Guptas vs Sarmatians
Gupta dynasty is my preferred Classical Indian list, mainly because I still have not the needed chariots to field other indian nations!
I organized the army around an archery center, supported on both wings by elephants and armoured cavalry. My opponent showed up with a later Sarmation list. Not an easy match up for him.
As defender I tried to use as many wood as possible to protect my flanks and force a frontal combat to use at best my elephants. The table was quite cluttered, and had an element that I really didn't like, the central wood placed by my opponent. This would force me to split the corps. I decided to flank march one elephant corps to support my archer command. My opponent did the same, targeting the indian bw with massed knights, and skirmishing my right wing with Alan allies.
I started the battle with a slow advance, rolling immediately a 6 with the flank march and declaring the left side as entering edge. My opponent decided to attack as fast as possible my bowmen line to break through it , move away from the nellies and gain access to my baggage and rear.
I entered my flank march with a low pip die. Enemy flank march was on the opposite wing: now was my turn to manouver to parry and protect the rear. The ICvS on the right wing started to move in column to go back.
My opponent sacrificed some psiloi to slow the flank march, while he sent the Alan corps to engage it. The Sarmation attacked indian archers and took many casualties by bow fire.
The sarmation knight corps was quickly disheartened by high losses taken. The situation was grim now
The kn corps was wiped away, and the Alan now faced alone the Guptas. My LhF and CvI deployed on the edge of the brush feature to take advantage of the terrain in the cavalry melee and hold the ILhS charge. I needed help there from bowmen and elephants
The Alans were able to overwhelm my cavalry where they fough out of the brush but this proved decisive to hold most of the enemy attacks, and gain time to bring in reinforcements.
The Alans attacked by two sides were now in danger.
Taken by two sides, with elephants and ICvS in combat, the Alan corps collapsed breaking the army. Sarmatian flank march nevere entered.
The match up was very bad for the Sarmatian, but once again we saw how dangerous is massed archer fire against KnF. Probably the better way to engage a Guptas army would have been to use Alans to screen the Sarmatian charge, but the early entry of my flank march messed everything up.