55BC-Kent Coast.

Having just re-read my book on Caesar,and his conquest of Britain in 55BC,I thought it would make a good game,featuring on his initial landing on the Kent coast,and what a "Corker" of a game it turned out to be.

Top photo is he scenario,and bottom one is the table before any movement.
Brian and Graham were the Roman commanders and Paul and I were the British.

The Romans are desperately trying to get more cohorts ashore to support the isolated troops that have already landed!

The Roman objective was to establish a beach-head,and then drive the British back beyond the stream-in this shot both Graham and Brian are in trouble,as more and more warbands attack the "stranded" cohorts,forcing them back and preventing the support troops from landing-tense and exciting stuff!

Viewed from the British side of the board,you can see the "logistical problem" the Romans faced-too many troops trying to occupy a small space,and all the while being attacked by ever increasing numbers of British.

Brian is staring defeat in the face!!-his relief cohorts can not get ashore,and Paul's relentless attacks are wearing him down-"Omaha Beach" was mentioned a few times!!-look at the British reinforcements arriving-the Romans stand no chance of winning(can you see where my comments are going???)

Graham has managed to get a "toe-hold" on the beach,and my first wave of warbands,to use a military term,are "knackered!"-this could be the start of a Roman revival!!!

Yes!!-my first lot of warbands have been driven away,and Graham is establishing a good-looking Roman line,and Brian is trying to link up his legion with Graham's,however Paul is putting him under so much pressure,that if he was a bunch of grapes he would be a glass of wine by now!!!!!

This shows Paul's chariots,and warbands doing a splendid job of keeping Brian's legion tied down-but in the background you can see Graham's magnificent line taking shape.

My second wave of warbands,led by my cavalry,are meeting stiff resistance from the now organised 7th legion,who outnumber them-oh hell!!!

In this photo,my flank has collapsed,and my troops have been driven back to the stream,but Paul is still giving Brian's legion a good slapping!!

As Graham's legion presses forward,and crosses the stream,Brian has managed to get all his cohorts ashore,and now Paul is suffering-this looks like the end of British resistance!

One final shot,of Paul's last warbands about to be wiped out!-defeat is not dishonour-we did well,and as they say,the rest is history!!!
This was another great game,played in a fantastic spirit-well done lads,and roll on next Sunday.

Medieval Siege-solo game

Having had a grand week of solo wargaming,I decided that I would attempt a siege last night,using my Normans against a Spanish castle.I wanted to test everything that a siege would involve,ie Catapults,Siege Towers,and "sorties".................................

This is how my table looked before any movement-catapults and towers in position and Spanish cavalry executing a "sortie" from the rearward gate.

As the cavalry formed into line,to the right of the castle,the towers plodded forward the troops also have ladders to assault the walls.

The Spanish cavalry advance across the stream,but the "canny" Normans are biding their time,letting the Spanish come on,and hopefully expose their flank to the waiting Light Infantry,who are guarding the Catapults.Meanwhile,in the castle,the Normans have reached the walls and are beginning their attack!

With blood curdling yells,the Normans charge across the ramps and attack the defending Spanish,only to be held back by some wondrous dice throwing!!-will the Spanish luck hold??

On the right,both sets of cavalry have charged,and a furious melee is taking place-one unit of Spanish cavalry has out-flanked the Norman light infantry-this could be tricky!!

It was!!-the light infantry are fleeing,but the reserve Norman cavalry are facing the threat,and will hold the flank(??)

The Normans are trying their hardest to get into the castle,but it looks as though the Spanish are winning,even though casualties from the catapults,earlier,are telling on the brave defenders,can they hold out?

Well,yes and no!!-one section is holding on but the left hand troops are being forced back-good job there are reserves behind them-a "sortie" has now been launched out of the front gate,aimed at the catapults-thrilling stuff!!

There they go-on the right of the catapults are stationed some heavy infantry,so they could be in a spot of bother!!

The Norman heavy infantry are just about to make "mincemeat" out of the "sortie" party,but,nothing ventured,nothing gained!!(and they did manage to knock out two catapults!)

Meanwhile,back at the castle,the Normans have finally been "ejaculated" and the towers set on fire!! if only the cavalry can do as well,the day will belong to the Spanish....................

They did!!-the Norman cavalry is,everywhere, beaten or fleeing!!-hurrah!!
So the Spanish won,and maintained a hold on their castle!

The Bishop mounts the castle tower and makes a suitable gesture to the Normans!!
This was yet another very enjoyable and taxing game,which took a bit of planning,and thought,but which worked well-and,as I was Norman,I lost this one!!-how can you lose a solo game????

Battle of "Krankie's Croft" 1719.

Lord Farquar,of Westerhope,has marched a Brigade of infantry,a battery of guns and two squadrons of Dragoons into the highlands of Scotland,in an attempt to end the 1719 Jacobite rebellion all by himself!!
After a cosy night spent in Krankie's Croft,he is sitting down to a breakfast of mango and prune porridge,and a freshly caught Haggis (because these creatures are so fast,the only way to catch them is to bait the trap with Whiskey,and while they are sleeping it off,grab them quickly and cook them slowly!) when a rebel army is spotted moving at a fast rate towards his position.

Top photo is the table before any movement,and bottom photo is Lord Farquar eating his porridge and haggis!!

The Scots begin their attack! both the English and Scots guns did considerable damage in the opening shots,so much so that the Dragoons on the left flank could take no more and charged the Scots gun opposite them-fools!!!!

The Scots are pressing home their attack on the Croft,but the Dragoon charge against the gun on the Scot's right,has failed and they have turned tail and fled!

The Dragoons are being hotly chased by a clan-this rash move by the Dragoons has opened up the whole flank,and Farquar had to use his reserve regiment to face the threat!!

Bitter fighting at the Croft wall! and casualties mounting on both sides,but who can prevail?

The English gun battery is being attacked by a clan that had moved over the hills,and wiped it out!!-however the battery is guarded by a squadron of Dragoons,and they charged into the fray,driving the clan back!!!-thus saving the flank-for a while!

A good view of the table,showing the clans in the Croft ,the reserve regiment of English about to be charged,and in the background the Dragoons fighting for their lives!!

The reserve regiment is in all kinds of trouble now,attacked frontally and in the flank-the result was inevitable!!!

One final shot showing the state of the table at he end of the game-English fleeing back to the Border!!
I have enjoyed playing these solo games,although nothing can beat the multi-player games we have on Sundays.
I have a siege planned for tomorrow(medieval).

In praise of Wimbledon-solo opportunity.

I love Wimbledon fortnight!!-it means I can get the wife out of her cage,sit her in front of the TV,with a half ton of strawberries,a couple of gallons of whipped cream,and a crate of Brown Ale,and then go and do what I like best-messing about in the garage(club house!) trying different scenarios/tactics/rules etc.
Here are some of the games I have been messing about with...................................

Sailing ships-good fun,if you can remember not to sail off the edge of the world(table!)

WW2 Dam Buster-type game-really exciting,using very simple rules-both this type of game and the sailing ships are ideal for a participation game-we'll have to think about these for future events!!!

I devised this attack/defence scenario using my British and Irish Marlburian figures-I put myself in charge of the British,defending the Cross Roads and Farm,came up with a plan,and played the game out to a wonderful conclusion-I won!!!!

To celebrate my win,I sat down with a few friends,had a drink and a ploughman's lunch!!

Next,a Barbarians vs Romans game,trying to sort out how we can use "Doubled-up" units of Barbarians,trying to break the Roman line,but giving the Romans a fighting chance against the odds-which is what the Romans were good at!

The method I have worked out seemed to work a treat,and after three games,I am confident that the rest of the lads will see its sense.
But what of other periods,will it work with Hoplites?........................

A thin line of Spartans awaiting the onslaught of Athenians arranged in depth,advancing to break through the line-let's see what happens...............

An attack "en Echelon"  always looks good!

CRASH!!-even fighting at minus 1 from their initial dice,the Spartans still managed to withstand the Athenian attack,but eventually morale  drove them away,and Sparta lived to fight another day!

There they go!!-all seems to work ok,but like everything else in life,I will have to try over and over again to winkle out any anomalies.
I wonder what I'll try tomorrow?-maybe a Mongol siege against a Russian castle(don't mention that castle!!)