Quite Frankly My Dear

After almost a year I enticed someone to play a game of War & Conquest at the club, Simon kindly took up the challenge. I had everything organised like a military operation and took along a couple of pieces of my own terrain, I was toying with the idea of putting my play mat in but the ones at the club would do, I had enough to carry.

We arrived bang on time as I wanted to set up and explain a bit about the troops and rules to Simon only to find the locks on the doors had been changed and no one had been informed or given a new set of keys, I shook my fist at the gods, why me! Simon then offered to set up a table at his house, so off we went. Simon's wife very kindly put up with us arriving on her doorstep and upsetting her evening by taking over the dining room table.

So we set up, I had a Saxon Heptarchy army and Simon a Romano-British with 2,000 points each, both armies mirrored each other in numbers of units but there were subtle differences in weaponry and armour. I had gone for half elite and half rubbish hoping the elites would win the battle for me before the rubbish collapsed, Simon had a more even army and seemed to put great faith in some Welsh mob he had enticed into his army.

Initial positions and movements.

 I wanted to break the British line and threaten their left flank, so off went the cavalry, they took a couple of casualties but weathered the storm and eventually caught and destroyed their tormentors and swung around ready to roll up the centre. I also threw the Franks in expecting a lot from them and close behind went my elite Gedriht, I held the Geoguth back as I did not fancy their chances against his Comitatus, so they went into shieldwall and advanced only slightly. The Franks hit well, threw their angons and got nine hits, which sadly only turned into 2 kills, not for the first time have I depended on this lot and been let down, they were easily beaten, caught and destroyed by the Milites. Over on my left the Welsh went hell for leather for my skirmishers which I was fairly pleased with while his cavalry rashly charged the Ceorls, for a moment I thought they might just win, but weight of numbers was not in their favour and they fled, closely followed by the victorious Ceorls.

Simon had tried to put his line into shieldwall but his Peydts refused to do so and so I took advantage and hurled my Gedriht at them, now that is how to fight, it was over in short shrift and the Pedyts disappeared. Because we had lost about an hour faffing about looking for keys earlier we called a halt, Simon almost got his objective, the centre of the table, but my Geoguth were too close and would have to be shifted, I had two units close to his table edge and if I had managed to simply walk off I would have achieved my objective. I like a fight however and could see that the decision would be in the centre and I had three units against two, the British skirmishers were of no account, but as I said time was against us but I believe I was in a winning position.

The final positions.

Simon had fought well in his first game, I think his only mistake was to go for my skirmishers with his warband instead of the Ceorls and meanwhile push his cavalry into my rear. I did fine and would have done finer if those damn Franks would actually fight.

The Franks head for the British line.

The British right mesmerised by the Saxon skirmishers.

My Ceorls ready to receive cavalry.

The Franks try and escape to no avail.