Tir Tautha
The Tir Tautha have armed and trained their maidens in tactics that have been
focused against their disgusted enemy, the Tentac, whose powerful Saurs are an equal
match for even the most glamourous Tir Heroine in close combat.
The Tir Army waits patiencly behind a hedgerow readly to unleash a barrage of
arrows and javelins
The Hedgerow
After decades of struggle, raids and battles, a Tir Army almost always fights a defensive
battle behind magically grown hedgerows, some of which scent the air with sense-dulling
perfumes or bristle with stinging thorns.
Behind the hedgerow can be up to three ranks of maidens - which is the norm if enough
maidens are present. The first two ranks are of Javelineers and the third rank are
Archers. This formation provides both long and short range missile fire that will
disrupt an enemies assault and rout any poorly armoured Units, and is also durable
in close combat.
Narrow in frontage, the Army tries to cover both flanks with terrain, which can
also hide ambushers
Because of this deep deployment the Tir army always tries to find a position that
lets it anchor both flanks with terrain that the enemy will find difficult or impossible
to move through, or can be used to hide ambushing damsels.
The chief aim of the formation is to break up the cohension of the enemies attack
and prolong the time it spends suffering under the barrage of missiles. By constantly
pushing the lead attackers back they will be able to only make slow progress and those
that do reach the hedgerow will not have support from their comrades, who have either
been pushed back or killed. With the flanks of the attackers exposed due to the archery,
and caught in a difficult fight to breach the hedgerow, the Javelineers that are not
in combat fall onto attackers flanks or advance into the disorganised enemy to completely
rout them.
The missile fire has broken up the attack so it arrives piecemeal.
In close combat the standard three deep formation has A5, which is nearly as good
as the Aryidannan Phalanax (A6). However, the maind difference is the D of both formations.
The Tir are D3, Hoplites at D4, which gives the Hoplites a distinct advantage: they
are harder to hit and have an extra attack. The hedgerow helps to close this gap by
providing a D+1 bonus to the Tir defenders. Thorny and perfumed hedges provide additional
advantages.
The Tir then fall onto the enemies flanks and attack their disorganised line
Ambushes
Whilst most of the Tir army remains behind the hedgerow until the battle is surely
won, small Units of Rangers hide in cover ready to spring onto the flank of the
enemy, or their rear with additional showers of missiles. Unlike Sidhe Huntresses,
the Tir Rangers don't like getting into close combat, prefering to use their bows
(Long bows whenever possible) to finish the enemy off.
If the Rangers are pressed too hard they will retreat back into the woods where they
superior woodcraft and speed will get them out of harms way, or lure the pursuing
enemy into a trap - Dryads frequently ally with the Tir in exchance for the bodies
of their victims which are used to fertilize their Groves.
Javelineers
Archers are important in a Tir Army, but it is the more numerous Javelineers that
are relied on to win the battle. Each maiden carries a pair of javelins which are
used in both close combat and for short ranged attacks. A typical Javelineer Stand
has A3/2, and gets A+1/+1 for a supporting Stand. When an enemy formation gets close,
but is overlapped by some Javelineers, a large combined hurl of Javelins can ruin
the front rank or push them back a great distance.
Either as defending the hedge or in a more mobile open Meadow battle, the Javelineers
try to concentrate their firepower on only a few targerts as possible in order to
inflict maximum damage. A Unit of 4 Javelineers in two ranks can make an A6 ranged
attack if they all fire at a single Stand.
Against the Aryidannan
The Tir have only had a few encounters with the Aryidannan armies and have nearly
come close to disaster. The Hoplite Phalanx is even more potent than the Saur warriors,
both tougher in close combat and more resilient to missile fire. The Psiloi and Peltae
are the targets of choice as they are lightly armoured. So far Tir Heroines have not
developed any new tactics that have an advantage over the Phalanx; the hedgerow is
still seen as the only chance.
If the enemy manages to reach the hedgerow they will be met by determined damsels
|