Battle of Ascalon 1099 : The First Crusade

A quietish start to the year hobby wise mainly due to family stuff, with my father not being too well I have spent quite a few days in Edinburgh helping him out and arranging for him to move into a care home.  This has allowed me to get some prep work done for figures to paint later in the year. I have also spent some time sorting and selling some unloved fantasy figures, this has created some space and generated a nice pot of  money which I need to spend 🤔 

But never fear I have been painting figures just nothing completed as yet.

So onto the battle from this weekend the final battle of the First Crusade the Christian armies have caught the Fatimid/Egyptian army outside the coastal city of Ascalon in August 1099.

The Christian army approached Ascalon in three separate ‘divisions’ each led by a notable Christian Lord, the battlefield was constrained by the sea to the west and rough higher ground to the east.

Catching the Fatimids in their camp the Crusaders then split into their three divisions, pushing forward with their infantry with knights in reserve.

I now have about enough figures to cover this battle on a 6x5 table. Apart form the constraint to the edges of the battlefield it is open ground.

The Christian forces in line of battle

The Fatimids, to represent the unprepared situation each unit must make a test to activate

With the Fatimids unlikely to take the initiative the crusaders chose to advance while they have the advantage, some of the Arab cavalry and archers failing to activate in the first turn

After a turn to reorganise the Christian knights they charge forward

The Egyptians hold the first charge and push the cavalry back

The battle then starts to breakdown into individual combats

The Fatimids start to take control on the right catching the Christian knights in the flank

But the Christians are taking control on the right and in the centre

The Fatimids are still holding but in a brave/foolhardy attack Robert of Normandy charges through to attack the second defensive line

The Fatimids also have some heavy cavalry which arrives late to the battle they clash immediately with the Crusader knights on the right flank

By this stage the crusaders are getting the upper hand pushing the defenders out the way on the right and in the centre

In the distance the battle is still raging on whilst the rest of the crusader infantry is pushing towards the city walls

Slow to retreat and a caught in the open Robert of Normandy is hacked down in the dying turns of the battle

At this point the battle closed with a crusader win, reflecting the historical outcome. The remaining Fatimids will have to flee for their lives !

A fun battle played in fine spirit, even if the Christian’s tried a number of ruses to get the advantage 😀 looking forward to another game next weekend. And keen to get some painting done this week as well, although my wife has me down to decorate the kitchen this week as well 🫣

Thanks for checking in Matt