Marnon Campaign: Part 1 (v4n2) Marnon Campaign: Part 2 (v4n3) AUTHOR'S NOTE: Third article in the series recounting a hypothetical medieval campaign against Frankish Marnon by Tatars of Toghrul Khan; historically based on the period of the Baltic Crusades, during the 13th century Mongol incursion into Eastern Europe. Armies involved are small and more typical of Teutonic military forces which brought the crusades to Prussia, Lithuania, Livonia and Estonia than those in the Holy Land. See previously listed references used to organize and set up the campaign. Played, face to face, over a 5-month period by 3 (and occasionally 4) participants, over 2 years of campaign time has been covered to date and is continuing. By the end of 1231, the Duke of Bentwood's Marnon forces had kept Oxleaf Castle under siege for 6 months but failed to bring the invaders to surrender. Toghrul Khan's stores were periodically replenished by his tribal archers operating outside castle walls under Jesugai and slipping through the besiegers' ranks with loot gathered in their raids upon the Marnon countryside. These fast-moving, light cavalry bands of Tatar clansmen even managed to deliver the cargo from a Turkish ship which arrived unseen at the mouth of Amnon River in December and unloaded stores, slated for Toghrul's forces, onto the ice of Amnon's frozen delta. A veteran cavalry unit also arrived on the same ship. Marnon expected such a move, of course, but certainly not outside a proper harbor. It was a clever ploy and was discovered too late to be stopped. Since Tatar reinforcements could only arrive by sea, it was assumed that by guarding Marnon's harbors they would be prevented from disembarking. No thought was given to other alternatives. The tribal units were now joined by the additional 260 medium cavalry under the Tatar leader, Barak. Toghrul Khan's army now outnumbered the besiegers of Oxleaf and time was ripe for a major confrontation. The harsh winter of Marnon, however, delayed preparation until March. On March 1st, the Tartar relieving force encamped on Ore Hill, just west of the castle, and the Khan demanded safe conduct out of the castle to resolve battle in the open field. This unexpected demand was backed up by his threat to execute the imprisoned Sir John cleMarl. The Duke of Bentwood obtained deMarl's release by agreeing to the suggested battle on Tatar terms (bargaining and parley rules were explained in "The Siege of Oxleaf," Vol IV, No 2). The open meadow terrain of Ore Hill favored Tatar light cavalry tactics, probably affording them a more advantageous position than remaining behind castle walls (concentration of forces would be more difficult to achieve with the relieving units outside). The relatively small number of missile troops in Bentwood's ranks would permit mobility, and the castle could always be reclaimed later. it appeared a wise move on the part of the Khan. More Marnon Part 3 Introduction Battle of Ore Hill Battle of Kilgarren Marnon Marnon Campaign Part I Marnon Campaign Part II Marnon Campaign Part III Marnon Campaign Part IV Marnon Campaign Part V Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. IV #4 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1983 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com