Chapter One: The Folly of Bravery

The sound of the horses was thunderous, deafening, and sublime in their glory. Eight hundred steel clad riders surged forward ready to smash into the first line of infantry. By every means it should have been devastating to the poorly armed and armored men in the front line. But the Calvary failed to make it to them with enough numbers or momentum. Instead they fell into pre dug spike pits or lost their balance in the muddy field that slowed them immensely. By the time they made it to the infantry half there number was already dead or wounded some from the traps but most from the constant rain of arrows. The infantry rushed forward to swarm the chaotic mess of calvary using their lighter armor and better maneuverability to drag the men from their horses or skew them from below. The eight hundred men were cut down to four hundred then a moment later to two hundred. A Horn bellowed in the distance signaling the second waves charge. This time a full thousand swarmed down the hill to assault the infantries position desperate to reinforce their comrades. The naivety of the order showed the inexperience and lack of judgment of the enemy's commander a naivety that would cost the lives of thousands.

The infantry reformed the best they could while still being engaged by the remaining Calvary but it was lack luster. It was inconsequential as long as they didn't break the second the calvary hit. The thousand strong unit was picking up speed as they rushed down the hill towards the bracing infantry.

"Loose!" the command was promptly followed unleashing hundreds of arrows into the charge felling many. "Loose!" The arrows rained upon the riders a second time killing even more than the first as the attackers grew closer and thus easier to aim for. "Loose!" The command was given a third and final time thinning the charge into a more manageable amount before they crashed into the defensive line.

The infantry struggled to hold this time with their moral starting to shake against so many new combatants. The first line had done their part of the plan now it was time for the second and riskiest part of the plan. With all the calvary fully engaged the silent signal was given and two thousand infantry came rushing from the left and right flanks hidden by thick forests while the already engaged infantry were reinforced by the second line of a thousand infantry that was stationed behind them. The calvary was now completely surrounded easily and brutally being cut down. The Infantry had to be quick in dispatching the calvary or else the plan would be useless. 

The foolish enemy commander seems unable to understand what is happening and doesn't order the rest of his army to attack. His rest of his twelve thousand strong army is arrayed on the hill just watching as the best of their army the rich and powerful Nobels gets slaughtered. This is more than anything is the greatest boon the defending side has gotten so far even more so than killing fifteen hundred with minimal causalities. The scene before the arrayed army is bound to cripple their moral which makes finishing them off even easier. 

The few dozen surviving calvary try to retreat but they are expertly picked off by a handful of veteran longbow men. A good part of the enemy army was now knocked off the table that only left some ten thousand against the defenders six thousand. The infantry reformed into their lines this time with the heavily armored men at arms taking the font line while the lighter peasant levy were rotated to the second line to get some rest after their fight. The thousand longbow men were stationed at the front to screen the advance of the army. They would be the key to the next phase of the battle. The other army fielded crossbow men and some peasants with hunting bows for their ranged units which meant they lacked range compared to our archers. The crossbows could hurt the armored knights in the front so they were top priority to knock out especially since their position on the hill meant they could continually fire into the oncoming army.

"Advance!" with another one word command five thousand marched against ten thousand.

The longbow men stopped right out of the crossbow mens range and began to shoot volleys into their ranks. In a few minutes the expert archers of the army had cut down dozens and forced the others to retreat further back. For the time being there was no point in advancing the archers were safe to continue pelting the enemy army. They would have no choice but to come further down the hill or they risked being decimated by the arrows.

Horns once again sounded across the enemy lines signaling a general advance. With practiced precision the archers turned and ran through gaps in the lines before the men at arms closed them again and lowered their mismatch of spears, pikes and halberds in place. The arches took new positions at the back and restarted shootings arrows into the infantry as they advanced. The oncoming wave of infantry picked up the pace and began to rush upon the gleaming lines of heavily armored men at arms. The crossbow men retook their positions to aid their comrades but they were immediately targeted by the archers and chased away again this time with even higher casualties.

The rush of infantry crashed against the wall of steel clad men the momentum they gained from the downward slope of the hill did nothing to aid their charge as they were skewered upon the long wall of polearms. The sheer amount of infantry meant they were able to stretch their line to outflank the first line forcing some reserve units in the second line to be signaled to the flanks. Now it was a shoving contest as the masses of infantry began to force each other back and forth. The constant rain of arrows was an asset to the smaller army as the blob of lightly armored peasants and somewhat better armored freemen were easy to pick off without hititng friendly targets.

After a long and grueling thirty minutes which must have felt like an eternity for the foot soldiers the tide was once again changing. While the ten thousand had been withered down they still at least matched the smaller army's numbers which was bad news for the smaller army as their archers started to run dry on ammo. Still it seemed like the clash had devolved into a clash of attrition.

A ripple of movement began to caress the hill followed by a tsunami of movement. The crossbowmen that had retreated earlier were running towards their allies in a full sprite. The reason became apparent moments later as over a thousand horsemen ran them down and killed them. The sudden rear attack was a complete shock to the already wavering men causing many to rout and make a run for it. It didn't save them the calvary were a majority of light horsemen which were very well suited for running down fleeing men. The rest of the horsemen only about three hundred were proper knights with an entirely different goal. They formed into a solid block, lowered their lances and charged into the backs of the men who hadn't broken. The charge was devastating scything through and killing hundreds in the first charge before reforming and cycle charging into another section line. The unengaged units of the second line took immediate advantage of the gaps in the lines and started to surround small pockets of resistance. 

The day was won and their army victorious but it was just the beginning.