Conquest 2011: Medieval Competition

For the second day of the competition I fielded my Komnenan Byzantines; they are probably the most competitive of my Book III/IV armies, and quite a change from the plodding armies I normally field. I used them at the Worlds, so I’ve had a fair bit of practice with them now.

• Andrew Taylor (IV/82a French Ordonnance)

First up I faced Andrew; I’ve played him a few times now and am yet to win, but I fancied my chances with the match-up here. He didn’t lay down masses of terrain, and I felt my cavalry would be able to handle his archers, being able to concentrate on one wing before he could react.

Initial deployment against the French.

After the two swaps; the bow move sideways.

I set out to win on the right wing; unfortunately this involved the commander facing a round of shooting before I closed for combat. At 4-4, I figured the risk was OK, but once his archers moved into range it was 2-4 and more nerve wracking. Well, I rolled a 1 and it was game over, 1G-0, with first bit of shooting. Something of an anticlimax!

• Jared (IV/66 Later Polish)

My second encounter was against a Polish army that was extremely mobile: knights, cavalry, light horse, a war wagon and some crossbowmen. Jared had only had a couple of games the day before, when he and his friend expressed an interest in playing as they were browsing the competitions.

Initial deployment, after the swaps aimed to get the archers facing his knights

I got off to a very lucky start on my right flank where my light cavalry, fired up by the sight of the camp, chased off both the Polish light horse and even managed to get rid of a cavalry. The game seemed assured, but the crossbowmen swung the balance, shooting up an element of cavalry and then an archer (on it rear rank, I think). Meanwhile, I’d lost two light horse against the Polish cavalry to give Jared a 4-3 win.

The final scene, as the massed crossbowmen break the Byzantine archers

• Kees (IV/59a Post-Mongolian Samurai)

My last game before lunch was against a Japanese army. I was apprehensive about winning when he lay down a lot of terrain and deployed in it.

Initial deployment to get clear of the hills.

However, Kees chose to come out into the open and fight. I was still unpacking from column when we contacted, but in a reversal of my first game, I took out his general with my knights when he rolled a 1. Game over. A bit of an anticlimax in some ways, but more time for lunch!

The knights advance after breaking the Samurai commander (note the general's more conservative deployment!).

• Andrew McGregor (III/77 Scots Isles & Highlands)

After lunch I faced an army I didn’t expect to be much trouble—massed blades without psiloi support against mounted should be a doddle! However, it’s never wise to underestimate one’s opponent, and I advanced too fast, trying to get my light horse away from his archers. He made contact and fled some of my light horse leaving my commander exposed. He closed the door on him and it was a 3G-0 defeat! I did help Andrew to the extent that I pointed out his options (as like Jared he was new to DBA), but my mistakes were all my own doing!

The Varangians and Normans never saw combat before it was all over on the right flank! What was the point of gaining control of the wood if I didn't sue it to anchor a flank?

• Arne (III/74 Fanatic Berber)

In my last game of the day I faced Arne, making some nice symmetry, facing the same opponent for my first and last games. I was the defender against some insanely aggressive Berbers. It was an open board and the two armies were well matched.

Initial deployments.

Arne advanced two psiloi into the wood behind my horse, forcing one of my cavalry to shield them and prevent them from going after the camp. Meanwhile, I soon lost my knights and got my light horse into quite a jam ahead of the army (the general was still with the bow thankfully). However, I had the PIPs, and Arne didn’t have many for a while, to retire my light horse out of the mess they’d got themselves into. Arne sent his knight against the cavalry guarding the woods. I was very lucky to survive being overlapped by them, but with light horse support I destroyed the knight. Meanwhile my archers started to shoot up his light horse. I’m a bit hazy how it ended now. I think I retreated one of his elements into the rear of one of mine making it 4-4, but I managed to get one of his to win a very close game.

Finishing on a win was a good way to end, but given that I’d had two very quick games that were over almost before they had begun, it was good to finish with a really close and interesting game.

I need to be a little more cautious with the Komnenans; the Varangians never saw combat, which is suggestive of my not really working out how to use all 12 elements; the archers did see action in a couple of games, but in others I rushed into action without them. I’m better at not getting the LH into a fix with wild moves (though it was only luck against the Poles that saw them survive), but getting them to work with the archers is something I’ve not really sorted out.

All in all, it was a great two days. I enjoyed playing all my opponents. It reminds me why I like DBA; whereas other competitions at Conquest had awards for good sportsmanship, such an award for the DBA one would be redundant, as there was not a backdrop, whether only implied or not, of dodgy players to make such an award meaningful! A big thanks to Keith for organizing the competition and soldiering on through it despite being under the weather.

A couple of games

I got a couple of games last month at the Auckland Wargames Club on a Thursday night. There were four of us there playing DBA. Geoff was trying it out with Philip, and they had a couple of Polybian Roman encounters against New Kingdom Egyptians. I played John twice. He used my Seleucids and I went Carthaginians. I went for maximum elephants and two psiloi / two warband. I won both games as the attackers. In both John had a central BGo hill. In the first I occupied this with Spanish and Gauls. My Gauls saw off his mounted who attacked on the flank while the Spanish got the scythed chariot. I think an elephant took out some pike (aided by two overlaps and a good die-roll).

In the second game I had my camp behind a swamp, but didn’t position any troops near it and John redeployed his psiloi and rushed them across on the first turn to sack it, ouch! I dithered a fair bit with redeploying mounted to retake the camp before realizing it was hopeless. I then advanced on a wood that had some pike in it (courtesy of the swap). These didn’t like meeting warband, but before this, I’d survived a SCh attack on my LH that was very lucky. I think I also got a 3Kn to gain a second lucky victory. Good fun! Good to see the Seleucids were so loyal to me!

Today I introduced my brother to DBA, on holiday from England. He’s a keen gamer, but has only played board games and computer games. I think he enjoyed the game. He wanted an army with horses, so I suggested Komnenans. I took Pre-feudal Scots, as the only near contemporary opponent that was nicely based (I forgot about the Goblins!).

Chris was coached by me and went for a flanking raid on my camp. My LH got the rearmost of his LH column and a Ps stopped them for one turn before they attacked and doubled it. Meanwhile on my right flank my commander and two warbands were facing a Norman mercenary knights and an auxilia with psiloi support. It see-sawed a bit, but when low PIPs kept the centre of the Byzantine army back, I was able to flank the knight with a spear, only for it to recoil me. I then attacked the knight with the spear (I had only one PIP). It died, but turned the knight, freeing the Scots commander from its ZOC and allowing him to get the psiloi that had gone for overlap support on the warband.

The camp resisted the attacks of the Pechenegs valiantly, and I got the auxilia with the warbands and the general flanking. It was 3-2 to me. However, in the last turn, after an attack on the centre had not done much of consequence, the Byzantines were able to overlap a spear that fell to the Varangians (the spear had got a stick to their disadvantage), and the two warbands were swept away by the knights. However, the camp continued to resist the Pechenegs and the game finished 5-3 to the Byzantines, repelling this unrecorded Scottish crusade (one of those that forgot what side the Greeks were on!).

The final position: the Scots needed heroism from their warbands to equal that shown in the camp. They might have taken out a cavalry on their left flank if they'd lasted another turn.

IWC Day 2: Medievals Competition

In this day of the competition I took my Komnenan Byzantines, whom I didn’t expect to do too well, but who actually surprised me. I suspect if I was more observant of my opponents, I’d have picked up that they were nervous of their potential mobility.

• Tim’s Italian Condotta

This was a fun game, where Tim insisted on having a littoral landing. His knights arrived in a block in the middle of the field. We surmised this was at the Doge’s insistence, as they had no plan after this. They looked splendid, however, and the Doge perhaps enjoyed the spectacle from his galley.

Nevertheless, the knights, aided by two light horse, put up a good fight and my attempt to encircle them did not succeed in eliminating them. One of their light horse went down, and I chased the other to the far corner of the board with a cavalry and a light horse. One of the knights was also destroyed, but I had lost three too, and had to fall back on my archers, who destroyed another knight. In the last turn, Tim attacked the cavalry facing his light horse with a psiloi overlap. The odds were 2-1 to me, but a win to him would give him the game. The dice gods smiled, and I doubled the light horse.

Attempting to stop the knights from getting away from the waterway almost lost me the game. It became a slog where overlaps to me only gave even odds against the knights. Still, letting them get out to deploy would not necessarily done me much good either.

• Adrian’s Samanid Persians

My next game was against an army I’d considered taking myself (if I’d decided to buy and paint it!). I like the Samanids; they remind me quite a lot of the Later Carthaginians. I was the attacker and deployed with my archers in some rough in the middle of my line. Adrian’s forces came out between two small steep hills with the centre of an elephant flanked my auxilia on the open side and psiloi-supported spear in the centre with two bow next to them, then the general. On his right flank, he had two cavalry and a light horse.

I attempted to go after his right flank with the knight, a cavalry and a light horse. He then reinforced it with his general, and I pulled a light horse across to help, deciding also to retire. Unfortunately, the speed of the knight meant I was still in range. He attacked and I lost the cavalry; I was lucky not to lose the others. I had three PIPs, I could not retreat them out of danger and if I lost them I lost the game. It looked grim, so they decided to go out fighting. The light horse facing the general stayed put and gained a bow support. The other two charged into combat. The knight stuck, but the light horse rolled a 6. Adrian rolled a cocked 5; it wasn’t badly cocked, but it saved my life, as his reroll was a 2. The next turn my knight destroyed the opposing cavalry and his general beat a hasty retreat. I must have got the other cavalry on that wing, as I was three up. I decided to charge his elephant with my general and the rest of the cavalry. This was to get a 3-1 attack on his flanked auxilia. The first time this didn’t succeed, but my line held and I got it on the second try to give me a lucky win.

• Jason’s Anglo-Normans

The third game was a disappointment, as I attempted to redeploy my mounted from one wing in column. I’d made it too, it seemed, but when I went to check they were not ZOCed by his advancing knights (they weren’t), Jason said he had the move to make this happen. I had no way of knowing if he did, but it wasn’t really a question of proof; he had moved the knights, taken his hands off, gone on to another move. If he wanted to redo his move, he had to ask my permission, which I was perfectly entitled to deny (p. 8:  ‘a legal tactical move cannot be taken back once the element has been placed’). I shouldn’t have let him turn it into an issue of whether he was telling the truth. Caught in the ZOC I went down 0-4G, ending my run and tarnishing the morning, indeed the whole event!

• Stan’s War of the Roses English

Stan deployed on a low hill with a blade centre and two flanks of three 3Bw. On his right flank was a large wood. I advanced two 2Ps into it on the first turn, and then advanced the auxilia and blade after them. However, with little movement from Stan (he finally advanced just off the hill) and 6 PIPs, I advanced my cavalry only this left flank. It was anchored by a light horse in the centre to avoid a bad overlap, and it had an overlap on the left flank. However, I had no success. I was thrown back along the line, losing two 3Cv, though the light horse only recoiled.

On Stan’s turn he advanced on the light horse, hoping to flee it and set up good odds on an overlapped cavalry with psiloi-supported blades. The light horse didn’t flee, but recoiled to provide an overlap and keep the odds at 3-2 in his favour. A 6-1 in my favour brought me back into the game, and even though I only had a single PIP, I was able to take out an unsupported blade to set myself up for an unlikely win. Unfortunately, my General rolled a 1 when shot at by supported archers, going down on a 1-4 roll. Stan got another element and took the game. I felt my initial attack was unlucky, though its odds weren’t stunning, but my comeback more than made up for this!

• Stephen’s Later Crusaders

Stephen deployed his camp in a corner and spent most of the game advancing his bow in column up through a wood on the flank onto a road. They saw no action. Nor did his knights. However, with five spear and a cavalry he nearly beat me, owing to my overconfidence that combined with lacklustre early combat dice saw my general back into his cavalry with no room to spare.

The cavalry and a spear on a gentle hill looked an easy prize and would open up the left flank. I had all my cavalry against it and a light horse. That seemed more than I needed and I had the PIPs, and the poor judgement, to pull off two cavalry to advance on the main body behind this attack. Sure enough I was driven down the hill and lost two cavalry to blocked recoils. I feel Stephen was a gentleman not to push how much room my general had on his second recoil, as it had no room to spare. At this point I hung on, eventually killing the cavalry and one of the spear, but my knight twice could not destroy an unsupported spear even with an overlap to help. There was some desperate fighting, and my general survived the risk of friction kills. In my last turn, with one PIP and the crusader knights and bow finally getting in range, I charged this spear again; this time it had rear support and finally we swept them away to take the game 4-3.

The winning moment from Stephen's side. The knights, supported by light horse, have just destroyed two spear.

If I’d taken my time with the troops on the hill, it could have been an easy win, though the melee that developed consumed all Stephen’s PIPs as he fed his spear into the fight. Had it developed differently, his knights and bow might have got into the action and changed things.

• Rhys’s Early Burgundians

(Going down in a flurry of 1′s)

While my early battle results had gone against me in the previous battle, any hope they would come right in this battle were soon disappointed. Artillery shot a knight to death (1-4 dice). Low PIPs stopped quick closing for action and I lost on both flanks fast. A light horse destroyed by knights made it two (another 1 for combat, think); mutual shooting destroyed a bow (low again) and an attempt to salvage some dignity in what was likely to be my last turn was not aided by PIPs. A light horse charged bow, only to be doubled, while a flanked light horse did survive an attack by cavalry for some pride. Overall, though, this was a battle I never even got a chance in, as it was over so fast.

• Review

Overall this was a really enjoyable day that capped a really enjoyable event. However, the incident in the third round really has left a bad memory, as that player went on to win the competition and his trouncing of me gave him the points to do it. I feel I let down others by allowing such unsporting behaviour to prosper. It shows, perhaps, my inexperience, and the fact that in DBA I’ve not previously run into players that would try something like this. I can’t believe that he didn’t check for himself when moving them that he ZOCed me if it was that important. It’s the sort of thing I’d have  measured carefully; I’d certainly not dream of asking to extend a move that couldn’t be measured—but he wasn’t even asking, rather assuming I was seeking to question his right to do it, and challenging his integrity in so doing, very shabby!

IWC Pregames

The week before the IWC competition I got around to John’s again for a game of DBA. I got the Komnenans out this time. It was a close game that John has described here . I could have defended on my right flank better had I kept two light horse on a hill rather than bringing them onto the line. On the hill the warband and auxilia on that flank would have been reluctant to tangle with them. As it was, despite a few turns of valiant resistance, they were overwhelmed before I could win elsewhere.

At the IWC on Friday I had a number of friendly games. The first was with my Komnenans against Iain’s Later Crusader, a historical match-up. I took three bow and a knight. I was the attacker and Iain put down a waterway and had a littoral landing of two spear. It took me ages to defeat these spear with a cavalry and a knight. The game ended with a narrow victory to me. My centre was scattered, and I lost my general, yet it was 4-4G at the end of that turn and on my turn I rolled 6 for PIPs and out of three shooting chances I got lucky against one of Iain’s Bw to win, but at 5-4G, in the tournament I would score 6 to Iain’s 5, so there wasn’t much in it.

My second game was against Andrew who had dropped in to have a look around. He used Iain’s Greco-Bactrians against my Carthaginians, and describes the battle here. It was a fun game and good to see a fellow blogger in the flesh.

My Carthaginians then faced Connor’s Polybians, and beat them by keeping the spear back and advancing the elephant and commander up one flank, around a wood, where they took the camp. It was a risky tactic that worked as Connor tried to advance on the spear but didn’t make contact before I’d taken the camp. He might have been better to wait for me with his foot.

I then played Connor’s Early Burgundians with my Komnenans; I don’t remember what happened here. I also had another game with the Komnenans against someone else that left no lasting impression.

After dinner Steve and I had a game in our hotel room, his Hungarians against my Komnenans. This was one I won narrowly, though I no longer remember quite how. All-in-all, a great way to get into the swing of the competition.

A couple of battles.

In the next while I’m going to have less time to give to the blog, as I try to get some other publishing done. Therefore my battle reports will be much briefer, though I’ll try to keep posts on figures finished coming. Last week I cancelled my flight to the Medieval Open in Christchurch. This was mainly due to JetStar mucking me about, and changing my flight times was the last straw. However, I realized afterwards that getting the refund was really cutting off my nose to spite my face, as I’d like to have got down there. Still more time to work on that other publishing (in theory!).

Last week Steve was over and we got three games. One was of Dux Bellorum, the play-test version of the revised Glutter of Ravens. It was quite fun, but really something that you need to do again to avoid all the tactical errors we made. In particular, skirmishers are quite fragile; they can’t evade, and as they move first, they have to avoid moving into charge range of the enemy, or they will probably be destroyed. I won with one element left! However, as Steve’s commander destroyed mine more decisively than I destroyed his, he could claim the more glorious defeat! I charged his general with mine when it was almost broken and on the last turn I destroyed his, but he rolled about three sixes, absolutely destroying mine! Morale tests saw only one element (mine) survive!

The other two games were 15mm DBA played on a 30″x30″ game cloth. Now I’ve got a cloth of that dimension I figured I should give it a try to be able to pass judgement on it.

The first was my Komnenans against Steve’s Sicilian Normans. This is a historical match-up, but the Normans have quite a job with so many psiloi. Despite this, owing to a bold attack as I approached him, Steve had me at 3-2 and might have won had he a few more PIPs. In the end I got a narrow win taking out two elements that I managed to flank or force to recoil into themselves. The larger board was not a factor.

For the second we chose a foot heavy army, the Polybians, to face a mobile army, which was the Ancient Britons with four LCh and two 2LH. I was the Britons and the defender. I managed to get a wood on a flank. I deployed and then after seeing the Triarii on one flank swapped the two 2LH that faced them with a pair of 3Wb. Despite this, my PIPs were atrocious and I was barely able to move, while the Romans taunted me with more PIPs than they could use!

However, in combat the dice were as one-sided in reverse. I must have rolled sixes for my first two combats at least. The warband destroyed an element of Triarii and its psiloi support and the other one would have gone as well, but we decided that light horse don’t get the QK against spear on the larger table.

Steve had a chance to get some good attacks on overlapped chariots, but proceeded to roll a one and recoil his psiloi support! I was then able to attack an unsupported, overlapped 4Bd with double-ranked warband. Again the dice went my way and the game was over. The combat dice made it a very one-sided affair. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve seen warband win when they’ve been given good odds! Mine seem to need their backs against the wall to do anything! However, again the larger board was not a significant factor, though had my PIPs been better, who knows.

A backlog of battles

• Ancient Spanish v. Carthaginians.

I’m a good way behind in writing battle reports and the last few don’t have any photos either. The week before last Joel got around for a game in the week after work, the first time in a while. The Spanish had just been finished, so he chose the Carthaginians to face them. He ended up being the defender and had opted for no elephants (strange that!) and three warband.

The Spanish have no choice and over a very empty battlefield they chose to attack at speed. This was because they had a wood on their right and the Carthaginians had a steep hill on their right. After deploying, the Carthaginians opted to swap their two 3Cv elements to the right of this hill in place of the two 2LH. This ended up causing severe command and control issues, as they got repeatedly low PIPs.

The Spanish deployed in two blocks of three psiloi supported auxilia with two psiloi in the woods and the cavalry in reserve. The psiloi were able to face the Numidian LH at even odds and came out to face them with the Spanish cavalry. The left flank block of auxilia was more cautious, trying to block the Carthaginian cavalry, while the central one charged up the middle.

What really gave the Spanish the game were three 6-1s in their favour. The first took out a pair of double-ranked 3Wb that were overlapped. The second removed (from memory) a 2LH. The Carthaginians managed to get a 3Ax with their spear, but it was too little too late, and the central block of auxilia got another 3Wb. Against such dice, the Carthaginians had no answer. The general behind the hill just made it harder. Clearly the Spanish liked having their camp to themselves!

The Spanish camp obviously brought them good luck in their first outing against its erstwhile possessor!

• Review:

Rolling sixes is always a great way to win! The Spanish did use their speed to deny the Carthaginians time to overcome their bad initial PIP rolls. Psiloi-supported Auxilia are good against Warband, but if the game had degenerated into a shoving match, as might have been more expected, the Carthaginians would have had the edge.

• Ancient British v. Patrician Romans.

Sunday last week I got around to John’s for a game. He used his Patrician Romans, who now have two completed elements of 4Bd (which look fantastic). The rest are still bare metal. I decided to try out the Ancient Britons, who I’m thinking of taking to Conquest. It seems only proper as I won them at that competition last year. John took 1x3Cv (gen), 2x3Kn, 2x2LH, 2x4Bd, 2x 4Wb, 2x4Ax and 1x2Ps. I took 6x3Wb (1=gen), 3xLCh, 2x2LH and 1x2Ps.

As the defender John laid down a wood on one edge of the board and a couple of gentle hills. I chose to put this wood on one flank. I deployed my warband on a hill with one chariot on the right flank where the wood was (realizing too late that John’s Auxilia would own this!), and the rest of the mounted along with the psiloi on the other flank facing John’s mounted. John had his Auxilia and Psiloi in column on his left to rush into the woods, and his blades and warband in line facing my warband with his mounted on his right flank.

This game lasted quite a while. I advanced off the hill hoping to take the Roman blade and warband while screening the auxilia with my chariot. Unfortunately at the critical moment my PIPs evaporated for what seemed ages. The chariot was caught by the auxilia who then ZOCed my warband. Furthermore, the blades faced my warband with a kink at the point where their general was. No matchup was very attractive, and I was sitting at over 200 paces, so to contact needed PIPs for a double move.

The whole thing could have gone far worse, but on the left flank I sent in my chariots, light horse and psiloi against John’s light horse and knights. I succeeded in killing both his light horse; in the first round with a lucky result (doubling one LH) and in the second round by sending in my psiloi against the other with a LH flanking it. In these fights my chariots were lucky not to die to the knights, as at least one of them was overlapped. I managed to get one knight flanked and attacked to the rear. It stuck one turn but died the next. However, with the game 3-2 to me I had to survive two attacks on my warband to get another crack at winning on the left flank. It was not to be; the knight took out a rear rank warband and the psiloi-supported auxilia with an overlap got the rear-rank warband on the other flank.

• Review:

My big mistake was not to put the wood in John’s set-up zone. Where it was gave a flank to John and something for his auxilia to do. For all that the Britons nearly did it despite PIP starvation in the mid game. They’re a fun army I think I will take to Conquest.

• Gauls v. Later Swiss. 02.10.10.

Today I went to the Auckland Wargames Club for a DBA day. As it turned out this was not well attended, to put it mildly. Still John and I had two good games.  The first was my Gauls against his Swiss. He took the option of a 6Kn instead of a 6Bd. This game was soon over when my general was 6-1ed by his 2LH when I attacked them with an overlap against me. This was only the second combat of the game. We decided to keep playing and treat this as a recoil.

I was the defender and went for a large central wood and two steep hills in opposite corners. One of these was on my right flank and that was where the action was. John kept his two psiloi on his hill to stop a cavalry of mine from scooting down a road to his rear. For my part I shielded this flank with my psiloi and that cavalry. Meanwhile the commander and the other cavalry went over to the right flank in an attempt to get around it. This is where they met John’s 2LH. I had sent the bulk of my warband (5 of them) into the woods where they had a stand-off with John’s pike and knight. The other three warband were on the hill.

As the battle progressed (in the alternate reality where my general didn’t die), John advanced four pike to support his LH against my cavalry and three warband. Even worse than in the game the weekend before I had atrocious PIPs. My general chased the 2LH to the edge of the board before doubling it. My warband then started to get stuck into his pike. One came out of the wood and peeled off the rear rank, only to get double (was that another 6-1? I think so!). Then my general got adventurous and tried the same trick on the side. He was recoiled and quickly surrounded by the pike he’d attacked and one of the pike that had stayed back.

He got a stick the first round, and this is when things got interesting. In my turn I got enough PIPs to attack his pike in detail (single-ranked pike against warband, yummy!). I managed to make it 3-2 that turn, unfortunately my casualty was my general. For around four turns I could not get that next pike, even though it was single-ranked and overlapped! Things were getting grim at 3-3 with the 6Kn approaching when I finally got him at even odds. The honours were evenly spread: 1G-0 to John and 4-3G to me; though my general might have wondered at my putting him into harm’s way so many times!

* Review:

I could do with not risking the general so much. The first time it seemed reasonable, as the risk was small and I stood to open up that flank; the second was not sensible. The problem was frustration at poor PIPs.

• Ancient Spanish v. Gauls. 02.10.10.

After a quick lunch we had another game. I used the Spanish and John took the Gauls. It was a chance for a historical match-up. I was the defender and went for two woods and a steep hill. One of these ended up on John’s right flank and the others on my left flank (the hill) and right flank (the wood). I opted for two blocks of three psiloi-supported auxilia again. One was in column on the hill and had a pair of psiloi and the light horse next to it on the left flank. The other was between the wood and the hill with the general behind it.

I needed to advance my central block fast to avoid having the left flank out of command range. I did this, despite not really wanting to face most of the Gallic cavalry (his general went close to the wood to support the action that developed there.

As it turned out the battle on my left flank sucked up all our attention so that the Gallic left never got into action. Things started well with a rear-supported warband going down in a confused action with the psiloi and light horse. The auxilia had to deploy out of column and struggled to get psiloi support. Some bad luck led to an auxilia and its psiloi support going down. I then made it 3-3 when an auxilia and a psiloi flanked another warband. At this point I committed my general to the battle, to avoid the auxilia being overlapped. It was a risk, but he had good odds. Unfortunately he was a total coward, rolling three successive 1s in combat, eventually falling when flanked. My risk undid me and I lost a general for the third time that day!

• Review:

This was a fun battle. It developed fast and could easily have gone the way of the Spanish. The committing of the general was a risk as he could be overlapped; it was to avoid the auxilia facing a warband at 2-2, odds where it could easily be doubled. Still, it was probably a risk best avoided.

Spanish flocked and ready to fight

I’ve updated the army page for the Ancient Spanish, who are ready to fight now. The Carthaginians will have to find a new camp, and the Spanish cavalry may soon get to fight, after being painted months ago.

All the Spanish available to me; it's more than is needed, but they're popular as mercenaries.

These figures have ‘steel paper’ stuck to their bases to make for better storage; I’ve now done this for the Komnenans and the Celts as well (the Carthaginians had been done for a while). I also tried ‘Ogryn flesh’ on their faces, but I can’t say it did anything that the Klear wash before hadn’t done, beyond deepening their tan!

The flocking saw the last elements for the Komnenans completed: their camp, their Kontarioi (4Sp) and the second element of psiloi. These are my best paint job, but they’re done.

The psiloi (Museum slingers), kontarioi and camp (Essex mules, a Chariot dog, Outpost foot and Museum monks).

I’ve still got a lot of other elements waiting flocking (notably the Pre-feudal Scots and some early feudals), but I’ve made a start on the Chariot Polybians. I’m also thinking I should do a few more CB Celts so that the Gauls can face Carthaginians who have Gallic mercenaries, but it’s probably not so urgent.

Komnenans go east and meet the Shamanid Goblins.

The other night I got to have a game of DBA with my friend Steve, who was briefly over from Melbourne. I used my Komnenans, as they are now complete (though the latest units are still awaiting flock). Steve used my Goblins, opting for the Shamanid list over the Gobnovids. This has few options, and he took 3x3Cv (1=cmd), 1x2LH (spider), 1xEl (Trolls), 3x4Sp, 1x2Ps, 1x3Ax and 2x3Bw. I took 4x3Cv (1=cmd), 4x2LH, 1x4Bd, 1x3Ax and 2x2Ps. The Ax and Ps option seemed better than the 3Bw for dealing with the elephant.

I was the defender and went for very little terrain, a central gentle hill and two small woods. I deployed with all the light horse on the right wing, the cavalry in the centre and the infantry on the left. The Goblins deployed with the auxilia in the woods, followed by cavalry (and the general), the trolls, the spear and finally the archers. On the right flank wolfriders and the spider were in reserve. In response to this I swapped two of the light horse for a psiloi and the auxilia.

Initial Deployments: Komnenans on the left.

PIPs were plentiful at the start  (as were the photographs!)  and we advanced rapidly.

Turn 1: 6 PIPs apiece.

Turn 2: more high PIPs; those goblin auxilia ZOCed me in such a way that I couldn't contact them this turn.

Turn 3: PIPs continue high. the Goblins retreat and it's the turn of my auxilia to do some ZOCing. Out of camera the two light horse have shot around the woods.

Turn 4 (Goblins): the auxilia hold off the supported attack by the wolfriders.

Turn 4 (Komnenans): the PIPs dry up (1 PIP), which the Varangians use to destroy some archers. If that 6 had been rolled by the auxilia, it'd have been bye-bye wolfriders.

Turn 5 (Goblins): the spear put an element of Kavallarioi to flight and the auxilia (and their support) are now overthrown.

Turn 5 (Komnenans): Eek, another 1 PIP; the Varangians only recoil the other archer.

The Goblin wolfriders and trolls now attacked, as did their spider, which the fearless Varangians put to flight. The trolls recoiled the Kavallarioi they faced, but next to them the wolfriders, even with overlap support, were driven back.

Turn 6: (Goblins): No great success for the Goblins.

In response The Komnenans had 4 PIPs and retired their Kavallarioi. The Goblins then got only one PIP, which they used to try to shoot the Varangians from behind, without success. The Varangians got to use the only Komnenan PIP to go after these unsportsmanlike Goblins.

Turn 7: PIP drought all round.

The Goblins used their 2 PIPs to straighten the line and to recall the spider from its flight. The Komnenans then got 5 PIPs and went after those archers with hammer and tongs, straightened their line and moved the stalled light horse.

Turn 8: Some signs of movement by the Komnenans.

With three PIPs the Goblins advanced their main line and retreated the wolfriders on their right. The Komnenans had 6 PIPs and tried to pick off the auxilia on the Goblins line, while chasing wolfriders and spiders with their light horse.

Turn 9: The auxilia hold firm.

With two PIPs the Goblins start to close in on my light horse. When he 6-1s one, it starts to look very grim! The auxilia continues to stick.

Turn 10 (Goblins): Oh dear, those light horse are not in a good spot!

The Komnenans are desperate to win this turn before the next light horse goes, but it’s all too much of a forlorn hope; there are no sure kills. Although the auxilia are recoiled, the wolfriders resist the combined attacks of the light horse on the left wing.

Turn 10 (Komnenans): Lucky dice don't save the Komnenans.

Two PIPs are enough for the Goblins, and they close on the light horse; the commander slips in front of the spider, freeing from the light horse’s ZOC and allowing it to flank the light horse. Despite rolling a 6, the light horse are destroyed, and on the left flank the wolfriders in similar straits continue to hold.

Turn 11 (Goblins): Game over, as the second light horse is destroyed.

• Review:

Sending the light horse around the flank was a big mistake. They could have kept my auxilia alive and killed his. Their unsupported, PIP-sucking death was what cost me the game. When I finally got some PIPs, they should have turned back and supported the main battle, getting back into command range. Some learning to be done there!

Although I lost, I felt that the Komnenans were very competitive, and it was mistakes on my part that undid me. That said, those Goblins are proving tough to beat; in DBA they’re still unbeaten!

Goblins go heavy: Free Company Goblins v. Later Swiss

Last Saturday I got round to John’s for a game of DBA. We took a while to settle on armies. I was feeling fed-up with preparatation for IWC, so when John decided to use his Later Swiss, I looked for a historical opponent that my Goblins could mimic. As they have only four mounted (here having to be 3Kn), a lot of the options were out. However, Free Company or Armagnac (IV/74) proved doable, and I went with them. They had the option of dismounting knights, which I played as already dismounted, giving me: 4x3Kn (1=cmd), 1x3Bd, 2x4Sp, 4x3Bw, 1x2Ps. The spear were taken, as I didn’t have any more that could pass muster as blades. John took the 6Kn instead of the 6Bd.

Despite having aggression 4 I was still the defender. I went for two gentle hills and a medium-sized wood. Sorry no pictures. John got the wood in the middle of my set-up area, so I put most of my army on one side of the woods, and three 3Kn on the other. John had the two hills nearer to him. He responded by placing all his pikes and the knights facing the three 3Kn; on the other hill he had the 2LH and the two 2Ps to defend the camp. However, I swapped out two 3Bw for two of the 3Kn, and suddenly the camp looked a whole lot less secure.

An approximation of the initial deployment (red = Swiss). Some of the proportions are right, but perhaps the terrain is too big, as I couldn't bring myself to place the deployment the correct distance in, as it looked too odd.

Indeed, when the Swiss kept rolling almost nothing for PIPs, things got even worse. However, 3Kn aren’t that fast, and by the time they were getting close to the Swiss crossbowmen the 6Kn was already ZOCing them and pikes were moving across too. In fact it could have got very sticky, but at this point the dice were exceptionally kind and I 6-1 a 2Ps (didn’t really need so much, but clearly they weren’t sticking around) and then when the 6Kn attacked I 6-1′ed them too! Not bad for the first two rounds of combat!

At this point, however, the Swiss pike started to chase my knights, and I was falling back from them as fast as PIPs would let me. I lost a knight to his light horse, but by that time I had two elements of archers in range of the light horse and the remaining crossbowmen. I killed the light horse and kept recoiling the 2Ps, but couldn’t quite kill it.

Meanwhile, in the centre I was reforming a line at an angle. The two knights had retired to the side of the advancing pikes (they were advancing to my left) and the spear and blades were now facing the pikes. On the other flank, the other four pikes were advancing and were met by the two bow and the knight. Having lost most of his mobile forces, John was pretty well rooted, and the end came when my archers destroyed a pike with shooting.

The Goblin impersonators continue their unbeaten record!

• Review

The Goblins acquitted themselves well to being knights. That extra 100 paces makes a real difference to the mobility of 3Cv, and if I’d had 3Cv in this set-up I reckon I’d have got across the battlefield in no time. As it was, it was really the bad dice at the start of the game that lost John the game, particularly the 6-1 on the 6Kn. Had that gone the other way, and had I had a drought of PIPs at that juncture, my commander may have encountered John’s, and the odds would have been pretty grim! All in all, though, it was an enjoyable game. John’s starting to want something a bit more mobile!

North Shore Wargames Club DBA Day

Last Sunday MEDBAG, the Middle Earth DBA Gamers, had their first meeting. We’d organized a DBA event at the North Shore Wargames Club. John had had a couple of games there with Philip the week before to create some interest, and on the day two others joined Philip from the North Shore Club (it was the third meeting of the month that falls on the fifth Sunday, so not a busy day); along with these ‘locals’ John and I got Joel along, making six of us. We each played four games in slightly over four hours starting around 11.30 and finishing around 3.30.

John had made some game boards, and we used preset terrain; Each of the locals played each of us and then we finished off by playing one of the locals again. I used my Komnenan Byzantines for the first three games, and went with the same army for each of them: 4x3Cv (1 = cmd), 4x2LH, 3x4Bw, 1x4Bd. There were a few times when the 3Kn for a 2LH would have been useful or a 3Ax and two 2Ps for the three 4Bw, but until I’ve given this configuration a few tries I’m not sure how to use them, so figured I’d stick with it for practice.

• Game 1: Early Carthaginians

First up I faced Andrew who had Early Carthaginians. The Carthaginians are one of his favourite armies, I think, though he usually plays in 25mm. He’d not played DBA for a while, and his rules were 2.0, which proved to have a few important differences from 2.2. As the defender, he deployed to protect his camp against my greater mobility.

Initial Deployments: two elements of light horse are mostly out of sight on the right.

I deployed with light horse on each wing and the archers and cavalry in the centre. I soon became uneasy about his heavy chariots on the right wing and regretted advancing my light horse so far. I started to retire the light horse on the other flank for support, but they didn’t get any big burst of PIPs to get into action. Instead, a messy action developed in which I destroyed his cavalry and a HCh at the cost of one 2LH (and a rather exposed right flank. I might have had the edge here, if I’d not advanced my archers against his spear (hardly necessary and scarcely wise!). Andrew had a turn to make me suffer with ugly recoils and it was all over.

Before the end; overlapped Kavellarioi faced psiloi-supported spear and overlapped bow face spear; neither can afford to recoil!

• Game 2: New Kingdom Egyptians

Next up was Philip with his New Kingdom Egyptians. I think I was the defender, and I soon had cause to regret the deployment of my bow—facing his blade! I also had my light horse facing his archers, and seemed a bit like a possum in the headlights with both!

Initial Deployments: Again there are light horse on each wing.

His archers advanced into range of my stationary cavalry on the left and started recoiling them; I just didn’t seem to have the PIPs to do anything there; I think I was lucky not to lose many elements, only one, I think. In the centre his blade met my archers and to my great surprise I 6-1′ed one of them with supported fire. It would be my only real success, as on the right the combined efforts of my cavalry and light horse were not enough to destroy his chariots, and when he created a ‘buttocks of death’ situation for my general with a warband, it was all over. His chariots had also destroyed a 2LH on the left flank.

The final position; the absence of the warband and the general make a big gap on the right flank.

• Game 3: Early Myceneans

My next game was with Kendall; we were both playing for our first victory. He was using Myceneans, though his list was for 1.1 (not a huge difference). He ended up with a gully along his deployment area and stuck his camp behind it protected by a pair of pike on each side. After I saw his deployment I used one 3Cv to block the gap between the rough going on my left and had all the 2LH on the right flank, though one was attached to the line of 3Cv because of this element swap.

Initial Deployments: Komnenans on the left.

The game went my way because Kendall didn’t know that 2LH QK spear and pike under 2.2, so he moved his pike out on his left flank to meet my 2LH, who made a fair bit of work eating them up. On the other flank, he stomped a pair of my bow and one of my cavalry. Surprisingly the Turkopouloi survived this combat; in fact, they successfully took out his general, making it a great battle for light horse. The Komnenans got their first victory in a close battle.

The light horse have surrounded the last of the pikes and in the centre the Mycenean general has been destroyed.

• Game 4: Carthaginian Civil War

For the last game we played one of the home team again. Andrew and I decided that a Carthaginian civil war was in order, so he got his Later Carthaginians out to face mine. This might have been from the Truceless War with the mercenaries at the end of the First Punic War (except for the presence of elephants on both sides). I was the defender, and had to deal with my spear being targeted by his elephants and warbands. I did this by swapping them for the Spanish (3Ax and 2Ps).

Initial Deployment: my spear swap out of the way of his elephants and warbands.

The initial combats went my way, and I had him two down, with the elephants trampling his Spanish 3Ax and I think a spear coming to grief, but the he fought back, and while his warband and my Spanish fought inconclusively, he took out my two elephants with a single element of Numidian skirmishers.

Midgame and things favour seem to favour my side. Despite the beach to my back, Andrew wasn't tempted to try a littoral landing.

It got increasingly desperate, but fortunately my Gauls were able to attack his elephant from BGo (they had a toe on that hill). They recoiled it into another element and he was four down. At the time I thought he could have QKed the Gauls if they lost (and I’d have lost my fourth element); only later did I read a post on Fanaticus that pointed out they were safe in BGo (good to know!). A lucky victory for my Carthos!

• Review:

It was a very fun day. All the games were played in a friendly spirit, but then you kind of expect that with DBA. I lost twice with the Komnenans, but each time I could see an obvious mistake, and I could certainly do better next time! I’m also getting better with the Carthaginians. I certainly don’t worry about whether they can win or not any more—thankfully.

I’m looking forward to a similar event at the Auckland Wargames Club later this month. Thanks to John for organizing this and to Philip for hosting it. Hopefully it’ll be the first of many more.