Ready to start the battle.
The Zanj could not accurately determine the location of the advancing Portuguese. As a result, Bey Imen Mahir played it safe placing his Civic Guard and Mercenary units to the west of the dune gap, and his Tribesmen to the east. This involves some risk as the resolve of the western units will not be determined until first contact.
The Portuguese order of march has the Grenadiers and Tribesmen in van, followed by Crossbowmen, Pikes and Shot. All of their forces are advancing on an axis west of the dunes.
My old MiniFig “Any Period” Arabs
Now that the enemy has been sighted, both sides must react. Any reaction by the Portuguese or change in disposition by the Zanj will be decided using the D6 Programmed Wargames Scenario options.
The Zanj options are to redeploy all forces to the threatened side (1,2,3); move some forces to cover the Faragh (4,5); or redeploy the East forces to cover the gap (6) and support the west flank. I rolled a 6.
The Portuguese options are to bypass and keep moving north (1,2); destroy any enemy to their front and keep moving north (3,4); detach a force to seize the gap and, with the remaining force, destroy any enemy to their front (5,6). The die roll was a 3.