    You’ve got to be kidding...




    Maltook has constructed a sizeable amount of siege equipment numbering more precisely two rams, two towers and eight sets of ladders. His army is spread out along the eastern and northern side of the fortress. Clearly he is trying to overwhelm the defenders by attacking from many directions at once. But Yaguf is smarter than that. He focuses his troops near the gates, the most important sections of the outer wall.

    Along the eastern wall stands a ram crewed by light infantry along with the Easterling halberdiers and half the Balchoth tribesmen. To its right are spread the heavy Clan Guard infantry with ladders. Along the northern wall are the other half of Balchoth tribesmen with ladders, another ram together with the cavalry and the archers next to it with ladders. Further to the north are the two towers crewed by the heavily armoured macemen.



    After the fellowship has made at least half a ring around the fortress the two towers continue the story with the goal of ending it with the return of Maltook alive and as the king of the battlefield and the castle. Rolling in from a diagonal angle to stay in enemy archers sights for as short time as possible, the macemen finds a surprisingly empty corner to land on. Obviously Yaguf thought the many ladders scattered around his walls a more direct threat. He nevertheless soon realises his mistake and send orc infantry to put things right but the macemen manage to get a foothold on the wall before they engage. While the other company climbs down to the street to block more reinforcements the archers outside start running right and go around the corner to climb up and take advantage of the secured walls and the height they offer.



    One archer company hijacks the gala entrance also known as the siege tower while the others have to be satisfied with their personal ladders. Jumping down at the wall eyes narrow and smiles form maliciously as the evil Easterlings survey the tightly packed orcs. Volleys slam into them and decimate their company, even if the macemen are unnecessarily close and catch some very unfriendly friendly fire. Yaguf meanwhile starts to evacuate the outer wall and begin the retreat to the inner one. The macemen on the ground rush up to relieve their exhausted comrades and after a while the orcs break apart when smashed between the two companies. Unfortunately, their demise prompts a second orc company to rush for that wall section and the reinforcing macemen soon find themselves in need of reinforcement and desperately bolts for the other end of the wall to avoid the brunt of the massing orcs and make some space into which the archers can shoot.



    In spirit a repetition of their performance in the last battle, the macemen push their antagonists back to their own detriment. While the orcs are an easy target they are pinned so close to the tower that the macemen obstruct the view of the closest archer company that would otherwise shoot best. After they have descended to the ground they relocate and manage to get a clearer shot. The orcs rout and the corner is secured. A stronghold inside the enemy stronghold. Meanwhile, both rams and their accompanying forces advance while the scattered ladder units congregate at the respective gates.



    A lone orc band has been left behind at the northern gate for some odd reason. Light infantry and beyond heavy cavalry make quick work of them. The outer walls are secured. The march through the streets take up valuable time but stamina must be conserved for the attack on the inner walls. An incredibly frustrating situation. Two Bachoth tribesmen are sent north with ladders while everyone else make for the inner gate.



    First to approach is light infantry crewing a ram. Much to their dismay, the gate is open and can not be rammed! Probably left open just to mock them. They take cover as best they can close to the gate as the Clan Guard approach with their ladders and suffer from arrows from the towers. If only they had the plate and shields of the macemen… Upon the sight of all the ladders being raised the orcs run back from the walls to the central square and the light infantry manage to secure the gate at the price of surprisingly few men burned by the hideous oil. They run to the side immediately after entering, trying to get out of the way of retreating orcs.



    They fail. Their unit is caught up in melee with one of the orc companies coming out of a stairway right at their side and more orcs quickly rush from the square and the other stairs. Worrying about the oil, Maltook is hesitant to send cavalry to assist them before having been reassured it’s safe. The presence of Uruk archers on the square adds another spoonful of urgency to the situation. Aided by Clan Guard descending from the walls the mighty bodyguard cavalry plough their way through the enemy formations surrounding the now much weakened light infantry.



    The gates secured, the Clan Guard form a line to cover the deployment of more troops. No rushing or breaking formation prematurely. Unless the orcs do it first of course. The cavalry manage to squeeze in a limited flank attack but Margoz bodyguard has great success in cutting down the Uruk archers who are clearly not well thought of in Durthang judging by the lack of aid received from the other orcs. As the archers who have previously been lined up on the ground next to the square switch places with Balchoth tribesmen on walls and halberdiers arrive and form up, Maltook leaves to eliminate a lone archer company not yet retreated from the walls where the Balchoth have broken in as all defenders retreated to the square. Finally all is in place. Halberdiers in formation on the ground. Archers on the walls. Without any battlements blocking their view. What was that thing someone said about fortifications benefitting the defender, Yaguf wonders.



    When Easterling arrows begin to blot out the square Yaguf orders a final charge. He moves left against the lightly armoured Balchoth who are approaching to throw their sticks from the flank of the halberdiers. Maltook counters by blocking the way with his less light ly armoured riders. A rush by the Clan Guard from the safety behind the halberdiers into the enemy flank crushes the sally and the remaining defenders fall to arrows and javelins and the halberds of the so far unmatched Dragon Infantry. Yaguf is among the last to fall. Last of all is a very impaled orc of an orc band. Only one minute and twenty-nine seconds remain of the so called day! Victory is the Easterlings! Happy Easter! No, wait a moment…



    The low quality of the defending infantry show in the casualties. A fortress filled with half an Uruk stack would have been a very different matter. The orc archers (a few companies) do particularly bad and manage to get entangled in their own infantry, squandering a lot of potential damage to the invaders. On the whole, Maltooks army could have much done worse and remains very fit for field duty.



    Most casualties derive from the light infantry caught between the retreating orcs and the overly offensive action of the macemen. Here on the walls they shine particularly with their ability to move faster than halberdiers and still put up a stiff front. Given the ineffectiveness of the enemy archers it is quite possible that halberdiers would have been a better choice for the towers but then again, their slow movement may also have allowed the defenders to form up more before they arrived. Ultimately the fault lies with Maltook for simply not using the macemen effectively enough, costing the Easterling valuable elite infantry.


    Last edited by Maltacus; January 05, 2013 at 03:02 AM.
    The Misadventures of Diabolical Amazons - Completed.
    An Orcs Tale, a Third Age AAR - Completed.
    Reviewed by Alwyn in the Critics Quill
    My Dread Lady, a Warcraft Total War AAR - 27 chapters done.
    Home to Midgard, a Third Age AAR about two dwarves, a spy and a diplomat - Completed (pictures remade up to chapter 19).
    Reviewed by Boustrophedon in The Critics Quill

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Single Battles AAR

    Dwarf Ambush:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    ”The goblins are upon us! Run!”

    “But wait just a moment and send a volley at them before we continue to run franticly."

    “Did anyone forget to tell you that goblins are faster than us, captain Fili?!”
    “Shut up and keep moving!”



    ”Into the forest! There we can hide from them!”
    “Do you think me an elf or something!?”
    “No, elves have bigger beards…”
    “THAT does it! Come back so I can give YOUR beard a trim! With my axe! At shoulder height, I think!”
    “I was only joking, relax.”
    “Relax? We’re being hunted by nearly two thousand goblins and you tell me to relax?”



    “I meant focus your breath on running instead! I was just making a light-hearted pre-battle speech back there to lift spirits.”
    “It would have been better if it could lift bodies. My legs feel like overly boiled hobbit vegetables.”

    “Bah, stop complaining. We’re almost there. Aaah, home sweet line!”

    “Easy for you to say. You won’t have to shoot for the rest of the battle, just stand at our left looking pompous.”

    “Pompous? Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now form up next to the other archers and shoot! The homeland needs you, brave fellow countrymen, so hold the line with thy last breath and we shall surely prevail and cleave in twain the mischievous mongrels that plague the fair lowlands…”
    “See? That’s what I was talking about! Besides, if we hold out with our last breath we will be dead and wont have prevailed at all. Furthermore, what part of archery and axe throwing is it you don’t understand? Cleave in twain…with this little arrow tip?”



    “Shut up! I’m great and they’re not! Ready! Aim! Fire!
    “No, we do NOT use fire arrows, you captain clot!”

    “I am a servant of the Ered Luin, wielder of the axe of Fili! The rusted mail with not avail you, stinking goblin!”

    “Why is he giggling manically and pointing?” What’s that smell? Aaaah! Ballistae!”

    “Right, men! Archers, forward!”
    “You mean downward?”
    “Haha.”
    “Sigh, just after we ran UP this endless slope.”
    “You can always roll on the ground if it suits you better. Now move on! Are you a man or an elf?”
    “How dare you?!”



    “This goblin rabble shall not stop me! Hmm, where is my unit? Perhaps I shouldn’t have ran through that goblin infantry company.”

    “Look! There.s the ballistae! But where are the axe throwers?”
    “Perhaps somewhere in the direction you sent them, captain? At a distance found by multiplying their velocity by the time they have been gone?”

    “There they are! At least there is a great dust cloud coming from the left. It is not a flawless dust cloud or the most devastating dust cloud, but it is OUR dust cloud!”

    “Ha! We have them now!”
    “No, the axe throwers have them. We arrived to late do anything else than shoot at scattered routers.”



    “Is that not meaningful, you say!? Shoot! Don’t let them come back with mysteriously reconstructed siege weapons in the next battle, and the next, and the next no matter how many times we chase them away in no matter how short time!”
    “Really inspirational. I feel SO much more motivated for a long campaign against the enemy now.”



    “Hahahaa! Victory! Elves and men will look upon this victory and claim us mighty warriors!”
    “Elves and men will look upon this victory and claim us wannabe elves. Forest ambush…isn’t that against our ethics?”
    “It’s worth it. Would you rather have fought the goblin force properly spread out and enveloping our flanks? Now they all got into each others way and became totally exhausted from the climb.”
    “Yes. I know. It may have escaped your attention but I was present for the whole battle.
    “No, I could not possibly fail to notice your ever-present bickering, however dear such a character trait would be to me.”



    “Yo, listen up here’s a story
    About a little blue dwarf that lives on a blue hill
    All day and all night and everything he sees
    Is just blue like him, goblins and hobbits
    Blue, he’s captain with a blue little mantle
    And a blue dwarf axe
    And everything is blue for him and hisself
    And every goblin around
    Cause he ain’t got no shortbow to shoot them with

    He’s blue da ba deed a ba die…”

    “What is this!? Shut up!”

    “He has a blue house with a blue window
    Blue is the colour of all that he wears
    Blue are the mines and all the pines are blue
    He flies a banner, and it is so blue
    Blue are the captains here that walk around
    Blue like our corvette, it’s anchored outside
    The mighty Ered Luin, and we’ll see
    A little sea raid, but when will it be?

    He’s blue da ba deed a ba die…”

    “Bringing up such cacophonic terrors of the past! I will have you court martialed!”


    The battle went fairly well I think. Finding that ballista was a pain because for once I did not cheat and zoom out but kept the generals camera centred on the...well...general (the minimap was zoomed in during the actual battle). Damn trees! I sent the axe throwers probably 90 degrees to far to the left and then I had to order them around blindly so they would not be hit by the ballista until Fili could get within sight. Unfortunately I was careless and missed that only one of the two goblin companies on his right routed, so he got caught up in the other and had unneccesary losses.
    The Misadventures of Diabolical Amazons - Completed.
    An Orcs Tale, a Third Age AAR - Completed.
    Reviewed by Alwyn in the Critics Quill
    My Dread Lady, a Warcraft Total War AAR - 27 chapters done.
    Home to Midgard, a Third Age AAR about two dwarves, a spy and a diplomat - Completed (pictures remade up to chapter 19).
    Reviewed by Boustrophedon in The Critics Quill

  5. #5
    Artifex
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    Default Re: Single Battles AAR

    Siege defence:

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Fror the christmas-looking governor of Fornost, captured from invading orcs, has a busy day. A vast host from Gundabad storm the walls and among it march growling wargs and a company of grunting snow trolls. He has a garrison consisting of only one company of the useful defensive halberdiers, two of axe throwers, one of archers and three of offensive dual wielding infantry. Deploying his little army around the inner gate Fror has to fight off a tiresome tirade of foolishness from less experienced dwarfs.

    “We should deploy right behind the gate with many men to block the enemy”

    “Post melee fighters on the walls where the enemy ladders will come to meet them head on”

    “Our units should not have guard mode activated because I have heard that it makes them fight less effectively”

    Sigh. Why did I hire those morons? No, no, no. Deploying right next to the gate never works unless you perhaps have a huge army of pikemen in which case it is doubtful that any enemy would feel secure enough to attack in the first place. The enemy must be given open space in some direction to spread out so they do not concentrate their whole mass on your defending units. If you place infantry right behind the gate the enemy unit will expand right after squeezing through the narrow portal and that will force many more enemy soldiers to be pressed against your front than if the enemy is allowed to spread out – something leading to greater intensity in that fight – which is exactly what you do NOT want as the defender.

    Meeting attackers head on at the walls is equally unnecessary and detrimental. The point of the defending infantry is to block the enemy from going to the square and around your soldiers, not to slay as many enemies as possible. The ideal situation is where as many enemies are tied up with as few friendly units as possible. Indeed, why hold this short wall at all except with the units it takes to activate the towers and gatehouse (more precisely, one unit)? There are no wide areas where archers can be posted for great effect and really not any ground worth defending.

    Lastly, guard mode may make your units fight slightly less effective but the holding infantry that will engage the enemy first is not supposed to fight, it is supposed to hold. Both hold the enemy back and, equally important, hold their positions. Thus, guard mode, in order to minimize the chance of them being lured out by engaging some random enemy infantry unit.

    No, here is how we will form up instead, Fror states with a determined glance at named nameless lard-brain:

    The best defenders are without any doubt the halberdiers. They have the most mass, the spear wall formation which gives them stability, and good armour. The will stand behind the gate but at an angle, anchored on the wall to the right of the entrance to the stairs. They can thereby block both attackers going through the gate as well as those climbing down from the wall. Behind them is the light infantry with their dual weapons, acting as a reserve where needed. Axe throwers and archers stand directly behind the gate, ready to shoot into the open end of the halberd line. The rest of the axe throwers hold the other wall where it is wide enough for them to relocate if enemies storm it. The enemy will be hooked up by the halberdiers but spread out to the left of the gate where there is open space. From there the archers will fire point blank into their massed ranks.

    The orcs begin by sending heavy infantry with ladders against the right wall. They easily claim the undefended section and proceed down while the rest of the orcs wait for battering rams. The axe throwers have tried to hit the trolls from the walls, some have succeeded.



    When the orc infantry pour down and out they face the solid halberdier line. The orcs, with shields and one-hand weapons, have not nearly enough mass to push deep into the halberd formation. Nor are the halberdiers close enough to the stairs to give the orcs any advantage from spreading out quickly. The thick layer of heavily armoured corpses to the right of the gate is the result.

    The wargs spearhead the Gundabad army and their mass is great enough to push even the halberdiers back when backed by such masses of infantry. Fror sends the axe throwers to link up with the halberdiers, now reinforced by light infantry, to keep advancing enemy elements contained. The archers are firing from the end of that corridor, scoring many hits among the unprotected wargs and the massed infantry. Among the holding dwarf infantry, about a third of the soldiers are engaging the enemy. Among the orcs, hardly more than one out of ten is in position to swing at the dwarfs.

    Even the snow trolls can not push through that choking mass without trouble. Half their company is caught up among their lesser colleagues and do not reach the dwarf line until much time has passed, during which the dwarf light infantry have been able to handle the first trolls much more easily. The orcs also send much heavy infantry to claim the left wall from the axe throwers.

    The constant fighting is starting to take its toll on the dwarf light infantry and halberdiers. Fror feeds more and more of his reserves into the melee while the orcs follow their trolls and push the dwarfs further and further back. They waver since their captain has had an accident with a dwarf halberd on his warg, but press on.

    When the trolls at last fall, the spirit goes out of the main orc force. Without their capatain and the resilience and stubbornness of the dwarfs, they break and flee.



    The heavy infantry on the wall remain, locked in a battle with the lone dwarf company. What an ineffective use of two heavy infantry companies… Only six dwarfs are engaged at a time. The orcs can’t have hoped to break through here anytime soon.



    The battle is a clear victory for the dwarfs but the garrison suffer heavy casualties, from the trolls of course. The high amount of light offensive infantry is obviously not optimal for siege defence.



    The entire formation at the gate is made to give missile troops time to shoot properly followed by a counter attack from reserve infantry. The dwarf archers do well, as should be expected. The halberdiers are hit the hardest but still make it out with fewer casualties than the light infantry which lack the protection of the spear wall formation and also face the trolls head on. The only clear failure of Fror is his overly careful use of his own bodyguard, whose thick armour could have been much more useful, and used.



    The Misadventures of Diabolical Amazons - Completed.
    An Orcs Tale, a Third Age AAR - Completed.
    Reviewed by Alwyn in the Critics Quill
    My Dread Lady, a Warcraft Total War AAR - 27 chapters done.
    Home to Midgard, a Third Age AAR about two dwarves, a spy and a diplomat - Completed (pictures remade up to chapter 19).
    Reviewed by Boustrophedon in The Critics Quill

  6. #6
    Flinn's Avatar His Dudeness of TWC
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    Default Re: Single Battles AAR

    So you did it, great

    I'm going to read them over again as soon as I have time

    Flinn

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