I, War Chief Madcamius of the Alamanni tribe was confident of many victories to come. Having grown tired of the bureaucratic red tape emulating from Rome, I had thrown down my gladius, taken up the francisca axe, died my hair red and struck out for glory that would be mine and not some Senate! Who were they that risked little yet gained so much?

Using some coin from my Roman service, I hired some Alan horsemen as scouts and to supplement my nobles. These Alani seem to be born on horseback. While my nobles were fine warriors on foot, they had not gained the skills to tackle the heavier horse I was sure to encounter. After much grumbling about the waste of good man-flesh to be replaced by horse-flesh, and the near mutiny lead by Brakus, I finally convinced the rest to waste no more breath, and with more coin, a few threats and three cracked skulls, to get on with their trainings.

But they were correct, they would be no match for knights, especially the ones totally encased in mail that I had seen during my last campaign in Persia. To compensate I had "volunteered" some spearmen to train with the mounted to give them some support. If I never encountered these monstrosities, I could always send these boys into the rough to clear out paths for my foot to cross unimpeded. I had learned from past experience to guard well the rough ground as most enemies will try to ambush or hit my flanks from such terrain.

The core of my army was the solid foot warriors of the various clans that make up the Alamanni. I divided them into in two commands, one led by myself, the other by my trusted second, Marcus. Armed with the francisca, angon, and bow, these two blocks would crush any that were foolish enough to stand against them. The third command I placed under the command of Brakus' son, Bracius. He would command the reluctant mounted nobles along with bow from my own clan. Unknown to Bracius, I had given the order to the bowmen to shoot any noble that shows the least bit of hesitation or cowardice on the battlefield. I had no stomach for such beings and would need these nobles to keep the Alani under control. So arrayed, I felt confident of fame, success and riches!

After many days of marching, my band of warriors happened upon some steppe nomads (Mu Jong Hsi-Pi) searching for the same bootie I was. Traveling along the big water on my left, I felt secure of both flanks. Night would fall in a few hours and I did not want this force to escape me under the cover of darkness, since he out numbered my horse by almost 3 to 1. On the right, was a large outcropping of hills that no mounted would dare travel in. Feeling confident, I sent the Alani on a wide encircling movement on my right with instructions to pounce on the Nomads camp and block their retreat.

Through the rough hills, I sent the spearmen supporting the nobles to flush out any lurkers that might lie there and to support the mounted through the rough. Far off in the center, across a gentle rise where the trail we were following disappeared, I place my two foot commands with instructions to close fast with the enemy. Let them feel the bite of steel as we crush them beneath our feet!

We were quick in our deployment, but my foe was quicker. His accursed light horsemen moved from one of the gentle hills on my left across the battlefield in a brazen show of horsemanship and skill in an effort to overwhelm my puny force of nobles. To delay me from moving to support, he cunningly lay a scattering of horde in front so I would have to kill them all prior to closing on his main body of spear and bow. No matter, Bracius would have to hold out till the Alani arrived. Frustrated so, I sounded the charge and sent in all the troops. But I was afraid it was too late. The lead elements of light horse had made contact with Bracius, but he proved better than his sire. He fought off repeated attacks on his front and flanks, but held true! Maybe this new generation would embrace something new which the older nobles resisted.

Good news turned to better when reports came in from the spearmen holding the rough ground on the right. The enemy had attempted to sneak pass the foot stationed there via a little used hunters trail. Leading with their general, my light foot hit him on the flank whilst still under cover of the brush and rough ground. Many heads were taken including his standard. Of the foolish general, no body was found. I was sure with his disappearance this group would head back to their homes, but like true warriors they fought on.

The battle had raged for three hours and light was fading fast. There was no sign of the Alani and my losses started mounting up. The horde had proved harder to crack than expected, and I was just about to crack a few more skulls when a roar erupted from the enemy lines. Knights! He had committed his knights to battle and they crashed into my lines. Hold! Hold, boys! I ordered the bow to advance and shoot them from their horses, but their arrows found few marks. I cursed the Alani under my breath for their delay and braced for the impact. The sound was deafening when horse and man crashed together like the waves on the cliffs.

As I led my warriors away from the battle, it was fortunate night fell. It allowed me to regroup my broken band under the pretence of securing more defensible terrain. But the truth was I was soundly beaten. I needed to master the tools of this new army before my men left for their home, or worse, send me joining Brakus.