Part 1 - Marnon before the invasion

THE SITUATION ON MARNON

Marnon castles are occupied roughly on a line from the northeast to the southwest of Marnon with Prince Henry isolated in the northwest. Not every castle is occupied since the island has been safe from invasion for a generation and garrisons have been run down.

Knights form the basis of Marnon's defence supplemented with solid infantry. Some of the castles have conscripted the local peasants into makeshift militias armed with whatever is at hand. These aren't expected to fight but will man the castles while the military is away.

Rumours that the Saracens have been assembling a fleet on the mainland have jolted the leaders of Marnon out of their lethargy. When Bentwood reviews reports from the island's lookouts he sees that he has holes in his defences. The west of Marnon in particular looks vulnerable with large areas unobserved.

Bentwood has ordered patrols from Oxleaf Castle to try to cover the gap in the west.

THE SARACEN'S PREPARE

On the mainland the Saracens have assembled two Turkish fleets to convey their invasion force to Marnon. Too small to completely dominate Marnon the Saracens hope to carve out a presence on Marnon and force the Marnians to accept their conquests.

The Saracens are a typical Middle Eastern army. All are mounted. Most of the force is swift and agile bow armed light cavalry backed up with heavier bow and lance armed cavalry. Their tactics are based on the light cavalry weakening their foes with flurry of arrows followed by the coup de grace from the heavier cavalry. The army will have speed especially in the open areas of Marnon but will suffer if they have to face a large knight heavy Marnon opponent. They will be looking to overwhelm isolated detatchments and to strategically retreat from fights they cannot win.

As Thogrul Khan surveys Marnon he considers several options for the invasion.

Option 1

Land at Ox Harbour and Island Harbour with the aim of occupying Gaudy Castle. If the opportunity arises Oxleaf Castle could be taken instead. Splitting into two forces coming from different directions will confuse the enemy and should allow at least one for force to slip around any opposition.

In the original Marnon campaign, Marnon was invaded this way.

Option 2

Land at Lizard's Bay and Island Harbour with the aim of occupying Gaudy Castle. Again splitting forces should confuse the enemy. However this option is more risky than Option 1 as it takes the northern force close to the Castle of Dunes and its substantial garrison.

Option 3

Concentrate all forces for a landing on the east coast of Marnon at Fen Cay with the aim of taking Hempen Rook Castle. This is a very risky option as the Saracens will surrounded by Marnon forces and squeezed between the ocean and the Sea of Marnon with little room to manoeuvre.

Both Option 1 and Option 2 give the Saracens time to advance and consolidate while news of the invasion is conveyed to Bentwood on the other side of the island and Bentwood assembles a force to react. Option 3 is much more risky putting the Saracens into the middle of the Marnian forces.

Since this is a solo campaign I set up each of the three options in Berthier's ArmyPlan utility. This allows Berthier to randomly select the invasion route. Option 1 had a 50% chance, Option 2 had a 40% chance and Option 3 had a 10% chance of being chosen.

A NOTE ON MOBILISATION AND COMMAND

Units on Marnon must wait until directed by the Duke of Bentwood, their feudal overload, before taking any action - immediate self-defence being the exception. However Bentwood cannot react to the Saracen invasion until he has been informed by a messenger that the Saracens have been sighted. He must then send out messengers to deliver his orders to the various force scattered around Marnon directing them on how to react.

This is all handled within Berthier with its message sending function.

Similarly once the Saracens have landed Thogrul Khan will need to direct any dispersed force by messenger as well.

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