Duel Of The Two Sorceresses - The Siege Of Hex70 Continues

 I decided to have a break from pulling up flooring in my house and to continue our campaign. Today Mat and I are playing a siege, continued from an earlier battle. I don't have enough forces to storm the castle but have greater ranged weapons. We both started with sorceresses. The battle lasted 10 moves and went for a bit under three hours. In terms of numbers engaged in actual battle it was a relatively small game but it involved a number of twists and turns in strategy and tactics.

Below, my Beerstein forces in the foreground

                                                Mat launches a Fezian attack on my longbows.

                                                     The Fezian sorceress felled by mine!

                                    My sorceress suffered a wound but got the better of the duel.

                                        My artillery soon had targets other than the castle wall.

                                                    Prince Rupert directs his musketeers.

                                      Beersteiner heavy cavalry capture a Fezian wagon and its ten credits. The uniforms reflect a new style which has not yet spread to the whole army.

                                                  Beersteiner forces leave the protection of the river and face the Southern castle wall. The longbows keep at bay a Fezian unit of plate infantry armed with halberds.

                              The Beersteiner forces stay out of range of the Fezian short bows. The downed Fezian sorceress can be seen in front of the walls.

With the Fezian commander, Epheba unconscious and commander Safon less skilled in the art of war the initiative fell to prince Rupert. Beerstein got to make the Fezians set up first and also got first move.

  However, both sides took fairly defensive positions. My main advantages were my long bows and cannons. Mat left his Western wall unmanned to avoid my missiles. However, my long bows risked getting away from the protection of the main force and edged forward to shoot at the Ebon bowmen on the Southern wall. This provoked the Fezians to launch an attack of three columns of light infantry.

My cannons and longbows did deadly work. My sorceress sent forth flocks of crows to peck out their eyes. She also strengthened the light longbowmen to make them resist the coming onslaught. She also caused the Fezian tribesmen to falter as they moved and a number dropped dead. 

   Sylvia also had to deal with being targeted by magic missiles from Ilurine but she replied in kind! Ilurine dropped, apparently dead, but actually unconscious.

  By the time the tribal lights clashed with my light longbowmen they were weakened and the longbowmen repelled them. Not all was honor, however as my small unit of mercenary Hillmen shamefully refused to charge in to assist my bowmen!

 After a while there were no targets for my two cannons but the castle walls and towers. At first nothing happened but then, there was an almighty crash as the South West tower crumbled!

  Then Sylvia overreached herself and her repeated attempt to send killer crows against the defenders of the castle wall misfired and a dimensional cortex felled her to the ground!

BELOW are the troop numbers at the start and end of the battle:

BEERSTEIN (Commander Rupert)

UNITS                          starting numbers                                end off battle including wound recovery

Muskets                             24                                                               24

Muskets                             24                                                               24

Longbow                           24                                                                17

Heavy cavalry                     8                                                                  7

Hillmen                               8                                                                  8
Cannon                                1                                                                  1
Cannon                                1                                                                  1

Hero Hobbes  (unconscious)

Sorceress Sylvia                                                                                   unconscious - 2 lives left

Wagon train                                                                                             intact

FEZIA  Commanders Etheba (unconscious) Safon

UNITS                            starting numbers                                  end of battle including wounds recovery 

Plate Halberd                        15                                                                 13
Light infantry                        23                                                                   0

Light Infantry                        16                                                                   0

Light infantry                        15                                                                 10

Ebon archers                          24                                                                 22

Archers                                  24                                                                  24

Archers                                  22                                                                   22

Ilurine, Sorceress                                                                                 (unconscious)

CONCLUSION:

Fezian casualties were significantly greater as the Fezians felt forced to take battle to the Beersteiners. They also lost some of their supplies. The castle is now breached. However, the Beersteiners do not yet have sufficient numbers to take the castle.