The Khan was aware of preparations at Gaudy; and he dispatched a relieving force, before the siege could be fully developed. His besieged commanders would surely have a bad time of it considering Tatar inexperience with siege tactics. Be that as it may, no one but the Tatar C. in C. knew Toghrul's plan, and he wasn't talking.
All participants prepared feverishly in anticipation of action sure to come. Alas, it was not to be! The Frankish army had brought only one medium size catapult from Flintcastle. This engine was an unusual example; instead of working on the torsion principle, it was powered like a crossbow (see illustration). It combined the principles of espringale and mangonel types and was very powerful.
The Duke of Bentwood, however, was not overly anxious to give it a test. He was more inclined to try to talk the Tatar chieftains into surrender rather than conduct a lengthy siege. When flatly refused, he tried to bargain by offering Timur's cavalry safe conduct upon surrender of the castle. This was ignored! Parleys throughout the campaign were resolved by verbal offer using two 6-sided dice to enter the table shown in the Appendix.
Faced with the only alternative, Marnon's army set to work building siege engines. First a small siege tower was undertaken for it would take the longest time to build. Additional catapults were considered, but it was hoped these would not be needed.
Message, Sir
During this time, the Khan's messenger reached Jesugai at Oxleaf Castle (see "MARNON CAMPAIGN, A Map To Tabletop System", in Vol. IV, No. 2, for description of strategic map moves). The message became clear to the 60 Teutonic Knights at Marls Gate.
On the 19th of May, when they were completely overwhelmed by Jesugai's mass of tribal horse archers attacking in waves. Weight of numbers and Jesugai's mobile tactics proved absolutely devastating to the nights who, without infantry or missile support, could not close with the archers to force a melee and were compelled to flee into the surrounding forest to save themselves. Less than half of them survived that encounter.
The Tatar tribesmen then sortied to harass the Marnian Army besieging Gaudy Castle. This tactic was highly effective in achieving their intent to enable Timur's and Kushala's units to vacate the castle. Jesugai's attack directed at the besiegers' rear, precipitated the breakout immediately followed by a feigned charge from the castle by Kushala's spear cavalry. Lord Oxleaf's and Sir George Radner's pikemen with the Templar Knights formed up back to back to receive the simultaneous attack (see diagram).
Although they had no room to falI back, the pikemen retired into the forest at Moss Glen. The Tatar attack was never completed. As soon as Timur's cavalry streamed out the gate and made away at lightning speed, the rest of the Tatars followed suit at an equally impressive pace. A Frankish crossbow unit tried to intercept from the flank, but they were too late and only 40 of Timur's regulars were lost.
Gaudy Castle was liberated, but the Tatar Army of Invasion was on the move again. Its first strike came at Island Harbour where Toghrul Khan reappeared with his combined arms cavalry to reclaim the Turkish ships used in the original invasion. DeMarl's Sergeants-atArms escaped, but Sir John himself was unable to make it across the desert of Red Dune, being overtaken by enemy light horse and brought back a prisoner. In the meantime, the remaining Tatar troops returned to Oxleaf Castle after Timur's breakout and were soon joined there by Toghrul Khan. The Khan's remaining units were seen proceeding eastward along the Coast Road. The ships sailed out of island Harbour before the Khan's departure, and it was feared they might return with additional troops to strengthen his position in Southwest Marnon.
Oxleaf Castle possessed every strategic advantage for establishing an invasion fulcrum. It commanded a harbor exposed only to mild weather from the South and a road (of which there are very few in Marnon) connecting it to another nearby harbor. In addition, a second road provided access to the very heart of Marnon. The central region was of prime importance to later expansion and Whispery Meadow region's open country was well suited for cavalry operations. The only potential threat lay to the East, in Misty Forest, with the two castles on its other side. Considering these facts, was all the focus on Gaudy Castle a mere diversion to detract attention from Oxleaf? Toghrul Khan's reappearance was obviously well-timed and by early June the Tatar Army was firmly entrenched in Oxleaf Castle.
More Marnon Part II
Marnon
- Marnon Campaign Part I
Marnon Campaign Part II
Marnon Campaign Part III
Marnon Campaign Part IV
Marnon Campaign Part V
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