The Crusading Era at Athens 2024
Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Teutonic Knights
Game 1 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Feudal Spanish
Game 2 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Feudal English
Game 3 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Komnenan Byzantine
Game 4 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Teutonic
Game 5 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Feudal Anglo-Irish
Greek Museum Tourism (on YouTube)
So, there was a meal. Of course there was a meal - this is Greece FFS!
Despite not realising that the Belgian contingent would aim to get to the restaurant 2 hours earlier than the supposed start time in order to tuck away a load more of whatever Greek beer most closely resembled Stella Artois, we still managed to sneak in a healthy portion of "as much of everything on the menu that we could eat" before retiring to a nearby Jazz Club hipster bar where twirly facial hair was almost mandatory before ending with a rather expensive scotch in the early hours.
This of course set me up perfectly for the next morning's game against the young Belgian Beerhound, Thomas, Lord of the (for this weekend at least) Teutons!
Teutons are of course all about those well-drilled Elite Brother Knights - but the problem with them being they cost a LOT of points, making it hard to get any mass or resilience into the list if you max out on the Brothers
There are ways around it - taking almost no foot being one, but I have always succumbed to dropping at least a couple of Brother spearmen on table, and some crossbows, and then you end up with no points left for Knights... so in my world very few Teutonic lists had ever made it onto the table before this event.
To use it well needs rigid discipline (to not take any foot really) and a plan that takes full advantage of the "regular" manoeuvre capabilities of the Teutonic Knights therefore, and doesn't succumb to many other fripperies. Would Thomas be able to hold his nerve and stick to the plan as well as he can hold his beer?
The lists for the Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader and Teutonic Knights from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Athens can be seen here in the L'Art de la Guerre Wiki.
(yes, it did turn out to be a list with only a couple of light foot, and one helluva lot of Knights!)
The layout of the table in this game was about the same in principle as the previous three, but the baleful influence of the Teutonic Knights had dragged the battle into the heart of the Central European plane, meaning there was actually almost nothing of consequence on their side of the table
In a move which shocked no-one, the unimaginative Crusaders had managed to find the only two half decent pieces of terrain on the table, and had jammed a load of Knights and shooters and spearmen as best they could between a marsh and a field, leaving their army slightly offset from the dangerous wall of black and white Knights
This did mean that the Crusaders left flank was somewhat hanging open to anyone with the unfeasible ability to ignore the effect of the Marsh.
In facing a mostly mounted army this had seemed a safe bet to Richard CdL's men but squelchy ground was no obstacle for the handful of handgunners in the Teutonic army!
Supported by light horsemen no doubt from Lithuania and Poland the Teutonic Grand Master spent wads of command points pushing a handful of light infantry from all three of his commands into the Marsh in an immediate attempt to wrongfoot the static and defensive Crusader formation
But the entire Teutonic army was still rather small (of course), and even in a wide open space the process of spending its entire command and control capability to send a smattering of light infantry handgunners on a huge yomp to run into a Marsh had left the main body of Knights somewhat becalmed.
This in turn gave the Crusaders a very rare opportunity to swing round and attempt an aggressive manoeuvre by moving their right flank carefully forwards towards the end of the line of Teutonic Knights, and at the same time as moving their left wing backwards to anchor itself more firmly on the table edge
The two armies were now gently wheeling around one another like medieval prize fighters, unsure who would land the first blow ...except that the Crusaders with their vast numbers of Crossbowmen were actually pretty confident it would be them.
With a flick of their wrists, the crossbowmen sent their bolts hurtling through the air, each one a silent assassin seeking out its target with ruthless efficiency.
That ability to reach out and touch the enemy cavalry at great distances with mini bolt shooters did take some beating.
With the Crusaders retreat on their left now anchoring the line on their own base edge there was suddenly nothing for the Teutonic Light Infantry and Light Horse pseudo-outflanking force to achieve either
Both sides inched forward to line up, with a solid wall of black and white reminiscent of the Fulham end at the Championship playoff game held at Wembley against Aston Villa, all waiting for their own Tom Cairney moment to take them to the Promised Land of Victory.
The Crusaders meanwhile were still creeping forward and maintaining a solid line that was now starting to get into crossbow range. The mechanically-minded archers were now relentlessly pouring bolt after bolt into rather shocked Teutonic light horse
A miracle was occurring!
The famous Greek Tsoureki Tingle ran through the whole army as it almost seemed for a moment that the Crusaders may even get to use their infantry to outflank the entirely mounted enemy army!
But no, these Teutonic Knights were very well trailed and not at all impetuous, and so with great command and control suddenly the whole line shifted,
Turning and turning about again they suddenly found a way to undertake a real Avgolemono Adventure and align themselves on completely the opposite end of the Crusader line
Instead of being an outflanking force the half-hearted pair of Crossbowmen found themselves at the apex of the Germanic attack as their bolts sang their deadly song as they arced through the sky, their flight guided by the hand of fate itself, unerring in their quest for blood.!
With the Crusader battle plan essentially being now to remain static and shoot a lot, Ricard CdL found he had very little to expand his command and control capability on.
Remember that handful of the Teutonic skirmishers who wandered into the Marsh hoping to steal a march on the left flank of the Crusaders?
Their Calamari Craze had petered out and they suddenly found themselves a long way from their own commanders, rather isolated, with soggy feet and being on the receiving end of the attentions of many Crusader skirmishers!
The loose formation archers comprehensively out-shot the outnumbered the Teutonic infantry, who now were starting to take casualties losses which an army as small as theirs could barely afford
The Teutonic main body suddenly sprang into action, rolling forward in a solid line of battle might aimed squarely at the right hand end of the Crusader formation.
The left hand end of the Crusader line took this as a signal to take up the mantle of the clever outflanking force, and soon the whole line formed a shallow catching mitt of crossbows, perfectly shaped to maximize crossbow fire at the incoming elite Teutonic Knights!
This would be a dramatic game of rolling the dice and seeing if they could score enough hits on the Teutons as they charged in to erode their combat capability, or if not, the wasted mistimed crossbow bolts would do little to slow the departure of the Crusader Spearmen under Teutonic hooves.
With a resounding crack, the crossbows unleashed their deadly payload, the bolts streaking through the air like shooting stars on a moonless night.
The first Teutonic attack launched itself headlong at the spearmen in a true Greek Kalamata Kick.
Their furious crossbow fire had done pretty well to be fair, each bolt a silent reaper, gliding through the air with the grace of a hunting hawk, its prey unaware until it was too late, leaving the Knights with more casualty marker than I am sure they really would have liked.
But Teutons are Teutons, and this would still be a key test for the strategy of the Crusaders of standing in a line shooting while waiting to be charged
As the helicopter hovers over the Baltic marshes, here you can see the damage which has been wrought on the Teutons by crossbow fire, their bolts flying like angry wasps, buzzing through the air with a deadly sting that left no room for mercy or remorse while the stoic resistance of the Crusader infantry and Knights is panning out against the close combat force of Northern Baltic Crusaderdom. The army of Richard CdL is wider, and has more shooting and those two things have told to deadly effect almost everywhere along the line
But - I almost forgot to mention how at the far right of the Crusader formation there are excess Teutonic Knights, who suddenly appear and fly around a nearly unprotected flank, immediately threatening to unzip the defensive formation of the crusaders at an unopposed stroke!
How Richard Died
Suddenly it was Jurassic Park, Teutonic style.
Crusader fences were falling all over the park to Teutonic Knights smashing through their flimsy defences as a vast gap appeared in what had originally been the Crusader centre but which was now their right wing due to excessive recent losses
Galaktoboureko Galore! As the literal black and white tide washed up the metaphorical beach of the former right littoral wing of the army of Richard, the rest of the Teutonic force was finding life rather more tricky.
The two unattractive options of self-impalement on a wall of well protected spearmen and crossbow bolt catching practice without a very, very well padded glove were now being joined by being outflanked by Crusader Knights, as the extra width of the Crusader army started to tell on the progress of the game.
With a flicker of movement, the crossbowmen released their deadly payload, the bolts flying true and fast, striking down their enemies with ruthless precision.
Driving forward the Crusader left wing started hoovering up bits and pieces of non-Brother Knight stragglers from the Teutonic army, as the Teutonic Leadership's attention was entirely consumed by the far more interesting stuff happening on the other side of the table.
Quietly, slowly, step-by-step the Crusaders were racking up the break points against the Teutons army total
The Teutonic Brother Knights meanwhile were getting into something of an autobahn traffic jam as their Octopus Odyssey rand into the shallows
Having shifted their entire locus of black and white attacking to one focal point at the end of the Crusader line, having broken through they suddenly found themselves with far too many high quality resources to effectively bring to bear on the now much narrower defensive line of the Crusader right wing
And, with Brother Knights milling around aimlessly looking for new targets, all the while the Crusader crossbowmen continued with their metronomic routine of fire & reload, fire & reload. The air was rent with the sound of twanging strings and whistling bolts, each one a harbinger of death for those unfortunate enough to stand in their path, right up until the point the Teutonic army succumbed to defeat!
The Result is a 84-26 victory for the Crusaders, with almost all the Teutonic losses concentrated in their support troops!
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition, or read on for the post match summaries from the Generals involved, as well as another episode of legendary expert analysis from Hannibal
Post Match Summary from the Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader Commander
Gather 'round, gallant souls, and listen as Richard the Lionheart recounts the latest chapter in our epic journey towards the sacred lands of the Holy Land! Though fate hath led us on a meandering path to the shores of the Baltic, fear not, for our resolve hath not wavered, and our spirits burn brighter than the northern lights themselves!
Picture, if you will, the rugged shores where the waves doth crash like thunder upon the rocks, and where the brave sons of the Baltic doth ply their trade upon the seas! 'Twas amidst this wild and untamed landscape that we encountered the formidable Teutonic Knights, led by none other than the illustrious Grand Master Thomas d'Artois, whose thirst for battle was matched only by his thirst for ale!
Oh, how the clash of steel did ring out like a symphony of war upon the windswept plains! With shields locked and spears raised high, my valiant crusaders stood as an unyielding bulwark against the tide of Teutonic might! And lo, as their knights didst charge like thundering stallions into the fray, they found themselves ensnared in the trap of their own arrogance!
For though our tactics may seem familiar, 'twas the subtle nuances that turned the tide of battle in our favour! As our crossbowmen unleashed their deadly bolts, piercing the enemy ranks like arrows of vengeance, a band of intrepid warriors didst descend upon the Teutonic handgunners like wolves upon the fold, casting them into the murky depths of despair!
And thus, amidst the chaos and clamour of battle, victory was ours once more! For though our path hath been beset with obstacles, we have emerged triumphant, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of adversity!
So let us raise a toast to the brave souls who have fought and bled alongside Richard the Lionheart, as we march ever onward towards our ultimate destiny! And as we set sail once more, let us remember the taste of victory upon our lips, and the promise of glory that awaits us on the distant shores of the Holy Land!
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
Ah, Richard the Lionheart, the purveyor of predictability in warfare. Here we find him once again, leading his Crusaders into battle with all the creativity of a damp sack of potatoes. It's like watching a snail race against a cheetah and somehow, miraculously, the snail wins
Oh, bravo, Richard! Your ability to stick to the same tired tactics is truly staggering. I'm starting to think your battle plan is just a copy of your shopping list. 'Spearmen, check. Crossbowmen, check. Oh, and don't forget to bring the boredom.' It's enough to make a minstrel serenade the rats in the dungeon instead.
And there they go, charging into the jaws of defeat like lemmings following their king off a cliff. It's like watching a comedy of errors performed by trained monkeys. But hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right Richard?
Oh, Richard, you're a real visionary, aren't you? If only your tactics matched your arrogance. But no, we're left with the same old song and dance, like a jesters' routine performed on repeat. And yet, somehow, against a more mobile and dynamic opponent, you still manage to come out on top. It's enough to make a historian weep into their quill.
Well, there you have it, folks! Another thrilling display of medieval monotony brought to you by Sir Richard the Repetitive. Tune in next time, when we watch paint dry faster than a siege on a sandcastle.
Until the next game I'll be here, dreaming of battles that don't put me to sleep faster than a bard's ballad about accounting
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition
You may also like....
Game 1 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Feudal Spanish
Game 2 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Feudal English
Game 3 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Komnenan Byzantine
Game 4 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Teutonic
Game 5 Richard The Lionheart Later Crusader vs Feudal Anglo-Irish
Greek Museum Tourism (on YouTube)
View My Stats for My Match Reports Pages
