Bruce suggested a little DBA 3.0 "Book 3" Dark Ages action and provided the representative armies.
Bruce commanded Nikephorian Byzantines (III/65) and I ran Khurasanians (III/43). The Byzantines feature a core of Skoutatoi (8Bw) and Kavallarioi (3Cv) with some exotics like Klibanophoroi (6Kn) and Varangian mercenaries (4Bd), supported by foot and mounted light troops.
The Khurasanians are based around the Ghulam infantry (4Sp) and cavalry (3Cv), supported by some archers (4Bw) and various tribal light troops. Both armies deployed with infantry centers and mounted wings.
The Khurasanians were defending their Dry (terrain type) homeland from Byzantine invasion; as the defender I had to deploy first, so tried to roll up defensible terrain. We ended up with Scrub (Rough Going) on my right flank, and Woods (Difficult Going) on my left. I deployed the largest command, the spear-armed infantry in the center, with a mounted command on each wing, with the light troops holding the Rough and Difficult terrain. I needed a balanced deployment that could hopefully delay the strong Byzantine mounted wings while the center infantry proved decisive.
Both armies began with a general advance, while the Khurasanians maneuvered the left-wing cavalry around the woods to block the Byzantine right-flank mounted advance.
As the main lines drew near each other, seeing the Byzantines on the ends of their center line formed up unnecessarily deep, and liking the match-up between the 4Sp and the Byzantine 8Bw in close combat, I pushed the center into contact.
The good match-ups and the deep Byzantine formations that made recoils impossible led to eliminations in the Byzantine center and left flank commands.
Some good (lucky?) shooting from the archers on the Khurasanian right flank led to the demoralization of the Byzantine left flank, and the Khurasanians began to wheel toward the center to keep up the pressure. FYI that is the Byzantine "dead pile" visible in the upper left of the second of the following photos.
A little more pressure demoralized the Byzantine center command a couple bounds later, signaling their defeat.
The Khurasanian left flank held off the Byzantine onslaught, even as the Klibanophoroi drove deep into their mounted opponents. Thanks for a fun game, Bruce!
Now, what do I want to do for Recruits next month?
