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Post by cerdigon on Mar 5, 2016 22:17:16 GMT
Battle of the Ironstalk Plains
Belligerents: Sacrye vs Ironskull Clan The first sign of the Ironskull was not on the horizon but the tremors in the earth that signaled their advance. Soon, the source appeared in the form of massive beasts that stood tall at the center of the horde. The mastadons were huge islands amongst the ranks of the Ironskull with waves of armored supporting infantry and cavalry that swarmed about the beasts like insects. The first battle between the Sacrye and the Ironskull would not take place amongst the hovels of the Ironskull villagers but instead Chief Yurik Bladesplitter had marched his army out to the Ironstalk Plains to greet the encroaching giants. Nearly eighteen thousand Orc's stood opposite their smaller Giant counterpart of eight thousand. Yet what the Giants lacked in numbers they made up for in sheer firepower and fanaticism. The Ironstalk Plains were about to yield a red harvest. ------------- -- Deployment Phase begins! See War Forms in personal messages. -- Armies are in skirmishing range of one another, should either force decide to engage. -- Battlefield is experiencing light snowfall that is effecting visibility. Slight malus to ranged combat and cohesion. |
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Post by cerdigon on Mar 8, 2016 4:11:33 GMT
DEPLOYMENT PHASE
The initial stages of the Battle of the Ironstalk Plains was less of a battle and more of a series of individual duels as skirmishers fought it out while their respective armies struggled to form a battle line. The howling winds with its freezing rain and snow only added to the misery of Giant and Orc alike. Meanwhile, the Ironskull in their thousands were massing from all sides for a decisive push that would collapse the enemy through sheer weight of numbers and the power of their mastodons. Yet even they were a colorful mess of shifting formations that was struggling to maintain cohesion in the face of stiff Sacrye resistance. Longbowman marched ahead of the Horde, readying to nock and unleash volleys of cruel barbed arrows into the ranks of the enemy. The snowfall would not make things easier on either side, the biting wind sending missiles off target and swirling snow reducing visibility.
The initial advantage of the skirmish went to the Orc longbowman. Long neglected as an outdated instrument of warfare, the longbow found success against enemy musket that lacked the sheer range and reload speed that their Orc counterparts did. Combined with the fact that the Sacrye skirmishers wore little in the way of personal armor and their size, they were easy targets. However, what the giant muskets lacked for in range, they made up for in firepower. Massive lead balls carved their way through Ironskull ranks, meaning that always when a shot landed it left little more than a red smear in the white snow.  The skirmishes continued for some time, the crack of muskets echoing across the plains, the twang of bows being carried on the wind. Inevitably however, the giant skirmishers were forced back in the face of the Orc advance. Lumbering out of the swirling snow, came the first of the mastodons, they were followed by loping hungry wargs eager to sink their teeth into giant flesh and exploit any gaps in the enemy ranks. The mastodon's became lumbering targets for the giant battle line whom unleashed a flurry of white hot lead into them. Several of the massive islands of flesh came crashing down, crushing a handful of unlucky warg riders that were underneath them. But the sheer power of the animals meant that they were able to shrug off the worst of the volley, their pace only increasing as they came closer, urged on by their handlers. The Sacrye could only brace themselves for impact as the tidal wave of iron descended upon them from all sides.
NOTES:
-- Both sides are in immediate skirmishing range of one another.
-- Snowfall is becoming a major factor, inflicting cohesion and visibility penalties on BOTH combatants.
-- Engagement Phase begins! Expect battle forms soon!
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Post by cerdigon on Mar 12, 2016 14:43:26 GMT
ENGAGEMENT PHASE
 The constant 'pop' and roar of musket fire was only increasing as out of the ice and snow the Ironskull Horde emerge. Distant figures collapsed and died as Sacrye musket balls tore through Orcish ranks, at times not only killing the first Orc, but the Orc behind him. Yet perhaps the most critical act of the battle was taking place on the left flank where the giants were facing a large force of well trained Warg cavalry and huge mastodons. Firg Hooktongue and his retainers lead the way, followed by even more ranks of the armored beasts. The mastodons became the target of the bulk of the Sacrye musket fire but it was hardly coordinated as the Warg riders waited on the perimeter. The end result was that when the mastodon's struck, they carved a massive bulge into the Sacrye line. Musketeers were tossed like rag dolls, the roundshiers pressing forward to try and fill the line but it was here that the Warg cavalry struck. Nearly two thousand of the beasts came biting, snarling, and ripping at the throats of Giants. The fear and shock of the enemy cavalry, the brutality of Firg Hooktongue, and the terror that the war mastodons invoked was enough to send the musketeers fleeing. Betgir and his retainers tried in vain to stem the flood and briefly succeeded in stabilizing the line, the Giant warrior carving a red swathe through the Orc ranks and leaving a trail of corpses in his ranks. If King Vivir or Aefdor had redeployed troops to take advantage of the fact that the Ironskull Cavalry had outpaced their infantry, perhaps thing's might've been different. Maybe the enemy could've even been pushed back and repulsed. Later historians would come to blame the encroaching blizzard for the breakdown in communications. But alas, Betgir found himself increasingly cut off and his lines thinning as his troops panicked and fled the field into the roaring snowstorm. Betgir himself lead a fighting retreat with the last remaining unit of roundshiers that managed to stop Hooktongue from completely annihilating the left flank. Elsewhere along the line, the Ironskull Horde was attacking the center and right flank of the Sacrye line. Musket fire once more inflicted HEAVY casualties on the Orc's, making them pay for every yard that they marched further into the storm of metal. But firepower alone wasn't enough to stop the Ironskull advance. The Sacrye did have the advantage in the fact that the Ironskull struck the center and right flanks in a piece mail fashion. Units were increasingly struggling to move in the snow and stay in marching formation. But the weight of numbers was beginning to turn the tide... In the center, King Vivir was leading an admirable defense against the enemy (and even winning), the Sacrye zealots smashing into the Orc ranks uncaring for their own lives. The King leading from the front was an inspiration to his men, and like his namesake, he alone seemed unconcerned with the ice and snow. Yet with the Sacrye left flank obliterated, it was only a matter of time before Hooktongue turned his attention to hammering the Giant flanks. With the storm worsening, the King would have to make a last ditch effort to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. NOTES:
-- See prior MM for relevant notes on weather and morale factors. |
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Post by cerdigon on Mar 14, 2016 20:46:32 GMT
CONCLUSION PHASE The banners of the Ironskull pressed in -- seemingly from all sides. On the right flank, came a great host of heavily armored mastodon's and behind them, a wave of teeth and fur. The combined cavalry force smashed into the center line, sending roundshiers and zealots scattering in all directions. The pressure on the center was further increased as more of the Ironskull warriors pressed forward, longbowman dropped their bows and drew their blades. While not particularly effective in the melee, they did add more pressure to an overextended and exhausted Sacrye battle line. The fighting was so fierce that musketeers were forced to use their weapons as makeshift clubs, the sheer strength of the giants meaning that at times they were able to clobber and crush enemy troops underneath their weight. The Sacrye center was caught in a deadly pincer maneuver and its King was at the center of a deadly maelstrom.. A spear pierced his side, a barbed arrow his shoulder, and a sword slashed across his face, but still the King fought on. It was only thanks to his personal combat prowess (and the help of his royal guard) that the King managed to escape at all. In the end, he was carried from the field while the Sacrye army routed. On the right flank, the battle was much more even and pitched. Yet even the proud warrior Aefdor could see the outcome, the Sacrye right flank began a fighting retreat. It wasn't until sundown that the fighting at last ended, leaving the Ironskull in possession of the field. NOTES:-- DECISIVE IRONSKULL VICTORY -- King Frostheart is GRIVEOUSLY WOUNDED (significant malus to combat for next two turns) -- Firg Hooktongue earns trait BEASTMASTER (bonus to charge for cavalry under his command and beasts are less likely to run amok) -- GLORY TO CHIEF BLADESPLITTER! Ironskull gain MORALE bonus for next battle! -- A list of casualties will be PM'd to both sides (included in campaign forms) |
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