After what will go down in history as "The Bloody Road to Bieswang" where both forces unceremoniously butchered each other, both armies (what was left of them!) pulled back.
Kastor had stopped the Hardenburg advance, but Vysnevtsky had successfully defended his baggage and artillery train from the ambush.
The Hardenburgers had pulled back, regrouped and fetched their reserves in Pfungzig, while The Baron fetched the newly recruited troops from Bieswang, Heideck and Averheim, The knights of the Everlasting Quest also brought two units of mercenary Tilean spearmen with them.
Both armies met on the road, where they had fought on that bloody day not so long ago, to fight a pitched battle both were stretched to their limits, and would not be able to fight another pitched battle until more recruits arrived, this it was a fight to see who would be defending Pfungzig or Bieswang in the assault the would follow.
Forces:
Hardenburg Marines
Vyshnevtshy Prince Regent.....men-at-arms, CinC
First brigade- Don Quixote
knight's of the black bear.....gendarmes
knight's of the black bear.....gendarmes
knight's of the black bear.....gendarmes
Second brigade-Captain Karayagin
greatswords.....gallowglass
greatswords.....gallowglass
outriders.....reiter
outriders.....reiter
great cannon.....heavy gun
hellblaster.....heavy gun
Third brigade-Yann the bold
sate troop spears.....swiss pike
Kasotian spear men.....swiss pike
great cannon.....heavy gun
great cannon.....medium gun
Averland
Baron Kastor.....men-at-arms, CinC
First brigade-governor of Bieswang
knight's of the blazing sun.....gendarmes
knight's of the blazing sun.....gendarmes
knight's of the everlasting quest.....gendarmes
knight's of the everlasting quest.....gendarmes
battle wizard.....heavy gun
Second brigade-leitdorf
mercenary spear men.....swiss pike
mercenary spear men.....swiss pike
great cannon.....medium gun
helblaster.....heavy gun
Third brigade-Raimund leitdorf
Averland greatswords.....gallowglass
Averland swordsmen.....swordsmen
Averland halbedeirs.....pikemen
Battle wizard.....heavy gun
The field was clear, a pitched battle with no advantages or disadvantages, only tactics.....
The forces deployed, Hardenburg made the first move.
On the left only one unit of Greatswords moved up, a command mistake halting other orders. The knight's of the black bear, always eager to get into the fight, marched forward heading for the cops in the centre. Then the guns opened fire, blowing a hole in the Averland Greatsword's line. The spear men strode up to engage there adversary's, Vyshnevtsky encouraging them onward as he swooped over on his griffon.
Averland quickly responded, Kastor sending the cavalry brigade into the cover, from the guns , into a wood, and ordering a general advance while his own cannons played on the partly exposed black bears. Again the Prince's brigade failed to get moving, more unfortunate mistakes being made in the orders. The black bears undeterred by a few shots from a mere cannon pressed on!
The Spear men were ordered to charge, but the sate troops only made it half way before their nerve failed them and they stopped, the Kasotion's didn't even move, a fireball from the wizard on the hill having halted them. The Hardenburg cannons then blasted on the mercenary spear, a shot disordering them, but their expert drilling came into play and they quickly ordered themselves again.
Raimund ordered the Greatswords to charge, they failed to hear his orders over the noise, but fortunately guessed he wanted them to engage.
With a tremendous war cry the Averland Greatswords charged forward into the spears! wheeling their swords in great figures of eight through the shafts and hacking the hapless sate troops to pieces! not taking any casualty's. The halbediers and swordsmen moved up in support.
The forward black bears now found themselves alone facing the might of two brigades!
The mercenary pike with a steady quick march advanced on the foremost troop of horse, the knights though, counter charged. They caught the block on the move and almost disordered it, but again their drilling saved them and they began to bring down both knight and horse with ease with their spears. Thus pinned by the spear men the knights of the everlasting quest charged from the woods, with a unit of the knight's of the blazing sun close behind, and smashed into the black bear's flank destroying them. before quickly aligning themselves with the spear men.
The state troops were slaughtered by the Greatswords, cutting nearly all of them down to a man. They now turned to the Kasotions. Vyshnevtshy in a bid to brake the seemingly unstoppable Averland counter advance swooped down on the halbediers, his griffin crashing down among them thrashing about, but the officer quickly ordered his men to surround the beast, then they plunged in on the heroic leader! while men took the griffin head on a group dashed round and attacked the mounted prince, a deep thrust caught him in the joint between his breastplate and a blow on the side of his head knocked him unconscious, all he remembered was his griffin gliding him off to safety.
A troop of the black bear now rushed on towards the unit of the knight's of the blazing sun but blow themselves out be fore making contact. But the Averlanders failed to make good use of this precarious situation, failing to order their men on to the attack.
A troop of mercenary spear men now charged into the other troop of black bears, and a bitter fight ensued. The black bears were all killed in the fight but the mercenary fled the field in terror. The other troop of knight's of the blazing sun charged off to fight the outriders.
The victorious Greatswords now charged into the kasotions, mangling through their ranks without taking any casualty's. The spear men were badly shaken and with the swordsmen closing in on their flank they broke!
A Great Victory for Averland!
With only one troop of men from Averland broken in the battle to the five Hardenburg troops lost it was the most decisive battle of the war.
One of the Hardenburg commanders said it was the worst defeat they had ever had in their otherwise brilliant military history. Rumours went through the men of Hardenburg that the gods were not with them, that the goddess of justice did not support the Von Alptraums and that the war was doomed with both their armies on the retreat, others said that there was a spy or that the madness of the ruler had affected them.
The army retreated back to Pfungzig with Kastor hot on their heels, keen to retake the captured town.
by M
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