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Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Chariot Wars, Rematch

After last Monday's contest with The Rejects (see Chariot Wars!), they all agreed that a replay on the following Monday would be fun.  Having only been introduced to Basic Impetvs in that game, this week's game provides a chance to reinforce what was learned.  Perhaps, an opportunity to experiment with different tactics may come up as well. 

All five Rejects attended but only four actively participated.  Given the loss of one player, commands were shifted.  Surjit jumped over to the Hittite Army taking command of the Left Wing.  Lee took sole command of the Egyptian Left.  As in Game #1, Ray commanded the Egyptian Right while Richard commanded the Hittite Right.
Two armies arrayed for battle.
In last week's game, both armies led with their chariots and soon the battlefield was littered with destroyed chariots.  The great loss in the mobile arm of both armies brought a quick end to the battle.  Would the players learn from this experience and alter their tactics?  Let's find out.

Both armies started with a different approach from the last game.  While chariots on the Egyptian Left and Hittite Right advance with the battle lines, chariotry on the other wings remain motionless.  Hmm.  Is each army planning to hold some chariots back in reserve?  Not for long!  The Hittite chariots on the Left Wing begin to move forward.  
Chariots on one wing trot off toward the enemy
while chariots on the other wing remain stationary.
Hittite chariots on the left remain in reserve...
but then strike off.
On the Egyptian Left and Center, the bow-centric Egyptian army moves into effective bow range.  The Hittite battle line is pelted with arrows from both skirmishers and massed archers.  Much of the Hittite Right is thrown into disorder.   Annoyed by the presence of these bowmen, the Hittite chariots attack!  In an act of extreme bravely or absurd foolishness, two Egyptian skirmishers fail to evade the oncoming war cart.  Sometimes fortune favors the foolhardy.  Already disordered coming in, the skirmishers succeed in driving off one of the enemy chariots.  

The second Hittite chariot charges into a body of massed bowmen.  The bowmen deliver a punishing volley of arrows into the attackers but the unwavering Hittites come on.  Maintaining its momentum, the chariot hits the bowmen and sends the defenders scurrying through their line to the rear.  Hot in pursuit, the Hittite chariot crashes into the waiting Egyptian second line.  This time, the Egyptian line stands firm.  In a bloody melee, the unsupported Hittite chariot fails to break through.  It turns around and races for the rear.  Its work is done for the day.  In a matter of minutes, the Hittite chariot arm on the right is destroyed.       
Egyptian bowmen harass the Hittite battle line.
With one Hittite chariot driven off,
the second charges in.

That chariot, too, is driven off.
Seeing his chariotry on the right give way, the Hittite King gallops into action.  With the Egyptian Center weakened from the clashes moments before, the Hittite King strikes!  Hitting the Egyptians before they have time to recover, the King puts the Egyptians to flight.  Destroying infantry as he passes through the line, the King sets his sight onto the Egyptian camp.  In a series of successful melees and pursuits, the Hittite King cuts through the entire enemy line to sack the camp.  
The Hittite King rips through the Egyptian line... 
and sacks the enemy camp.
With the center torn apart and his camp destroyed, Pharaoh attempts to stabilize the situation.  On the Egyptian Left, one chariot attacks a body of infantry but is badly repulsed.  On the Egyptian Right, infantry and chariots advance toward the enemy behind a skirmish screen.  The Pharaoh, himself, turns his cart around and he is off in pursuit of the Hittite King.
Egyptian chariot attacks and is repulsed.
Egyptian Right moves forward
 behind a skirmisher screen.
Pharaoh goes after the Hittite King!
Egyptian skirmishers along with massed archers soften up the Hittite line.  The Egyptians await the right moment to strike.  In the Egyptian Rear, the exhausted Hittite King is caught by the hard-charging Pharaoh.  In a few minutes, the King has been dispatched and the Pharaoh turns back toward the main battle.

As word of the King's demise spreads, the Egyptian chariots on the right strike!  In a series of melees, the Hittite Left is torn apart.  The two chariots on the Hittite Left are put to flight.  With the King dead and the Hittite Left destroyed, this battle is over.  
Hittites endure preparatory missile fire.
Having dispatched the Hittite King,
Pharaoh turns back to main battle.
The Hittite Left crumbles!
Victory to the Egyptians!

Again, the battle hung in balance until the end with fortunes sometimes swinging violently back and forth.  The King's gallop through the Egyptian lines looked decisive.  Until it was not.  Over-extended and unsupported, the King found himself in a pickle.
Egyptian chariots in hot pursuit!
The battle could have easily swung in the Hittite's favor but, today, it was not too be.  The loss of their King and the destruction of both wings of chariotry was too much to overcome.

Congratulations to Ray and Lee for an impressive victory.  My condolences to Richard and Surjit in a victory lost.  Another exciting game on the plains of the Near East.

Besides an engaging game that was over in under three hours, the players, I suspect, may walk away with a little more understanding of the rules and how to wield the weapons at their disposal.

Thanks, fellas, that was great fun!

54 comments:

  1. Excellent report and game. I have learnt a lot in these two encounters. My takeaway from this game is the balance of positioning yourself whilst at the same time harrassing and pressuring the enemy sufficiently so that their space for repositioning is limited.
    Thank you Jonathan.

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    1. Thank you, Richard! I am happy to see that you are enjoying as well as learning from these games. You list good take-aways from the contest. They both have been good fun for me to watch the battles unfold.

      Having Lee's skirmishers disorder your chariot and then repulse it was a bit of bad luck for you. When you cut the wide swath through the center of the Egyptian Army, I thought the Hittites would prevail. Running chariots takes great care.

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    2. I aimed to play the game with bringing my spears and heavy foot to the fore to close with them as quickly as possible. Alas, having to move the chariots out of the way created a dynamic I didn't really wish for. So I guess my second takeaway is that I would deploy this Hittite army differently for what I wanted to do to deliver a different tactical approach.

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    3. Next time we bring these armies out for battle, we ought to consider having a pre-battle "free" deployment so both commanders may situate their armies as they wish. When the curtain is lifted, it may provide a shock to both commanders.

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    4. I like that idea, Jon. I know we would all deploy differently, but we should try to deploy historically correct, but I don't suppose we know how that was, as it was a few years ago!

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    5. Ray, we could confine deployments to "historical" norms. Perhaps having a certain mix of troop types deploying within a LEFT, CENTER, and RIGHT zones?

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    6. I think that it would also be nice NOT to know what each army's breakpoint is, nor to know either your or your opponents clock. I did notice that as the games went on players asked the numbers on the clocks. Maybe it's just me, but I want to play until I win or lose without playing the points game... not explicitly or with certainty anyway.

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    7. Fair points. If all agree, I have no objections.

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  2. Great to see the King and Pharaoh fight it out. What is the ‘best method, for handling the Hittite chariotry with these rules?

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    1. Handling chariotry requires care. I leave it to the players to figure-out that puzzle.

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  3. A great looking game, love the sight of the Hittite King crashing through the ranks of Egyptians

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    1. Thanks, Neil! When the Hittite King laid barren the Egyptian Center, I thought the writing was on the wall. One benefit of BI is that it is often not over until it is over. The Egyptians proved that today.

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  4. Thar was another exciting and entertaining game Jon. Well done to all involved!

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  5. Regicide is exactly what I would expect in a Bronze Age battle!

    Another marvelous game in the books, Jon.

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    1. Sometimes, it is tough to be King! Thanks for commenting, Greg!

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  6. It certainly doesn't pay to be a King or a Pharaoh in these battles, or at least to become isolated. I thought the Hittites had it won there, but the Egyptian fightback was well-executed.

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    1. Becoming isolated without support can be the death knell for a ruler. In each of these battles, the loss of the CiC contributed greatly to the loss of battle. I thought the Hittites had blown the battle wide open too only to have that door slammed shut minutes later.

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  7. Another hammer and tongs battle.Chariots are fragile if they stop.

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    1. Another exciting contest with many highs and lows. All great fun. Running chariots takes some skill.

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  8. Thanks for another interesting report Jonathan.

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  9. Another great game there and full of action, with the pendulum swinging too and fro, which is good to see. The chariots were used more carefully this game compared to the last one, or so it seemed to me. In some rulesets, sacking the enemy camp gives a default win to the other side, but not so here. Is the camp purely decorative or does it have a place within the game in terms of victory points etc?

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    1. This battle was full of action, no doubt. The chariots were utilized in a more reserved fashion at the start. Once the action began, chariots came out of reserve quickly and got caught up in the fray. Sacking the enemy camp knocks points off of the Army Breakpoint Clock. When the clock strikes zero, the battle ends and the loser must withdraw.

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  10. A great spectacle and an interesting/exciting unfolding of the action. Are the dust clouds an aesthetic or do they play a part in the rules?
    Stephen

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    1. Hi Stephen! Yes, the dust clouds denote that the chariot is in motion. There are both advantages and disadvantages of being in motion.

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  11. Another grand and interesting battle, using your chariots to effect is a fine art it seems.

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  12. I seem to remember that chariots can be hard to turn around? Getting through the enemy lines is the easy part but taking advantage of being behind the lines is another matter, especially if the unit is on its own. Smashing game by the looks of it.

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    1. JBM, you are probably thinking back to commanding Sumerian battle carts. These lighter, two-wheeled chariots are more maneuverable. They still can get into trouble faster than they can get out, however.

      This was another enjoyable clash. You get your chance next week.

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  13. I wonder whether the aggressive use of chariots really needs more chariots? Perfectly authentic for them to be vulnerable and powerful but only operating in pairs seems to give a high risk of an entire wing being lost in the blink of an eye.

    Anthony Clipsom

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    1. "More" is often the answer that many a wargamer claims is the solution! Perhaps chariots ought to be deployed in larger numbers? Chariots require a lot of real estate to operate and this clash was meant as a training exercise to acclimate players to BI. I will add in more chariots next time and see what falls out. Good suggestion!

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  14. A super looking game Jonathan anf good to see the ongoing support of Impetus!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks! For me, BI provides a fast and interesting contest. I do not see it played much elsewhere, though.

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  15. An interesting couple of games with the commanders leading the charge, not always successfully.

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    1. Well, these games were very interesting and entertaining for me! Note that the armies that lost their CiC ultimately lost the battle. There may be a lesson in there...

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  16. T'was a great game Jon, thanks for sorting it all out for us. It was a very cagey game all the way through, after my chariot heriocs in our first game, which led to a loss, Richard did the exact same thing.
    Its very hard to keep it all togther, I think perhaps we need to close as one unit, not go charging off as we did in the first and this game. But hey, what the hell do I know???

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    1. Thanks, Ray! Glad you enjoyed both games. Watching both unfold was great fun for me too.

      You will have more opportunities to test your theories on the fields of battle.

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  17. Another fun account of this well balanced battle. The first game saw Pharaoh dispatched and now it was the Hittite king’s turn. Wonder who it’ll be next time round?

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  18. Splendid game, another vote for more chariots!
    Best Iain

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  19. Well that as an exciting game. It’s given me some food for thought for our game next week. Whether that can be translated to the table is another matter.
    Chris/Nundanket

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    1. It was a very exciting game. If you can gain something from the BatReps in anticipation of your game then that is very good. We will soon see what you have learned.

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  20. Good to see the chariots back out in action Jon 👍

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    1. It is fun to have them back out and a very good sign to see you back!

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  21. Another splendid game…
    I thought the Hittites had it there… A fantastic recovery by the Egyptians….

    All the best. Aly

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  22. King on Pharaoh action! Doesn't get much more decisive than that.

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    1. Indeed! When the Big Men go mano-a-mano, only one army is typically left on the field.

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