On our march South, we were joined by mercenaries Foucaud had hired on my behest – two companies of Turkopole Cavalry. The services of these men are costly, but they provide us with horse archery, an art our own knights have not mastered in these lands. I can see many a tactical use for them, although I will have to accustom myself to how they are best applied.
We met Bakr, Dinar and their army in the rolling hills. The sky was overcast, rain was imminent.
The enemy army ranks were filled with achers and spearmen, one unit of Arab Cavalry and two units of bodyguards. The spearmen were of mixed quality and did not concern me very much. I knew I must keep an eye on the archers, though, as Fatimid archers are generally skilled and equipped with strong bows. Arab Cavalry is strong and exceptionally fast, but I did not expect much trouble from just a single unit. My primary concern were the bodyguards, as their armour is known to be excellent and hardly penetrable. They would cause losses among my men, and I had to take measures to keep these as low as possible, especially among my more precious units. Luckily, most of the enemy were inexperienced recruits.
Our army was a well-balanced mix of superior units and militia, both infantry and missile. I had a unit of St. Lazarus knights and my own bodyguard to protect our flanks. The Turkopoles would provide more flexibility to either flank, and a unit of mangonels the range to force the Fatimids on the attack.
I positioned my troops on a hilltop, awaiting Bakr’s approach. His men would have to ascend the hill to reach us. This would give us a height advantage. As we waited, it started to rain quite heavily and it became difficult to see the enemy at a distance.
My troops were arrayed in a “fortress” formation, with spear militia schiltroms as spearheads to break the enemy line.
In a formation such as this, the schiltroms will take the heaviest casualties, as they will be the first targets of both enemy cavalry and missiles. It is therefore advisable to employ spear militia as schiltroms, as they are troops which can be easily replaced. Behind the schiltroms heavier infantry needs to be placed in tight formation. This will give the schiltroms both mental and physical support once the melee is on. The heavier and more valuable units will be protected from cavalry charges and straight missile fire by the schiltroms. Behind the gaps of this formation, missile troops are positioned in V-shaped formations. These will fire through the gaps, hopefully causing heavy casualties and preventing the enemy from breaking through. If all troops remain in this exact formation, it will hold against much stronger odds, and the general can direct his attention to wing maneuvers.
Bakr sent his archers running up the hill first, closing the distance to my troops and exchanging missile fire. The archers immediately began taking losses due to their lack of armour and height disadvantage.
When Bakr overlooked the situation, he and his bodyguards stormed up the hill and around our left flank. The missile fire from our Turkopoles did not deter him at all, so I had to charge against him myself to protect our flank and the mangonel crews. Only few of his bodyguard went down from our lances, and a melee ensued. Bakr’s bodyguards were superior to mine in a melee, so I had to think of something quickly. I drew my men around his and to the left, to expose his back to crossbow fire from my Templar Crossbowmen. This was not without risk, as any missile missing Bakr and his men would become a peril for me and my men in turn. But there was no other way to get further assistance without breaking my formation.
After a short and fierce fight, I realized that I would be unable to take down Bakr personally. He was such a good swordsman! When another one of his bodyguard fell from his horse with a crossbow bolt protruding from his neck, Bakr roared and threw around his horse. Followed by the remaining few of his bodyguards, he galloped into my crossbowmen, swinging his sword wildly and taking down several of them in just a few moments. My own bodyguard, already whittled down to six men, covered my retreat.
Meanwhile, on my right flank, the St. Lazarus knights and the second unit of Turkopoles had decimated the Arab Cavalry. Unfortunately, the Turkopoles had been caught in a melee and nearly wiped out. The St. Lazarus knights, however, made use of their newly won freedom of movement and charged into the back of the enemy infantry engaged in a melee with my rightmost schiltrom.
Reading the battle again from the hilltop, I realized it was already decided in our favour, with many of the enemy troops dead or in flight. Dinar and his bodyguard were nowhere to be seen. I presumed they must have been slain, probably by crossbowfire. However, Bakr was still fighting like a madman, hacking his way through my men and killing them by the dozen.
It was magnificent to watch, but it had to end, so I blew my horn to signal that one last effort had to be made for the final victory. On hearing the signal, Bakr wheeled around his horse and shouted across to me, “you shall have victory today, but you shall not have me!”
Incredulously, he tore himself free from the fighting, killing several more men in the process. Then, he galloped down the hill, waves of missiles following, but doing neither any harm to him or his mount.
However, my first unit of Turkopoles, being much faster than his heavily armoured horse, gave a hot pursuit and felled this bravest of all warriors.
We achieved a clear victory while losing about a quarter of our men. Most of these losses have been among the spear militia or Turkopole mercenaries and do not concern me much. However, a substantial number of Templar serjeants and crossbowmen have also fallen, most of them at the hands of the furious Bakr al-Fatimiyyun himself.
When inspecting the battlefield, my men were surprised to find Bakr still alive and only knocked unconscious. He was taken before me. Although the clothes below his armour were soaked with his own blood, he stood upright, lifted his head in scorn and pride and said mockingly, “So, king of the infidels, you have won this day. But you cannot win this war! My grandfather and father will drown you in blood! Where is my uncle? Has he died? If so, it will have been with a crossbow bolt in his back. The crossbow takes no skill to use, it is a coward’s weapon!”
“I shall not discuss with a prisoner which weapons I should or should not use”, I replied coolly, “and your uncle is dead. Whether he was shot in the back or fell off his horse I cannot tell, for I did not see it. But you may take his body with you when you leave. You have fought bravely, and your grandfather has shown mercy on me and my son many years ago, albeit in exchange for land and money. I shall return that favour today twofold, letting you and all the men who fought with you go free to their homes, and I ask nothing in return.”
Bakr looked surprised, then bowed and said, “Sadiq. You are said to be merciful, and now I see this is true. I shall return to Gaza from where I set out to conquer Jerusalem, and failed. However, most of the men who have fought under my command belonged to my uncle, who has now died a martyr. Whether or not they will still follow my orders after this battle I do not know. They may or may not.”
“Very well then”, I added, “tell them if they do not leave our lands we will fight them again, and the next time we may not show any mercy. And deliver this message to your grandfather – that we shall let everybody know he has broken his word of peace and alliance. His betrayal will not be forgotten.”
Bakr’s gaze flickered at this, as if he felt some sort of guilt. He bowed again, more deeply this time, saying, “Sadiq. I kindly ask you to deliver my greetings and apologies to the princess Yolande, who is fabled among my people, but whom I never had the mercy to meet and probably never will. If I should die one day, I pray to Allah that she will forgive me whatever I have done. And if it is true that in paradise a man will encounter everything he wishes for, I would pray that I open my eyes there with tears on my eyelids… tears from the princess who wept for me. But there are times when a man must do the things a man does. Word and honour may bind him stronger that his heart's desire. Salem aleikum.”
With these words the proud young warrior left, taking his people with him. I watched him go, strangely moved by his last words.
[SS 6.4] Crusader States AAR: In the Holy Lands
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I personally wouldn't put them in spoilers, but that's just me. 
+rep
Originally Posted by Steward Denethor II
