Post by martin on May 9, 2019 8:58:40 GMT
Seven games of DBA yesterday, against my old sparring partner Colin the Hittite. Neither of us had thrown a dice in anger for a while, so there were a few shocks and wakeup calls involved.
We played with armies from two forthcoming competitions- PAWS on the 18th May (Babylon etc, 800-701 BC), and Valhalla on 16th June (Armies/enemies of the Roman Republic 500-25 BC). Armies were picked pretty much at random from what we could easily field.
PAWS theme games:-
1. Later Philistines (I/29b) marched down the Nile to take on Kushite Egyptians (I/46b). Kushite auxiliary tribesmen emerged from canoes into a swamp on the Philistine right flank. Skirmishing between them and the Philistine light infantry (3Ax and Ps) continued throughout the game, but the main decisive clash occurred in the centre. The Kushite general and his mounted troops (2 x HCh and 2 x Cv), with infantry support, crashed into the Philistine spear line, including the Philistine spearman general element. However, rather than destroy the invaders, the Kushite king was himself dragged from his chariot and captured. Low command and control thereafter allowed the Philistines to clean up for a win (3+g to 2).
2. For the second game, Elamites (I/5d), consisting of 1/4 light chariots but 3/4 bowmen, invaded the territory of the Medes (Light chariot general, cavalry, lowgrade auxiliary foot and skirmishing archers). A large river (a waterway, the Tigris, perhaps?) ran along the Medes’ right flank, with a road following its banks. Apart from a tiny hamlet out on the opposite flank, the battlefield was open. Away from the river the Median infantry faced off the Elamite chariotry in an ineffectual to and fro clash, but it was nearer the river that the battle was decided. The Mede general led his cavalry through the screen of friendly skirmishers (Ps) straight at the Elamite bowmen, and ran many down, ending in a win to the Medes (5-0).
3. Early Neo-Assyrians (I/25b) invaded the Gulf coast Makkan (I/8b), whose infantry struggled against the Assyrian charioteers, their camel corps also suffering. Despite some personal success against the invaders’ hurradu swordsmen (3Bd), the Makkan leader conceded defeat (4-1 Assyrian win).
4. The Bahraini warriors of Dilmun (I/8c) now set sail to attack the Libyan Egyptians (I/38). Both armies were ‘littoral’ (ie could land), which caused the usual chaos, with Dilmun amphibious soldiery mobbing the end of the Egyptian line. A confused battle ended in a Dilmun win (4-2).
Valhalla theme games:-
5. Ptolemy (II/19d) attacked Magna Graecia (II/5g Italiot Later Hoplite Greek). The Greeks landed light horse and hoplites in the enemy rear, but then suffered a lack of control (low PIP throw), so the horsemen hightailed it out of a potentially messy situation to leave the lone hoplite element to its fate. Gabinian ex-garrison legionaries in Ptolemaic employ duly landed and mopped up the lone Greek spearmen element, before advancing down the coast. On the opposite flank a bunch of Cilician pirates and brigands swept through a village on the Italiot flank, destroyed the Greek psiloi in it and threatened the Italiot left. However, in the centre the Egyptian pike phalanx, Galatian cavalry and Romans struggled initially against the returning Tarantine light horse, who speared Ptolemy in a lucky strike, but then countered and drove the Hoplite line down, for a Ptolemaic win (4-2+ge,).
6. Armenia is soooo hilly, thought the Marian Roman general (II/28b vs II/49). Invading had been far from wise... However, a squabble over a craggy hill near the Roman centre went unexpectedly in favour of a few locally recruited auxilia in Roman service, which held up the Armenian push. Counterattacking down a gap between hills, a legionary thrust in the centre was scoring notable success, until the Armenian leader and his cataphract escort (2 x 4Kn) charged down the valley to tip the balance in the hill dwellers’ favour. (4-3 Armenian win).
7. The slaves were revolting in the last game of the day. Iberian Spanish II/39a faced Spartacus’ rebels (II/45c), somewhere in southern Italy. The ex-slave hordes (4 x 5Hd) launched themselves pell mell at the Spanish lines, and many were cut down, but the distraction factor was notable, and they did cause casualties among the scutarii before being wiped out. Ex-gladiators and slaves in captured equipment (4Bd) joined the fray as Spartacus countered a Spanish mounted outflanking manoeuvre, the fighting going first one way and then the other. Scattered fighting all over the field left heaps of dead, but an eventual slave revolt ‘win’, though something of a Pyrrhic victory, with half the slaves casualties (4-2 +4x5Hd Slave Revolt win).
Fun all round, and plenty of variety.
We played with armies from two forthcoming competitions- PAWS on the 18th May (Babylon etc, 800-701 BC), and Valhalla on 16th June (Armies/enemies of the Roman Republic 500-25 BC). Armies were picked pretty much at random from what we could easily field.
PAWS theme games:-
1. Later Philistines (I/29b) marched down the Nile to take on Kushite Egyptians (I/46b). Kushite auxiliary tribesmen emerged from canoes into a swamp on the Philistine right flank. Skirmishing between them and the Philistine light infantry (3Ax and Ps) continued throughout the game, but the main decisive clash occurred in the centre. The Kushite general and his mounted troops (2 x HCh and 2 x Cv), with infantry support, crashed into the Philistine spear line, including the Philistine spearman general element. However, rather than destroy the invaders, the Kushite king was himself dragged from his chariot and captured. Low command and control thereafter allowed the Philistines to clean up for a win (3+g to 2).
2. For the second game, Elamites (I/5d), consisting of 1/4 light chariots but 3/4 bowmen, invaded the territory of the Medes (Light chariot general, cavalry, lowgrade auxiliary foot and skirmishing archers). A large river (a waterway, the Tigris, perhaps?) ran along the Medes’ right flank, with a road following its banks. Apart from a tiny hamlet out on the opposite flank, the battlefield was open. Away from the river the Median infantry faced off the Elamite chariotry in an ineffectual to and fro clash, but it was nearer the river that the battle was decided. The Mede general led his cavalry through the screen of friendly skirmishers (Ps) straight at the Elamite bowmen, and ran many down, ending in a win to the Medes (5-0).
3. Early Neo-Assyrians (I/25b) invaded the Gulf coast Makkan (I/8b), whose infantry struggled against the Assyrian charioteers, their camel corps also suffering. Despite some personal success against the invaders’ hurradu swordsmen (3Bd), the Makkan leader conceded defeat (4-1 Assyrian win).
4. The Bahraini warriors of Dilmun (I/8c) now set sail to attack the Libyan Egyptians (I/38). Both armies were ‘littoral’ (ie could land), which caused the usual chaos, with Dilmun amphibious soldiery mobbing the end of the Egyptian line. A confused battle ended in a Dilmun win (4-2).
Valhalla theme games:-
5. Ptolemy (II/19d) attacked Magna Graecia (II/5g Italiot Later Hoplite Greek). The Greeks landed light horse and hoplites in the enemy rear, but then suffered a lack of control (low PIP throw), so the horsemen hightailed it out of a potentially messy situation to leave the lone hoplite element to its fate. Gabinian ex-garrison legionaries in Ptolemaic employ duly landed and mopped up the lone Greek spearmen element, before advancing down the coast. On the opposite flank a bunch of Cilician pirates and brigands swept through a village on the Italiot flank, destroyed the Greek psiloi in it and threatened the Italiot left. However, in the centre the Egyptian pike phalanx, Galatian cavalry and Romans struggled initially against the returning Tarantine light horse, who speared Ptolemy in a lucky strike, but then countered and drove the Hoplite line down, for a Ptolemaic win (4-2+ge,).
6. Armenia is soooo hilly, thought the Marian Roman general (II/28b vs II/49). Invading had been far from wise... However, a squabble over a craggy hill near the Roman centre went unexpectedly in favour of a few locally recruited auxilia in Roman service, which held up the Armenian push. Counterattacking down a gap between hills, a legionary thrust in the centre was scoring notable success, until the Armenian leader and his cataphract escort (2 x 4Kn) charged down the valley to tip the balance in the hill dwellers’ favour. (4-3 Armenian win).
7. The slaves were revolting in the last game of the day. Iberian Spanish II/39a faced Spartacus’ rebels (II/45c), somewhere in southern Italy. The ex-slave hordes (4 x 5Hd) launched themselves pell mell at the Spanish lines, and many were cut down, but the distraction factor was notable, and they did cause casualties among the scutarii before being wiped out. Ex-gladiators and slaves in captured equipment (4Bd) joined the fray as Spartacus countered a Spanish mounted outflanking manoeuvre, the fighting going first one way and then the other. Scattered fighting all over the field left heaps of dead, but an eventual slave revolt ‘win’, though something of a Pyrrhic victory, with half the slaves casualties (4-2 +4x5Hd Slave Revolt win).
Fun all round, and plenty of variety.
