Battle for the Bridge

[WarriorOfToys]

Hi guys, the other day me and my friend had a battle with my medieval klickies.
It was a fictional battle between my fake kingdom of Rutileo, and the growing Danish empire in 1221.

1220, the Danish Empire is at the height of it's power,
Now as it continues to campaign against the opposing Scandinavian forces,
Denmark realizes that it will need more money to support its armies with new weapons and troops.
The great empire turns it's gaze west towards the island kingdom of Rutileo.
Rutileo has become very wealthy through trade with other countries,
and allowing it's ports to be used as a landing base for merchants traveling between Britannia and Scandinavia.

Denmark hopes for an easy victory against Rutileo
and a swift capture of their resources to use for their new battles in the east.
Denmark gathers a huge army, and together with their navy they head towards Rutileo.
Rutileo however also has a large navy, and though it cannot bring it all together in time to stop the Danes,
Rutileo manages to build a formidable sea force all the same.
The Danish fleet is much larger though, and does manage to force it's way past the Rutilian vessels,
but not without a few losses, including their flag ship which held the Danish general.

When the Danish land there is a confusion about who will take over leadership of the army,
but one of the stronger barons forces the other barons to concede leadership to him.
The time allows Rutileo to mobilize their full army to combat the Danes, and quickly they march to confront the much larger army.

But the Danes no longer have their maps of the land, and only manage to secure a few poorly drawn maps from the locals.
The Danes original idea was to march on the capitol and sack it, but they begin heading off in the wrong direction.
The Rutilians expecting the Danes to march straight for their capitol
send a small force south to hook around the Danish army and attack their rear guard during the battle.
However, the Rutilian detachment has marched straight into the front of the Danish army.
They quickly form up on the only bridge across the river that the Danes must cross eventually.

The Danes soon learn about the small army across the river that confronts them.
The forward guard is ordered to wait for the rest of the Danes to join them,
but the Baron commanding the forward guard (originally opposed to allowing the other baron to take control of the army)
disobeys the order and attacks the bridge immediately.

This is where my friend and I begin our battle...

[WarriorOfToys]

Both sides move their spear units towards the bridge.

[WarriorOfToys]

The Danes next move up their squire infantry to back their spear-men,
The Rutilians quickly move up their archers who begin to pick apart the squires.

[WarriorOfToys]

The battle for the bridge begins between the spear-men.
While more archers are moved forward by the Rutilians,
and the Danish squire infantry form a shield wall to protect themselves from the projectiles.

[WarriorOfToys]

The archers pick off more and more of the Danish infantry.
And while the spear battle quickly goes nowhere, the Danish general advances his axe-men forward to break the Rutilian lines.

[WarriorOfToys]

The axe-men make a very impressive charge...

[WarriorOfToys]

However, the charge does little more then to push the Rutilian line back a few feet.
On the other side of the battle, the Danes have learnt of a ford across the river.
They quickly send their knights to cross the ford and attack the flanks of the Rutilian army.
But the ford proves harder to cross then the knights realized,
and the Rutilains manage to form a hasty guard on the other side just as the cavalry climbs onto the opposite bank.

[WarriorOfToys]

The knights charge the infantry waiting for them,
but their charge is hampered by difficulties in the ford
and the cramped space in between the river and the infantry.

Meanwhile, most of the axe-men lie dead,
but their charge has weakened the Rutilians' line of defense around the bridge.
The Rutilians send their remaining reserves to bolster the ranks of their men,
While their archers continue to weaken the Danes infantry.

[WarriorOfToys]

Both generals move up their bodyguards to keep up the moral of their troops,
while the men at the ford face more cavalry as the Danes push them back, bit by bit.

[WarriorOfToys]

Seeing an opening in the Rutilians' line of defense by the ford,
one of the Rutilian barons takes the initiative and leads Rutileo's knights into the gap.
They are met with instant success and kill or capture many of the Danish knights before the Danes know what hit them.

But the battle has not yet been lost,
The Danish leader, after hearing about the battle for the bridge, sends reinforcements to help capture it.
A Danish flag appears on the edge of the battlefield.

[WarriorOfToys]

Some of the Rutilians' crossbowmen rout at the sight of the new foes, fearing they will turn the tide of battle.
Meanwhile, the enemy brings their reinforcements forward and into the battle.
The new spear-men quickly add new bodies to the bridge.

[WarriorOfToys]

The Danish archers (part of the reinforcements) shoot down a few of the Rutilian infantry,
But they soon find themselves caught up in a battle between the Rutilians' archers.

The new infantry pushes into the fray on the bridge, hoping to rout the Rutilians' lines.
But the smell of victory is in the air,
As the Rutilian cavalry pushes through the Danish cavalry, killing more and more of their knights.

[WarriorOfToys]

God must be with the Rutilians, for the enemy cavalry breaks and flees the field of battle!
But their general manages to halt them and regroups them into a new charge as the Rutilian knights cross the ford.

[WarriorOfToys]

The Danes make a final charge into the Rutilian cavalry,
beginning a fearsome battle between some of the best trained men in Christendom.
However, a lucky shot from one of the Rutilian cavalry men kills the Danish general.

[WarriorOfToys]

With the death of their leader the cavalry breaks once again,
and the infantry on the bridge quickly follows suit, rather then be encircled by the Rutilians.
With the Danish forward guard in full disorganized retreat, the Rutilians cheer their victory.
Their general just manages to hold them back, expecting another assault from the main body of the Danish army.

But one will never come, for as the battle for the bridge was happening,
the main Rutilian army defeated the rear guard of the Danish army with few losses to themselves,
and pressed their advantage against the main army.
The fleeing refugees from the bridge battle only add confusion to the battle,
and the Danish army breaks and flees for their ships.

Never again will a Danish army attack Rutileo on their own land.

I hope you enjoyed this battle.
I had the lucky fate of playing the part of the Rutilians, while my friend commanded the Danes.