Battle of the Alps 218BC

Last night Paul and I had a terrific head-to-head game,involving Hannibal vs Wild Hill Tribes.

These two photo's show the info. that was sent to Paul,in the post,giving him a couple of days to come up with a master plan!!
If Hannibal thought this was going to be a pleasant walk in the Alps,examining the flora and fauna of the region,he was in for a shock!!-thousands of wild hillmen issuing from every nook and cranny,descended on his column,intent on capturing his baggage!!

The opening move-all peace and tranquility-what could possibly spoil this????????

OMG!!! the trap is sprung,and my Barbarian forces have revealed themselves,on the hills,and in the woods-on the far side of the stream and woods,my cavalry are still hidden,if the Numidians come within a measuring stick of them,they too will reveal themselves,but not yet!!

My "blocking force" has done its job-Paul declined to advance his Gauls against this force,suspecting a trap-and how right he was,however he also suspected that,within the scenario,I would have written that his Gauls could form an alliance with mine,and turn against Hannibal!!-I only wish I had thought of that possibility!!

This shot shows the rear of Hannibal's column being attacked-Paul had all his best troops here,Spaniards and Africans,so I was going to know that I'd been in a fight.

Paul has sent his Elephants over the stream to help the Gauls,however one unit was javelined in the rear,and ran "amok" up and down the stream,causing Brian,who was Umpire,to nearly have a fit!!
This ongoing battle of the Gauls and Celts,was "nip and tuck" neither side winning outright,but someone had to get the upper hand,but who?-In the background,a cavalry battle is developing,and I was getting the worse of it!!-Paul's handling of the Numidian cavalry was superb-finding flanks and peppering my cavalry with javelins at every opportunity-the swine!!!!

This shows the cavalry battle in full swing,with aforementioned Numidians about to swoop onto my flank.

At the rear of the column things were ever so slightly turning in Hannibal's favour-better weapons and training(not to mention bloody lucky dice!!) were the cause-the battle of the Gauls was still raging,as was the cavalry battle in the background!!

Paul's Gauls(I'm a poet and didn't know it!!) are pushing me back!-how? I outnumber him 2:1!!
My cavalry,hidden by the trees are also being beaten-woe is me!!

This is a general photo looking down the table,and showing the chaos of battle,and the imminent demise of my army!!

A final photo-my Gauls are going home,my cavalry has been wiped out,and the Numidian cavalry is just coming around the woods to complete my discomfort-well I didn't want Hannibal's rotten baggage anyway!!This was a tremendous game,very well played(by Paul) and a thoroughly deserved victory-a big thanks to Brian who managed to play a vital role,of getting the biscuits out and taking the cups back!!

Roll on Sunday!!