Fezian Frontier Castle Besieged By Patra, Hex 133

 Following the Patran desert battle victory the Patran forces moved North to the nearby Fezian castle.

The Patrans outnumber the Fezians two to one.
PATRAN FORCES                      At end of battle     FEZIANS                                        End of battle

Commander Biggusdiccus                    1          

Hero enhanced, Gratuitius                     1                   Hero  Enhanced                                               1

Elephant                                 1              1                   Mtd Archers      6                              6

Greek cavalry                        12            12                  Archers             24                             23

Greek Cavalry                       12            12                   Archers             24                            19

Greek cavalry                        12            12                   Musket mercs   24                             21

Aztec Archers                        24            19                   Light Inf            24                            24
Greek Archers                        23            17                   Light Inf            24                            24

Roman Archers                      15            10                  Light inf combi  17                            13

Roman Heavy Infantry           21           17                   Cannon                                               crew dead

Roman Heavy Infantry (Bl)   24           24                   Cannon                                               2 crew left

Roman heavy infantry            15           14

Greek Heavy Infantry             24           19

Greek heavy Infantry              19            18

 Hillmen mercs                        24           20

Two Heavy Catapults                               2

One Catapult                                             1

7 Wagons                                                   7

The casualties were higher but half came back after treatment for wounds.

Below: Patran catapults shoot at Fezian archers on the Eastern wall.

Pattran forces move from the Southern approach to the castle to the Northern wall.

                       Patran cavalry move around the Western wall. One is shot by the Fezians. Their job is to prevent escapes and to deal with any relief forces that might arrive.

                                       Fezian archers on the western wall turn to deal with breaches on the Northern wall but soon they are attacked from Patrans with ladders.

                    Fezian matchlock men turn to deal with an expected  breach of the gate.

                        Fezians in the courtyard prepare to meet an incursion through the gate.

   Greeks and Romans make it on to the battlements of the Northern wall but it is difficult going as a number are killed by the defenders.

                                                   Here is the attack on the Western wall.

                                    The elephant finally gets to the geat and smashes it down!

                    The Fezian hero dispatches many Hillman mercenaries as they attempt to come over the wall.

                                                A determined Greek comes over the wall.

                                                          A cannon with no crew!

The Patran force had an able commander whilst the Fezians had only a provisional commander in the form of the hero

Commander Biggusdiccus is a cautious commander and he waited for the war elephant before ordering the ladders put against the walls. The Patran archers exchanged shooting with Fezians on the Southern and Eastern walls. Obviously the Fezians had the advantage of cover. Once the catapults arrived they caused some casualties on the Eastern wall.

When the Patrans climbed the ladders they met stiff resistance. the Fezian hero, in particular, caused death after death among the Hillmen.

MECCANICS & PROGRESS OF THE GAME
Once the melees occurred on the walls we reverted on one on one combat. My Patran forces were mostly heavy infantry fighting lights but the latter got advantages of going first for defending walls and a plus one until my men got on the battlements. When a man was killed the victor would move into his place. However, he might then be fighting two or three men in base to base. The defender then got the usual D12 dice roll plus a plus one for each extra defender. Each unit had one ladder; when first placed on the wall defenders can knock it down on a D6).

Slowly the attackers gained a small purchase on the battlements and the knocking of the door in by the elephant laid the scene open for a rush of elephant and men though the gate.

But then it was move 12 and we rolled the dice to see if the game continued; it did not!

What this means is that for next battle my Patrans withdraw at least 20 cm from the walls. They can be placed anywhere within that stipulation. Similarly, the defenders can reorganize within the castle. The door remains smashed open.

Final unit figures represent each of us getting half our figures back for any unit still in existence. (If one side abandons the field or withdraws to a significant degree he gets only one quarter back).

MAP MOVES

The next battle will be in map Move Four. Tomorrow we will first make our map moves. That can mean other battles occur simultaneously or even that this castle receives a relief force for either side.

RANDOM EVENTS

I have a list of 100 random events. We used the percentage dice and the result was that one of our armies received a unit of 24 pike in our capital, incidentally, arriving from a portal! We then rolled dice to see who was the lucky beneficiary. It was me. Yay! In another four moves we will roll for it again. Some other results include plague sea monsters raiding the coast, partial invasions (of either Beerstein, Bogavania or Fezia) by yet more third parties and so on. Also, in another two moves we can see if the war between Fezia and Bogavania and Fezia continues and also if an end to hostilities occurs beween Fezia and Patra and Fritzerland and Beerstein.