A couple of years ago I blogged about exploiting a gap on the corner of a gate and someone responded that no one would ever leave a gap there. Well, they do, and they did.
During the first bridge battle of last Pennsic we were outnumbered and pretty much figured that we'd certainly lose. The thing is, you can actually win these battles provided that you can control the bridge and then stall the clock. With a limited front bridge battle, you may only be fighting with 5-10% of your army at any given time.
Now, you still have to outfight the other side.
Though I expected us to lose, what surprised me the most was how quickly and how definitively we lost the south bridge. Anglesey and the rest of the bog celts were reserves and moved in to help the south bridge as it appeared that Atlantia had outmatched the unit tasked with holding that bridge. What I didn't expect was that when they charged they would punch through the kill pocket formed at the end of the bridge.
Generally speaking, if you get pushed back to the end of the bridge, a kill pocket should automatically form, giving you a big advantage over the unit trying to push through.
Essentially what happens is that as the enemy (red) tries to push through, your unit can put greater numbers on the front than they can, surround them, and get really good angles of attack.
Now the most critical piece of the cap. If a gap is left in either side, a channel of enemy and slip through and get into your backfield, which is exactly what happened in this first bridge battle (notice the gap in the middle of the picture between the straw bale and the fighters on the left).
Now a picture certainly doesn't tell us everything. I seem to remember a thick fighter or two plowing through and pulling a lot of our resources with him. They also had a lot of archers, so maybe they killed the fighters guarding that spot and then charged before we could recover. Maybe I'm to blame because, like everyone else, I looked for a spot convenient to where I was standing, instead of making sure that that position was secure.
Nevertheless, the hole was there, and Atlantia capitalized on our mistake by rushing through it.
Two lessons to learn: 1) don't leave a hole there and 2) if the other side leaves a hole there, rush through it and get as many people from your side through it as well (something I have personally failed to capitalize on in the past).
Note: clearing the bridge and getting into the backfield is very valuable if on either extreme edge (ie one of the outside bridges). From the middle it can be problematic as you can get yourselves surrounded by their reserves, so in this case you'd have to read the battle field and make a judgement call on whether or not you should push through, or merely hold the objective.
Additional note: DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE OBJECTIVE! If you need to hold the bridge, make sure you leave someone on the bridge to get the points.
Now the most critical piece of the cap. If a gap is left in either side, a channel of enemy and slip through and get into your backfield, which is exactly what happened in this first bridge battle (notice the gap in the middle of the picture between the straw bale and the fighters on the left).
Now a picture certainly doesn't tell us everything. I seem to remember a thick fighter or two plowing through and pulling a lot of our resources with him. They also had a lot of archers, so maybe they killed the fighters guarding that spot and then charged before we could recover. Maybe I'm to blame because, like everyone else, I looked for a spot convenient to where I was standing, instead of making sure that that position was secure.
Nevertheless, the hole was there, and Atlantia capitalized on our mistake by rushing through it.
Two lessons to learn: 1) don't leave a hole there and 2) if the other side leaves a hole there, rush through it and get as many people from your side through it as well (something I have personally failed to capitalize on in the past).
Note: clearing the bridge and getting into the backfield is very valuable if on either extreme edge (ie one of the outside bridges). From the middle it can be problematic as you can get yourselves surrounded by their reserves, so in this case you'd have to read the battle field and make a judgement call on whether or not you should push through, or merely hold the objective.
Additional note: DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE OBJECTIVE! If you need to hold the bridge, make sure you leave someone on the bridge to get the points.
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