Firm Support
The seried ranks of Hoplites or deeper still those couragous damsels of the Phalanx
cannot be resisted. Those that try are pushed back until they fall to the churned
ground and are pressed humiliatingly into the mud - if they are lucky enough
to be alive. How man times has the Sidhe Princess seen this happen to her gold-haired
maids? How does she wish for spears as long to allow the maidens behind to fight with
those in the front.
Hoplite (Offensive ) and Tir (Defensive) utilising Supports for different aims.
Many maidens types in Aryiki are armed with weapons that provide support to the Stand
in front of it in melee or shooting. Most weapons or damsel types allow for a single
Stand behind the first to provide support, usually an increase in the front Stand's A value,
but a few such weapons such as the Sarrisa, or the Tir Tautha hedge-formation allow
for deeper formations of three or more Stands deep. The reason for supporting weapons
and deeper ranks is quite simple and can be broken into two categories.
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Concenration of Power.
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Resistance by Depth.
Each shall be discussed in turn by this Tactics article. However, deploying in depth
weather for offensive or defensive purposes does not come without drawbacks. By placing
Stands one behind the other two or more deep, the Princess's army will not be able
to cover as much frontage as if all the Stands were side by side leaving it with the
possibility of being outflanked which can be a disasterous result.
Concentration of Power
The aim of a warrioress is to defeat her enemy. Majestic Heroines do this by duelling
their peers and winning fame and Glamour. Maidens and damsels form together into Units
and slam into the enemy with unstoppable force and scatter and strike them down.
A Tir Hedge with additional Raver support succeeds
as a Shock Unit.
And how is this done? By winning the melee or shooting by inflicing more Hits on the
enemy than are received. The most assured way of accomplishing this is by having a
greater A than the enemy. Each extra A die rolled
is a chance for a Hit, a Push Back and Follow Up that can sweep the enemy way completely
and leave a gaping hole in their once perfect line. Supporting Stands add some of
their A to the Stand in front. Take for example the well-armed Hoplite
maidens. Already their A is a strong 4. With a supporting rank it
is increased to 6 making it one of the highest in the Damsel Lists. Coupled with the
high D of the Hoplite as well they make perfect shock-damsels easily
capable of smashing through the enemy line. Sarissa maidens of the Phalanx in four
ranks have an A of 8. Few could withstand them.
Because supports decrease the width of the army the point of attack for the shock
Unit(s) must be carefully chosen. Weaker enemy Units and those that cannot get out
of the way are the best targets to destroy first. For best impact and success the
shock Unit(s) should be two-three Stands side by side for four to eight Stands in
total (eight for deep formations such as Sarissa Maidens). Just a single Stand width
won't carry enough shock into the enemy have enough dames to exploit a breakthrough.
Smashing a two Stand wide gap effectively splits the into in two and allows the shock
Units to swing into the hold and charge the enemy's exposed flank.
Not all armies have discovered the advantage of offensive supports but as they learn
the lesson the hard way expect to see changes.
Shooting support is very similar to melee and can be even more beneficial if Units
and Stands are positioned so they fire at the same target Stand as all hits are combined.
Supports provide even more die to the attack and concentrated fire can bring down
even the most heavily armoured maiden.
Resistance by Depth
Where the Hellenas favour Shock tactics, seeking to smash open a hole in the foe and
rout them, other armies such as the Tir Tautha use Supports to increase the defensive
capability of their maidens. The standard Tir formation is the Hedge of two Stands
of Javelins and one of Archers in a three-deep formation. All maids are armed with
missiles and the volume of fire increases as the enemy gets closer, slowing them and
breaking up their attack. In melee the supports increase the front rank's A to
5 which helps offset their average D of 3.
The Tir Hedge succeeds in stopping the Hoplite shock
allowing the Rangers to attack from the rear.
Restistance by Depth is best utilised by armies that do have average or poor D even
if they have a high A value. A supported Hoplite A6 attack against
a Tir D3 will cause 4 hits, enough to destroy most Stands and a chance for a second
by Push Back. In Hedge formation, the Tir at A5 will cause 2-3 hits against the D4
Hoplite reducing their victory to 1 or 2 Hits. Not enough to break the formation.
The Tir will be pushed back but only that and the Hellenas Shock attack will have
failed.
This tactic can be used either for the entire front of the army, most beneficial when
the flanks can be protected with terrain or obstacles that cannot be outflanked, or
an important sector of the Meadow of Glamour that needs protection such as where the
expected main attack of the enemy will take place. The first instance aims to stock
the enemy in their tracks and wear them down by attrition and counter-attack (in the
case of the Tir, missile fire). The second is useful to delay the enemy at some point
whilst the Princess's own Shock-damsels secure the victory.
An interesting phenomenon now in Vogue wih the Aryidannan has been to use Slingers
to support Hoplites as they advance against Tir Hedges. The Slingers are protected
by the shields and heavy armour of the Hoplite maidens and provide close fire support
countering the arrows and javelins hurled at them with their own slings and thongs.
Aryiki Cultist Slingers providing (fire)Support for Hoplite dames.
The Disadvantage
Supports confine the army by pressing it together into firm and tight formations.
This will leave either or both of the flanks of the army open for exploitation by
even an average enemy Princess. Fast Units and Cavalry will quickly get into a position
where they can charge into contact and completely shatter the advantage of supports.
It gets worse when a flanked Unit is contacted and in melee to the front as well.
Push Backs quickly see Units destroyed and supports get caught up in the debacle as
well.
Either terrain or other Units are required to protect the flanks of a well-supported
formation. Terrain will not always be available or useful: in the possession of the
enemy or where no advantage can be gained from it. It is up to other Units to act
as flank protection for the deep formations, the Shock units especially as their goal
is to rupture the enemy and they cannot do that if they are threatened with destruction.
Units assigned to flank-protection have to be capable of holding their position for
a number of melee phases or more: to be a deterent for the enemy to attack them. Cavalry
and fast Units are especially useful as they can quickly move into position or doublely
take advantage of the Shock-maidens success.
Conclusion
The sacrifice of width over depth is an important aspect of battle that a Princess
must study and know when to take. To concentrate for power or resistance or to cover
the entire Meadow and seek opportunities for victory that way. And always remember
that your foe will have to consider the same!
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