Romans vs Persians. Ancient battle 28.4.13.

Last night 5 became 4!! Graham was skating on thin ice so it remained for Richard,me and Brian and Paul to play a most fascinating game that had my nerves "shredded".

Richard and I were the Roman commanders whilst Brian and Paul were the Persians.

The above photo's show the scenario,map and general table layout,with the Romans on the left and Persian hordes on the right.

Brian is seen here writing his orders,with the whole table covered in figures.Brian commanded the left flank of the Persians,and opted for an all-out attack against our right flank,held by skirmishers and aux. infantry,this turned out to be a bit of a mistake,as he was hit by catapults,slings and arrows of outrageous misfortunes!!

Action!! all along the front cavalry and infantry attacked,with Brian pressing Richard relentlessly,and Paul throwing his Axemen against my cohorts,these axemen should have "bounced",however they did remarkably well and actually pushed 2 of my cohorts back!!

The Roman "secret weapon" comes into play-Elephants!! We used an Elephant unit on each flank,and both did well,disrupting the Persian cavalry,and causing panic among their infantry.

Paul has moved his front-line troops up against the cohorts in this shot,and is backing them up with good solid infantrymen,this tussle lasted a while,with me eventually driving the "dreaded" axemen down the hill,only to be counter-attacked by his second line.

My extreme left flank was held by 2 units of cataphracts,which Paul,wisely, left alone apart from fronting them off with some infantry.Paul's own cavalry,meanwhile,were working their way onto my flank,held only with a unit of archers and an Elephant unit.

This shows my left flank,cataphracts,archers and Elephants,eventually,to stop Paul's move to my flank, I had to charge the infantry in front of me,the cataphracts "slammed" into the infantry and drove them back,however by this time Paul had engaged my elephants in melee,and drove them back,this resulted in a morale check,and they broke!! which left a gaping hole in my line,Paul followed up this success with an attack by his second line infantry against my disordered cohorts,could I hold out??

Brian,is that a GLOAT??-I hope not,although he deserves a gloat,having just beaten Richard's cavalry and infantry on the plain.Richard has "bested" Brian on the far flank,and driven all of his infantry back across the river.

This shot shows the "mess" on top of the hill,with my cohorts in a state of disorder and confusion,front line and second line troops all mixed up,I am moving a cohort to my left in an attempt to stem the flow of Paul's cavalry incursion,but I am about to be "smote" to say the least!!

This is the final photo,Paul's cavalry are on top of the hill and threatening my entire line of cohorts,Brian has driven away Richard's last units on the plain,so we decided to call it a night and the Persians were declared the winners.

Another good and exciting game,held in the balance for so long,played in a good spirit,roll on Thursday morning,when I will be playing Brian in a big Marlburian game.

"Bexby Bridge 1644" E.C.W. played 25.4.13.

Last night,Paul and Brian played this ficticious English Civil War game,whilst I looked on in envy and acted as referee.

The simple scenario,followed by the map,showing Brian's column,but not where Paul's troops were.At a given signal ( a cannon shot!) Paul's Royalist troops emerged from the village,woods and from across the river.

Brian's Parliamentarians were placed on the board,facing the Royalists and a few still in column going down the road,giving him the option of standing or continuing across the river.

This shows the general set up,with Royalists on the left and Parliamentarians on the right,the river Thames flowing grandly in the background.

This shot shows the bridge,and some of Paul's troops about to defend it against some infantry and a gun which Brian is hurrying forward,he has already deployed his cavalry,and is awaiting an opportunity to "unleash" them on Paul's troops crossing at the far bridge.

Rupert's and Hopton's foot emerging from Bexby village,flanked by a gun,lovely position,as Brian found out when he advanced against them and was shot to bits!!

Both sides decided to have a "go" at each other to the right of the village,although Brian was out-numbered,his fighting points and morale was better than Paul's ,so the melee was always going to be "tight"
In the background you can see the other cavalry starting to advance and threaten Paul's left flank,whilst Brian is advancing some infantry against the hedges on the banks of the river.

Brian's cavalry on his right flank coming under fire from Paul's infantry,they didn't manage to stop the cavalry and were forced into "square" and took pistol fire.Meanwhile Paul has got his own cavalry into position and is now threatening to charge Brian !! Quelle affaire!

Tut,Tut,Brian appears to be "gloating" in this shot!! mind you,having just one a cavalry melee after being outnumbered 2:1 he has the right to be,or does he??

As you can see,there is action all along the table,fire-fights,push of pike,melees,and "gloating", at this point in the game it was never clear as to who had the upper hand,both players giving it their best shot,all very exciting stuff.

This is the break-through!! Paul has won a decisive melee with his cavalry and Brian is being forced back,however his Infantry line is formed,and with a bit of luck,things might just swing his way,where's the God of Dice when you need him??

This shot is from Paul's left flank,and shows the cavalry battle raging plus the infantry in "square".Brian elected to abandon his attempts on this flank,and try to get as many cavalry units over the river as he could.
With Paul winning on the right,and Brian's central advance stalled (because of rampaging cavalry) it looked as though the Royalists had won.

Now Brian really is in trouble,his infantry attempting to cross the river have been repulsed,and Paul's cavalry and infantry are combining to advance and re-take the hedges,is it all over?
YES!!

Another "cracking" game,played in good humour,and good historical tactics employed.
All figures used in this game were from Warrior Miniatures,the whole period is colourful,and can include seiges,pitched battles and skirmishes,more planned over the coming weeks!!
Roll on sunday,there should be 5 of us,and I have an Ancients game planned.

Jacobite rebellion 1719.vs Allan.

My old mate Allan "popped in" to have a game this morning,and we played "English" vs Scots,based on the 1719 uprising.
I had a bit of a rush to set this game up,after we played out the game we intend putting on at Falkirk in May,so had to put all the figures away (almost 1000!) clear the terrain,think of a new game,write order sheets out etc.etc.,but the result was worth it,we had a good game.

This first photo shows the Scots beginning their attack,I elected to be in command of them and Allan took the roll of "English" commander.Allan's task was to cross the bridge,form up and give the Scots a good "hiding",whilst my task was to drive the "invaders" back to England.
As you can see in this shot the English have got across the bridge,and are forming up,two of the regiments are firing at the charging Scots.

The Clans on my right flank,and centre are advancing whilst my left flank is heavily engaged,Allan's dice throwing was good,mine was bad (no change there then!!) and my left was being torn to bits.

This shows my right flank,having taken cannister and musket fire,still about to make contact,don't you just love the Scots??

Oh dear,the Scots on my left flank under too much pressure!! two of the clans decided to go home,and left the others with insecure flanks,this was tricky to say the least!!

The final photo,showing that I had won on my right flank,however on the left,and centre,Allan's troops were proving too strong,so we called it a draw!!

This was a good game.lots going on,very colourful,and Allan picking up the rules very fast,in fact so fast he has challenged me to another game in the near future!!

Roll on Sunday,probablt an English Civil War battle.

Romans vs Gauls 18.4.13.

Well,after last night's game,Paul had to have a drink to calm his nerves,Brian had to lie down in a darkened room with a wet blanket on his head,and I had to have a cold bath and a tot of rum!!
The game was AWESOME!!

Brian and I were Roman commanders and Paul was a Gaul,defending some passes against the invaders.The Roman plan was simple,secure our flanks then advance against the Gallic-held passe.,The Gallic plan was to attack both our flanks,then roll us up in the centre.

This first photo shows the beautiful Roman lines about to advance,Brian aka "Gung Ho!" shot forward at an alarming rate against Paul's cavalry situated opposite him,a melee took place for 6 moves,during which both sides threw some great dice,but Brian's dice was the better in the end and the flank was taken,nail-biting stuff at times,but absolutely great!!

This shows Paul,complete with glasses (a very rare thing,he usually forgets to bring them !) writing his orders.The Gallic lines can be seen,and the good position they were in.

Have you noticed how "camera-shy" Brian is ?To his left the cavalry are just getting stuck in,and his cohorts are trundling forward slowly,meanwhile on my hill,I am being assaulted by a mixture of chariots,light cavalry and skirmish cavalry.Paul used the mixture of troops very well,using "hit and run" tactics to prevent me from moving my cohorts.

This shows the cavalry battle in full swing,with skirmishers on the wings,although Paul was pushed back,Brian couldn't break him because of his "noble" status,until the game was almost finished.

Another shot of Brian's cavalry doing sterling work,and driving the Gallic cavalry back.

Brian's cohorts moving in for the kill,however the Gauls had different ideas,and attacked furiously,driving the Romans back,whilst also attacking them in their right flank,where are my troops in all this??

Ah,there they are,being held and attacked all over the place,my flank was about to crumble at this point,but I somehow managed to hold on long enough to get a good melee win,and just held the flank,but more and more Gauls were heading my way,this was tense!!

Paul has managed to get his light cavalry behind me,whilst his warbands and skirmish cav. are pinning me in front and flank,my number one cohort is in trouble and is being forced back,what can  I do??

Meanwhile,back at the centre,Paul had promised Brian that he wouldn't "interfere" with him!!(what kind of club is this??) but he did!! and Brian is being forced back in this shot,it's not looking good for the Romans at this juncture.

Although Brian had driven off two thirds of Paul's cavalry,Paul still had the audacity to bring another unit and attack even though Brian was wondering just what he had to do to get rid of these Gallic horsemen. Come on Brian I need help on my flank,stop messing around !!

Roman in full retreat,Gauls victorious,time to go home?

NO !! we had to listen to Paul's master plan and how good his troops were,and how rubbish the Romans were and how his plan worked out just how it was supposed to,blah,blah,blah!!

Seriously,this was one of the best games we've had for a while,good old fashioned,tense stuff,with Paul using his troops to their best advantage,some "miraculous" dice throwing from Brian,who was "interfered" with despite promises to the contrary!!

Roll on Sunday,we'll be "play-testing " our game for Carronade (May 11th,Falkirk) so won't be posting any photo's,so as not to spoil the surprise!!

Napoleonic game 14.4.13.

Last night saw the "fabulous four" in action in Spain,fighting British against French,for control of a village and high ground.This turned out to be a good game,with Brian and Paul commanding the British,and Graham and I commanding the French.
During our pre-match tactical discussion,Graham and I decided that the British would reduce their defensive line because it was too long for the number of troops at their disposal,and we were proved right!!

Brian who was in charge of the bulk of the infantry,immediately moved inf. from his left into the village,which I had decided to "mask",and attack his centre with "gusto",meanwhile Graham had decided to attack straight away with his cavalry and infantry against Paul's cavalry and well placed infantry.Thus the scene was set for a hard game for both sides.

This was the map given to each side before the game started,showing initial dispositions,terrain etc,this formed the basis for the pre-match tactical talks,and consequent tactics.

This shot shows the overall table layout,with the British on the left and French on the right.

This is move number one,and Brian is transferring troops from his left,into the village and forming a line to the left of the village too,he had left a regiment of light dragoons and a gun battery,out of picture to his far left to support this move,however I had a regiment of lancers and a regiment of Swiss inf,poised to take advantage of any such move,and I attacked,took his gun,and put his light dragoons to flight "vive l'empreur"

Graham's attack begins against Paul's cav. and well placed inf.Paul's gun battery situated on the high ground proved a real "thorn in the side" of the attacking columns,as his cavalry "retired" to a better position.

In this photo the French number one regiment is hitting the British Guards,a fearsome melee followed,but eventually the Guards were pulled out of harm's way,to be replaced by the Lifeguards cavalry (it should be noted at this point that a few "liberties" have been taken with the cavalry on the British side,but I have the figure so I'm going to use them-see Scots Greys in following shots!!)

My infantry begin their assault on the British held village and centre position,I could not make much headway at all due to a combination of cannister and musket fire,however I persisted and eventuallu managed to form a firing line,and awaited assistance from Graham,who was being put under tremendous pressure from Paul and his amazing dice throwing (as well as good tactics!)

Graham has attacked on his flank,and driven the cream of the British cavalry back (notice Scots Greys in background!) he,in turn was also driven back,and the melee swayed back and forth for a couple of moves,this was stirring stuff,with both sides "sweating it out"

What is Graham thinking in this photo?? My attack is developing nicely,but so is Brian's defence,the whole table was ablaze with action,my infantry was getting a real beating from superior trops and bloody good dice throws from Brian,fantastic wargaming,nothing was easy,but will our superior numbers begin to tell? YES!!

"Huzzar!!" the French inf. have managed to break into the village,despite Brian pouring more troops into it,the centre is holding-just,and Graham has secured a vital melee win over on his flank,is it all over??

This is the final photo showing the French cavalry mopping up the remnants of the British cavalry,and,having gained the heights and the village,the French Generals slapped each other on the back,kissed each other on the cheeks (which was quite strange because I was bending down at the time!!) and declared themselves worthy winners of a great game. Well done to everyone for the way this game was played,roll on Thursday,and next Sunday.

French and Indian War

After a change in medication and another couple of problems left me feeling a little "under par", I decided not to have our normal Sunday club game this week,however the need for my weekly blog "fix" has to be satisfied,so I'll relate a game played by myself,Paul and Brian,after I had "tweaked" the Rangers/Indian rules.

The scenario is above,not very complicated,but interesting.

This was the overall view of the table,with Rangers and Indians converging on the settlement,and the British column at the far edge of the table,just crossing the bridge,and all the settlers blissfully unaware of what is about to descend on them!!

This is the settlement of "Sorry",with a war party emerging from the woods,Indians (honed on war and violence) versus softy,non-trained settlers (including women) this was going to be slaughter (or is that laughter??)

This seems like a strange way to get a short back and sides!!

Indians attacking,3 bloody times they attacked,and 3 times they were beaten off by the settlers!!Damn but  those women can fight!! I'm sure at one point the bloody duck was fighting !!

Here come the British,in lovely columns,led by a very smart looking colonel,I hope he doesn't get shot!

The Indians and Rangers have spotted each other and a general skirmish is taking place in the woods,neither side getting the upper hand,I wonder how things are going at the settlement.......

If at first you don't succeed!!Give up,you can't get past the women,weilding baskets of fruit etc.This was the last time the Indians attacked-their morale broke and they were forced to retire!!!

Proving that the Indians did have some success,here you can see a company of Rangers being chased by 2 war parties,however the rest of the Indians were retiring into the woods,and,although the British colonel had been killed by a sharp-shooter,the British column had gained the settlement.Game over and lights out for the Indians!!

Again,a very interesting game,although too short,I'll have to re-think the length of time,and shooting/melee rules,but I'll get there(which is more than the Indians did!!

Hopefully I'll be ok for Sunday night,I have planned a 5 hander Napoleonic game,so roll on Sunday.