The great ranks of knights, squires, and men-at-arms picked up more and more speed as they made the ground tremble. The steel hooves slammed harshly into the ground, leaving behind a ruined field as their riders began lowering their lances.
<span class="mu-i"> ''Look yonder, ere the horsemen dislodge themselves in the enemy ranks. If they're fast enough, they'll break on through; it would be even better if they broke ranks, although…'' </span>
You paused your explanation as your cavalry came closer and closer. The Svengalians would either lose nerve or pay the price for their steadfastness. As you peered closer, you saw a figure run into the woods, dropping his weapon as he made his way to the underbrush. The rest of them soon followed, though more and more of them were cut down, bludgeoned, or staked depending on the weapon in question. Soon enough, the cavalry was through the gap, while the enemy was fleeing the field.
Now would come the actual difficult part: trying to keep them all together. Instead of peeling off to chase already fleeing units of the enemy army, they should wheel about and fall upon the rear.
<span class="mu-i"> ''This is the most endemic problem with our cavalry; if the noble sons present here decide to peel off and go after those already fleeing the field or go off in pursuit of personal glory, we'll lose our advantage.'' </span> You explained further to your daughter. Though thankfully, the core of the knights you had brought with you, the Knights of the Order of the Argent Swan, you had them tempered in discipline and order. The knights of Greifswald might not be the glorious flower of chivalry in the same way as those of Aurilie were, but they were disciplined. Capable of understanding the importance of cohesion, rather than individual glory.
In the meantime, your footmen and archers had so far done nothing of note; the enemy archers and yours had pelted each other. Here and there lay a dead or wounded person, an arrow or javelin dislodged in the neck or face. But a serious melee? No. They were waiting for the knights to come around the corner.
And come they did, though they hadn't been able to properly reach the speeds required. You would have your encirclement, and you would have it now. Your footmen already stood at the prowl; their patience for being pestered with arrows was nearly at an end. They began advancing as well, not in the great trembling of the hooves as the knights had done, but slower, a collective of boots stomping and clanking against the ground. The clash of metal on metal was imminent, and the battle was about to begin in earnest.
