The Chronicles of Kermit the Hermit – ‚The Relief of Adhogg‘ scenario

This is a scenario for the Crusades using To the Strongest rules. It’s been a while since figures from my (possibly) best painted collection saw action – here goes!

The Chroncles of Kermit the Hermit detail many lesser known military encounters in the Holy Land during the First Crusade and early years of The Kingdom of Jerusalem. One such entry relates to the Seljuk siege of Adhogg and its proposed relief by the Franks; the relevant part of the chronicle is as follows:

“….In the Year of Our Lord 1108 the Seljuk dehquan Toohdix laid siege to the Town of Adhogg. This place boasts impregnable fortifications which can only be overcome by a very long blockade or deception; the latter being how it fell to us in 1105.

The Franks felt secure behind their walls and trusted that the Seljuks would, as was their want, go home when winter arrived. The Seljuk Toohdix, by force of his will, kept the blockade intact through the winter and, with victuals running desperately short, the Franks were forced to call for succour. Oxo de Bouillon answered the call. He collected men and supplies together with great speed and set off on the road to Adhogg.

Toohdix, learning of the approach of Oxo, and leaving a trusted lieutenant in charge of the siege, detached himself with the best of his cavalry and set forth to intercept the relief column before it got near. He met the Franks, from ambush, at The Fork of Bisto…..”

So, our scene is set. The Franks are seeking to relieve the siege; the Seljuks will seek to ambush the Franks, where the road to Adhogg forks to go around Mount Bisto, and prevent them from reaching the town.

Terrain: 

The terrain is pictured on the map above. The To The Strongest grid is 12 x 9 boxes. Hills are yellow, rough ground is green. Roads and villages are brown. Red and blue lines show the limit of each side’s initial deployment zones (see below).

• Hills are low and gentle; they are high enough to overlook scrubby woodland and the three villages but, not other hills. 
• Woody scrubland is difficult terrain and blocks LoS. 
• Villages are difficult terrain to infantry and impassable to cavalry, they block LoS.
• The road to Adhogg forks here to go around Mount Bisto (a little off table). The roads to Adhogg are equally long and easy to traverse so the Franks can choose to use either road or cut across country to reach the opposite table edge (see Victory Conditions). Units following a road do not need to activate to turn when they enter a box containing a bend providing they turn immediately to show their new direction – they are simply following the road. The roads provide the easiest routes for the Frank’s supply wagons to successfully egress the table. Supply wagons treat all off-road movement as one level more difficult than usual – they are heavily laden and the ground is generally unsuitable for them.

Otherwise all terrain is as described in To the Strongest rules.

Deployment Areas: The Franks can deploy in any boxes enclosed by the blue line; the Frank’s three supply wagons units must deploy in the three road boxes as shown; the baggage guards must deploy with one of the supply wagons. 

The Seljuks can deploy in any of the boxes behind the red line (bottom two rows plus the two outermost side columns). Several of these boxes provide ambush positions (see below).

Ambush Boxes: The Seljuks can secretly deploy troops in any box marked ‘A’ by marking their position on the map (see codes as detailed in OOB below). They can remain concealed (in ambush position) until they move, shoot, or the enemy enters an adjacent box. Troops not in boxes marked ‘A’ deploy normally.

Order of Battle:

Franks: 

• Oxo de Bouillon, senior, heroic, attached general with a unit of veteran knights (Knights lance).
• Two heroic, attached generals, each with a unit of knights (Knights, lance).
• Five heroes.
• Three units of veteran foot sergeants (Shieldwall spearmen, crossbow).
• Three units of foot sergeants (Shieldwall spearmen, bow).
• One unit of baggage guards (Shieldwall spearmen).
• Two units of Turcopoles (Light cavalry, lance, bow).
• Three supply wagons units with 4 extra missile chits each (Mob, raw).

The Franks have ’28 VPs‘ of troops.

Seljuks:

• Toohdix, senior, heroic, attached general with a unit of veteran Ghulams (Cavalry lance, bow).
• Two heroic, attached generals, each with a unit of Ghulams (Cavalry lance, bow).
• Three units of Seljuk veteran cavalry (Cavalry, bow).
• Nine units of Turcomans (Light cavalry, bow).
• Two supply camel units with 12 extra missile chits each (Mob, raw).

The Seljuks have ’25 VPs‘ of troops.

Victory Conditions: To obtain a victory, the Franks must exit the Seljuk’s baseline with a supply wagon and 50% of their VPs. Exiting with 50% of their VPs will give them a draw. Anything else is a Seljuk victory. (Note: At present this scenario is untested and these conditions may change).

Scenario Special Rules: Apart from the road and ambush rules, detailed above, two special rules are in effect:

• Supply wagon protection: Where a unit of soldiers is in the same box as a supply wagon the Franks can declare the soldiers as the recipient of any attacks regardless of the direction of attack. This represents them defending the wagons.
• Extra missile chits: Extra missile chits can only be obtained if the activating unit is in the same box, or orthogonally adjacent box, to the supply element (friendly wagons or camels). However, success indicates that the unit may be replenished up to its maximum level of supply.

Historical outcome (From the Chronicle of Kermit the Hermit):

“….Toohdix met the Franks with unspeakable ferocity. Many Franks did not even know from what direction the enemy came. Almost all the Franks were butchered, Oxo de Bouillon among them. When the few that survived the slaughter reached Adhogg, the Franks there decided to sue for terms and give up the place. This they did, and the terms were honourably met by both sides. Toohdix entered the city to great rejoicing and there followed feasting that lasted fifteen days. Word of his success, and the celebration feast, spread far and wide: It was commonly heard in the market places of Damascus and Cairo that ‘Nothing can be as happy as Adhogg with Toohdix’….”

Note: For those unfamiliar with ‚The Chronicles of Kermit the Hermit‘, Kermit is, of course, about as factual as Biggles and the Boogeyman.

Dieser Artikel stammt von einer der angeschlossenen Quellen. Bitte honoriere die Arbeit der Autoren indem du ihren Webseite besuchst.

Artikelquelle besuchen
Autor: JAMES ROACH / Olicanalad’s Games

Powered by WPeMatico