The Forum

The layout
Long Ridge is a natural barrier of high ground stretching for many leagues. It is broken in places by gaps, not all of which are easily navigable due to water run off from the higher ground forming treacherous areas of marsh. However, one gap is quite unlike this, being wide and easily travelled, a natural crossing point named Holden Pass. This break in the ridgeline has been a meeting point for centuries for good or ill.
The Battle of Holden Pass was such a meeting between a great migration of orcs clashing with a horde of Barbarians, The orc army (commanded by myself):
6 Horde (arranged into 4 blocks of 6)
2 Archer units
4 units of Wolf Riders
2 Heavy chariot units
4 units of Mountain orcs
1 unit of Ballistae
2 units of Orc Flyers
2 units of giants
3 generals
1 hero general

The Barbarian horde (commanded by Mark). Please note we substitute alternative figures for several of the Barbarian army list, these will be noted in brackets where appropriate.
6 Horde (arranged in 4 blocks of 6)
4 units of archers
3 units of Bison Riders (Heavy cavalry used instead)
3 units of chariots
3 units of Mammoth Riders (Warmaster Dragon Ogres used instead)
2 units of Birdmen (Warmaster Harpies used instead)
4 generals
1 hero general

Setup
With equal numbers of flyers, we rolled to see who had the choice of setting up first. Mark won the roll and gave me the choice of table edge and to set up first. I chose the left hand side of the table. It only had one road leading into the pass from this side but it seemed to have better lines of fire for my ballistae and more room to manoeuvre my cavalry.
I placed my artillery on the road, flanked by my archer units. They were to push forward as quickly as possible, eventually with the archers taking up position in front of the ballistae to form a devastating block of missile power to dominate the approach along the road and the slopes of the northern ridge.
My infantry formed a solid mass in the centre of the deployment area. They were to push straight through the pass, overwhelming anything foolish enough to stand in their way. Horde units formed the front rank, giants the second- with the hero general accompanying these to bolster the resolve of all around him. My hard hitting Mountain orcs formed the final rank- these would smash into anything that survived the initial onslaught and also have reasonable pace to enable them to redeploy if needed elsewhere.
My wolfriders were massed on the left flank, the chariots on the right. They were to ensure nothing threatened the flanks of my mass of infantry- a real worry considering how cavalry heavy the Barbarian army often is.
The orc flyers were placed to enable them to support where needed. Flying units have excellent mobility and are most useful when cutting off enemy lines of retreat or generally getting in the way of enemy movement. They are, however, very vulnerable to disruption from missile fire and can be eliminated as a threat, so must be carefully used or I could risk losing them to a bunch of ignorant barbarian archers taking opportunistic potshots at them just for fun!
With my army ready to sieze Holden Pass, I watched with interest to see Mark's deployment- especially where the powerful cavalry threat would materialise.

Barbarian setup:
Mark decided to utilise the advantage he had in cavalry by placing strong detachments on each flank. On his right flank were heavy cavalry, a single unit each of chariots and chaos spawn, backed up with 2 units of archers and 2 of his generals (Barbarian generals only have a move/ command rating of 2 and so need to be carefully placed to avoid the risk of units falling out of command range- a weakness I was keen to exploit if I could begin to isolate and eliminate some of his command). This was a potent force for my wolf riders to face and I decided I would need to bring to bear all of my missile strength to help with this.
Barbarian infantry filed onto the table along both of the roads leading into the pass. They were obviously keen to maximize the additional movement they provided and advance swiftly. More dragon ogres supported the centre to give some serious hitting power to counteract the orc infantry facing them.
Mark's left flank had the remaining chariots and heavy cavalry, along with the hero general. There was some flexibilty on this flank, as the infantry placed on the road had the option of using the road to head into Holden Pass itself, or leave the road and support the cavalry on the flank- I would need to keep a close eye on any surprises the cunning Barbarians might spring!

Having setup second, Mark had the first move. He advanced swiftly across his entire front. The barbarian infantry, other than the archers heading up onto the northern ridge, moved along the roads to begin converging in the pass. The cavalry stayed on each flank and advanced with the intention of encircling my force and striking the flanks.
The orcs opening move saw them also move forward with haste. The artillery was pushed and manhandled along the road, the flanking archers stayed on each side confident that nothing yet threatened them. I pushed my cavalry forward with more care- not wanting to risk entangling with the Barbarian cavalry too soon and giving them the initiative to strike before my forces were ready.
In the centre, the juggernaut of infantry pushed on, but were hampered by woodland forcing them to flow around and through the leafy obstacle.

looking good ratty

The Barbarian's second turn saw the advance continue. The infantry pushed up along the roads with the units at the base of the northern ridge's slopes feeling particularly bold in their advance, coming into range of my some of my missile units. Was this to prove rash? Time would tell...
On the north ridge, Mark's archers occupied the woods and ruins, whilst the cavalry began to make their descent on my side of the slope. The wolf riders facing these had only a small wood between them and the advancing barbarians. The woods that sat between these opposing forces were a deadly trap for the cavalry and both sides had to avoid being driven into them if possible, however Mark's Chaos ogres were still a dangerous prospect even when disrupted in the woods with a combat factor of 8- they could outmatch and outfight any of my cavalry in this dense terrain.
On the barbarian left flank confidence was running high and their cavalry surged around the side of the woods on the southern ridge top. A unit of harpies also landed between my advancing chariots and the ridge to hinder my movement.
An aggressive advance from the barbarian forces which I had to deal with with precise force- had Mark pushed too far, too early or would his flanking plan work and he achieve a swift breakthrough.

The orc response to the barbarian threat was varied. On the left flank, the wolfriders drew back to protect the flank of my ballistae and also to put
some distance away from the woodland. The archers moved in front of the ballistae to cover any further advance the barbarians might make down the road, it also brought one of the barbarian horde units into range of the full weight of the combined firepower! The resulting barrage in the missile phase destroyed 2 stands and forced the horde to flee.
The orc infantry continued to push through the centre, with a unit of orc flyers to the front to break up any barbarian charges, although they were disrupted by a unit of barbarian archers on the road. I had at this point resolved to drive my infantry straight down Holden Pass, destroy the barbarians on the roads and split Mark's army into 2 lesser groups to be destroyed in isolation- that was the plan anyway...
Having watched Mark push his cavalry towards my right flank, I spotted a potential weakness in his brazen plan- I would be able to move 3 units (2 chariots and a horde) against his cavalry coming round the woods, and so outnumber him. Also, his missile threat posed by his 2 chariot units had been split with only one of these formidable units to the fore, the other being tucked behind in the second rank. Still fearing his chariots may get lucky and disrupt my horde with a well placed volley, I swept in with my flyers to land just behind the barbarian cavalry. I hoped they would worry Mark seeing his line of retreat blocked and force him to focus all of his missile fire on them in the hope of making them flee, and so leave my charge unharmed for the combat. Very sneaky!
The Barbarians panicked and split their fire to target the horde and the flyers, but with only 3 shots on each. The resultant missile fire was wild and ineffectual with no damage to either unit. The orc charge crashed home. Melee formed between the barbarian heavy cavalry and a unit of orc chariots led by a general, but the barbarian chariots were soundly defeated, and with no route of escape were massacred. The orc horde advanced into contact with the second unit of barbarian chariots.
A successful round for the orcs, but it was now time for the barbarians to strike back!

The barbarians next turn was largely spent dressing their lines and presenting a cohesive threat to the orcs. The northern ridge saw the cavalry descend to form up to face the wolf riders, but stopped short of moving too close. Archers moved forward to fire on the orc missile troops, and a horde unit moved up the slope to support the archers (this resulted in the barbarian horde units here to become separated and difficult to command which Mark soon realised!)
The central mass of barbarian infantry formed up to oppose the encroaching orcs.
On the southern ridge, harpies moved behind the orc horde to hamper lines of retreat. In the ensueing missile exchange, the orc flyers in the pass lost a stand and were forced to flee, and the barbarian chariots on the southern ridge, hoping to disrupt the orc horde to make the combat an assured victory, fired with such accuracy they forced the horde to recoil back into the wood disrupted- Mark couldn't believe he had just helped tuck my troops out of harms way! The combat on the ridge saw the heavy cavalry being disrupted and pushed back, with orc chariots following up.

The orc turn opened with the infantry in the pass clashing for the first time, as orc hordes, with giants in support, swarmed into the barbarian line. The barbarian archers attempted to repulse some of the attackers, but the presence of the orc hero general prevented this. The combat that followed was fairly evenly balanced with melee forming in 2 of the combats. However, the orcs were pushed back and disrupted in one fight, and the barbarian archers followed up... straight into the bellowing roars and swinging hammers of the giants waiting in the orc second line! On the orc left, the wolf riders were happy to keep the barbarian cavalry in check, and also avoid getting too close to the woods. The orc artillery and archers opened fire on the barbarian archers on the ridge above and destroyed them with a withering volley. The battle for control of the southern ridge continued. The barbarian heavy cavalry were at last destroyed, but the remaining barbarian chariots drove the orc chariots facing them back. With a unit of chaos spawn fast approaching, events were in the balance as to who would win this fight.

During the barbarians turn, Mark continued to fight for a breakthrough on the southern ridge. The dragon ogres smashed into the unit of orc chariots pinned against the table edge- not good, any recoil or flee result would mean destruction for the unit and the general with them.
The other combat involved saw the barbarians outnumbered 2 to 1 and fighting against the orc infantry in the wood- I was feeling very confident about this one, until Mark dropped his harpies to ground level to face the orc horde thus allowing the 2 chariot units to battle each other, and with a barbarian general involved, it was not looking good for the orcs! With the barbarian centre under mounting pressure from the massed orc infantry, Mark threw in his heavy cavalry, along with a horde unit accompanied by a general, to launch an assault against the orc missile threat. This assault saw a unit of orc archers annihilated, a force of mountain orcs forced to flee with heavy losses, but the orc giants were able to hurl back the barbarian horde and general.
The fight in the centre ground on, except again for the giants who smashed aside the barbarian archers and forged on into the next target- the battle was swinging in favour of the orcs due to the rampaging giants.
The battle on the southern ridge saw the orcs pinned against the table edge survive as melee formed, but the other orc chariots fled, closely pursued by the barbarians.