Battle of Moccara

The Battle of Moccara was the only battle to take place during the Kiban Intervention. It resulted in the utter defeat of the defending Sharaffi forces.

## Background

The Kiban Intervention began in April 667, with two columns of Kiban infantry entering Sharaf from the plains to the south. While one column, under Chief Lungelo Fundani, headed for the capital city of Arshabad and put it under siege, the column under Chief Avela Chaka stayed in reserve, pitching camp near the town of Iddah.

Sharaf, on the other hand, was exhausted. Its levies were spent and its lords sick of the fighting - only five years earlier Reman legions had been looting and pillaging in the east of the country. Nevertheless, the lords of the desert could not stand idly by as the city of their liege lord was besieged.

The levies of Sharaf were raised - coming to a weak thousand men under the Sheikh of Diyaha, Ardos al-Halambri. These were supplemented by another four thousand from Sharaf's closest ally Sahran. These reinforcements were mostly mercenaries - the Blood Bandits, the Bows of Ashar, the Horses of Balad, and the Legio de Scuteus.

This combined force was intended to relieve the siege at Arshabad, and headed east from Diyaha in early May. Their movements were picked up by Kiban scout riders from Chaka's column, and the latter moved to block Sheikh Ardos' path to Arshabad.

As a result, the two armes manoeuvred and counter-manoeuvred for over a week, with the Sheikh trying to break through and Chaka trying to force the smaller Sharaffi force to battle.

Eventually, in mid-May, Chaka managed to trap the Sheikh by splitting his force and herding the Sharaffi forces into the town of Mokhara. Realising he had to fight, the Sheikh ordered his forces to make ready.

## The Battle

On the morning of the 17th of May 667, the Sheikh arranged his forces on the road to the south of Mokhara. This was a tactically bad move, but later accounts of the battle state the Sheikh was concerned about the welfare of the town's citizens during the battle - they had not had time to escape, and had provided the defending forces with food and shelter the night before.

The Sheikh put the Legio de Scuteus in the core of his formation, with his own levies forming a skirmish line a hundred metres further forward. He placed the Bows of Ashar and the Blood Bandits on his flanks, holding the Horses of Balad as a reserve along with his own mounted household guard.

Chaka was less strategic. He formed his infantry into a single mass that outflanked the Sheikh's forces while still creating a deeper formation. The Plainspeople in his force operated independently of Chaka, as did the light cavalry which had been loaned by another Kiban warlord.

The battle began as the Kiban infantry surged forward. They faltered at the ranged harassment of the Sheikh's javelin-armed levies, but ultimately pushed these levies back to the rear of the Legio de Scuteus. After around five minutes, the two melee forces were engaged.

While this was happening, the Bows and Bandits circled round to attack the Kibans from the rear. They were confronted and stopped by the Plainspeople, who exacted a heavy toll on the lightly-armed Bows of Ashar. Here the Sheikh mobilised the Horses of Balad - the Bows of Ashar held the Plainspeople in place until the heavily-armed and armoured horsemen closed in.

Back at the melee, the Legio de Scuteus was holding its own in the centre - Reman forces had always excelled at close-quarters combat, and the Scuteus were about as experienced as Reman legions go. The flanks were another story, though. The Legio de Scuteus was spread three men deep and was still in danger of being flanked.

The commander of the Sheikh's levies ordered his men to draw swords and bolster these flanks, but their courage was short-lived and they fled after several minutes of engagement. The Legio de Scuteus was, understandably, affected by this rout and the realisation they were outnumbered seven-to-one. They conducted a fighting retreat, making it halfway to the town before their commander raised a white flag. They were marched into Mokhara to be guarded by a thousand of Chaka's infantry.

The cavalry melee went fully in the favour of the Sheikh, with the Plainspeople being savaged and decimated under the attention of two and a half thousand angry horsemen. However, once this force broke from the melee, there wasn't much the Sheikh could do to turn the tide.

For around an hour, the Sheikh's horsemen rode rings around the Kibans, harassing them from range and charging groups of lone infantrymen. They eventually tired, however, and retired from the field at midday.

## Aftermath

The Battle of Moccara was the only action fought during the Kiban Intervention. It ensured victory for Kiba, as no other Sharaffi Sheikh had the power or courage to face the two Kiban armies afterwards.

Sheikh Ardos al-Halambri escaped with his horsemen back to his stronghold of Diyaha. This was fairly out of the way, and was never occupied by Kiba. The Bows of Ashar and Blood Bandits were released from their contracts when the force reached Diyaha - the Sheikh kept the Horses of Balad on for the next three years as insurance against further Kiban measures.

The Bows of Ashar disbanded as a direct result of the losses they suffered during the battle. The Blood Bandits, however, were back in action after two months of recuperation. The Legio de Scuteus was recognised as a mercenary unit by Chaka and released following the battle. They headed for Bala'ad and came under the employ of the Sheikh of Thutan.