Villa Scipio 215BC

Paul and I had a brisk encounter last night,cheered(jeered?) on from the sidelines by Brian,who is feeling a little bit better-hurrah!!

The scenario and table before any movement-Paul was Hannibal whilst I was Scipio-our new Kallistra hills are prominent on the board.

Paul opened the battle by making a furious attack on the legion guarding the villa,using his Gauls and Celts,when these were unsuccessful,he resorted to the dreaded Elephants!!!-oh no,not the dreaded Elephants!!-we all know what can happen to Elephants!!

Yes,they often "run amok!! and of course they did,disrupting lines and causing chaos to both sides!-however this flank was now secure for the Romans,for the time being.

Whilst the legions in the centre were facing their counter-parts,the Spanish and Africans,on the Roman left flank,the Numidian cavalry and "cream" of the Carthaginian cavalry wre facing the "not-so-good" Romans-HOWEVER-the "not-so-good" Romans managed to beat the hell out of the Carthaginians-hurrah!!

The two sets of cavalry,in the centre/left of the Roman line have clashed,and the Carthaginians are gaining ground-this wasn't supposed to happen!!-meanwhile the Legions are still trying to get into some semblance of order-Brian looks tranquil,don't you think?or is it just the medication "kicking in"??????
This melee went on for most of the game,but eventually I was beaten back,and couldn't fully recover my cavalry-come on Legions,do your stuff!

This shows the centre of the table,just before the legions made contact-swings and roundabouts ensued in the melees,but I was lucky enough to win,by exchanging lines,and forced Paul's troops back to the woods-things were not so good on my left flank though,and the Numidians were running riot in my rear(now,now!!)

Cavalry battle in full swing-I have had to put the Triarii(I know,I know!) into the fray to stabilise the situation-this was the straw that broke the camel's back,and the Carthaginians fled the field-another hurrah!!

A final shot from Paul's side of the table,showing his troops being slowly forced back,along the whole line,so that the Romans were declared the winners!!

This was great little game-and I have to admit that my dice throwing was exceptional tonight-but I suppose it makes up for all the other nights!! We all enjoyed the game,and hopefully Brian will gradually get himself back to full fitness,and partake in future games(Sunday perhaps?)

One last photo,of the "Tower" we bought at York bring and buy(as part of a whole box full of wall sections) which I have re-painted,re-pointed and repaired-I think it looks pretty good,and,as with all of our purchases,will feature a lot in future games.

Roll on Thursday.