Alex, the Earl of Aimette, is a clever tactician and a formidable opponent. His Anglo-Normans promised to give the young Sultan all he could handle. Actually, the Anglo-Normans are similar to Later Crusaders in many respects, except for their Welsh long bow-men, so there was a note of familiarity to this match.

Perhaps because it was the third of three matches on the day, the details of the battle are not well remembered. It was a bloody fight fought on a broad front. The significant event was the Ayyubid ploy of drawing at least two Anglo-Norman knight units into impetuous attacks against firing and fleeing Saracen units. If the enemy can be induced to attack without success, the flee-ers may turn in good order and deal a dangerous counterattack the following turn. Alas! Despite drawing out and disordering the knights, who failed to catch the fleeing Saracen HC, the follow-up attacks by the Ayyubids were largely disasters, ultimately breaking the engaged Saracen HC.

Alex was on the verge of a famous victory when Saladin managed to bag a general with some knights to render the battle a close-run affair for the Earl. The Ayyubids were nevertheless broken, and 4-5 was the final score. One of the guilty pleasures of tournament play is the 4-5 loss. That the game was lost is secondary to the thrill of fighting toe-to-toe across the board and dealing (nearly) as much punishment as one takes. It is certainly a far greater pleasure than the dreaded 1-0 victory.

More Saladin's Fall (-In)

Introduction
The Duke of Eldridge and the Perfect (Norman) Storm
A Thousand Points of Pikes: Swiss Cheese too Tough to Cut
Fire and Flee: Sometimes It doesn't Always Work
Post-Mortem