Byzantium v. Arabs

We have stepped another couple of centuries forward this week to pit Byzantium v. Arabs.
Arabs: Mike & Chris
Byzantium: SteveJ & Jim

Byzantines on the left with a symmetrical deployment:  heavy infantry in the centre flanked by medium infantry with archers in support, then cataphracts, then heavy cavalry with light cavalry support.
The arabs have a similar deploymenr, but have weighted their right wing with extra cavalry.

Thye Byzantines advanced quickly on theri right & centre to minimise the effect of the Arab's horse archers. They held their left back a bit where their cavalry was outnumbered.

The combats started on the near flank then quickly extended along the front.

On the near flank the Byzantine cavalry eventually got on top, but at such cost that their victorious cavalry was all shaken & unable to exploit their wins.  But the decisive issue on thsi flank was a gap the Aeabs left in their line between their cavalry & infantry.  They slipped  infnatry thru the gap to swing left to flank the Arab centre,
In the centre, the Arab deployment in two lines held well against the veteran Konaratoi until it was flanked from the left & a single medium infantry unit took out 3 units rolling up theri second line.  On the far flank, a single Byzantine cataphract unit turned the action Byzantium's way by blasting  a hole through the Arab lines taking out 3 enemy units in succession.

The Arabs lost half their units shaken but under our new Army Morale Test could still fight on becasue they had more unshaken units left than the Byzantines.  The Arabs still had a chance of victory if their horse archers could break some of the many shaken Byzantine units, but they lost more units in close combat & lost that advantage to fail the Morale Test first.