ADLG - Game Report 176

Medieval Spanish (239) vs Catalan Company (262)

Given the broadly positive outcome with the Medieval Spanish, I decided they needed another outing. This time against Paul’s Catalans, and in which he decided to let me attack, and with the dice gods on his side he moved my plantation from behind the field on the left by the coast to the centre. A much more defensive battlefield for his Catalans. I formed up with the Almogavars on the left to contest the field with the spears in the centre and the Knights out on the right.

There was a whole lot of manoeuvring to get the troops from both sides where we wanted them. For me It involved splitting he spears either side of the plantation. Importantly it allowed me to bring the armoured polearms up in support of the Almogavars to protect their flank. While the remainder of the spearmen moved to the right of the plantation to support the Knights.

As the Knights moved forward they started to receive severe crossbow fire. In the centre the Spanish crossbows attached to the spearmen are moving to the centre to context the plantation with the enemy lights. While on the left the opposing Almogavars try to stare each other down!

The crossbows have entered the wood to context it, all that is left to support them is a lone heavy spearmen which might need to be committed to the fray. On the right the Knights are chasing down the enemy light cavalry while they try to turn the enemies left flank.

On the right the enemy left wing has withdrawn in the face of the advance of the Knights, who are now one less in number after one of their units was destroyed by crossbow fire. The heavy spearmen have fixed the enemy cavalry in place. However, in the plantation one of the Spanish crossbows was destroyed in combat by the combined effects of the enemy light troops.

And in a competition game it is there that the game might have ended. All along the line, however, the combat factors were even in the important contacts between the opposing Almogavars, and between the heavy spearmen and the Catalan cavalry. I decided to roll the dice, only to win only one of the seven even combats, and in one to lose six to one!

Outcome

A win for the Catalans on my throw of the dice by 9 to 22.

Lessons Learnt

Would I, should I, risk the throw of the dice in so many even combats in a competition?

It certainly makes life interesting when one does decide to roll the dice!

A decision is needed on whether to go with the Flemish or the Medieval Spanish for Warfare.