You signal for the center to pull back, whilst you head into the melee with your personal bodyguard. The cavalry harasses their flanks, giving yours a chance to regroup.
Left flank: 4*
Center: 7*
Right flank: 6*
Success! The center retreats momentarily, but the enemy seems to think it is a rout! Their cavalry charges forwards, only to meet a bristling wall of spears and pikes. You personally land a dozen arrows (despite your pregnancy limiting your movements slightly), and after giving the flanks time to regroup, you lead a charge forwards that sends their center back, and then further, driving men into the river which, indeed, runs red with blood.
The left flank takes the opportunity to regroup, but the right flank does more than that, reorganising itself and then charging forwards, into an unprepared enemy. With their center broken, they too break, and are driven into the river. Only their right flank remains a serious threat.
But lo! Here come the ships, bearing many soldiers.
Left flank: 2*
Center: 5*
Right flank: 3*
A hail of arrows emerges from the vessels, though your own archers try to match it. With no heed for their ship's safety, they ram into the shore, often crushing their own soldiers beneath their hulls. Infantry leap out into the shallows and reinforce their struggling comrades.
The left finds the newly reinforced flank too much to deal with, and is once again driven back. The right flank, despite holding the banks, has similar difficulties withstanding the onslaught of well-rested and eager reinforcements. Only in the center do their efforts go to waste, as each man disembarking the boats is struck down, almost before having a chance to fight back.
Left flank: 5*
Center: 6*
Right flank: 5*
Here in the center, things are going well. Almost no one remains to stand against you. Their ships are desperately trying to push off, whilst some of your more enterprising soldiers are trying to board them.
Their flanks, meanwhile, finally start to collapse. Despite the greater numbers facing your left flank, a heroic effort on their part sees the enemy driven back, whilst the right flank manages to once again return the fighting to the banks of the river, where those on dry land have an advantage.
Some of their soldiers are trying to get back into the boats.
6
This urge to retreat quickly spreads throughout the rebel army, but to no avail- in their haste to deliver troops, the ships have run themselves firmly aground, and are unmovable. It is a grim slaughter, as only those capable of swimming (and not wearing heavy armour) are capable of escaping. The rest are killed or captured.
There is no way to chase down the remaining rebels, as they are on the other side of the river, and you have no way of- hang on, getting a message here. What's that? The ships? Oh. Right.
You capture the ships and claim them for yourself. A substantial prize for this hard-fought battle. Whilst you lack experienced sailors, you could probably figure out how to get them across the river, if you really wanted to...
A-Yes! We shall run down the remnants of Donuk's army!
B-No. We shall stay here and rest.
Then there is the matter of prisoners.
A-Kill them all!
B-Generously offer the option of joining your forces as an alternative to being killed.
C-Actually generously offer the option of joining your forces, or be released.