Lazic War (549 AD) Phasis River
Round 2
Togan Alper (Sassanid) 4 banners won:32 blocks lost
RiverWanderer (Byzantine) 6 banners won:24 blocks lost
Byzantines opened with an attack on the Sassanid right flank, anxious to avoid a potential hail of missiles from the light units concentrated there. As the Sassanids retired in more or less good order, the focus switched to the centre, where Sassanid reinforcements were gathering.
What followed was a bloody slog, largely focussed on the central hills, made more tense as "First Strike" and "Ambush" cards emerged. Leaders were confined a supporting role, due to the almost total absence of leader-related cards, "leadership" tokens being ebbed away gradually on battlefield actions. The Byzantines started to pull ahead.
At the battle's height, a charge of Sassanid Light Cavalry against a weakened Byzantine centre came near to rescuing Sassanid fortunes. Byzantine Auxiliaries held on just long enough for reinforcements from the flanks to encircle the extended Sassanid cavalry and, after a to-and-fro of tense, indecisive melees, the final blow came as a Byzantine battle-back hit home against a "do or die" Sassanid cavalry attack.
Thanks to Togan for a good game.
(log file needed some fixing as Byz SHBC unit got corrupted in an undo sequence).
