This time we played a battle from the era of the crusades. The Crusaders were led by Sander supported by Joost and Alex and the Muslim troops led by Abe supported by Justin and Erik.
Jerusalem was safely in the hands of the Franks, many warriors had gone back to Europe, despite that the brand new Kingdom of Jerusalem was far from stable, there was still a threat of several Muslim armies threatening the new holy kingdom. None of these armies was so feared as that of Abeslam, sultan of Rum robbing and plundering they moved through the Frankish areas. King Baldwin I turned to his favourite cousin, count Sander
de Bouillon, he had to stop Abeslam and expel the enemy from the Frankish areas. Sander
de Bouillon was a popular and influential man, however, his army was too small to meet Abeslam on the field of battle, and he had to convince two other Nobel men to also send troops. Often Sanders love for dice games brought him in trouble again and again, this time it turned out to be a blessing. In a local brothel, he managed to beat the always cheerful Joost Duke of Flanders and count Alex of Brabant, the only way to pay the debt was to join Sander
de Bouillon on his expedition.
Abeslam of Rum was once again plundering the Frankish territories, he was accompanied by Justin of Aleppo and Erik of Damascus, they were told that a Frankish army was on the move to stop them, the hearts of the leaders filled with joy, finally they could punish these dogs and take revenge for the capture of Jerusalem.
On a large open plain, the armies met, that day the sand would colour red.
The first turn was for the Franks, They moved forward across the line, the Knights Templar on the Frankish right flank could not hold themselves back and they stormed forward. The Muslim troops did not move towards the Franks, they opened fire onto the enemy troops that were in range but the casualties were limited.
The Frankish troops on both sides moved forward, a unit led by the particularly pious Templar master Lex
de Payens would not hold back with the infidels in sight, they lowered their lances and charged an infantry unit led by Justin of Aleppo, the heavily armed and well-trained warrior monks slashed their way through the infantrymen that tried to resist but against this powerful attack it proved to be impossible, the infantry were driven back but they did not break. Fresh infantry from Justin of Aleppo took position in front of the heavily battered troops allowing them time to recover, he also sent Cavalry units through the nearby settlement so as to make a flanking move so that he could threaten the Frankish flank.
On the other flank troops from Abeslam of Rum moved forward and these came in contact with the troops from Joost of Flanders, these Frankish troops were able to push the enemy troops back. In the centre the hospitalers lead by George
de Villaret moved forward and took up a position in front of Erik of Damascus.
The Saracens now brought forward the archers and a devastating fire was unleashed, many Franks fell where they stood, a deadly Crossfire on the left flank from Abeslam of Rum managed to push a Frankish cavalry unit back which resulted in a loud cheering by Abeslam of Rum whose energetic enthusiasm always inspired his troops.
This deadly salvo could not, however, stop the Christian troops, inspired by the thought that they carried out the will of God the Frankish Knights marched on and a unit of mounted knights charged an infantry division from Abeslam of Rum on the left flank, the Muslim unit broke. In the centre the Hospitallers charged a unit of archers that did not know what happened to them. Completely powerless they tried to defend themselves but resistance proved to be futile, the loose sand was soaked with blood while archer after archer fell to the ground, panic broke out but there was no salvation, they were exterminated to the last.
This massacre was not yet sufficient for these warrior monks, they reformed and charged a unit spearmen, and these absorbed the charge and stood their ground. On the other flank Templars charged Mamelukes from Justin of Aleppo but these brave troops stood their ground and fought back hard against the Templars.
Abeslam of Rum moved his troops around the Frankish cavalry unit that had broken through the Muslim lines and surrounded it. Knights were pulled from their horses and they were assaulted from all sides, the last survivors begged for mercy but that was a word that Abeslam of Rum was unfamiliar with, the knights were massacred. Several units in the centre moved in to support the spearmen that were still fighting the hospitalers but that fight remained balanced and both units held. On the other flank the Mamelukes were driven back, the troops that moved in to support the Knights Templar were fired upon from the flank but the Christian troops were not bothered by the losses and came ever closer.
Abeslam of Rum decided to deal with the troops from Joost of Flanders first and he took a third of the entire army and chased two Cavalry units, it was his intention to destroy and then envelop the Christians. In the centre the Christian Cavalry had now almost arrived, Justin of Aleppo pulled his archers back and these were added to the infantry that had to hold the left part of the centre, these were threatened by the infantry from Sander
de Bouillon and the Cavalry of Alex of Brabant.
After a hard fight and many casualties on both sides the hospitalers in the centre were driven back by the infantry from Erik of Damascus. Sander
de Bouillon gave the order to attack, half of his infantry stormed towards the troops of Justin of Aleppo, this was the signal for Alex of Brabant to move his cavalry forward. Like a deadly sandstorm all along the line Frankish troops rammed themselves into the divisions of Justin of Aleppo, who ordered his troops to hold.
The brute force of this deadly attack was extreme, the front rows of the Muslim troops were completely wiped out while the other troops put their heels into the sand to hold back the attack, casualties were extreme and several divisions broke while others kept fighting slowly losing all hope of survival. The other troops from Sander
de Bouillon moved towards the infantry of Erik of Damascus but these could not yet be reached. On the other flank Joost of Flanders, with only a few Cavalry units, managed to hold back about one third of the army led by Abeslam of Rum, thereby giving the numerical superiority of troops to the crusaders in the centre.
Justin of Aleppo's lines started to crumble and here the Frankish troops were everywhere, unit after unit broke while the Franks moved further forward, Sander got a smile on his face, he could soon move his troop around a rock formation to attack the rear of the troops from Erik of Damascus. Erik of Damascus had also seen this and he gave the order to attack, infantry and cavalry moved forward and they charged the Christian lines, a unit of Christian archers was destroyed while the other units held their ground, although a bloody fight broke out between Sander
de Bouillon en Erik of Damascus, Erik of Damascus could not move all of his troops into the fight because the cavalry of Joost of Flanders did not only hold back a third of the army but they still managed to threaten his flank and Erik of Damascus had to use some troops to keep it closed.
Abeslam of Rum now decided to bring his troops toward the centre to support the Muslim troops there, the only question was, would they arrive in time?
Alex of Brabant and Sander
de Bouillon drove their troops further forward, the last divisions of Justin of Aleppo were broken and panicked troops ran through one another in an attempt to escape, pursued by Christian knights. Justin of Aleppo saw that his flank was broken and he kicked his horse in the side as he ran off. Sander
de Bouillon and Erik of Damascus continued their fight in the centre but the fight went unabated, a unit of Franks was driven back, followed by a unit Saracens but both refused to give in and fought like possessed men.
The first Frankish infantry had completed their flanking move and now charged the rear of the troops from Erik of Damascus, a unit broke but the others held while Sander
de Bouillon poured in more and more troops.
Abeslam of Rum arrived in force and surrounded a unit of Frankish infantry, the Franks broke and ran. The attack however had come too late and the punch was too little. A second unit from Erik of Damascus was attacked from three sides and broke and thereby breaking the division of Erik of Damascus. His other troops retreated, Abeslam of Rum now had no other choice but to pull out, with almost the entire Frankish army intact continuing the fight would be pointless.
Sander
de Bouillon inhaled the scents of the battlefield, he sighed and looked around. The field was covered with the Saracen dead and wounded and despite the fact that they themselves had also suffered casualties, these losses had been comparatively small, it was a large victory and on his return to Jerusalem he would be overloaded with titles and possessions, it had been a good day, on this day was God had really been with him.
