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Post by twrnz on Jun 21, 2019 22:09:35 GMT
Friday evening the residents of surrounding streets were disturbed by clash of sword against shield and the rumble of chariot wheels interspersed by the cries of death and victory as few of us gathered for a 15mm DBA evening. Four players and five armies made an appearance as three rounds of games took place. In the first games of the evening Early Mycenaean clashed with Early Achaemenid Persians on one table. Cyrus with his grandiose plans deployed all manner of cunning troops including scythed chariots and a mobile tower which he persisted in dragging around in support of his sparabara (8Bw). Rumour has it that the Persian archery was particularly devastating. On anther battlefield the Carthaginians faced Polybian Romans. Here the Romans advanced with a reinforced left with great determination, but were held by Punic resolve. In the second round of the evening the Mycenaeans were replaced by Celtiberians who would abandon the safety of the hills to clash with the more mobile Carthaginians. Clearly seeking victory in the centre the Celtiberians were not counting on the veteran Punic foot who along with cavalry kept them honest. Meanwhile, the Persians faced an ever adventurous and expanding Rome, cut their way to victory. Who said the the Persians are not a great empire. The final round of the evening found the Carthaginians, reinforced with pachyderms, facing the ever confident Persians. The Punic foot and mounted undertook a series of aggressive moves against a portion of the centre which resulted in a breakthrough. Desperate counterattacks followed but the great Persian empire was fading and Carthage clearly had the favour of the gods. Simultaneously, the Romans and Celtiberians clashed in the steep and rocky hills of Iberia where one fought to establish and empire and the other for continued independence. Roman cries of low PIPs were heard frequently but the armies were clearly evenly matched and death and destruction were handed out in equal portions. That said the final outcome is unknown to this scribe. Another fine evening of gaming.
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Post by gregorius on Jun 21, 2019 23:34:45 GMT
Friday evening the residents of surrounding streets were disturbed by clash of sword against shield and the rumble of chariot wheels interspersed by the cries of death and victory as few of us gathered for a 15mm DBA evening. Four players and five armies made an appearance as three rounds of games took place. In the first games of the evening Early Mycenaean clashed with Early Achaemenid Persians on one table. Cyrus with his grandiose plans deployed all manner of cunning troops including scythed chariots and a mobile tower which he persisted in dragging around in support of his sparabara (8Bw). Rumour has it that the Persian archery was particularly devastating. On anther battlefield the Carthaginians faced Polybian Romans. Here the Romans advanced with a reinforced left with great determination, but were held by Punic resolve. In the second round of the evening the Mycenaeans were replaced by Celtiberians who would abandon the safety of the hills to clash with the more mobile Carthaginians. Clearly seeking victory in the centre the Celtiberians were not counting on the veteran Punic foot who along with cavalry kept them honest. Meanwhile, the Persians faced an ever adventurous and expanding Rome, cut their way to victory. Who said the the Persians are not a great empire. The final round of the evening found the Carthaginians, reinforced with pachyderms, facing the ever confident Persians. The Punic foot and mounted undertook a series of aggressive moves against a portion of the centre which resulted in a breakthrough. Desperate counterattacks followed but the great Persian empire was fading and Carthage clearly had the favour of the gods. Simultaneously, the Romans and Celtiberians clashed in the steep and rocky hills of Iberia where one fought to establish and empire and the other for continued independence. Roman cries of low PIPs were heard frequently but the armies were clearly evenly matched and death and destruction were handed out in equal portions. That said the final outcome is unknown to this scribe. Another fine evening of gaming. Another great series of battles Keith. And it seems that Lincoln is becoming the wargaming centre of the South Island. Cheers,
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Post by twrnz on Jun 21, 2019 23:47:39 GMT
It would seem so.
This time I had to make a rather strenuous five minute walk to the scene of these battles while another player faced an equally extensive walk to converge on our host’s gaming room. Carrying Cyrus’ tower must have been draining. The fourth player admittedly had a longer drive.
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Post by twrnz on Jun 25, 2019 10:45:02 GMT
DBA this evening with Wars of the Roses English engaged against Medieval French. The French under Jean Bureau advanced cautiously all along the line against the English under John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. Talbot had deployed with archers interspersed with billmen with his gunnes on the right and a body of currours on the left. The attack however came from the French right were a body of pavisers advanced rapidly down the road into English currours. While this initial French attack was repulsed the attack soon became general, though often broken up by English archery. Casualties mounted with the English being hard pressed in the centre, while French suffered increasing casualties on their right. The English situation continued to worsen with both bill and bow being driven back. Soon the situation was so dire that the English camp followers, including priests, sallied out to bolster the English centre. The pendulum now swung against the French. In a final effort to recover the initiative several bodies of mounted men at arms charged exposed English positions. All were thrown back. Now the French were harried by accurate archery, whose deadly toll was too great. French resolve broke and with it the Talbot secured the field. A narrow 4-3 victory. Another fascinating encounter.
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Post by gregorius on Jun 25, 2019 12:06:28 GMT
DBA this evening with Wars of the Roses English engaged against Medieval French. The French under Jean Bureau advanced cautiously all along the line against the English under John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. Talbot had deployed with archers interspersed with billmen with his gunnes on the right and a body of currours on the left. The attack however came from the French right were a body of pavisers advanced rapidly down the road into English currours. While this initial French attack was repulsed the attack soon became general, though often broken up by English archery. Casualties mounted with the English being hard pressed in the centre, while French suffered increasing casualties on their right. The English situation continued to worsen with both bill and bow being driven back. Soon the situation was so dire that the English camp followers, including priests, sallied out to bolster the English centre. The pendulum now swung against the French. In a final effort to recover the initiative several bodies of mounted men at arms charged exposed English positions. All were thrown back. Now the French were harried by accurate archery, whose deadly toll was too great. French resolve broke and with it the Talbot secured the field. A narrow 4-3 victory. Another fascinating encounter. Beware the underrated powers of CF! Cheers,
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Post by wyvern on Jun 25, 2019 12:27:01 GMT
Looking good!😀
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Post by twrnz on Jul 10, 2019 6:59:00 GMT
The week has started with a couple of evenings of DBA. First an old friend visiting from another part of the country was keen to play a game of DBA in between discussing other wargaming projects. Peter opted to take the field with the Polybian Romans while I used Carthaginians. A classical matchup. Then last night a local & I deployed some Medieval armies. Firstly Ottoman Turks faced my Malay. The Sultan of Malacca, with appalling PIP dice, was unable to fully deploy and was continually harassed by the cunning Turks. Some interesting matchups here which, combined with my appalling PIP dice really had me scratching my head on how to counter. Almost half the army Malaccan army failed to move. Above and below the view from the Malaccan perspective. Then, the Turks abandoned Eastern adventures and instead headed west to confront the English. Here the Turks were particularly aggressive, but hampered at every turn by Christian resolve. Three challenging games, but most importantly a great way to spend a few hours on over a couple of winter evenings.
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Post by martin on Jul 10, 2019 8:13:47 GMT
Nice report, and good to see the Grumpy’s Indonesians in action (...or with low PIP dice, should that be ‘inaction’....? 😊)
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Post by twrnz on Jul 10, 2019 8:26:19 GMT
Very clever Martin. I think a combination of action but certainly plenty of inaction. The loss of one element of 4Wb was a result of an elephant recoiling, a direct result of previously not having enough PIPs to move it. The Sultan of Malacca was also constrained by terrain, but that is another story...
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Post by martin on Jul 10, 2019 8:32:22 GMT
I used Indonesians under 2.2 and found that El + double-move-to-contact Wb + LH in the army meant it needed a throw of about 7 or 8 for PIPs to do what I wanted !
(My Grumpy’s Indonesians then changed alliance, and became my Tamil army 👍👍👍).
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Post by nangwaya on Jul 10, 2019 8:36:29 GMT
Are those crushed chariots on the elephant bases?
If so, wicked!
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Post by twrnz on Jul 10, 2019 9:13:02 GMT
I used Indonesians under 2.2 and found that El + double-move-to-contact Wb + LH in the army meant it needed a throw of about 7 or 8 for PIPs to do what I wanted ! (My Grumpy’s Indonesians then changed alliance, and became my Tamil army 👍👍👍). I don’t believe I ever rolled more than three for the entire game...
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Post by twrnz on Jul 10, 2019 9:22:46 GMT
Are those crushed chariots on the elephant bases? If so, wicked! I’m impressed someone noticed. The army is part of my much larger DBR Renaissance army. By 1500 the number of cannon imported into armies in the area was considerable. Therefore I modelled a broken cannon on one base and a wheel from a gun carriage on another. Both are visible above. As a side note my full DBR army has a range of different cannon in an attempt to model the variety. Of course the large bombard here is most suitable for the period covered by DBA.
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Post by nangwaya on Jul 10, 2019 12:07:52 GMT
Are those crushed chariots on the elephant bases? If so, wicked! I’m impressed someone noticed. The army is part of my much larger DBR Renaissance army. By 1500 the number of cannon imported into armies in the area was considerable. Therefore I modelled a broken cannon on one base and a wheel from a gun carriage on another. Both are visible above. As a side note my full DBR army has a range of different cannon in an attempt to model the variety. Of course the large bombard here is most suitable for the period covered by DBA. I find that you take good close up shots Keith, so it is easy to pick out details.
I really like the look of those bases!
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Post by gregorius on Jul 11, 2019 2:46:16 GMT
Thanks very much for these latest reports Keith.
Cheers,
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