Romans vs Greeks(!)

Yesterday was a two game day,but we played the same game in the morning as well as at night,however I commanded the Greeks in the morning against Alan and Brian,whilst at night Paul commanded the Greeks against Brian and I.
Both games were very exciting,pitting the Roman pila against the Greek long spear certainly made for a good game,neither side having any distinct advantage(unless of course you count Brian's extraordinary dice throwing-four consecutive "5's" at one point,wiping out my officer corps!!)

This shows the basic set up for both games,the Spartan contingent is firmly set up on a hill to my front in this shot.After the initial pila throw,and a couple of unusually good dice throws from me,the Spartans recoiled!!,and I actually won this flank-hurrah!!-Paul looks like some kind of evil Gnome in this photo!!

Stirring stuff!!-The clash of shields,the cries of agony as Romans take on the left flank of the Greeks-Brian almost "bounced" off the wonderful Greek line,but he persevered,supported the central cohort,and eventually pushed Paul's troops back-another hurrah!!

HOWEVER-the cavalry battle did not go Brian's way!! and the flank was lost,in a welter of blood and bad language!!-but still very tense and exciting.

The final shot,the Spartans have had enough and are "retiring" in front of the victorious Romans,we all agreed that the Romans had done enough to warrant a win,and we all went home to a well deserved hot drink,and cudddle from the wife(!!!!!!!)

Brian brought along his completed Egyptian army,and I will clear the figures away from last night's game,and set up a photo-shoot(god, does that sound pretencious or what??)

I have been working hard on my Sailing Ships Rules-to be called "'Twas on the Good Ship Venus" and will roll them out for the boys to read on Sunday,for a proper game on the following Sunday.
I am beginning to realise what an uphill job I have given myself by trying to get my "El Cid" armies ready for the "call to Muster" show on the 22nd of March-I've still got 16 units to paint in just 7 weeks-better get going then!!-but one of the benefits of being retired(I don't know if I've mentioned that I'm retired!) is that you've got alot of time on your hands-yet another hurrah!!! so no doubt I'll get them all done.

Roll on Sunday-probably Napoleonic.

Charlie's Birthday visit.

On Saturday,my old mate Charlie Wesencraft paid me a visit,to see how my poorly toe was getting on,and to show me some 18th Century Sailing ship rules he was using-as it was his 86th birthday on the Friday,it was also a good excuse to have a good chat,and catch up with what he,and his club,were doing.
Charlie has been invited down to Basingstoke to take part in a memorial weekend for the late and much missed Don Featherstone.The "memorial" will take the form of a wargame(Gettysburg) and a dinner in Don's honour,at the Wargames Holiday Centre-a very fitting tribute to a great man,writer and wargamer.

Which one's 86??-he certainly doesn't look it-I maybe do!!
In this photo Charlie is showing me the finer points of "Fighting Sail" the SPI game,on one of his carpet tile terrain pieces-these are marked into squares,which determine where you can move,dependent on your ship type etc.-although I understood the basics of the rules,and can see what SPI are getting at,I still don't see the need for marking the tiles-the sea hasn't got squares marked on it after all!!-I prefer the good old fashioned method of measuring with our sticks,and using a protractor for turning etc. so I will attempt a rule set of my own,based on historical knowledge and past experience-in other words,I'm too thick to understand the SPI game!!!!!-so I'll simplify it so I can understand!
We used to play the sailing ship game,using HUGE model ships(fully rigged,and bought at various car-boots,secondhand shops etc.) and I'll dig them out of my loft and have a go.

I came across this photo of Dave and Brian,the so called "dream team", having a totally over the top GLOAT!!-I had forgotten all about this-so beware boys,Big Brother is watching and waiting-you never know,the first Sailing Ship game we have,you might just be the Captain and Mate of the Sailing Ship Titanic!!

By the way Dave,your new "nickname" is Rain Man!!

Roll on Thursday.

Antioch 101AD

The fearsome threesome played an unusual game last night,that turned out to be exciting and tactically taxing,based on a sortie and raid by a Syrian force attacking a catapult battery,held by a Roman force.
Brian was the Roman commander, and Paul and I were the sortie troops and raid troops respectively.

This is the scenario,Brian was in the kitchen for the first two moves,being asked for instructions and orders for his troops,he didn't issue any orders for the first move,which allowed Paul's sortie troops to get quite close to his defences,however as my raid troops erupted from the palm grove he was spurred into action and sent a couple of cohorts to my flank-in retrospect he should maybe have sent the cohorts out to steady his hard-pressed troops at the barricades-but it's always easy to see these things in retrospect!!

Move one,and Paul's attack on the catapult battery is just starting,with only one archer unit guarding it and no support coming,the catapults looked in real trouble!!-as yet I have not "erupted" from the palm grove.

The battle for the battery is in full swing,Brian is sending his camp cohorts(camp??) to all parts of the defences,but will he get there in time??

The battery has been captured!!hurrah,but can Paul hold onto it?My raid force is moving onto the large hill and is about to take on the might of Rome,in the form of two cohorts and some auxilliaries-help!!

Brian is putting up a magnificent defence and Paul is now sending his second wave of troops out of the city to support his first wave-meanwhile my raiding force is being given a damned good thrashing!!

Paul is trying to form a line,but is being harassed by Brian's light cavalry,Brian's defences are holding,but increased pressure from the second wave of Syrians is going to tell soon!!

Paul's troops have set fire to the siege tower on my flank,and is trying to help my desperate situation,the central battery position is being contested hotly by Brian,but his right is very weak,and the catapults have been destroyed,so basically-game over!!

One final photo showing my troops in total disarray,however it was my intention to divert enough troops from the centre to allow Paul to win the day-well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

A brilliant game,well enjoyed by all three of us,
Probably won't be playing on Sunday,but roll on next week.

Persians vs Indians 500BC

With Dave nowhere in sight and Graham sending in a late sick note,it was left to the "fab four" to play last night.
Brian and I adopted the mantle of Persian commanders,and Paul and Richard were the Indian commanders.

Here is the usual scenario and table before any movement,to show troop dispositions,Brian was facing Richard in the foreground,whilst Paul and I faced each other on the far flank and centre.

Richard and Brian got off to a "mayhemic"(new word for the Oxford dictionary!!) start with something that resembled a riot in a circus-Elephants,chariots and cavalry milling about all over the place-drawing gasps of admiration from Paul and I!!

This is how it should be done,boys-tactical precision at its best! My Immortals advancing against Paul's out-flanking force,whilst in the centre.......................

Beautifully lined up troops moving majestically towards each other,then "Crunch!"-both Paul and I had a very similar battle plan,so we each had ,basically,the same troops fighting each other,although he had sent his out-flanking elephants over the stream and into a central position-these were to make a significant difference later on in the game!!

The battle for supremacy of the far flank rages on,and on, and on,and on-neither side gaining a real advantage,this was going to be the draw of all draws!!

I have held my left flank,and have gained some success in the centre,but so has Paul-sending the cream of my heavy infantry back to their starting positions,so in the centre a draw was the only fair result,however,on the far flank,the battle was going on and on and on and on...with no positive result-Brian asked for one of his "famous" draws and Richard,who needed to lie down in a darkened room,by now,agreed-all is fair in love and war(??)

One last shot of the tussle that Richard and Brian were having-can't see any Elephants though!!

A very interesting game,probably too well matched for any great tactical moves,but we all went home happy,and that's the main thing!
Roll on Thursday,I've got another Ancients planned,which should prove tricky to say the least!

Crixus vs Rome 73BC

Thursday was a funny old day,which saw me go from Pain in the morning to Pleasure at night!!
In the morning the NHS decided that 4 months of suffering with an in-grown toenail was enough and decided to get rid of it-painful but necessary,and at night I had the pleasure of watching probably the best and most exciting Ancients game we've had all year!!

Oh my toe!!

The scenario,initial troop positions were set in stone,but tactics and movement was left to Paul and Brian to do as they wished-Paul was Roman commander,and Brian was Crixus.It must be pointed out at this stage that we didn't have the luxury of the correct Roman figures,but this didn't detract from the game.

Here are the initial troop positions,Romans on the left and Crixus defending his camp and ridge.
Paul made an attack on the camp and ridge,and continued his wide out-flanking march with his Auxilliaries,on the far left,Brian elected to defend the camp,and move some of his troops from his second line behind the ridge,to support the camp-this turned out to be a wise move!!

Paul's first attack on the camp can be seen here(using my "treasured" Warrior Miniature Testudos)-this was repulsed by Brian's light troops stationed inside,but Paul is nothing if not determined,so he regrouped and came in again,and again-this was nail biting stuff,and each melee was on the knife edge!!

Brian's magnificent cavalry charge is being met by Paul's cavalry-he had to hold Brian's cavalry to prevent them threatening his entire line attacking the ridge-what a tussle this was too,the melee result going both ways,Paul eventually had to resort to sending a cohort of infantry to support his hard-pressed cavalry!!

Meanwhile,on the ridge,Paul has charged up the slope,discharged his pila,and is taking on the gallant Gauls and Germans!! Again this was knife edge stuff,with neither side gaining and advantage,officers falling like "nine-pins" and nerves frayed to breaking points-I'm sure that if we didn't break for a coffee one of us(yes even me as "observer") would have had a nervous break down!!

The camp is till holding,but Paul is sending more cohorts off to the left,to support the Auxilliaries,and Brian is going to have to send his troops some support soon-this would weaken his defences-what to do?? decisions,decisions!!

This shot shows Brian's valiant attempt to stem Paul's advance onto the rear of the camp position,with the cohorts of Paul's legion making their prescence felt!!-this flank eventually fell,and Paul did manage to get into the camp,and the ridge was about to be taken!!Brian was about to ask for his usual "Draw" but saw that all was lost,and capitulated-well done that man!!

The final shot of this brilliant,thrilling game-well done lads,the game was played with great "bon homie" laughs coming thick and fast,great spirit-just the way it should be.
Roll on Sunday.

Battle of the Camps 1707

Last night Paul arranged a game for us,involving Eugene(Brian) and Marlborough(me) camping separately prior to invading France,however,Boufflers(Graham) and Villars(Dave) had been sent to stop us.
Paul,being Paul, had a few surprises in store for us!!
Brian and Graham had to decide,before the game started,if they were going to send troops to Dave and I from their considerable armies-Graham decided to help Dave,whilst Brian decided that my troops were adequate to hold my position,and that I would not need any help(thanks Brian!!)

My position is shown here,on the left,with troops marching from my camp to support(good word that,Brian,SUPPORT!!) my existing troops on the ridge.Graham can be seen marching forward to oppose Brian.What Graham didn't know was that the "open" woods on the far flank contained a "barrier" built of logs etc. and manned by a gun and three regiments of infantry!!

Dave can be seen here,looking very serious,surveying his troops and contemplating getting reinforcements from Graham-doesn't my thin red line look,well, thin??However I am in a good position,and Brian just might send me the 4 squadrons of cavalry lurking just over the stream!

Brian has turned the 4 squadrons of cavalry away from me,and is sending them to bolster his centre!!-I can only hope Dave doesn't attack me with overwhelming numbers!!-he wouldn't would he?

In this shot,Graham has just discovered the "barrier" in the woods,and doesn't like it!!Paul is putting the "barrier" in position helped (that's a good word,Brian,HELPED) by Brian.
I keep putting the word "barrier" in quotation marks because,as it turned out,it wan't a real barrier after all,it didn't have any defensive value and could be fought over at no deduction from the dice,strange but interesting!!
My cavalry,meantime have charged Dave's and are winning the melee-hurrah!!

Brian is reinforcing(good word that Brian,REINFORCING) his centre and flank with the millions of troops given to him by Paul,Graham is advancing with his troops,this is going to be bloody!!

Which of the seven dwarves does this remind you of? The clash has started,both Graham(not Happy!) and Brian are sending more and more troops into the fray-Brian was throwing good dice,and seemed to be getting on top(!!) he eventually drove the French out of the woods,after furious volley fire.

Numbers are mounting up on Dave's flank,and I'm outnumbered both in infantry and cavalry-can I hold on?Paul is looking grim-nothing new there then!!

The battle for the ridge is in full swing,but my cavalry are being beaten,and I have been forced to turn an infantry regiment to face the possibility of me being "flanked" Meanwhile Brian and Graham are fighting it out,no one really having a great advantage.

Graham's strange infantry formation heralds a cavalry battle-after initially gaining an advantage,Brian was eventually pushed back,disrupting his following cavalry,however the French have been sent packing from the woods!

My flank has collapsed!! With infantry fleeing,and cavalry being slaughtered,Dave has gained the flank,and it was just a matter of time before he could get around the rear and capture my camp,and threaten Brian's rear-the game was over at this point although Graham and Brian could both argue that they had held their flank,so a draw,on that side of the board,was a fair result(??)
A very interesting and challenging game-well done Paul

Roll on Thursday-could be two games-probably Ancients.

Battle of the Villa AD114.

For our first battle of 2014,three of us took part-Brian and Paul as Germans,and I as Roman,and what a battle it turned out to be!!

This is the map,scenario and initial troop dispositions.Paul commanded the left and Brian the right,Brian was to attack the Villa,and my approaching cohorts,whilst Paul,with all of the cavalry was to attack the cohorts facing him,but guard the flank between the villa and the wooded hill,against any possible Roman attacks!!
My orders and battle plan was to relieve the villa,and inflict a defeat on the Germans-simple!!

This shows the German force-with "random movement" dice the warbands were held up long enough for me to get my cohorts into a good solid line,where they would be "unassailable"!! or so I thought!!!!!!!

Look at that line! What could possibly get through that?-Germans,that's bloody well what!!-The villa held firm after repeated attacks-looked a bit like "Rorke's Drift" after the third move!! In the background Paul is moving his warbands ever closer to my position,holding his cavalry back in support-I had other ideas and charged his troops with all 4 units of my cavalry,and upset his plans-for a while!!

This photo shows Paul's troops moving into position,and my cavalry just about to start their charge,this was thrilling stuff,who would win??

CRASH!! Brian is looking pensive,and Dave has joined us straight from work! These melees swung both ways,but as Paul had weakened one of my units,with sling shots,I was looking scared!!-me scared? never!!

My cavalry have been beaten and driven back,Paul has launched a myriad of warbands against my cohorts,things look black!!

Even "blacker" now-the villa has fallen into German hands(Hans-get it??) and my lovely cohort line is broken and retiring!! woe is me,all is lost-a German win!!

This was a great game to start the new year,and a well deserved win for Brian and Paul-well done lads!!
Roll on Sunday,Paul has a game planned for us,Richard can't make it after a road accident-he's not badly hurt,thankfully,but can't drive due to broken thumb!! so it will be Dave,Graham,Brian and I, with Paul being referee-hurrah!!

I got two "surprise" pressies for Christmas,I don't know which one's worse..................!!!!!!!!!!!!

You choose!!