Battle of the Frozen Lake.

Even as a solo game,this gave both commanders little "problems" as per my blog entitled Game Preview,mainly that Magnus' men had to contend with Stakes in the woods,and the village commander had to rely on the peons(peasants) manning the village number 2 against experienced and battle-hardened Viking warriors!!

Top photo shows Magnus' troops trying to hack their way through the stakes-this was almost impossible for them and eventually had to retire(it's good being retired!) due to heavy casualties,and had to await support from Sven on their right flank! Bottom photo shows Brian's warriors trying to gain access to village number 2 but failing,as the peons had decided to wear their underpants on the outside of their trousers and became "Supermen"-Eric came to the rescue of Brian,but not before Brian's men had also taken tremendous casualties!!

Top shows the main Viking advance against village number 1,and the flanking troops-they had to advance slowly in case the ice cracked-this put Magnus and Brian in a spot of bother until they could get support from their "mates".Bottom shows the main line contacting the Spanish defenders,resulting in "cracking" melees taking place-dice throws galore and nail biting from me!!

These two photo's are about how Sven saved the Viking left flank! By attacking the stakes in the flank,Magnus could now renew his attack and take the position,and by driving the Spanish troops, stationed outside the village,back,the whole flank was secure-hurrah!!

With Eric's support,Brian has renewed his attack on village number 2 and has eventually taken it-the peons were slaughtered-of course!!-but what of village number 1-attacked by Bloodnok's warrior elite??

What a fight this turned out to be-the elite status was evened up for fighting troops behind a wall,so it was down to dice throws!!-for 4 rounds of melee,neither side had an advantage,so I decided to put Bloodnok himself into the fray to "gee" his men up,and it worked-the wall was breached and Bloodnok's men set-to slaughtering the defenders without mercy!!

Top photo shows Sven's success,bottom shows Eric's success-with both villages captured,the Vikings had more supplies than they needed and would live like Kings for the next few weeks!

However,Bloodnok is not to be trifled with,and had scores to settle with the Santiago cavalry and the king of Leon,Rodrigo.He sent his new mounted force to Santiago,burned the town to the ground and  killed all the horses they could find!!-they then sneaked into Leon in the middle of the night and kidnapped all three of the Royal children,threatening to have them sold into slavery or killed if King Rodrigo attacked him!!-Bloodnok is not to be messed with!!

This was probably the most exciting solo game so far this year but still can't beat playing against Brian,Paul,Dave or Graham-let's beat this bloody virus and get back to normal!

Steel Fist Miniatures.

I received,in the post,today 12 ECW  15mm.

cavalry figures from a company called Steel Fist Miniatures.Whilst I appreciated the gesture ,I didn't order these figures nor do I need/want them!

As I haven't heard of this manufacturer,I went onto the internet,and found they do a range of 25mm and 15mm figures,funded by something called "Kickstarter"-can anyone enlighten me about Steel Fist?

The figures are "true" 15mm and have a fair bit of detail-any info?

Apologies for the out-of-alignment text-bloody computer!!!

Viking things and game preview.

From my last game with the Vikings,it became very apparent that,without cavalry support, the campaign would not progress as expected for the Vikings ! So,as usual, I had to solve the problem,and the solution was to send to Warrior Miniatures and get some mounted Vikings-however Warrior don't do any mounted Viking figures,so I would have to adapt!!!-I sent for 16 Spanish light cavalry figures from their "El Cid" range,hoping to chop their heads off and replace them with some plastic Viking heads,which Brian very kindly gave me.

Things did not go as planned!-I found the whole process too "fiddly" for my "sausage fingers" so only ended up doing 4 figures,however the whole 16 figures have been painted and don't look too bad.

All 16 figures undercoated and ready to go-the 4 conversions blend in very well...............

Top photo shows the figure as supplied(Warrior did supply extra shields and weapons-the original figure has an open hand for a javelin,and no shield!) and the bottom photo shows the same figure with the plastic head-stuck on with a combination of "No Nails" and supa-glue.

Finished articles-converted figures are on the brown horses,all have been varnished and tomorrow they will be based and become integrated into the Viking army!!

Brien,bless his heart,gave me a huge box of plastic Vikings,which included a vast number of shields and shield decals-these were too good to waste,so I decided to fix them to the sides of my existing "scratch-built" Viking ships........................

Top photo shows one of my four long-ships,bottom shows the shields c/w decals attached-quite an easy job when you get used to it!(note the word "when")

They look ok,and just add a finishing touch(as well as keeping me occupied and sane!)

What about the game pre-view I hear you all screaching!!! Well,as part of my on-going Viking campaign,the Vikings are short of supplies and have found two villages stuffed full of goodies,and just waiting to be sacked/pillaged.These two villages are on the edge of a frozen lake(naturally!!) which poses a problem for the Viking commander,Bloodnok...........................

Top photo shows the terrain without any troops ,bottom shows Bloodnok's proposed plan of attack-however my scenarios,most of the time, have a "twist" to them which poses a tactical problem for one or both sides.............................

See what I mean? Stakes blocking the Viking advance through the woods,and only"peons" guarding village number 2(against wild and wooly Vikings!!)

The board with all the troops on,and ready to go(probably tomorrow).Can the Vikings get to the supplies,to see them over the winter??

The nasty surprise awaiting Magnus' warriors as they try to out-flank the Spanish,via the woods!

A full battle/game report will follow.

Battle of Leon-Viking Campaign.

Bloodnok and his Viking army have arrived(not without incident!) at the town of Leon,whose King,Rodrigo, has refused them entry and any access to supplies-there's only one thing to do-FIGHT!!! 

Top photo shows the scenario etc.,bottom photo shows the table before any movement.

Top shows the Viking "Horde",bottom shows the reception they are about to receive from the Spanish!!

This is what the Spanish light infantry were faced with,as they stood on the left flank,their little lead knees knocking with fright!!

These two photo's show Magnus' troops smashing into the light infantry-this should have been a "walk-over"-however,because of some ridiculously bad dice throws from the Viking commander(me!) it turned into a nightmare for the Vikings,who,after a long struggle, were beaten!!!!

As Sven's warriors advanced against the Spanish positioned outside the town walls,they were hit in the flank by Heavy cavalry-things are not going too well,so far, for the Vikings!

An over-all view of the table,showing Eric and Brian's warriors about to support Sven,who has contacted the Spanish at the walls,but is being "hammered"(bad dice throwing,once again, from me!!)

The Santiago cavalry have arrived behind the Spanish right flank,but have decided to support Leon!!!-this puts the whole Viking plan into dis-array-especially as they,with the Spanish right flank cavalry,are heading towards Bloodnok himself!!!

This photo shows the horrible state of the Viking army-Magnus and Sven have decided to retire(it's good being retired!) back to their ships,and the Spanish Left Flank cavalry are manoeuvering around the flanks and rear of Eric and Brian! Bloodnok has seen enough and is about to retire back to his ship!

Top photo shows Magnus' warriors being driven back,bottom shows the "peril" that Bloodnok found himself in,being charged by the Santiago cavalry and the Leon right flank cavalry!!

One final shot showing Eric and Brian forming a semi-circle as a rear guard,and the Spanish troops advancing to drive them back to the ships.

Bloodnok now realises that he needs two things,urgently,-Supplies,and Cavalry of his own!

These solo games(and campaigns) were born out of necessity,but are becoming part of my "norm",which I am enjoying immensely-my next blog will,hopefully help to solve at least one of Bloodnok's urgrnt needs!

Battle of Douglas-15mm Roman campaign.

Crustinuts and Scrotum have halved the fleet,sailing over to the Isle of Man,(Manavia Ins) with Crustinuts landing in the south and marching north,whilst Scrotum lands in the north and marches south,both to meet at the town of Douglas,where they hope to defeat the Brigantes and their allies!

Terrain map and scenario,and initial troop dispositions.

Top photo is the town defended by the Brigantes,who also had warbands outside the town,on the flank of the 24th's auxiliaries. Bottom photo shows the chariots and cavalry which were to give the aux.troops a bit of a worrying time!!

The attack begins! The Brigante chariots are fast approaching the aux. infantry on the plain.

Top photo shows the 24th Legion advancing against the walls in Testudo formation to avoid the masses of throwing weapons coming their way!!-Bottom photo shows an audacious "sortie" by the Brigantes against the aux.infantry of the 23rd.-this sortie was almost successful,and gave the commander  of the Legion(me!!) a bit of a shock!

The chariots have charged and 50% have managed to hit the auxiliaries-this could mean trouble!

The Roman cavalry are on hand to support the infantry-just as well!!

The 24th's assault on the walls was touch and go for a while,but a breach was made(the cohort beside the gate) and it was just a matter of time before the town fell!

Desperate fighting on the plain,the infantry are being pushed back in sectors,but the Roman cavalry are now making a difference,and things are now going the Roman's way!

The 24th are now well and truly in the town,the sortie is being hammered,but what of the Brigantes and Allies outside the town??

Top photo shows the 23rd and aux.infantry storming up the hill,to be met by a most furious charge downhill by the Allied infantry-terrific stuff! Bottom photo shows what is left of the Allied cavalry after the Roman cavalry, aided by three cohorts of Auxiliaries,had finished with them!!!Things are looking good for the Romans.

The Brigantes outside the town have now turned around and doubled up with their Allies to give a "boost" to the melee,however the Romans have done the same and after a long and hard struggle, won the day-hurrah!!

Top photo shows the Romans sacking the town and putting the Brigantes to the sword,bottom photo shows the state of play at the end of the game-a victory to the Romans.The Brigantes were wiped out to a man,the Allies were sold into slavery!!

It's time for Crustinuts and Scrotum to head back to the mainland and deal with the only remaining rebellious tribe left in Brittania-the Parisi!