The Battle of Caerfen- Orcs v Elves

[Ratty]

THE BATTLE OF CAERFEN.
This encounter between the ravening orcs and stalwart elves took place on, what can only be described as, a "busy" battlefield. The village of Caerfen, named after a long gone Elven fort, sits on a busy trade thoroughfare, a well- travelled route for wealthy merchants. It was these tempting spoils which first drew the attention of roving orc war parties, however, their numbers were never great enough to pose a truly serious threat to the well protected traders or the village itself.... until now!
A formidable host of orcs had been gathering for several weeks, intent on seizing Caerfen, and claiming ownership of all unlucky enough to be caught on the road. Unbeknownst to the orcs, the Elves, although the fort was but a distant memory, still kept a vigilant eye on their profitable trade route, and when the warnings of the impending orc assault began to trickle in, gathered a mighty host with orders to march and hold the village at ALL costs- an order which would indeed prove to be all too true.
Caerfen sits in a pleasant forested plain, with uplands to the north and south. The southern hills hold the ruins of the ancient fort of Caerfen, although forests have begun to encroach upon the crumbling walls. The main road runs west/ east across the flat lands, with the eastern edge of the fens forcing the road to turn to avoid the hazards of these uncharted wetlands. Another road branches north from the village and meanders up onto the northern ridgeline. It is around this junction that Caerfen now sits, to take advantage of passing trade and offer a welcome overnight stop for weary travellers.

Table overview.

The view through Caerfen from the edge of the eastern fens.

[Ratty]

The armies each numbered 300 points. The orcs, led by myself:
3 Generals
1 Hero General
6 Horde units, arranged into 4 blocks of 6 stands
3 archers
3 spears
2 ballistae
4 mountain orcs
1 orc flyer
1 giant
4 heavy chariots
2 wolf riders

The elves, led by Mark:
4 Generals
4 Spears
5 Archers
4 Heavy Cavalry
3 Eagles
3 Horse archers


Being completely outscouted by the elven flying units, Mark had the choice of choosing table edge and setting up first, or setting up second and moving first. Somewhat appropriately, he elected to allow the orc host to choose the table edge and swarm onto the table first. Caerfen's bells began to toll out the warning as the waves of green skinned doom lumbered, scampered and howled from the forests on the eastern edge of the plain.
The centre of the line was dominated by the mighty ballistae. These machines of destruction were to strike fear into the hearts of all foolish enough to stand against them- if the opportunity arose to target the proud elven heavy cavalry then it would be taken without mercy. To protect them from early strikes from the elven eagles, I arranged mixed units of archers and spears around them. I find it hard to out- shoot the elves but the orc archers are ideal at nullifying lightening aerial raids, and when combined with the spear units means I can spread their influence out even further and benefit from the spear units armour and better combat factor- even though they fight with 2 fewer stands in combat. Wolf riders and orc hordes formed the extreme flanks of the front line. The wolf riders were placed here to surge forward quickly and deny the elves easy access into Caerfen.
The second line, or the Doombringer as I like to call it, was made up of heavy chariots (although I realised as the game progressed I had fielded too many for the fight at Caerfen- they operate best in open country and I had to work hard to maximise their quality without risking them in the close fighting around the village), mountain orcs and the redoubtable giants.
A fearsome line, and one which would prove hard to stop for any army- coupled with the fact that I had crushed the elven host in our most recent encounter, confidence was running high!

Mark's elves arrived to the clarion call of war horns. His was a real army of two halves. His infantry, with limited aerial and cavalry support, marched boldly onto the southern end of his deployment area. His massed ranks of archers and spearmen were arranged into column for a swift advance, no doubt wanting to take advantage of the first turn, Mark wanted to seize the initiative and establish a strong presence in the ruins of the old fort and maybe even the village (although he reckoned without my cunning wolf rider trail blazers!)
There was then a large and significant gap between his southern force of infantry and his northern cavalry units. These were led by a worrying screen of light horse archers- troops I have always struggled to get to grips with (they always elect to flee when I close in on them- how rude!). Behind these came the rest of the heavy cavalry as well as the remaining units of giant eagles. This fast, hard hitting force had me worried as I had no significant numbers of cavalry to counter them on my northern flank- I would need plan B and the battle hadn't even begun.

The arrival of the elves on the eastern outskirts of Caerfen did cause some confusion amongst my green hordes, as they had arrived expecting little resistance, but now they were committed to this clash with the elves, the frothing masses were unleashed. Let battle commence!

To be continued...

[dane]

looking good can't wait for the battle.

what roads are you using?

Dane

[Ratty]

Hi Dane,
Thanks for the comments. The roads I use are nice and flexible to suit the hexon contours and have a fuzzy anti- slip backing. I use 1.5 inch width. I bought them years ago for my Warmaster games and have lasted really well,
Best wishes

[Ratty]

The elves swept forward with cold determination to drive the savage hordes back from Caerfen. The cavalry and eagles moved up on the right flank- the missile cavalry forming a screen to the front. On the left, the infantry marched swiftly in columns to take the old ruins on the ridge above the village.

The Advance of the elves!

I watched the advance of the elves with mixed feelings. The elven infantry were a target too good to ignore, and so moved en masse to engage them as quickly as possible. In the centre of my line, the wolf riders moved quickly forward to occupy key points in Caerfen. The artillery and archer support moved forward steadily behind them. My left flank, however, were facing the elven missile cavalry with eagles in support. My troops facing them were under serious threat of being cut down with little hope of catching the elusive elves. So, in keeping with so many great Orc generals when faced with imminent threat of destruction, I legged it for the cover of the nearby woodlands. That'll teach them to mess with the mighty orc horde!

Now you see us... now you don't.

Looking over the orc centre towards the encroaching elven cavalry.

In disgust at my amazing display of self- preservation and fearing what lay in wait within those shadowy forests, Mark drew back his entire right flank back towards his infantry, who were facing my massed advance with little cavalry support.

The elven flank ride to rejoin the infantry.

An overview of initial manoeuvres- note the eagles pushed forward on the elven left to restrict the path around the woods.

[Norm]

I really like the 'massed' look you are getting there with your forces. I think I will be investing in some of the sloped tiles as I want to do something of a long ridge for Hastsings.

[Ratty]

With the removal of the immediate threat of Mark's cavalry, I opted to extend and push my left flank out from the woods and forward again. This proved too much of a temptation for two of Mark's trailing horse archer units and they turned with speed only the elves possess and arrived once more on my flank to cause as much chaos as possible, with a unit of eagles in support. This reduced threat was one I felt confident in dealing with and so opted to remain in the open to face them.

Cavalry move to engage the orc left flank

Meanwhile around Caerfen, the woods and ruins of the old fort the two armies continued to manoeuvre into position in preparation of landing a decisive strike.

Orc forces close in on the woods near the old fort

Mark utilised his mounted troops well, with heavy cavalry pushing up on his far left, trying to turn my flank. For now the woods were helping shelter my troops and deter him from overstretching his force, but for how long?

Elven heavy cavalry move to turn the orc flank

Initial clashes saw the orcs being harassed with missile fire on the left, causing some disruption but few casualties.

Arrow power- the accursed disruption blights my horde units

I moved units to engage this threat head on and the elves stood their ground and pushed back all who a came within range of their deadly arrows. Mark was a little overconfident here as I attacked him with C class horde units, an impotent rabble which he maintained was nothing to fear- until one unit somehow survived the missile storm (although was still disrupted) and promptly tied up a unit of the elf cavalry in melee due to a fortuitous bit of dice rolling! Over the next couple of rounds they slowly pushed the orcs back into the woods, where they themselves became disrupted (cavalry, woods and combat do not mix!) The elven riders fate was sealed as the "impotent rabble" swarmed all over them. In a bid to aid them, the elven eagles moved up but were themselves pinned and disrupted by my orc archers who emerged from Caerfen. Mark withdrew his general and accompanying unit, as quickly as their pride would allow, back towards his main force. The orcs marched on...

The elven cavalry are drawn to their doom in the woods

Across on the other flank, the start of the main clashes were announced with the orc fliers hurtling into the elf eagles near to the woods. The eagles lost a stand, were disrupted and forced to flee with the orcs in pursuit. With a mighty roar the green hordes began to push forward in earnest against the ordered elven lines. The fate of Caerfen was at last to be decided...

[Ratty]

The orc flyers signal the assault

I sent several orc units forward in probing attacks around the ruins and woodland, as well as pushing the giants and other forces through the woods in the centre of the battlefield.

Orc units move forward in the centre and right flank

This prompted Mark to counter attack and the elves moved in force to the woods and ruins of the fort. The initial orc attack was bogged down, but the elves had moved into range of the orc warriors waiting in reserve.

The elves counter attack

The next few turns were carnage. Orcs fell in swathes as the elves surged forward, but in return were cutting down the elves- a battle of attrition was quickly developing. The cavalry of both sides suffered from finding themselves charging in- hitting with great initial impact- but soon found themselves tangled in the woods, or fighting infantry entrenched in the ruins.
The giants came roaring into several elf units, driving them back dramatically, and allowing more orcs space to move the assault forward.

The orc assault in full swing

The giants rampage forward whilst desperate generals from both sides join the battle to urge their troops forward.

[Ratty]

With casualties mounting alarmingly quickly on both sides, Mark launched a do or die charge into the remaining orcs. I was still hopeful this could be thrown back or absorbed and then make them pay as my final reserves were committed to the front lines.

The imminent demise of the giants, but their sacrifice has allowed the orcs to muster forward the last of their strength

The game at this point was one of both myself and Mark scouring the field, searching for weakened or isolated units that could be picked off as we both neared our break points. The orc counter attack was a success- the elves reeled but somehow continued to hang on. The "A" class quality of the rank and file elf infantry was really proving it's worth at this point! My attack over, a quick count of casualties was made to check how close both armies were to breaking. The elves were just four stands away... I couldn't believe how close the attack had come to victory, but now Mark was to attack and my army was in a very similar state with fragmented and exhausted orc units just hunkering down hoping to be ignored by the few intact elf units still pushing forward.

The final combats play out...

Several well chosen, decisive charges saw these swept away. The great war drums of the orcs beat the retreat, and those that could withdrew from the field of battle vowed not to trouble Caerfen for years to come. The relieved elves had held on somehow but at a very great cost.

The orcs are broken.

Another great game which really did fit the description of being on a knife's edge for most of it's duration. It really could have gone either way and I feel that both armies performed well, showing their very different strengths to the full. Congratulations to Mark (again!) for a very enjoyable game. Back to the drawing board for my orc army for some tweaks and fine tuning... they shall return and perhaps Caerfen is not as safe as the elves believe, time will tell.

[dane]

really enjoyed that ratty even if the orcs did loose thanks for sharring

dane