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Thursday, October 12, 2023

King vs Pharaoh

After two run-outs of the chariots with The Rejects, another of the regular remote groups stepped up to the plate for a Wednesday contest.  While this group saw action in the Punic Wars' battles a few week's ago, Wednesday's action would be their first exposure to commanding chariots on the open battlefield.  

The two armies would be as in the prior two games featuring an Egypt vs Hatti clash.  We had four players scheduled but Chris had to drop out at last minute due to illness.  That left the two David's and Mark to take up the reins.  David B. (DB) would command the Hittite Army while David C. (DC) and Mark would split command of the Egyptian Army.  DC would take the role of Pharaoh with Mark commanding the left wing comprised of mostly Kushites. 
Mark's Kushites
DC's Egyptians
DB's Hittite Army
Armies arrayed for battle.
Let's see how the battle played out.

The battle opens with both armies closing the distance to the enemy.  While the Hittites bring their chariots up, the Egyptians hold their chariots back.  The Kushites begin working their skirmishers out and around the Hittite Right.
Pharaoh advances his infantry.
Hittite Left moves out.
The Hittite Right rolls forward too. 
As the two Hittite chariots on the left move up, they attract skirmisher fire.  The lead chariot is disordered.  One of the Hittite chariots on the right veers off toward the center.  Will the weight of the Hittite chariotry fall heavily upon Pharaoh? 
Skirmishers harass Hittite chariots.
A third Hittite chariot peels off to threaten Pharaoh.
Intent on dispersing Egyptian skirmishers shielding the main battle line, the lead Hittite chariot charges in.  Loosing arrows going in, Pharaoh's skirmisher in the path is driven back by the hard-charging Hittite.  Although weakened, the skirmisher does not break but falls back to the main battle line.  The Hittite pursues and crashes into the Egyptian battle line.  The massed archers to the left of the skirmishers shoot into the chariot causing more damage.  Already nearing exhaustion, the lead chariot cannot break the enemy line.  It pulls away in search of safety.
Hittite chariot charges in.
One Hittie chariot repulsed as a second one goes in!
Seeing the chariot to his left repulsed, the second Hittite chariot goes in against the second skirmisher.  Again, the enemy skirmisher is driven off as it falls back through its lines.  The Hittite continues on in pursuit striking the enemy battle line.  In a brief clash, he too fails to break through the enemy line.  He wheels about and heads for the rear.   
Second Hittite chariot repulsed!
Witnessing the turning back of the enemy to the Pharaoh's front, the Kushite brings up one of his two chariots to deal with the third enemy chariot in the center. Releasing a barrage of arrows as he closes, the enemy is overpowered.  The Kushite sends the enemy chariot limping back toward its own line, severely damaged.  Possibly knowing that this is the last action of the turn, the Kushite chooses not to pursue.  The turn ends.
The Kushite chariot strikes
but does not pursue.
With the start of a new turn, Pharaoh wins the initiative!

Note: In many of the previous games, DC has endured a string of some of the worst luck of the dice I have seen.  In this battle, DC's prior misfortunes are forgotten as Pharaoh dishes out punishment while winning crucial initiative rolls.

Having won the initiative, Pharaoh turns over command to the Kushite for the first activation.  Mark wastes no time in following up with (essentially) a double move.

The Kushite chariot, in the center, catches the retreating enemy chariot and quickly dispatches it.  This time, the Kushite pursues.  Pursuit carries the chariot into another Hittite chariot.  Like his comrade before, he is sent toward the rear.  Still the Kushite pursues.  Pursuit carries him into an enemy javelin unit.  The enemy buckles before him and runs, carrying away a unit caught in its path of retreat.  Slicing like a hot knife through butter, the Kushite carries on his rampage.  His pursuit allows him to catch up to the retreating enemy chariot.  Hit from behind, the enemy disperses.  Much of the Hittite center is gone and the battle line split!
The Kushite drives into the enemy line.
Opens up a hole...
and drives deep into enemy battle line.
With much of the Hittite Right in shambles, Pharaoh orders his wing of chariots to attack!  Like the parting of the Red Sea, Egyptian spearmen move out of the way to allow the chariots to pass.

Pharaoh's lead chariot catches the enemy from behind and destroys it.  Without wasting any time, the second Hittite chariot becomes the focus of pursuit.  With a similar fate to its compatriot, this Hittite chariot, caught from behind, is dispatched.  The Hittite Left is wide open.  
Another Hittite chariot bites the dust.
And another one goes!
The Hittite Left is no more.
The Hittite King's Army is teetering on the brink of destruction.  Still, he chooses to see if the situation can be salvaged.  Ordering spearmen forward, he attacks the enemy only to be repulsed.  The battle is over.

Trying to stabilize the Hittite Center fails.
The King is without an army!
Incredible.

Impressive victory by the Pharaoh and his Kushite ally.  The Egyptian Army tore apart the Hittites leaving the enemy chariotry in tatters.  The fighting was over in under three hours.  

Great job to Pharaoh David and Mark in their spectacular victory.  My condolences to King David in the defeat of his Hittite Army.

What are the players first impressions of chariot warfare?  I await dispatches from the field.  Great fun to watch this exciting battle unfold.  Thanks fellas!

Another refight of this battle is scheduled for later today in a F2F match up.

48 comments:

  1. The opening and then the account in general reads (to me at least of not too much knowledge) exactly how a real chariot army battle may have unfolded - nice game with lots of replayability.

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    1. The rules are working for me as well. While there is a level of abstraction (which I like), the different chariot tactics (hit and run, caracole, shock) can all be modeled reasonably.

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  2. Dave C and I had a plan to flank the Hittite’s with our skirmishers stop his chariots cold with massed archery and infantry and only deploy our own chariots when a clear opportunity presented itself. I think we largely managed to do that. It was great to see Dave C throw off his poor die rolling curse and really go for it. I was lucky in a way because I had played a one on one chariot game with you back in February? So I knew a little about their vulnerability before this match up. Commiserations to Dave B who enjoyed huge success last time out but was on the the other end of a kerb stomping this time. Dave C’s poor die rolling jinx found a new home in Dave B’s D6’s last night I think.

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    1. Sounds like a classic combined arms operation. Well done Mark and Napoleon Dave.
      Sorry to have missed it.
      Chris

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    2. JBM, having a plan going into battle and sticking with it can pay dividends. Of course, seeing DC's dice rolling not only revert to the mean but head off in the other direction helps too. I was very happy to see DC have a bit of good fortune at the table this time. If we are to mention luck, did you not roll four 6s on four dice? Incredible! I thought this a very fun game that you played very well.

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    3. Chris, you missed another good scrap, for sure. Hope you can arise from your Sick Bed soon.

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    4. Yes the dice were certainly with Dave C and not me, but I can't really use that as an excuse! Great fun, nonetheless..

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    5. David, the dice were no friend to you yesterday. Still, that would not stop me from using that excuse.

      For me, it the game was great fun, indeed!

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    6. I was moving my skirmishers across to the flank as per our plan when the Hittite chariots hove into view in front of them. I stopped them then, partly because I thought it might be good to take some steam out of the chariots if possible and partly because they were in front of my archers and I thought having the skirmishers there might stop the chariots running over and obliterating my archers. We were lucky in the end, if Dave B had rolled better that flank might well have been mangled just as the Hittite right was mangled by Mark's chariot. So I'm still not sure if the better tactic is to go steaming in with the chariots, using them as a tin opener to open a hole in the enemy line that you can then exploit with infantry, or if it's best to hold them back and use them to exploit after your archers and infantry have worn the enemy front line down. Pharaoh Dave I.

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    7. Pharaoh Dave I, your words are like poetry. Perfect content from which the Relief Chiselers can work. I reckon they will omit the parts about Pharaoh being lucky and the enemy unlucky.

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  3. Well done Jon……..impressed with your enthusiasm to facilitate these battles 👍

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  4. Swift and brutal no dilly dallying by either side there. The chariot action seemed to capture how it may have been in reality, in my mind at least.

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    1. You nailed it, Phil! The chariot action is working for me as I mentioned to Norm in my response above.

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  5. A perfectly timed charge by the chariots!

    Excellent table as always Jon.

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    1. Perfectly timed, no doubt! I appreciate your encouragement, Greg. If ever interested in trying a cross-state, remote game, let me know.

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  6. Thanks Jon, it was a great game despite my very poor performance! I think after that I should not be allowed out on my own for some weeks.. I admit I didn't really have a plan beyond 'chariots - chaarrge!' and that was quickly frustrated by my opponents' more sensible approach. Funny how the dice gods seem to sense when you are not in control, and will punish you for it. Oh well, some valuable lessons will ( I hope ) have been learned.. Congrats to my excellent opponents on a well-deserved victory.

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    1. You are welcome!

      You make a very interesting point about the Dice Gods sensing when a player is not in control. This could be a lesson we all take away for later reference. Very astute observation! Would DC agree that he was not fully in control in the games when the Dice Gods abandoned him?

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  7. Absolutely! Dice are like horses I think. They can tell if you are nervous and not sure what you are doing, and they will just not behave after that. Last night I was more like Mark, taking control of my dice. They respect me a little more now I think. Pharaoh Dave I.

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    1. Pharaoh Dave I, great analogy with horses. As a Great Horseman, yourself, you would pick up on this correlation.

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  8. Great game Jon, with those rules it really felt like an iron age battle would (not that I would know very much about that!) and it was nice to finally be free of the curse of the dice. I can commiserate with Dave B, rolling 9 dice without a single hit is the worst luck I have seen since that fight in one of the Ilipa games where I rolled 5 dice against him three times in a row without scoring a hit!

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    1. Thanks, Dave! Glad you enjoyed the game and your curse has been lifted. It was good fun packed with loads of action and drama.

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  9. Always enjoyable to see your Biblical collection on the table!

    Christopher

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  10. The aggressive tactics paid off well for the Egyptians and Kushites in this battle, although they didn't seem to overextend themselves as much as occurred in previous games. The different ways chariots can be used is a real highlight of these rules for me.

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    1. The Pharaoh's tactics worked well. Chariots can be utilized in many different ways. We continue to explore the options.

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  11. Excellent write up of an exciting game, I'm enjoying chariot wars!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! I am enjoying the foray into chariot wars too!

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  12. Oh the dice gods strike again. A grest game Jon, with a different outcome and play from both our battles. Keep up the fab work.

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    1. They sure did! This time, they frowned upon another player. Glad you are enjoying these battles and reports.

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  13. Another entertaining game with your Biblical armies with the chariots playing key roles in the games outcome.

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    1. Your turn at the helm with be coming up in a couple of weeks.

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  14. Great looking game Jonathan.
    Now what are the hieroglyphics for Blitzkrieg 😂

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  15. Impressive battle and a stunning victory for the Egyptians

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    1. Thanks, Neil! Very impressive victory by the Egyptians, indeed!

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  16. Impressive table Jonathan. You are involved in so many games that I can't keep up!

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  17. Wow that all seemed to be over pretty quickly - then, I see it was around 3 hours - so a bit longer than kit appeared at first reading! The Hittite chariots didn't seem to live up to their full potential this time.

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    1. Yes, it was a decisive victory and seemingly over quickly. A lot of action can occur in one turn and even one impulse. I try to condense the BatReps so time may seem to p@se more quickly. The Hittite chariots may have been a bit unlucky in their attacks but better preparation could have made the difference. This was the first game with the Biblicals with this group so expect a learning curve to scale as players learn unit capabilities.

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  18. Splendid stuff…
    A surgical victory by the Egyptians from the look of it…


    All the best. Aly

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  19. Great to see the Ancient tactics. I thought for some time how difficult it would be to recreate battles of that period with so little information about these events.

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    1. Game tactics are still developing as we play more games. Are we recreating historical battles and tactics? That answer may be left to the players to decide.

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  20. Fickle dice and careful usage of chariots made for a very exciting battle.

    Very much enjoyed this one Jon!

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    1. Glad you liked it! Yes, chariots require some care in handling.

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