Battle in the Forests

Well we had our first full battle using our version of the NT "Classical Warfare" rules with my Germans taking on my mate John's Romans. An extremely bloody affair fought across a tree studded battlefield saw my Germans win (it could hardly be called a triumph!) but only just! Admittedly there were several extra dice thrown in a couple of melee's by the Romans but this would have impacted the game only slightly.

 

 

My skirmishers worked their way up the flanks, at one stage eliminating John's Moorish cavalry, pinned and unable to retreat by his heavy infantry.

Victory was costly however - by the end the Germans had 4 fresh units including skirmishers, some warriors and cavalry and a couple more worn units whilst the Romans were down to their last three units of legionaries.

Gaesric, the German King was able to claim the field, however his tribe has suffered very heavy losses and only by careful diplomacy will he be able to find the manpower to attack the Roman frontier.

Macrinus, the Roman commander quit the field at the outset of battle - the result of a random event card. Luckily for the Romans this didn't cause much of a morale collapse and the men stayed to do the job they were there for....unlike their commander.

A great game, and the casualty figures, dice frames and 7mm die worked well meaning our decision to use a single unit base and count up hits rather than 4 bases with casualty removal was as sound one. They are decidedly less fiddly than the casualty "wheels" out there and seen in the pic below.

I think my bases need some "tufts". The flock matches my own table, which makes them look plainer.  But other than that I'm please with how it looks en mass.

I've got my own Romans to finish, and then an Achaemenid Army - lots of yellow and purple!

Gaesric Set Me Here!

This is a marker for Sunday's game. The runes are Norse but the language is English. The boar is a copy of a symbol I found online which is also used for a local restaurant, however it is also a symbol of strength and virility and the boar's bristles were reputedly imbued with protective properties, so it makes a good tribal symbol.

The text reads : "Gaesric set me here"  On the back, in smaller runes is "Ingri made me" which I think comes from engraving on a sword or dagger. Anyway wherever I got it from it seemed fitting. Base texture and grass will be added before the game.

Oh I've been busy....but not neglectful!

Whilst what we call summer has been upon us I've been distracted by being able to get out and about in my pride and joy an Alfa Romeo 916 Spider. Now given that its no fun being out unless the top's down and the British weather being what it is, I take what I can get. Sometimes that means no painting or gaming....buy hey its worth it!

I also managed to get myself involved in a mates Roman "project" as I mentioned in an earlier post. Some time back I bought the excellent Foundy Romans and built up a small force of legion and auxiliaries and their Dacian foes. In the way of wargamers I sold these off some years ago and moved on to other projects. However the advent of the "plastic age" and the fact that I still had most of the Dacians, (cunningly disguised in a dark age early Saxon/Frankish army for Age of Arthur) meant that I could field some barbarian types with little difficulty. This meant my mate John could build his Roman army up and we could get some games in.

We decided to use the Neil Thomas "Ancient and Medieval Warfare" rules for our games. They are simple, effective and well thought out, but at the same time will allow a few pieces of extra veneer which we feel really characterise the Crisis of the 3rd Century, the period John was really keen to play. So we tinkered abit, changed the bases, fiddled with some troop types and had a game. We loved it and now we are about to embark on a Campaign!

Hang on - what about Hoegaarden and the Potato War. Well all is not forgotten there. Since the villainous Austrians were held back at the river by the stout Jaeger, Maria Thereza's finest have been engaged elsewhere marching and counter marching against their Prussian foes. Work will recommence on the Hoegaarden army when winter comes and rain forces the car into hibernation until spring.....

Er...next week by the look of it!!

Meantime here are some pics from our Holiday in Paris - the Galerie des Batailles in Versailles. These paintings have stated out at me from every book on Napoleon I've read. What surprised me was their scale - huge!

Hope you enjoy....can you name the battles?