Summer

I have been a little too busy to post on this site lately. My friend and I did have another Warmaster Ancients game. The opposing forces were similar to the previous battle, though this time the Corinthians faced some pike armed infantry and elephants in the center and fewer horse archers. The two historical armies were Alexander Macedonians and Bactrian Greeks as before. Both commanders were on the same flank again, but this time they engaged in combat that decided the battle. The Corinthian commander died after being charged in the front by cataphracts and the flank by heavy cavalry. Preceeding action had seen the Zamoran(Bactrians) left wing overrun the Corinthian right wing cavalry and light infantry. Following up from the death of the Corinthian commander the Zamoran cavalry fell on the flank of the Corinthian phalanx as it was being engaged by the Zamoran elephants and phalanx to its front. The Corinthian phalanx then proceeded to fall apart resulting in a clear victory for the Zamorans.

Projects

During the summer I finished painting another 1000 phalangites, 600+ Republican Romans, a few other odds and ends, and a couple hundred 28mm fantasy figures. The new phalangites and Romans are from Rapier Miniatures by Newline designs. They are the same size as Baccus Miniatures from the bottom of their feet to the top of their heads, but have slightly thicker bases. Their detail is a bit better than comparable figures from Baccus. I will have to take some pictures and post them here.

Zamora attacks Corinthia

My friend and i got together on Saturday evening for a couple of games. The first was a re-fight of Raphaia using Strategos II. At first the battle followed history as the right wings of both armies defeated their opponents and the centers stared at each other across the open plain. However, the Seleucid right wing turned on the center of the Egyptian army as their pike phalanx advanced to engage the Seleucid phalanx. Both phalanxes were wearing each other out with hard fighting. All the elephants on both sides had been routed or slain by now. Half the levy infantry on the Seleucid left managed to hang on against a combined frontal and flank attack (poor die rolls by Ptolemy saved them from being broken). Leading his cavalry guard Antiochus was able to shatter 16,000 egyptian levy pikes and the resulting army morale check saw the majority of Ptolemy's army withdraw. The final result was a close victory for Antiochus III.

Our second game used the Warmaster Ancients rules. The opposing armies were as follows:
Corinthia - 8,000 pikemen, 2000 javelin skirmishers, 4000 companion cavalry lancers, and 3000 light javelin cavalry.
Zamora - 6000 lance and bow heavy cavalry, and 8000 bow and javelin light cavalry.

Dicing for the game length resulted in a maximum of seven turns. The battlefield had several hills and a forest with most of the terrain on the Corinthian side. The Corinthians deployed with the pikes in the center, the light infantry to their left, most of the heavy cavalry and 1000 of the light cavalry on the right flank, and 1000 companions and 2000 light cavalry on the left behind the woods. The Zamorans split their heavy cavalry evenly on both flanks with 1000 light horse on the outside of both flanks and placed the remaining 6000 light horse in the center. The Corinthian commander was on his right flank with the cavalry guard and the Zamoran commander was opposite him. The Corinthian phalanx pushed forward relentlessly as the Zamoran light horse loosed arrows at it. Some of the phalangites fell to archery fire and a gap opened between the two halves of the phalanx. The Zamoran right wing destroyed the Corinthian left wing, losing one unit of 1000 heavy cavalry and turned to take the phalanx in the rear. The opposing commanders' wings only saw minor skirmishing as both made poor command rolls throughout the game and were not able to close when we called the game after three turns due to time. It was determined that the Zamoran light horse in the center would have been able to eventually surround the phalanx and slow it down enough for the right wing Zamoran cavalry to eventually arrive and join in. We judged it to be a minor win for the Zamorans. Loses were most of one unit of Zamoran heavy cavalry, one unit of Corinthian heavy cavalry, 2 units of Corinthian light cavalry, and part of one unit of Corinthian phalangites.

Unfortunately i forgot to take pictures of the battles. This was the first time that my friend had played Strategos II and the first time that I had played Warmaster Ancients. Both of us had played several games with the other rules though. Both of us had an enjoyable time with both sets of rules. A Strategos game usually lasts a maximum of ninety minutes. The Warmaster Ancients game would probably have lasted about three hours or so. Compared to Field of Glory, both rules were slightly less complex. All three sets of rules provided a good game. Warmaster Ancients is probably the least historical of the three. Strategos II is better suited for only one player per side, though some battles could be fought with two per side. For multi-player games with inexperienced players i would probably choose Warmaster Ancients over Field of Glory, but i find Field of Glory to provide a better representation of ancient combat over Warmaster Ancients and would choose FoG for more experienced gamers. For limited amount of time or a campaign where multiple battles needed to be resolved quickly i would choose Strategos II/Lost Battles (the latest version of the Strategos rule system).

Corinthia invades Nemedia!

(One of my friends and I got together to try out the new Field of Glory ancient rules, with some help from my daughter. The forces involved were Republican Romans and Epirotes. The invading force from Corinthia was composed of 3000 cavalry, 7000 pike men, 2000 auxiliaries, 1500 slingers, and a few elephants. The Nemedians fielded two legions of 3500 men each, 2000 auxiliaries, and 2000 cavalry.)

Maximus Dentius was worried. He had been dispatched with 2 legions and some auxiliaries to stop the Corinthian invaders under the command of Pyros the Maniac. Not only did the invaders outnumber him; they also had some of those terrifying beasts called elephants. His army was deployed near the village of Numalia Minor facing towards the south in the standard battle formation with the cavalry on both wings, the legions in the center, and the auxiliaries to the legions left. It appeared that the Corinthians had placed all their cavalry on the opposing right with their auxiliaries to the right of the cavalry, the elephants in the center of their battle line and the pikes on the left. The battlefield was fairly open with some vineyards and olive groves to the west of the village.

As the battle commenced Dentius ordered the cavalry on the right to move to the left flank to counter the opposing cavalry. Both armies advanced towards each other with the lights troops engaging each other.When they were within reach Pyrhos ordered his heavy cavalry to charge the Nemedian auxiliaries. A protracted melee ensued that eventually saw the Nemedian auxiliaries routed from the field. Meanwhile the legion on the left attacked the Corinthian elephants killing several and causing the remainder to flee. The legion on the right engaged the leading formation of pikes and was soon aided by the other legion charging into the flank of the pikes. Although badly disordered they continued to stand and fight as the other pike formations moved up and eventually caused the collapse of the Nemedian legions. The Nemedian cavalry had been involved in chasing the Corinthian light horse and fighting the opposing auxiliaries and was unable to come to the aid of the infantry. Seeing the battle lost Maximus Dentius ordered his surviving forces to withdraw, leaving the village to the depredations of the Corinthians. As the Nemedian forces regrouped they could see smoke rising to the south from the burning village.

(We found the rules to be well written and playable. The game took about three to four hours to play including setting up the terrain and having to look up items in the rules that we were not sure about, this being only the first time for my friend and second time for me playing Field of Glory. )

Tensions escalate again

El Supremo Jefe Patronus of La Cucaracha has ordered the mobilization of the army. This is in response to a cross border raid on Buena Vista rebels hiding in neighboring Equaldoor. El Supremo Jefe Patronus has stated that Buena Vista's incursion into Equaldoor was an unwarranted invasion of Equaldoor's sovereign status. Leader Elvis Narcissus of Buena Vista has responded in kind. Units from both countries are assembling on the border between Buena Vista and La Cucaracha.

Clove-Hamhock prepares for war

Several regiments of the army of Clove-Hamhock form for review. The new recruits have completed their training and are almost ready for the upcoming spring campaign season. Battalion guns will be issued shortly along with regimental colors. The figures are from Heroics and Ros/Navwar 7 Years War and Marlborough ranges. They are based for Volley and Bayonet.

The History of the Guano Wars

During the Napoleonic Wars the French took over Spain. This eventually led to most of Spain's Latin American possessions gaining independence. Two of the new countries that were formed were La Cucaracha and Buena Vista. Neither country had much in the way of natural resources until the discovery of rich deposits of guano in a region on the border of both countries. Since the components of guano could be used to manufacture gunpowder, both sides claimed the region for themselves. This has led to a series of wars for control of the region that has lasted to the present day. Later geologists have also found a vast reserve of oil underneath the guano fields, which has only aggravated the situation. At various times the United States and other European countries have supported one side or the other in order to gain access to the resources of the region. Just after the end of the Second World War, agents from Buena Vista posing as scrap metal dealers purchased a large amount of German war material. La Cucaracha responded by contacting the Soviet Union and received a number of Russian armored vehicles and weapons. During the cold war period and the present the Peoples Republic of La Cucaracha received significant support from the Soviet Union including many of its latest tanks and armored fighting vehicles. To counter this the Democratic Confederation of Buena Vista was given aid by many of the western countries. Buena Vista's army now has units equipped with a mix of German, French, British, and American equipment. La Cucaracha's army is in not much better logistical condition as the country has all kinds of Soviet equipment from obsolete T54/5 tanks up to modern T90's. Almost all the fighting has taken place in areas other than the guano fields as neither country wanted to damage their major source of income. The fighting has never resulted in any lasting advantage for either side. If one country suffered a setback, it would soon receive additional arms and aid and be able to redress the balance.

Iranistan Field Army

Iranistan field army with some light infantry auxiliaries, but no light horse or elephants on maneuver and deployed for battle. Figures are all Heroics and Ros. Byzantine cavalry and Late Roman infantry. The guard cavalry are in the first rank of the cavalry column and form the reserve when deployed for battle. they ride partly armored horses. All cavalry are equipped with lance and bow. Heavy infantry are equipped with throwing spears and bows. Light infantry are archers.

First Pictures of troops

Well i finally got a digital camera and took some pictures of my 30 years war armies. The one on the left is some of the imperial tercios while that on the right is some of the heavy cavalry. Each of the tericos has 48 figures, half of which are pike and the other half shot. The white paws in the back belong to our cat Misty.

Pike Phalanx

Well i finally purchased a digital camera and i am learning how to use it. i would have uploaded more images of my troops, but the others were too blurred to use. As it is the cataphracts are rather blurred. Pictures of the Iranistan army will be posted later when i take better pictures of the troops. The two pictures above are from my Seleucid army. The top is some of the cataphracts and the bottom is most of the phalanx. There are just over 1000 pikemen in the picture. One of the formations is partly cut off on the left side of the picture. They are arrayed in a formation 8 figures deep by 160 wide. Almost all of the figures are by Heroics and Ros with one unit of Irregular Miniatures. Some Baccus and Rapier Miniatures phalangites are in the process of being painted. The front half of the formation is based for warmaster ancients and are the most recent addition to my pike armies, while the back half is mounted on double wide by double depth dbx bases for ease of maneuver. The pictures were taken on one of Hotz' felt game mats. One side is printed with hexes while the other side is blank. They come in a variety of colors, sizes, and grid patterns. More information about them can be found at: http://www.hotzartworks.com/ Hotz is one-half of the Larry Leadhead team. He also makes a line of 1:300 ancient galleys and buildings.

Other ancient armies that i have are:
Early Imperial Roman
Republican Roman
Late Imperial Roman/Early Byzantine (these will be used for the Iranistan army along with some elephants)
Hoplite Greek
Various Pike armies
Classical Indian
Sassanid Persian
New Kingdom Egyptian
Generic Mounted Barbarians (Sarmatians, Huns, etc.)
Generic Foot Barbarian (Gauls, Britons, etc.)
Along with some 6mm fantasy from Irregular - orcs, dwarfs, and others.

For Iranistan i will be using the Vis Magica army list http://vismagica.com/ArmyLists/Conan/al_conan_iranistan.htm
which is very close to what i had envisioned for Iranistan.