Expanding the Turkish empire - some victorian science fiction

Three weeks. Three hot stinking weeks sweltering in the heat, three hot stinking weeks choking on the dust of this poxy land. And all for nothing. Ahmet swung his legs across and sat on the edge of his cot, wiping his sleeve across his brow. Another day. Another day spent swallowing the dust of Palestine. The very thought had the vapours rising in his blood already. Shouting from across the encampment drew him from his deep reverie, and his valet burst through the tent flaps.

"They are here, they are here, they have appeared as if from the mists of time itself, exalted one" and the look on his valet's face spoke of a primaevil terror of the sort that no man could imagine.

"Calm down man, stop gibbering. Tell me what has happened."
"The undead, the possessed, they are here. They have appeared across the plain, conjured up by the wizards of the almighty."

Ahmet had set off with the blessing of the Sultan, conquest and glory in his mind. But the elusive Egyptian army had eluded them. Now, finally, was the chance for glory. Today the might of the Grand Turkish army would be tested. And he was determined it would not be found wanting.

This was the first Big battle HotT outing for my newly completed Turkish VSF army, facing off against Andy's Semi Historical Egyptian army.

Let battle commence

The Turkish right wing, aerial hero, airboat, behemoth, and two heroes in the command

The Egyptian left wing, aerial hero CnC and flyer supporting a command of spear, with a behemoth in the foreground

Turn 1, and the Turkish Djin (a God) appeared

The Turkish stronghold being defended by the Turkish army

The Turkish aerial hero, and airboat, over fly the Egyptian left flank

The battle lines close

The Turkish left faces off against Egyptian blade. The flyers have flown over the Egyptian lines, and on the next turn one has come back to pin the Egyptian flyer on the extreme left of the photo

An Egyptian hero swings around into the copse to pin the end of the line on the Turkish left flank

The Djin overflew the Egyptian lines too, and then came back in the following turn to attack an Egyptian chariot (Knight). The very next turn however the God abandoned the battlefield (i.e. I threw a 1 on the PIP die for that command)

The forces of each army start to mix it on the Turkish right

The lines collide. The aerial hero has attacked a spear from the rear

The lines clash on the Turkish left too

Another Turkish flyer comes in to pin the Egyptian hero on the left flank

The Egyptian aerial hero (the army CnC) attacks on the Turkish right

The Turkish left takes casualties

Now it's getting very up close and personal on the Turkish right

VERY!!!

A unit of Turkish knights is attacked by Egyptian blade. That's a hero tucked up behind them. They didn't survive the fight

Looking a little like a stand-off on the left flank

But it's all go on the right

In the centre it's more about an exchange of fire between artillery and shooters

The Turkish left flank has holes in the line as it takes casualties

Several spear disappear from the Egyptian right as casualties

Turkish hero and paladin take on the Egyptian CnC, the aerial hero

The third Turkish flyer flies in to pin units of the Egyptian right to try to stop them breaking through the Turkish left flank.

Behemoth vs hero, aerial hero vs paladin

Up close

The Egyptian centre finally closes to the attack 

Lots of pushing and shoving on the left ... still

The Turkish paladin falls to the attacks of the Egyptian CnC

The Egyptian left has been decimated by the Turkish right, despite the loss of their paladin

The centre is hotly contested

The Egyptian aerial hero/CnC falls to the Turkish hero

 And so the battle ends, with the Egyptians having lost their CnC and more points than the Turkish army. Some photos of the state of play elsewhere along the lines at the end of the battle.

What a great game. The battle was eventually decided on the Turkish right, but it was close. There were only 4 APs in it in terms of casualty differential when the Egyptian CnC fell.

An excellent first outing for the Turkish army. It is rider heavy, and against Andy's Egyptians this makes them vulnerable, he has quite a few spear. This meant that I was more cautious with the mounted than I might otherwise be. But it was well fought nonetheless.