ADLG - Game Report 327

Seleucid (42) vs Alexandrian Macedonian (39)

For my second game at the Wessex Wargamers I brought out the Seleucid's to face Kev S's macedoines. I was invited to attack in the plains. I deployed with a strong centre based on the pikes, with the elephant right and the cavalry to the left supported by the Thracians and lights.

I wanted to try and exploit both flanks before the pikes came into contact.

Both left and right flank both made good progress. Although the enemy cavalry on the left has moved to screen their left, which has meant that the numbers of heavy cavalry in contact will be equal; although the enemy are elite and only one of mine is.

Once again, my cavalry has been outfought by the enemy, while on the right the Seleucid elephant and supports have not been as successful as their Arab counterparts in the previous battle. The pike line is well placed to divide and conquer and to hopefully generate overlaps for when the enemy pikes move forward to attack.

And that is where the picture story ended as I forgot to pick up the phone again. What I did manage to do was to move the end pike unit in support of the cavalry while the remainder of the pikes and hoplites moved forward to force the enemy pikes into committing themselves to battle with me having supports and them not.

Outcome

Despite my cunning the Seleucid's perished, while the Alexandrian Macedoines only lost 8 of 22.

Lessons Learnt

The plan was sound, but two things went wrong. Firstly, the enemy outfought us (the enemy dice tower threw up lots of sixes to my ones and twos). Secondly, the lack of command dice for the Brilliant commander prevented the lights and mediums influencing the left flank battle.

ADLG - Game Report 326

Arab Indians (135) vs Syracusan (50)

It was time to reciprocate visitation and for some of us to accept an invitation to attend the Wessex Wargamers on a Saturday. Paul and I accepted. My first game, another practice for Kegworth, was against Jon's Syracusans. Although the Syracusans were an ahistorical opponent for my Army, the fact that the enemy were infantry heavy would be a good test for me, again. I won the initiative and decided to attack in the plains. On this occasion we managed to divine the correct flank to post the cavalry command on our left opposite the enemy cavalry.

The Syracusans were supported by some heavy impetuous foot on their left which was the last thing I wanted my own foot to face off against, or at least not until I had made some inroads into the enemy strength. Therefore, I decided to march the infantry to the left to increase the distance from the enemy! Meanwhile we led with our left wing hoping that the cavalry with the benefits of their impact could rapidly overcome the enemy horse.

It was time to swing the foot command into line to support the elephants and to fill the gap that was currently occupied by the bowmen. On the left one of the Hindi light cavalry has already perished against a horse archer!

Contact was made by the cavalry and the elephant and their impetuous swords in support. While the Arab cavalry was not at their best, the elephant its supports were. They broke through in one round of combat!

The cavalry wing has already lost a third of its number and of the survivors two are damaged. While in the centre the bowmen are buying time to allow the Arab spearmen to close the gap. In the centre the Elephant command is trying to exploit the breakthrough whilst it fights to defend its own flanks.

The remainder of the Arab Cavalry, now at less than 50%, has reformed to hold the line. The elephant command has survived the various attempts on its flanks and is continuing to widen the breakthrough it created. The Arab spearmen have engaged the enemy where it can gain some advantage; they are waiting for the rest of the army to win the day for their army.

Outcome

A Arab Indian victory in which we destroyed 27 Syracusan cohesion points and lost 16 of our 25.

Lessons Learnt

Number 1, The Wessex wargame club is as close (in time travelled) as Entoyment for me.

On other days the elephant command may have bounced against the enemy infantry, while the cavalry may have bested their opponents.

ADLG - Game Report 325

Arab Indians (135) vs Tamil Indian (120)

And for the next game I played Paul's elephant heavy army. Apparently, he meant it to be Burmese but he made a mistake in his army design and date validity for the competition. He therefore rapidly morphed it into the Tamil Indians. I was invited to defend in the plains. I deployed the mirror image of the previous game (horse left, elephant centre, foot right.)

Once again, I didn't want the cavalry to be overly disadvantaged by facing the elephants. I therefore moved them to the right once again to exploit any opportunities that presented themselves or which I could engineer.

On the face of it we have the advantage of numbers in the centre and right. How ever it was uncertain how long this would last given I had left the light cavalry to hold the left flank.

In the first clash of arms the Hindu swordsmen bested their Tamil opponents in the centre, but at the same time on of the Tamil elephants reciprocated on the other Hundi Swordsmen. Some of the impact heavy cavalry have been sent into attack the hinge in the enemy line.

Our Elephant fell in battle, and in doing so has exposed the flanks of the swordsmen and the cavalry!

However, the brave light infantry has been sent into fight the Tamil elephants and have severely wounded one of them. The Hindi swords have turned to fight the flank of the Tamil swords. While on the other flank the cavalry has destroyed their swordsmen opponents and has pursued into the gap.

The light infantry with javelins has destroyed an elephant while the remaining elephant in the centre is being overwhelmed by the cavalry in flank and rear. Further to this elephant's left the other elephant is also being attacked in the flank and front, and the attached general died in the combat. The Light Cavalry sacrificed themselves to buy us time to win in the centre and right.

Outcome

A Tamil victory suffering 21 of 25 hits. I think by fighting with the Light Cavalry rather than evading I gave up on the opportunity to secure a mutual destruction.

Lessons Learnt

To evade off the table or to fight that is the question.

In this game redeploying the cavalry worked well, albeit that towards the end the lack of command dice prevented them adequately exploiting the gap they created.

ADLG - Game Report 324

Arab Indians (135) vs Anglo-Danes (180)

We were in the final few days before we had to submit our army lists for Kegworth. I had just about decided to use Arab Indian, so a few more trials seemed to me to be sensible. So our next week-day meeting (Friday) I brought them out for another battle, and this time against Kev S's Anglo-Danes. This would not be a perfect match-up but it would help work out what I might do if confronted by an infantry-heavy army. I won the initiative and decided to attack in the plains. At this stage I placed the foot command on the left near the coastline, with the Elephant centre and the horse on the right.

I decided that what I needed to do was to try and establish a breakthrough the enemy's shield wall with my spears and elephants and then break the cavalry through any gaps I could create. Hence the cavalry is seen moving from the right to the left as a second line.

What I didn't anticipate was that the enemy would open up on their left and in doing so create gaps and flanks I might have been able to exploit if I had stayed where I was. Of course, there is no guarantee that they would have done so if I had left the cavalry there!

There is one flaw with the masterly plan I put together, and that is what would I do if there was no breakthrough. Or as in this case the enemy were ablet o cop their way through the forest of spears I presented them.

Consequently, I was forced to throw in the cavalry to hold the line. And we all know that this isn't going to go well if they charge into the heavy foot. The elephant's loss was unfortunate!

We managed some small gaps but nothing that came any where wide enough to allow us to penetrate the line into the backfield.

Outcome

I conceded defeat having lost 20 of 25 to the 9 of 22 of the Danes, so that we could both move onto another game.

Lessons Learnt

The enemy left flank wasn't open, but at least I could have stretched them more on that flank.

Although I think there is a case that if the combats had been marginally better the plan had an outside chance of succeeding.

Think more about how I can reduce the line of infantry to 6 units.