Grogheads AAR! Field of Glory 2: Swifter Than Eagles
Swifter Than Eagles is the latest DLC for Field of Glory 2, developed by Byzantine Games and published by Slitherine Ltd. It covers the very dawn of ancient “civilized” warfare from circa 2,500 BC to approximately 500 BC. Grab your Khopesh and mount a chariot as Boggit attempts to ride into into battle for the glory of Egypt and King Rameses II.
By: Boggit
In this game I control the forces of Rameses II of the New Kingdom Egyptians in battle #2 of the Campaign against the Sherden Sea People, who engaged in successful pirate raids against Egypt. The Egyptian forces are under the command of Governor Kan-Ta and the troops consist of local forces rather than those of the Royal Army, which are far to the south fighting the Nubian tribes under the Pharoah. It is up to the Governor to save the cities of the Nile delta against these Sherden barbarians.
Here are the Egyptian local troops. Mostly close fighting foot, and some light chariots. They look very nice with their colourful shields. Let’s hope we impress the Sherden with our martial appearance, which is politician speak for “we’re crapping ourselves!”
…and here are our baby eating adversaries; the Sherden. They are brutal barbarian swordsmen who have been raiding the delta causing untold suffering to our good people. They look quite tough in their horned helmets. We will use the advantage of our civilized ideas of strategy to grind them underfoot.
The troops deploy. I match the Sherden front line with my own close fighting foot, and place my chariots and supporting cavalry on my right. These will operate better on the clear ground and will be used to turn the barbarian flank.
First blood! The Egyptians push back the lightly defended left flank of the Sherden. Governor Kan-Ta also extends his front line to match the Sherden so that the Egyptian forces can envelop the flank more easily.
The Sherden light javelins have been causing Egyptian front line casualties without giving any opportunity to respond. The Egyptians charge them in the hope of driving them off. Maybe not a great move, but at least it will break up their attack a bit.
Driving off the javelins wasn’t such a good move, as the Sherden then routed the impulsive Egyptian unit. The Egyptians are on higher ground for the most part, but that doesn’t stop them crashing into my line with their larger units causing many casualties. On the right, Egyptian chariots start to envelop and engage the Sherden line.
The attack on the right is going well with the notorious Egyptian chariots, but the same cannot be said of the infantry, who become disrupted! Elsewhere, the Sherden are getting the better of the Egyptian line, in particular on the left. The Governor orders a charge of the center in order to take advantage of elevated terrain, but the damned Sherden fragment the Egyptian troops and push them back!
This battle is not going well for the Egyptians. The center is holding, but the left flank has collapsed. On the right, the chariots make progress, but Sherden reserves are blocking them from rolling up the line. The Sherden light troops on the right harass our supporting chariots despite their efforts to ride them down.
This time we have a view from the Sherden perspective. The Egyptian center is holding – but, just! Unfortunately, the flanks are in big trouble and are in danger of folding.
The Sherden finally beat our Egyptian forces during their turn. It is over and our troops flee to the Hittites in order to escape the wrath of the Pharoah before he catches up with them.
I thought I had a good plan, but the Sherden just overwhelmed my lines before I could do enough damage on their flank.
The Sherden are tough and gave my Egyptian levies a good kicking. I might have done better waiting for the Royal army than relying on the local garrison troops.
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