ADLG - Game Report 138

Seleucid(42) vs Aramean(74)

I had time for one quick game, and I now hat Tony is a quick player! So onto battle with a relatively historical opponent, the Aramean’s with a Parthian ally, for my Seleucids fresh after their good performance at Beachhead. Once more the terrain easily directed the deployment of my army with the mediums on the left, infantry heavy centre and Cataphracts on the right even though they were outnumbered.

There was nothing subtle about this deployment or battle plan! Having said that I was ready to commit the legionaries to the field against the enemy bowmen.

The advancing line started to take significant, but acceptable and predictable, bow fire on our way forward on the left.

Contact! And once more the Cataphracts have come up second best against similar opponents. We have had more success in the centre and already the pikes are moving to work around the cavalry line.

And there the Cataphracts were and now gone! In the field a very stubborn bowman held off the legionaries for two rounds of combat despite being flanked and wounded.

We have broken the Aramean centre and right, but their Parthian allies on their left are now moving forward to inflict the coup de grace.

Outcome

A win for the Arameans by inflicting 21 hits and only suffering 19 of 24.

Lessons Learnt

Once again a stubborn stand by a unit delayed by ability to react and follow up the enemy.

The loss of the line of Cataphracts was the game winner.

ADLG - Game Report 137

German Batavian Revolt(91) vs Gauls(89)

The old, and now not so old, of the Entoyment ADLG circuit met their for a mid week game or two. We invited Easton along for a game and he proved to be a lively and engaging opponent with his Gauls, who I had the privilege of fighting first with my Batavian Revolt Army. I attacked through the centre with my elite warbands, while the former legionaries guarded the right flank.

The centre starts to move through the woods in the centre.

The enemy ambush has not yet been sprung, and we have decided to keep a wide berth from it and the obstacles in front to of it. On the left the Roman and German cavalry is lining up against the enemy warbands.

On the left side of the gully my light cavalry has come up second best against the gallic chariots. However, he cavalry are doing adequately against the warbands.

The fighting is fast and furious with units disappearing on both sides of the line. The cavalry seem to have broken through and it has yet to be seen whether they will be able to exploit this gap. In the centre the fight for the wood is going the way of the Batavians at the moment.

Out of the woods on the left come a horde of naked warriors, supported by their cavalry. In eh centre the Gauls have recovered sufficiently despite their casualties to overcome a number of the elite warbands. On my left the cavalry currently have the advantage.

Even more naked warriors emerge from the wood! Meanwhile the Roman and Geman cavalry are now being battered by the Gallic chariots.

The Gauls are winning on the left, and are about to win on the right, but we have won the battle of the centre.

Despite the best efforts of the Batavians on the right they cannot do much to stop the advance of the Gauls.

Outcome

An extremely competitive and close battle with the Gauls coming out with a win by inflicting 27 of 27 hits on me while I inflicted 26 of 27 on the Gauls!

Lessons Learnt

I was right to refuse the fight against the Ambush.

However, for the Gauls holding back the ambush proved very beneficial for them.

ADLG - Game Report 136

Seleucid(42) vs Middle Imperial Roman(86)

Final battle of the tournament was against Stan’s Romans. Once again for the fifth time I wone the initiative and decided to attack. Once again the terrain dictated where the troops went! In this case I sent the light cavalry out to the right to delay the advance of the enemy cavalry, while leaving the cataphracts and chariots behind.

The enemy bolt shooters have zeroed in on my legionaries. However, the centre continues its inexorable advance.

Given the failure of the enemy right to advance the Cataphracts have been redeployed to protect the right flank. The bolt shooters will not let go of my unit and continue to punish the legionary unit. I decided that three pikes were sufficient for the fight in the centre and one has been detached to support the legionaries.

Contact! The punishing bolt shooter fire has destroyed a unit of legionaries, but we have managed to make contact all along the line. On the right the Thracians have been sent to the right of the pikes, while the Peltasts move to their left to protect their flank.

The left hand pike block in support of the legionaries has won its fight. While in the centre my pikes supported by the Thracians have now managed to seize the advantage. A line of Cataphracts is barring the right flank!

On the left the legionaries won their fight and continue to conform to their left looking for new opponents. In the centre the pikes are driving all before them.

In the centre the pikes struggle to regroup and reorientate to new threats. The Peltasts have beaten their opponents and are now free to exploit into the field.

The enemy have been defeated in the centre and the right of their line is soon likely to fail.

Outcome

A win for the Seleucids, by inflicting 24 hits on the Romans and only receiving 5’

A good result for the tournament which saw me finish above mid table for my highest final position in any tournament. It could have been higher if my dice had not deserted me against the Army of Mithridates.

Lessons Learnt

Although the Cataphracts didn’t come into the battle they did tie down the Roman cavalry quite nicely.

ADLG - Game Report 135

Seleucid(42) vs Campanian(51)

Day 2 and first up was a fight against Gordon’s Campanians – a very interesting army! In the terrain selection I have never seem so much terrain end up on one flank of the battlefield. I won the initiative and decided to attack. Clearly it was going to be a similar plan to the previous battle with the medium troops committed on the left of the line.

I decided that if I was going to win and defeat sufficient of the enemy I needed to get into the centre. I refused my left and right to allow me to make progress. However, this time my scythed chariots fell victim to that well know light troops ploy, and hence failed to influence the battle.

I decided to engage the light cavalry in the flank with cataphracts, but the Campanians were loathe to come out to fight so I had to get in there myself. I also broke my own line a little to allow a pike block to provide some flank protection.

Well the flank protection gambit provided by the pikes has not been successful! On the right the eliteness of the enemy troops is having a significant impact on the outcome of the fights in the rough. While in the centre I think the best one can say at this stage is that the honours are broadly even, but they have the weight of number and overlaps.

My right flanks has been broken, but the pikes providing flank protection, supported by the Thracians allows them to continue to fight. In the centre we have broken through with the pikes, but the left of my line is looking increasingly vulnerable.

Outcome

A win for the Campanians by inflicting 21 hits on me and only receiving 11 of 26 in return.

Lessons Learnt

The weight of enemy numbers was difficult to deal with.

It may have been better to fight a defensive battle.

ADLG - Game Report 134

Seleucid(42) vs Mithridatic(105)

Final game on day 1 was against Andy’s Mithridatic Army, another nice period opponent for the Seleucids. The battle started late as both Generals decided to outdo each other their Life of Brian quotes! Once again, I won the initiative and decided to attack by forcing the mediums into the rough terrain and sending the heavy infantry through the centre supported by the cataphracts on their left.

I withdrew the light cavalry and managed to get the Scythed chariots up on the left of the pikes. However, my right was very fragile with the enemy pushing through heavy infantry through the field against my medium infantry.

The enemy have continued their advance through the rough ground on the right. While on the left I continue to refuse the left. I want the result in the centre!

The Thracians have outflanked the units in the plantation and cut them down, while the Peltasts make them self useful protecting the flank of the legionaries. In the centre one of my pike blocks has gone missing but the others press forward. The remaining scythed chariot has inflicted damage on the enemy legionaries as have my cataphracts.

I am now down to two remaining pike blocks, the decision in the centre is not my decision! Meanwhile the enemy regrouped in the plantation and came on strong enough to severely damage the Thracians. However, the chariots have won through and can now go anywhere, but not so the Cataphracts.

Outcome

A hard-fought battle that right up to the end could have gone either way. In the end the Army of Mithridates came out winner 21 out of 23 to my 21 of 21!

Lessons Learnt

Perhaps some new dice?

ADLG - Game Report 133

Seleucid(42) vs Seleucid(42)

Second game was a Seleucid civil war against Steve’s army. Once again I won the initiative and decided to attack. First up was to try and get the mediums into the central field as quickly as possible, but as usual the enemy ambush delayed me. I decided to ignore as best as I could the marauding enemy cavalry out on my right flank. The aim was to get as close as I could on my left and centre as quickly as possible before they became a threat.

I sent the chariots forward supported by the slower pikes. At this stage the enemy had only committed one of their elephants. With enemy bows looking like a nice target for my Cataphracts.

The elephant has chased a light cavalry unit of the table, but at the expense of exposing its flank and rear. The vaunted cataphracts have come up short against the bows and even taken casualties on the way in.

A mixed result for the Chariots but at least the way forward for them is clear – the enemy camp beckons. In the centre the legionaries have broken through and are now ready to roll up the enemy line. However, they lack the support of their mediums which were taken apart by their opposite numbers. On the left the Cataphracts seem incapable of rolling over these bowmen!

And finally, we managed to overcome one of the bowmen, but I managed to secure the enemy camp before mine fell! And despite the odds against them the pikes stood firm against the elephant and killed it.

Outcome

A win for my Seleucids by 13 to 22.

Lessons Learnt

Sacrificing a unit to evade of the table is better than losing it in melee.

The gamble of ignoring the enemy cavalry on the right paid off – just.

ADLG - Game Report 132

Seleucid (42) vs Graeco-Bactrian (46)

If it is February it must be Beachhead! I had entered the ADLG 15mm competition, my current range of 25mm armies didn’t allow me to field a valid army. Besides it gave me the chance to take my own Seleucid’s out for a jolly by the beach at the BIC. My Army was a later Seleucid Army from 165BC with Imitation Legionaries and Cataphracts, along with a couple of scythed chariots for good measure.

First up was a fight against Steve’s Graeco-Bactrians. A very nice historical match-up. I won the initiative and decided to attack. We let the Mediums and lights play in the rough on the left with the Pikes et al in the centre, and the cavalry out to play on the right.

And out of Steve’s Ambush came 4 of his own cataphracts. Would my scythed chariots mow them down? Equally the legionaries were looking a little vulnerable facing of against them.

The armies clash. My scythed chariots have had a 50:50 result, winning one and losing the other. In the centre I have side slipped the line, and accepted the overlap on the left to allow me to protect the legionaries a little. The mediums and lights are dancing with elephants in the field.

We have won the battle of the field on the left, and are now regrouping. In the centre we have destroyed to pike blocks. But on the right my Cataphracts are in whole heap of bother.

We have destroyed the remaining Bactrian pikes and we have now wheeled right to take on the cataphracts which are making short work of the legionaries. On the right the Cataphract fight against the enemy cavalry can be best described as hairball of a dog fight.

The hairball continued into the next round, while in the centre the last legionary has been overcome by the enemy cataphracts.

Outcome

Honours even with a draw with me inflicting 14 to the 15 I received – I don’t normally do draws, so this was a pleasant change.

Lessons Learnt

A mixed result for the chariots, but at least they inflicted delay at no cost to me.

Heavy swordsmen once again cannot hope to stand against cataphracts.

ADLG - Game Report 131

Thessalian Greeks (60) vs Seleucid (42)

The final battle of a good day’s gaming in Oxford was against Peter; we both had travelled 100 miles together to Oxford to fight each other. That will teach us to do better and move up the leaderboard. In our battle at least I had a secure flank to work with, albeit that against that flank were the Seleucid elephant. The rest of the deployment was typical with the Hoplites in the centre and the cavalry on the right wing.

We both manoeuvred for contact, albeit that I left a Peltast unit behind for rear security.

My cavalry managed to secure the advantage, with their left flank protected by my light infantry. The heavy metal clash was ready in the centre, while the elephants trample the plantation to shreds.

The Greek cavalry are performing well, however, the centre is having issues against the pikes. The enemy scythed chariots dissolved when they came into contact.

The cohesion hits are building on the heavy infantry clash, but mostly on my side of the line. The Peltasts are sent forward to protect the end of the line. On the left we have made contact with the elephants.

Both elephants have been destroyed, and the right flank now looks secure. That cannot be said of the centre where the pikes are pushing all before them.

Outcome

Finally, a win for Thessalians by 13 to 23 against the might of the Seleucids.

Lessons Learnt

Basically the plan worked – for once.