Projects Update and CCA

Command Colors Ancients:
Before our scheduled CCN game on April 2nd, Scott came over Saturday with two of his CCA modules in tow. We played ten games in under seven hours including a long time-out for lunch. Most games lasted no more than 30 minutes. Scott's organizational skills made short work of set up and take down. We refought Akragas four times (S3:J1), Cannae four times (S2:J2), and Ilipa twice (S0:J2). So, we each won five games from both sides of the board. Both Ilipa games were very closely contested with the last Ilipa game witnessing a come-from-behind victory to take three banners on the last turn while Scott only needed one more banner to reach 7. As the day progressed, some rules that had been interpreted incorrectly were rectified and we both saw tactics beginning to evolve in our play.

15mm Napoleonic Project:
The two Portuguese batteries and two Spanish batteries are finished excluding flocking. More unfinished business for Albuera. Spanish higher command is needed. I'll likely need to field four infantry divisional commanders, two cavalry brigade commanders, and two Army command stands. Without having specific Spanish command figures, a search through my inventory of Spanish/British cavalry and British generals must be done to find suitable figures. Perhaps, I could use surplus French generals/ADCs as well?

18mm SYW Project:
Painting the two battalions of Prussian IR#19 wrapped up one week ago on Sunday and work began on the grenadier components for IR#8 and IR#19. These 16 figures exhaust my inventory of Eureka Prussian infantry. Prussian inventory remaining include artillery and a large assortment of cavalry. The Prussian cavalry will be primarily used in fielding a fifth squadron to each of the existing Prussian horse.

 15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project:
The 1859 project was initially geared towards building the OB for San Martino between the Italians and Austrians. My plan remains intact but additional figures must be ordered to muster more than a small scale action. Currently, I have only about 10 battalions painted per combatant. Still too few to conduct the entire battle but perhaps enough to refight the attacks on Monata. The Austrian 1st Hussars are complete and represents the first of the Old Glory cavalry to be completed. The sculpting on the hussars is weak by Old Glory standards. Detail is lacking and molding is weak with most of the troopers brandishing very wispy swords. At some point, these swords will likely require replacement. I hope the French cavalry are better sculpted.

Ilipa Again, Again

In post-game discussions following the first refight of Ilipa with the five-player UK/France group, talk centered on how the Romans could win.  Is a victory even possible?  I assured them that it was and I had done so.  (Note: I still need to chronicle Sunday's game with Matt).  For a refresher on that battle, see A Tale of Two Armies.  

I suggested that a refight might help settle the issue.  All agreed to give the scenario another go.  On Game Day, Wednesday (13 SEP), Mark had another commitment, so the number of players was reduced to four.  Two-teams of two players would make the game. Swapping sides from Game #1, Tony and David B. volunteered to take the Romans straight away.  Tony would command the Roman Right under Scipio while David took Marcius' legion and the center.  That left the Carthaginians to Chris and David C.  Chris took Hasdrubal's central command while David C. commanded the two wings.

Did the Romans turn the tables on the Carthaginians in this contest?  Read on to find out.

The battle opened in a similar fashion to the first game.  That is, the two lines slowly closed the distance while skirmishers deployed ahead of the main battle line harassed their opposition.  Roman Velites on both wings were very effective in driving off Carthaginian elephants from each wing.  To stabilize the Carthaginian Left, Spanish cavalry attack.  They too are driven off.

Velites harass the enemy elephant.

Elephant on the Carthaginian Left is driven off.

Elephant on the Carthaginian Right meets the same fate.

The two armies close.

Spanish cavalry attack and are repulsed.

Seeing these early reverses, Hasdrubal presses on by launching an attack with a warband against Scipio's Legion.  The legionaries stand firm and the warband is repulsed.  Still, the warband provides time for Hasdrubal to bring his heavily armored spearmen up to the front.  Hasdrubal follows-up by sending Spanish infantry in against the Roman Center.  His Spanish hesitate and fail to close with the enemy.

Warband charges in...

and charges back!

This diversion buys time for Hasdrubal
to bring up his heavy infantry.

A view of Hasdrubal's heavy infantry.

Seeing Spanish Scutarii caught in No Man's Land between the main battle lines, Marcius strikes!  The force of the legion bearing down upon the light infantry is too much.  They turn and flee.  Marcius (David B) orders his legion to pursue.  They oblige.  The legionaries plow into the adjacent warband.  They, too, are overpowered and retire.  Bloodlusted by their success, David's Romans press on, catching the retiring warband.  The warband turns and flees.  Still the Romans advance.  Is there no stopping them?  Not yet!  Next victim is a hapless unit of skirmishers.  They are easily overpowered and scatter.  With the Carthaginian Center hollowing out, David's Ever Victorious Legionaries turn to strike the elephant from the rear.  With escape route blocked, the rampaging elephant is dispatched. 

Witnessing all of this destruction to its front and its own chance for glory slipping away, the other half of Marcius' (David's) legion moves into action.  They attack the Spanish light infantry that were supporting the elephant.  In all of the chaos, the Spanish turn with their back to the enemy and flee.  The Carthaginian Right is no more!

Marcius attacks in the center.  
The enemy are driven back.

With the enemy dissolving before him,
Marcius pursues...

and pursues...

and pursues...

and pursues, destroying an elephant.

Marcius' legionaries drive off more Spanish.

Having witnessed his right and center ripped to shreds, Hasdrubal attempts to salvage the dire situation by sending his heavy infantry in against Scipio's legion.  They are repulsed!  Sensing complete victory is only one charge away, the Romans in the center throw volleys of javelins into the remaining Spanish Scutarii in the center.  With the Spanish in disorder, a warband charges in to deliver the coup de grace.  Unfortunately for the warband, the Spanish are made of sterner stuff.  The warband's attack is repulsed.  

Carthaginian heavy infantry go in...

and are sent back.

A warband's attack is also repulsed.

With his right completely in shambles and his flank turned, Hasdrubal orders his army to retire.

Much of the Carthaginian right is put to flight!

Victory to the Romans! A convincing victory it was too.

Congratulations to Tony and David B. for a well-played game.  The level of destruction David wreaked with Marcius' legion in pursuit after pursuit was simply awe inspiring.  The continued attacks by Marcius crippled the Carthaginian Right and opened up Hasdrubal's Center.  Rather than fighting to the bitter and preordained end, Hasdrubal was wise to order his army's withdrawal.

To Chris and David C., that was a tough loss.  From my vantage point, it looked like a train wreck in slow motion unfolding upon the table.  David B's persistent (and successful) pursuits cut through the Carthaginian Right before turning inward toward the center.  

From the Roman perspective, it was poetry in motion.  For the Carthaginians, it was a Natural Disaster.

Thanks everyone for a very entertaining game.  As always, much appreciated.

Mark will be sorry that he missed out on this action.  See, the Romans can win at Ilipa!

Ilipa, Again

In the first playing of Ilipa, Scipio and his Romans received what Chris dubbed a "Hasdrubbing" in a five-player remote game (see A Tale of Two Armies).  That game was on 30 August.  Flash forward a week later and the two armies are positioned for battle again.  This time (06 SEP), I face off against Richard L. in a remote contest.  Yes, I actually get to take an active command.  Richard chose to take on Hasdrubal's command since he said that, "If I lose, I have managed to repeat history."  Richard is a solid and thinking player.  I figured I would have my hands full as Scipio in this fight.

Initial deployments

As before, Scipio has his battle line drawn up with two legions on the wings and a weak center.  Hasdrubal has his heavy infantry in the center and lighter troops out on the wings.

Carthaginian Right

Roman Left

Carthaginian Center

Roman Right

How will the commanders fight this battle?

After skirmishing to mostly little effect as the two lines slowly advance toward the center, Carthaginian medium cavalry strike against the Roman Right.  In a flash, the Roman cavalry are overpowered and flee toward the rear.  Without hesitation, the Spanish horsemen are off in pursuit.   The panicked Roman cavalry are caught and slaughtered.  Already, the Roman Right looks in jeopardy.    

The battle lines close.

Skirmishing out on the Carthaginian Left.

Roman horsemen turn and flee...

and are ruthlessly pursued.

On the Roman Left, Marcius brings up his cavalry to challenge the Spanish cavalry and elephant.  Before the Romans can coordinate a charge, the Spanish cavalry attack. The Roman light cavalry, the target of the Spanish charge, are driven off.  The Spanish pursue and hit the Roman medium cavalry.  Witnessing the quick collapse of the light cavalry to their left, the remaining Roman horsemen break and race to the rear.  The momentum of the Spanish cavalry carries them into the rear of the Roman cavalry.  Like their comrades on the Roman Right, these Romans are dispatched with relative ease.  Now, both Roman wings are unhinged!    

Cavalry face off on the Roman Left.

Roman cavalry are seen off
with the Spaniards in hot pursuit.

Roman medium horsemen are chased down...

and dispatched.

In a matter of only a few minutes, both Roman cavalry wings are in flight.  Trying to calm the chaos whirling around him, Scipio orders his legion forward.  He will attack the elephant and crush the Carthaginian Left before the Spanish cavalry can return.

The legionaries move forward to confront the elephant, throwing their pila as the distance is closed.  In the clash, the elephant is spooked and driven away.  The remaining Roman light cavalry set off in hot pursuit.  The rampaging elephant is caught from behind and flees. 

Scipio's legion sees the elephant.

The pachyderm is sent packing!

Caught from behind and destroyed!

Encouraged by the success on the Roman Right, Marcius leads his legion into an attack against Hasdrubal's heavy infantry blocks.  No matter how it measures up, the attacks will go in as two separate melees.  One attack with be one-to-one.  The other attack with be at one-to-two.  Marcius sends in the one-to-one attack first against the right of the Carthaginian line.  This first attack is repulsed after heavy fighting.  The second attack going in at a disadvantage actually clears the two blocks of heavy infantry from its front.  Hoorah!

The jubilation is short lived.  The one Carthaginian spear unit follows up on the failed Roman attack.  The legionaries buckle under the weight of the heavily armored enemy and flee.  The retreating legionaries skirt passed the Triarii.  In the pursuit, the Carthaginian spear hit the Triarii in flank.  Assailed from an unsuspecting direction, the Triarii crumble.  Marcius' legion is unraveling.

Marcius sends his legion forward.

The first attack is repulsed.
The second is successful.

In pursuit, the Carthaginian spearmen force part of
Marcius' legion to flee while the Triarii become a target.

Caught in flank,

the Triarii are destroyed where they stand.

Having put much of Marcius' legion to flight, Hasdrubal turns his right in toward the Roman Center.  Sending in first Spanish light infantry followed by a warband to soften up the remaining portion of Marcius' legion, the Spanish cavalry strike the legionaries in the rear.  Shocked by assaults from all sides, the legion falls apart and scatters.  Hacking through the fleeing Romans, the Spaniards reach the Spanish light infantry allied with the Romans.  Showing no quarter, these foot are cut down where they stand.   

Carthaginians turn in to envelop Marcius' remnants.

After repeated attacks to weaken the Romans, 

Spanish cavalry attack.

Caught from behind, the Romans and
 their Spanish allies melt away.

Unable to take any more, Scipio's Army breaks.  The battle is lost.

Wow!

What a severe beating I took at the hands of Richard's well-timed moves and superbly executed combats.  This was a Roman disaster of epic proportions.  Really, it may have been over before the Roman legions could find their footing.  

Richard is a cagey opponent and he taught me a few valuable lessons even as he was reacquainting himself to the rules.  Will I learn from these lessons in my next battle where I reprise my role as Scipio?

Stay tuned for the next Ilipa installment.

Thanks to Richard for a well-played and very challenging game.  Great job!  Until we meet on the battlefield again.

On the Table Today is...

the Battle of Ilipa in 206BCE.

Having seen Hood's Attack run its course through six games, time to turn the page and clear the deck for something new.  A change of period is in order.  Given that Ilipa is on the Society of Ancients' Battle Day slate next year, why not get an early start?  Why not, indeed!

Up for action Wednesday is a remote game refighting this famous battle between Scipio and Hasdrubal.  Five players have raised their hands to take a command.  Rules will be Basic Impetvs played on a hex grid.  Figures are 28mm.  Army deployments based upon the Commands & Colors Scenario.

Last time some of the armies were out for battle was to restage the Battle of Telamon back in November of 2022.  This may be the first time my elephants have seen battle.  Actually, this battle must be the elephants' first appearance on the table since the QRS needed to be amended to include all of the elephant-specific rules.

Should be fun.

On the order front, a large box arrived onto my doorstep from Eureka Miniatures (Australia) today.  The box weighed-in at 7.25 lbs.  While I usually wait for the December sale, I put in my annual resupply a few months early this year and ordered direct from Nic in Australia.  What did I restock this time?  Almost all seven pounds of lead are 18mm SYW cavalry.  That is a lot of cavalry!  Yes, I have big plans. 

Recent order from Eureka Miniatures

Back to Biblicals!

The dust had yet to settle over the plains of Ilipa when I received an email from the Society of Ancients.  This email contained an announcement for the upcoming annual convention in October.  Since I am unlikely to attend this year's convention at Madingley Hall near Cambridge, I was only generally curious of the content.  What really caught my eye was the inclusion of Ian Russell-Lowell in the program.  I have gamed with Ian for nearly three years now often seeing him in a weekly remote game.  Ah, the fun of shooting down Snoopy and his long line of succession in aerial dogfights over the fields of Flanders.  Phil Steele will be presenting at the convention as well.  Another of my weekly remote gaming buddies out and on tour.  Joining them this year sure would be fun. 

Back to the email.  My gaze was especially focused onto the content on offer.  First, Ian would be discussing the Late Bronze Age.  One of his specialties.  Second, Ian would be running a workshop on the latest incarnation of his Work-in-Progress Late Bronze Age rules, Rein-Bow Warriors (RBW).

Now, RBW is a ruleset that Ian and I have discussed much in the past and even got in a handful of playtests.  I have not seen rules' development since our last work more than a year ago.  Remembering that the rules still had some conundrums left to solve and streamlining to consider from the last playings, I wondered what had changed in the passing year and a half.

A quick email to Ian answered my question.  

Not much!  

Given that presenting a workshop for developmental rules having not seeing action in more than a year might be a challenge, I offered my services to help in refreshing both of our collective memories.  Ian cheerfully accepted!

In what will be the first of (I hope) several playtests, Ian and I will meet this week to discuss the current state of the rules, consult notes made during previous sessions, and push a few troops around my remote table.  Well, remote for Ian.  I will be broadcasting live from my game room.  Ian will be Zooming in from Cornwall.

Hittites ready for action.

While Biblical armies may be roaming around the table for a while, I figured why not get these armies in a game or two outside of these playtest sessions with Ian.  Why not indeed?  To that end, the plan is to pull Egyptian and Hittite armies from storage boxes and set out a pitched battle or two using Basic Impetvs.  One game is formulating for Monday.

Reject Big Lee recently recounted an occasion where serendipity struck, guiding him gently into a new project (see When Serendipity Strikes).

While I have no pull from a new project, the stars may have aligned to give me a nudge toward fielding my Biblical armies and trumping my move toward a War of Austrian Succession battle.

Why?

1. Five-inch arid hex system used for 28mm Basic Impetvs is already laid out onto the gaming table from Ilipa.
2. I started creating more five-inch hexes including hills last week.
3. I undercoated a handful of 28mm Babylonian archers even though most of my painting activity has been focused on 15/18mm figures.
4. Receipt of Society of Ancients convention email.
5. Correspondence and acceptance with Ian for more playtesting. 

Convinced?

Tomorrow I begin setting out the armies.  He will be watching...