Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn Five

Looking from behind the Egyptian lines after four turns

It feels as if winning the right to go first this turn could be important, and Reg wins the dice-off 5-4.

He starts on the Assyrian right, where the much-diminished Eshnunna elite cavalry charge my levy javelinmen. Under the Assyrian terror rule, the latter have to immediately check their morale, which is poor, meaning they lose a base before hand-to-hand-fighting begins.

In the melee the Assyrians get six dice (three for each remaining base), scoring one hit, which is not saved, and is resolved as the loss of a base. This means another morale test, which my men again fail, not surprisingly, and so are reduced to one base.

However, blows in melees are struck simultaneously, so I still get to roll three dice  - one for each base remaining after the terror-morale fail. Amazingly, I roll 5, 5, 5 - three hits. One hit is saved, and the other two are resolved as fallbacks, ie a 6cm-withdrawal.

The one-base Assyrian light infantry hurl javelins at my Ka archers, but ineffectively.

The Akalate archers cross the western low hill, finishing just short of the Ka, and the Tutub elite infantry likewise advance onto the southern low hill.

In the ongoing melee between the outnumbered Tarbisa biblical infantry and my Ptah yellow-shields, neither side scores a hit.

The Hassuna close-order archers on the Assyrian left shoot at my Koth open-order archers, scoring a hit, which forces my men back 3cm.

The Assyrian mounted javelinmen split-move, hurling their weapons at the Ka archers, scoring a hit, which, however, is saved, and then fall back to beside the Hassuna.

I feared suffering heavier losses this half-turn

My javelinmen shoot at the Eshnunna horsemen, but without effect, and my Kush archers fire at the same target, again ineffectively.

The Ra spearmen charge the Tutub, but first have to test their morale under the Assyrian terror rule, losing a base in the process. Despite this, in the melee my three-base biblical infantry roll three dice, scoring 6, 5, 3 - two hits. The four-base Tutub, being professional close-order infantry, roll eight dice, which result in four hits. The two hits I inflict are both saved, but only one of the hits I suffer is saved. The remaining three are all resolved as the loss of a base, meaning the Ra become the first unit eliminated.

The Senekht spearmen also charge the Tutub, with one of the unit's two bases gaining a bonus die for attacking from a flank. That means three dice in all, and one hit is scored, but it is saved. The Tutub roll six dice (the base attacked in the flank does not count this half-turn), scoring two hits. Neither is saved, but my men do not lose a base, instead being pushed back 6cm.

The two-base Koth archers shoot at the Hassuna archers, but without success.

Finally, my Ka archers shoot at the Assyrian light cavalry, scoring three hits. Two are saved - Reg rolling 6s again! - and the third is resolved as the horsemen falling back 3cm.

The success of the elite Tutub infantry has put the well firmly in Assyrian hands, at least for now

Looking from behind the Senekht, with the Tutub directly ahead of them - to the Tutub's right are the Akalate archers, while to the Tutub's left is the melee between Egypt's Ptah infantry and Assyria's Tarbisa, which continued ineffectively throughout this turn