Ending Phase
The long ending of the Battle for Carleone was a true fireworks show. With the giants' field artillery fully deployed and their ships all in position, the roars and crashes of cannon-fire filled the battlefield for stretches of minutes at a time. The entire Vinayan side of the field was pounded with iron again and again, earth-clouds and human cries testifying to the power of Jotun guns. And, of course, the pops of muskets continued to go off in the thousands, and the field continued to fill with more and more smoke. Yet, cold steel would still have its place in the last hour of battle.
The reserves on the Jotun left flank, seeing the enemy cavalry reforming and coming back, shifted their formation towards the center to benefit from the support of musketeers. Sadly, it was to no avail, with the Jotun center advancing through thick smoke and unable to spot its fellow formation's banner. The Vinayan militia riders were disrupted and thinned out by cannon-fire, but they faced no muskets save the marines' own as they swept into the giant formation with swords drawn and pistols firing. Each side gave as good as they got in the ensuing melee, the cavalry broke off and charged again twice, and in the end although the giant marines beat their enemies back both times, their unit was so depleted they were forced to fall back to the boats.
Meanwhile, the knights raced once again towards the enemy's center-rear, eager to prove their noble valor by wiping out the enemy cannon. And once again, a line of hardy vikings stepped in to intercept them through the gunpowder haze. However, this time, the Vikings left two cannons in-between them and the incoming cavalry: Two whiffs of canister blew through armor and riders and horses alike. In this case, the Vinayans' disorganization was a boon: Their lack of a solid formation meant that the cannons hit only a few knights each. So once again, the knights slammed into the giant heavy infantry with lances couched. This time, perhaps because of the length of battle and their army's failing flanks, the vikings were truly shaken by the impact. They held, but when the knights made a tactical retreat the giants were in no shape to tie down or pursue the enemy.
On the Vinayan right flank, the fight reached its logical conclusion: Valskor Ironside's retainers failed to disengage from their contest with the human cavalry, and gradually they were wiped out until the great warrior-monk himself was finally knocked to the ground. Their sheer determination wore down the enemy riders and cut down their numbers, but they could not stop the skirmishers from turning face to deliver enfilade fire upon the advancing musket-line.
In the center, the Jotun were gaining the upper hand. The combined artillery fire from land and sea was enough to finally overcome the defensive emplacements, and through the smoke Jotun musketeers could barely make out some of their enemies beginning to back away even as the giants kept taking fire (and returning it). Even as their left flank suffered under enfilade skirmish fire, their implacable advance continued. But then, they were caught by surprise. Suddenly, a great many humans were falling not backwards but forwards, and a tide of hundreds of pikes ran into the musketeers' front ranks in the midst of a fire-advance maneuver. Many unprepared musketeers were impaled before they could draw their swords or even try to use their muskets as clubs, while the rest struggled against a surprisingly well-organized Vinayan pike wall.
Even then, after the initial shock, the musketeers began to regain the advantage. The pike formation began to lose cohesion as it stretched and bended into its opponents' new gaps, and the smaller combats that ensued within the greater prolonged melee always favored the giants. Yet, the Jotun front lines faced another round of shock when the Vinayan knights and militia riders, having finished their prior engagements, reformed and charged into the Jotun right. Pressured from the front by infantry, one flank by cavalry, and another flank by skirmish fire, the musketeers finally broke off and ran to regroup with the Thane. Cover from friendly cannons prevented the pikes from even attempting to pursue the faster giants, and Vikings moved up to cover the right.
In the end, sheer firepower saved the Jotun raiders from defeat. Vinayan attempts to press forward with infantry and cavalry were rebuffed: They were simply too few and too fatigued to run up against the enemy's cannon, a combination of horse artillery under Stae Pjjokhat and "infantry guns" that equaled human heavy cannon in size and power. Then, with their forward cover finally falling apart under fire, Vinayan infantry gradually fell back into the village. Cavalry who tried to skirmish or charge were repeatedly driven back, and the infantry in the village quickly realized that nowhere here was safe from the enemy artillery. A second, final push by the Jotun infantry was enough to break most of the defenders holed up in the village, exhausted and pinned down under fire. General Stae Pjjokhat, charging with his cavalry retainers on his own initiative, mopped up what was left.
Yet, sheer firepower was also, perhaps, the Jotun's main weakness. Thane Gudrik, famous for his ferocity in battle and leading his troops in devastating charges, relied almost entirely on black powder during the Battle of Carleone. Not once did he personally lead an advance, and not once did his own blade drive into his enemies' flesh. A viable and modern strategy in a normal pitched battle, perhaps, but, as General Pjjokhat would argue afterwards, not in a situation where the enemy could bring their full firepower to bear from the very beginning while the Jotun could not. Or, perhaps, Pjjokhat was wrong, and it had simply been bad luck. But there was more bad news yet.
When the giants investigated the village, they found that the entire population and its valuables had been evacuated. All that remained to loot was unrefined gold ore, hardly the great prize many had expected. After taking such heavy losses and losing several engagements before winning the battle both on land and at sea, only to end up with loot that could be described as modest at best, soldiers began to fear Aed's disfavor. Thane Gudrik's troops would look at him differently from now on.
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NOTES (Known to both combatants)
-- Jotun Clans COSTLY VICTORY
-- Jotun Clans CONTROL the village of Carleone
-- Jotun Clans gain
4 Gold in loot
-- Valskor Ironside
(Warrior-Monk) is GRAVELY WOUNDED
-- Thane Gudrik
(Warrior/General) gains the following traits:
Casualties, Schmasualties!: Malus to morale of troops under command AND enemy troops., and
Lost Aed's Favor?: -1 Splendor, malus to diplomacy with Orthodox Aedakom NPCs, trait may be removed by impressive victories.
-- Casualties and prisoners to be PMed to players
