Vikings vs Saxons.

This morning,Alan and Cameron came along to introduce Cameron to wargaming.To make things simple I chose a straightforward "bash" involving Vikings and Saxons.

Top photo is the main Saxon position,bottom is the village which Alan had to capture,Cameron was to attack the Church position-I was,obviously, in charge of the Saxons.

The Viking Longships approach the Saxon shore-both Alan and I kept Cameron right,showing him movement,troop types ranges etc.

Alan has landed his troops and spent no time in attacking the village(which was held by Fyrd!!)
Meanwhile my Saxons are moving forward to support the "village people" and try to divert some of Alan's Vikings away from the attack.

Cameron is moving his troops tentatively forward,being guided by Alan,against my Saxons,who have formed a "Shieldwall" between the rocks.Cameron was slowly picking up the simple rules we use,using his archers to weaken my line,before he chose to charge into the "Wall".

A frantic melee ensued for three moves,before I started to gain the upper hand-HOWEVER,bloody dice let me down at a crucial moment,and Cameron started to push me back!!!!

Back at the village,it was "throwing out time" only it was me that was being thrown out!!
The Fyrd were no match for the blood- thirsty Vikings,and the village was taken-woe is me!!

Cameron's troops are pushing me back,and he still has an intact second line!

My counter-attack just bounced off Alan's Vikings,so,with the church in danger of being ransacked by Cameron,and the village in Viking hands,I capitulated(they can't touch you for it!!)
Cameron seemed to enjoy the game,and has asked to come again for another,so he can get used to the rules etc.
Meanwhile,roll on next Sunday!

Battle of "Bensham Bay" 966AD

The "Fab Four" of Paul,Brian,Graham and myself had a real fun game last night,pitting Vikings against Saxons.........................

As usual,the top photo is the scenario and the bottom photo shows the table before any movement.We drew lots and I was Harald,Paul was Edwin the Bishop of Bensham,Brian was Bloodaxe,and Graham was Longsword(in charge of the fleet)

A motley crew indeed!-in the background the fleet has landed and the Viking Horde is dis-embarking,to set fire to Bensham-not if the local Fyrd can help it!!

As I advanced with my Huscarls,Brian opted to attack me!!! whilst moving the waggons full of loot away towards the ships-the attack and defence of this section of the table went on for the whole game-thrilling stuff!

Meanwhile,Graham vigorously attacked Paul's Fyrd,who put up a magnificent defence and managed to beat 3 out of 5 viking "crews"-hurrah!!

After some bitter fighting,which saw alot of officers go down like nine-pins,the Vikings,are for the most part, being driven back towards their ships-this is not looking good for the troops under Brian's command!!

Brian has adopted a defensive formation,hoping to catch me in the flank as I cross the river-no chance matey!!!-this side of the board was touch and go,with neither of us gaining any real advantage,but my fighting points were a little bit better than Brian's,and eventually it would tell!

Graham is loosing too many casualties for comfort,and Paul's Huscarls are making their presence felt,I think it might be "back to the ships lads!"(leaving poor Bloodaxe right in the proverbial S--T!!)-but Graham wouldn't do that,would he?????

Oh yes he would!!-with a splash of oars and singing of sea shanties,the Viking are heading back to Denmark,leaving Brian almost speechless(which is a rarity!!) and at the mercy of King Harald(me!) and his army-all is lost-another hurrah!!

Abandoned and neglected,and almost surrounded,Brian had no other option than give up all hope and accept defeat!-this was the end of this most entertaining,colourful and exciting game-well done lads.
Next week we will be fighting the game we put on at Falkirk,but which was never fought to a conclusion,to see if it would have worked out the way it was planned.