So where have I been? No cast iron excuse, just kinda let wargaming subside from my radar for a while. To tell the truth I tend to blow hot and cold over things - I have a polished SF novel that's been in the fridge for ages. One day I'll put it out there.
But now for some wargaming. This is a game I played with my good friend Peter a couple of weeks ago at his place (he supplies the food, I sometimes let him win). Rome vs Carthage. Peter always plays with Carthage. Our pregame left us with this battlefield .
Peter's general had a command rating of 1, mine of 3, obliging him to deploy 2/3 of his army before I started deployment. We ended up with the arrangement below.
Peter assigned his general to the elephants, which would allow him to move them anywhere without need of orders, i.e. he had total control over them. Knowing he would deploy first, he positioned them facing the wood in the middle of the battlefield, which would enable them to move to the clear ground on either side without too much trouble. They would have a major part in the action regardless of where I deployed.
My own plan was to move my skirmisher foot into the wood to deal with the elephants, then strike hard at the Poeni foot with my legions whilst my auxilia enveloped their left flank. My cavalry would form up between the central wood and my edge of the battlefield to hold off the enemy cavalry. I wasn't worried about the warband as they were too far away to take a meaningful part in the battle.
Since he deployed first, Peter had the first move. His plan was to use the warband to clear the forest, leaving his elephants free of my skirmisher foot. Damn! I hadn't expected that.
I would need to execute my own plan as quickly as possible. Forward!
Peter paused. Which surprised me until I realised why later.
The skirmisher foot now occupied the wood whilst the legions and auxilia kept up their advance on my right.
Now Peter revealed his cunning. He had paused his warband in the previous turn to move up their command token to his stopped commander - which enabled them to make another diagonal move this turn. Meanwhile his Poeni moved diagonally to the left, clearing a space for the elephants to also move left and head towards the legions. Peter had neutralised my skirmisher foot and got his ellies right into the game. Ten thousand thundering typhoons! And billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles!
Nothing for it but to execute my plan at top speed. I angled the legions to the right to get them as far away from the ellies as possible. My general moved with his cavalry to cover the gap between forest and legionaries and keep the ellies busy.
I forgot to photograph Turn 4 Carthage so here are both turns together. Peter drove my skirmisher foot from the forest with his warband whilst his ellies moved up to confront my rightmost legion and general's MC unit. I kept my legions moving and reached the flank of the Poeni foot. My only hope of winning was to rout them and enough other units to panic the ellies into leaving (they are brittle and run if ten or more friendly bases - not units - are routed).
Carthage finally moves up the Numidian LH doing double time in column. The elephants go in against the legions and forcing the Roman MC to evade. Meantime the Gauls push through the wood driving the skirmisher foot before them.
Nothing for Rome to do but keep pushing the legions against the Poeni foot whilst the auxilia advance against the Poenis' flank. The MC units pull back to contribute against the advanced ellie.
The legion confronting the ellie had managed to shoot it twice - first when it moved adjacent to the ellie and second when the ellie charged it. This was enough to drop the pachyderm to shaken, which enabled the legionaries to fight the ellies on equal terms during melee, which cost both a morale interval and tipped the ellies over the edge. Legionaries can beat elephants in the right circumstances. Things start looking up for Rome.
The victorious legion occupies the square vacated by the routed elephants.
The Carthaginians close in on Rome's left flank. Meantime the Poeni attack the adjacent Roman legion.
Rome in turn closes in on the Poeni foot, obliging a slinger unit to evade through them.
Melee and nobody routs this time.
Attaaaack! The Poeni foot waste no time closing with the legions whilst the Carthaginian MC blow away one skirmisher foot unit and flank the Roman general's own MC unit. The Numidian LH, now out of command, creep back towards the centre (unit captains, without the direction of a general or commander, tend to dither).
The warband occupies the space vacated by the routed skirmishers. Then Rome advances its unengaged legion and sends the auxilia unit well into the rear of the Poeni.
In the ensuing melee the flanked Roman MC goes down fighting. Fortunately the Roman general survives and escapes to his remaining MC units.
The ellie occupies the vacated square.
A Carthaginian MC unit charges Roman MC whilst the other uncommander MC units move up - only one square per turn for mounted units out of command. The Numidian LH move across - it should have been only one square since they are also OOC but we'll let it go.
The unengaged Roman MC pulls right back from the ellie whilst the auxilia in the rear of the Poeni obliges the slingers there to evade.
Melee and oh dear. The Carthaginian MC unit goes down despite having fought an outnumbered opponent (interesting the twists and turns a chanceless and diceless game can take). Meanwhile the outflanked Poeni unit also goes down. Time for that rabbit.
Vacated squares are occupied.
Carthaginian cavalry and elephants head towards the legions' flank and rear.
The Roman general counterattacks whilst his auxilia head for the rear of the Poeni. A real 1944 Debrecen, this.
Melee, and two Poeni units and a legion unit go down.
The victors occupy the vacated squares.
The bards will sing of their glory.
Melee and nobody routs - yet.
Carthaginian ellies and MC prepare to assault the legions.
A good hard battle that lasted less than 3 hours. Optio delivers, what can I say?