The last battle was in turn 2 of the campaign and featured the routing of the army of Bijapur by Mir Jumla of Golconda. The dice suggested that the commander of the Bijapur army, Afzal Khan was a casualty of the rout, and the dice indicated that he was alive but a prisoner of Mir Jumla.
In the next few months, there was no overt military action, but there was a lot going on. In March Aurungazeb moved to Bijapur, while, in the north, Jai Singh moved the Rajput army to Allahabad. In April Aurungazeb drew a subvert card (he is rolling really well for a 50% initiative character) and Bijapur surrendered to him with no further fighting. His ally, Mir Jumla also moved to Bijapur.
May saw Dara move from Agra towards Murad’s forces in Gujerat. He was allied with Jai Singh who was watching Shah Suhoh in the east, so he felt his rear was secure enough to engage with one of the others. It was also a fact that he was already at war (a 1 on the diplomacy table) with Murad, as was the latter with him. In June, however, Murad scored a subversion success against Dara when he induced Jai Singh to abandon his allegiance to the oldest prince and become hostile to him. This does not, at present, make much material difference to the campaign but leaves Dara a bit exposed. In the south the new (currently nameless leader of Bijapur drew a subvert card and managed to switch Mir Jumla and Aurungazeb to being hostile to each other.
In September Aurungazeb attempted to subvert Mir Jumla, with only limited success, while Bijapur rebelled against its squabbling conquerors (this was a fumbled initiative roll). Meanwhile, Murad has plundered the city of Champanar, and the now-active Marathas tried some diplomacy in the south.
It all came to a bit of a head in October. Both Aurangzeb and Mir Jumlam drew plunder cards. Given that they could not really both plunder the same city in the same turn, I decided that they came to blows over who was going to take the spoils. At the same time, Dara contacted Murad’s army outside Champanar. Meanwhile, Shah Suhoh subverted Jai Singh, who was now not only hostile to Dara but an ally of his. The Marathas plundered Poona, creating an army. It was all getting a little busy.
There were, therefore, two wargames to resolve: Murad against Dara and Aurangzeb against Mir Jumal. I decided on dealing with the two princes first, so wargame 2 of the campaign was staged.
The deployment is above, Dara to the left and Murad to the right. The forces are mirror images of each other. Dara’s plan was to get his rocketeers and archers (on the far side) onto the hill in front of them to take on and disrupt Murad’s cavalry, while his own cavalry swept the centre. Murad’s plan was to take the hill and Dara’s forces on it with the said cavalry, and then outflank the rest of his army while holding the hill on his left (right front of the picture) with his shot, militia and rocketeers.
The picture shows the action developing. Murad’s cavalry have charged some of Dara’s in the centre (brick red counters) while the rest of Murad’s cavalry are manoeuvring to assault the hill. The rocketeers of both sides have opened up, totally ineffectively.
The cavalry clash developed slightly unusually, in that, despite the early shock of being charged, Dara’s cavalry rallied rather magnificently and more than saw off the enemy. The action with the brick red counter shows Murad’s squadron losing rather badly, while just up from them in the picture Dara’s cavalry, despite being shaken, have recoiled their opponents. On the other hand, Murad’s elephant has just arrived to sort things out, while on the hill at the top of the photograph, Murad’s cavalry have taken out the rocketeers, although they are finding the resistance from the archers had to overcome.
The ongoing cavalry combat in the centre was resolved in Dara’s favour, and Murad’s army managed a horrendous morale throw, which meant they had to fall back. The pressure on Dara’s left was relieved, while the latter had the opportunity to bring the rest of the cavalry, and himself, to the fray. As Murad tried to advance his archers to assist, Dara and his cavalry charged Murad’s elephants and routed them, sweeping away a cavalry squadron into the bargain.
I did debate whether it was fair to have Dara charge with his cavalry and the general’s bases are combat units in these armies. I thought it was reasonable enough, and, as it happened, the odds were so stacked against the elephant once the charge was resolved that any other result would have been a surprise.
Murad was now 3 bases down, and another poor morale roll meant that his forces fell back again. At this point, he had some strategic thinking to do. He still had the loot from sacking Champaner (the ox carts at the rear of his position, by the mosque), and most of his army intact. Staying on the field could lose him the war, as well as his life, and almost certainly the money. His army was also getting a bit scattered while Dara’s was a little more coherent, and he had lost half his cavalry. If this had been a stand-alone game, he would probably have fought on; his position was tricky but not hopeless, and a change in luck could have gone in his favour. But in a campaign, the risk is not worth it. Murad retreated, keeping the loot and his life while conceding the battle.
As for Dara, he can always claim the kudos of having led the charge that clinched the battle, with the caveat above. In campaign terms, Murad will retreat to Chambar while Dara decides whether to follow up his victory or retreat back to Agra after the defection of Jai Singh. Meanwhile, in the south, I have to resolve the fate of Bijapur.
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