Thread by @NotJonMollison

Orcs versus Crusaders in a bigger battle of Chainmail.

Clockwise from the upper left:

ORCS
Heavy Horse
Heavy Foot
Light Horse

HUMANS
Heavy Foot
Light Horse
Archers
Heavy Horse

A 300 point battle using vanilla Chainmail and 2mm figures.
Each base represents four figures in a more reasonable scale.
The orc figures are actually wolves, but same difference.

With equal parts foot and horse in the fight, this became a sweeping engagement.

Cavalry flew all over the place.
Here you can see that a Crusader charge forced an orc Foot troop almost off the table without striking a blow.
That left them vulnerable to the Orc Heavy Foot sweeping around the north.

The speed of the Horse is offset by the speed at which they tire. Five yellow fatigue markers and units fight as a step lower.

That forces units to pause mid-battle...

...which gives units time to recover from routing.
Fatigue is a resource to be husbanded as much as troops.
Oddly enough, the forced rest breaks makes the game feel a lot more natural, and opens up tactical opportunities and challenges that are rare in rules these days.

It's similar to an "activation' mechanic, but rather than a random roll on the front end, it is a resource managed on the back end.

More control means more tactical options.
Charge that broken unit with an exhausted unit?
Of such decisions are generals made.

It adds more weight to the initiative roll, too.
Whether I can rest my boys depends on whether you rest yours.
Whether I charge your boys depends on whether you charge yours.
Sometimes you want to strike, and sometimes you want to bide your time.
Sometimes both!

No spoilers for this fight.
I just really like the way this tabletop looks before the final plunge.

modern art dun rite

Fin

However, I do have a basic 15mm fight already posted.

Still learning the game, but this gives a solid feel.