The Monocacy: Abe worried.

 There has been quite a bit of naval action at the club recently using Sam Mustafa's 'Nimitz' rules, I showed an interest and Stuart very kindly put on a game for me this week using his lovely 3D printed ships, these have superb detail and only miss the sailors on deck.

There were five of us, three German forces and two British, being an old matelot myself I took Hood, Prince of Wales, two heavy cruisers and three destroyers, one of the three survivors of the Hood was a communicator and there is another link, I digress. In Nelson style Henry and I sailed our ships straight at the enemy and commenced long range firing, my shells fell into empty water, Henry with Warspite and Nelson on the other hand had incredible success. I found myself up against the Bismark and Graf Spee along with their escorts while Henry took on the other two squadrons. I managed to 'cross the T' but couldn't hit a barn door.

The British fleet.

The Germans.

Bismark.

The mighty Hood.

Nelson and Warspite got in close and although losing a couple of destroyers shrugged off the losses and continued to hand out damage as more Germans went to Davy Jones' Locker. My gunners at last got the range and I added to the tally of German light forces sunk but it had taken a long time. At the end of the engagement it was declared a British victory with us having sunk more of the enemy.

The rules as we played them were pretty simple, I am sure there is more depth but this was an introduction. Shooting is done using one dice, if you hit the number of 'tubes' now comes into play and damage can be lethal as even battleships do not have a lot of flotation boxes, destroyers can be sunk with one salvo. I found it strange that all hits cause critical damage whether it be the loss of a gun, your fire director or even a catastrophic explosion. Torpedoes are also hard to get a hit with and both sides fired multiple salvoes but I think only once did they hit or maybe not at all. You also have to come to grips with the fact that the ships' position on the table is where its front funnel is, so it can look like ships will ram, collide or block other vessels but they do not. Ships will also sail in formation but can break this if the player wants to. Each ship has a card with all its details on and these are crossed off as damage is taken, they are fairly basic but I was perplexed that the Hood and the British heavy cruisers did not show secondary armaments, this was a real bind to my force.

Like many sets of rules these days they are 'light', you can use lovely models, roll some dice and have a laugh with your mates during a club night. If you live and breath naval warfare you might find these lacking, otherwise full steam ahead!

Back to the ACW at last, Fran has fought the battle of Monocacy several times at the club with Warlord's Epic scale figures so I offered my own Monocacy scenario here in the Post Office/Shop/War Room (still unsure). At first glance it looks like the Rebels are up against it as by 1864 the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia had been almost bled dry and regiments had had to be amalgamated to form any kind of decent fighting unit. I amalgamated some of these wargame units which were too small and upped several others to give decent wargame units. The Union forces were also in a bit of a mess, a couple of brigades were decent but the defenders on the Federal right were shockingly under strength. On the bright side the Confederates approaching the Monocacy bridges were huge amalgamations of 800 men each, a challenge for the Union defenders.

The battlefield.

The Reb left.

The Reb right.

The Union left and centre.

I took the good guys while Fran as usual wore gray. I decided to quickly abandon the far bank defences and retire to my side of the river as despite the works my small regiment, 200 men, would be under extreme pressure from some 1,600 Rebs supported by artillery, should I have used them as a speed bump, who knows, maybe. Having decided to hold my right I wanted to advance my left and immediately marched off, hoping my slightly better numbers would win through. 

The first cannon shot of the day routed and dispersed one of my defenders behind the works, not a good omen, I was therefore forced to start edging some of my regiments to the right to fill the gap. My artillery took out a couple of Confederate guns with counter battery fire. Fran could have held back but he took his historical part seriously and pushed all his forces forward in an assault of the Union line, I thought this was playing into my lap, the Fates would soon put me in my place. As a storm of fire hit my defenders Rebel infantry pushed across the Monocacy but it was all taking time, I had now got my far left into close proximity of the Confederate right and I hit it with a well timed surprise charge, I broke the line and only needed one more push to halt their advance, Fran looked nervously to his right. 

Attack now lads.

The Confederates sense victory.

My outnumbered defenders.

Then it all went pear shaped, despite several Confederate routs the survivors stopped my attack in its tracks and it was my troops who were now shattered. Meanwhile with the threat lifted Terry and York's brigades now hit the dog leg in the Union line and slowly but surely ground down the defenders while several regiments fled to the rear. By now I had lost my only artillery battery which had done sterling work up until they were captured, I had no choice now but to disengage as fast as I could for some welcoming trees behind my front line. As we contemplated the next turn my left was in complete disarray while the Rebs had rallied and held me off, my centre was running and my regiments were all carrying heavy casualties and unlikely to stand in a line of battle, my extreme right was still there but again under pressure and it seemed only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. I handed over my sword.

York and Terry.

The big skedadle.

Big unit.

Havoc caused by my artillery.

On reflection I possibly should have simply withdrew and formed a new line without a dog leg and away from the Reb artillery as their infantry would mask the fire as they advanced, but I didn't. Although I used my cavalry to help my attack on the Confederate right I felt I did not get the best out of them. And yes, I do have time to moan, Fran's ability to punish me with devastating fire at least four times during the game and in melee to beat me by one point had me rolling my eyes several times. Nonetheless one again JR delivers the goods, a great, exciting fight, win or lose.

I have at last finished the SYW battalion kindly gifted to me by David Bickley of GHQ, it was a struggle as I had not wanted to paint any more British or any SYW troops having completed what I wanted. However I am now the proud owner of  His Majesty's 21st Foot 'North British Fusiliers'. This has also rekindled my painting mojo so although I am not starting any more new periods I have ordered up a fourth cohort for the 12th from Aventine before Keith retires next year and in case no one takes over the ranges, which would be a great loss to the wargaming community. Because the Thunderbolts are getting a new unit I have also ordered up some mercenary hoplites for the Seleucids, these are Foundry metal as Aventine no longer do their earlier range, the packs are eight men, so you would think three packs equals a 24 man unit, no, because for some reason best known to them the command pack is seven men! So I am stuck for one, spear overarm hoplite to complete my unit, grrrrrr, I did manage to scrounge a plastic guy from the club but....... I have also looked at my lead pimple of Landsknechts and with just a couple of packs I can put together another pike block, so they too are on the way.

More Scots, 21st Foot.

The LMF as well as stumping up for the new figures has also bought me a couple of new books, The Battle of Pinkie 1547 the last battle between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England which received very good reviews some time ago and I had it on my list at one point so why not. The other is Lionel Shriver's Mania, which although a work of fiction is set in a world where it is a crime to call anyone stupid is fast becoming non-fiction, non-crime hate-crimes anyone?

 

Busy or what? Next week I am introducing Fran to War and Conquest at the club on Tuesday, playing WAC on Thursday evening with Ed here at me casa, Ed had the temerity to beat the 12th when we played last, two years ago, I have a reputation to recover. On Wednesday I am off to Penrith and the Dungeon for an Operation Sealion encounter with Matt. On leaving the club both Julian and Rob intimated they will come for a game at some point this month. I'm exhausted already.

Seleucus and I

Friend Matt asked me about the recently completed Seleucid army, what it contained and how that affected its performance on the battlefield. Firstly I play War and Conquest which is a big battle game similar to the old Wargames Research Group rules I gamed with back in 1979 when I left the Navy. I won't get into the whole historical tactics thing, suffice to say when I played WRG and now WAC I feel like I am commanding an army and generally enjoy trying to get it to do what I want, whether good or bad.

Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 are a mix of Crusader, Aventine and Foundry and generally fall into the same category, well armed light infantry, mine are Thureophoroi, Thorakitai, Thracians and Mercenary Peltasts.  These troops are for protecting the flanks of the main phalanx but they can also be used to attack enemy flanks as they are so well armed, however they need protection as only the Thorakitai have armour and can prove vulnerable to enemy missiles so you need to have a screen of skirmishers in front of them for support.

5 are first and foremost escorts for my elephants, however I find they are better used as simple javelin armed skirmishers, they can do nothing about missile troops or bolt shooters targeting your elephants from long range hence their use, for me, as skirmishers. These I got from Foundry and they are beautiful sculpts and are a mix of Thracians and Greeks, the former are some of my favourite figures.

My own bolt shooters or Oxybeles come in at 6, these are very large composite bows set on a frame, these came from 1st Corps, I only take these if I suspect the enemy also have elephants, but they can also be used to whittle down very heavily armoured troops like cataphracts. They tend to either be deadly or useless depending how lucky you are on the day.

The Galatians, number 7, a mercenary warband from Crusader, these do not conform to what Galatians in the service of the Successors really looked like but you will not find any in 28mm so the best you can do is grab some Gauls. I am not fond of the figures as they look a bit wooden and you do not get a lot of variation. However, these little guys are brutal opponents and are garnering a reputation, so much so I would be loathe to change them if real Galatians ever turn up. These troops are shock troops, they cannot be left where they can fall prey to enemy missile troops or left dithering in the rear, to get your money's worth you have to use them. I use them on a flank supported by some of those light troops above, I always give them light armour as well as I want them to give them every opportunity to outclass their opponents in the first clash.

8 is more mercenaries, hoplites this time, Aventine figures, these have to be upgraded with light armour which, in tandem with the WAC phalanx rule (of which I am not a fan unless the figure in question is a real pikeman) means you get a lot of bang for your buck. Unlike the Galatians these guys can sit and take a pounding so sometimes they are a flank guard and at other times shock troops, they work well with the Galatians or the main phalanx.

The Phalanx, 9, all Aventine. I personally do not always lead with the phalanx preferring to use them to pin and threaten the enemy, I do on occasion put all my eggs in one basket and send them haring forward but that is unusual and very much depends on what is opposing them and what is happening on my flanks. If you maintain your flanks these guys can easily win you the battle, once engaged they usually win the numbers game. They also come in all sizes, elite or raw and anything in between, a unit for all seasons.

A bit of fun at 10, scythed chariots, why not, you have to. Historically useless but if used properly on the wargame table they can turn a melee into a rout, the trouble is you have to keep them alive, so if they turn up I keep them way to the rear but with an opening to unleash hell at the right time. I tend to use them aggressively to hopefully break up an enemy attack. These models are 1st Corps.

And of course no Successor army can be complete without 11, elephants from Aventine, I always try and take at least one for the reason I just iterated. I do not tend to use them very aggressively as I am not sure about the unit yet and I have a house rule which states that any unit in contact, friend or foe, is disordered by the monster, in the rules it is just the enemy and I do not think that fair. So I keep Nellie as a threat, usually out of harms way unless I can get rid of the enemy missile troops or cut down their bolt shooters. I do like to have one around when enemy cavalry are about but I tend to forget that it can also have a tragic effect on my own horsemen, I am also always wary of the thing going mad and trampling my own troops.

12, command and control, I do not keep officers at the rear out of harms way, I want my leaders to lead from the front rank. In a large army I will take the king and at least two other officers, in smaller games I will allow the 2/ic to take charge and have maybe one support. I don't tend to take mounted officers and will generally put supporting commanders with mercenary units while the King leads a phalanx unit. I think all these men are Foundry although one or two of the foot command may be Aventine.

I have two further units of skirmishers 13 and 16, the former archers and the latter slingers, I do like archers and at times I upgrade these chaps to elite Cretan missilemen, you cannot not have skirmishers in an Ancient game and I like to destroy the enemy's first, this can be a huge advantage and force your opponent into an advance he doesn't want to make. Slingers are very dangerous in WAC because they get two shots a turn, I do not allow this on home ground as I do not see a good reason for it, so with their diminished range I do not take them very often as killers but as shields. Both of these units are Aventine.

14 are the Companions, heavily armoured shock cavalry, these are expensive in points so will probably only turn up if I am fighting large battles, they can quite easily run over lesser horsemen and the temptation to smash them into an infantry formation is always with me, it is just possible for the shock to rout the infantry. I use another house rule which allows cavalry to disengage from a fight with infantry, it is dodgy but better than sitting around getting massacred. I think we have only used it once in battles to date. Aventine figures.

More archers at 15, but on a horse this time, elite Skythians, usually very dangerous to enemy skirmishers and other troops as well due to their excellent shooting abilities. I normally always take these guys although on at least two occasions I have lost them to elephant fear. Like the bolt shooters they tend to be either brilliant and deadly or dithering and useless. These too are Aventine, you can see the trend here.

More armoured cavalry at 17,  Line Cataphracts this time, again they only turn up now and again in large games, and like the Companions they generally are used to destroy an enemy flank with that added bonus that they might also take on infantry. The Seleucids also get Agema cataphracts which are elite versions of these guys and Aventine do some lovely figures for them, I have not bought any of these (yet) as I figure I can simply upgrade the line troopers. Fitting them into the army would mean another Really Useful Box as I will not mix troops (Wargamers OCD) so the unit would be very expensive for me. Yes, you got it, Aventine again.

At 18 we have Macedonian Light Cavalry, a lovely little cavalry unit which can be upgraded to what passes for medium cavalry so a very useful unit. These I would normally use to sweep away enemy skirmishers or light troops or have them in reserve behind the main line to deal with any possible breakthroughs. This unit can also be used to represent other cavalry types allowed in the list. Aventine.

Now, 19 is particular to WAC, each army has a rally point to which broken units will run unless they are too close to the table edge. These bring out the artistic tendencies in most players and can range from a simple tent to a sacrificial alter or drunken warriors whooping it up. I was a bit stumped for this army until I found some large, broken Spartan statue heads (Scibor) which fit the bill, to dress them up a bit I bought a range of Greek gods from Foundry and popped Zeus on the top of one. Another fun element of WAC is Strategy Intervention Points, you could easily use a die but again most people go that extra mile and use all sorts, ancient coins, Gods, monks, wolfhounds, civilians etc. my extra Immortals came in handy for these.

So there it is, my Seleucid army and why it looks the way it does and how I use it on the battlefield. It is not an easy army to use and there is a long learning curve, it is expensive and therefore is usually outnumbered by the enemy. You have to be careful of the flanks and rest one on rough ground if possible or decide to throw in your shock troops hoping you can burst the enemy before your flanks collapse. Here at Casa Anderson  they usually fight the Twelfth and the Legion has excellent supporting troops which can cause all sorts of problems for the Seleucid flanks, and although the legionaries are outnumbered by the phalanx they are very difficult to shift.

The Last Seleucids and Club Night

After a long time I have managed to complete my Seleucid army, I got the new Aventine Companion figures last Monday and they went straight on to my 'to do' list once the Celtae Seniores were done. I decided on a slightly muted but uniform look, the pteruges and what shows of the tunics are different colours but the horse furniture and cloaks are all the same, although there is a slight variation in the blue on the horses, believe me it is there. The helmet plumes were the last thing to paint but they looked so perfect in white, I left them alone. I have stopped using spray varnish but as the bulk of the army was spray varnished I continued it with this unit, one coat of gloss, two of matt and then a spray. I also decided that I would keep the wash of Tamiya Smoke until everything was dry, this is what has given the armour a shine, I do love that stuff.

So there we have it, probably my last Ancient army as I turn my sights to the Seven Years War, apart from that extra unit for the Twelfth at some stage, why, because they 'need' it, would I build another, I doubt it but if I ever see a decent range for 3rdC Romans I might be very tempted. I will get the lads out for a photoshoot over the weekend.

Club night last night and I put my name down for a game of Arkham Asylum, Stuart I think has raided a boardgame store recently as he turned up with a magnificent and expensive looking game of Mythical Beasts or some such last week, the playing pieces were simply gorgeous, and big! Imagine my surprise when the game turned out to be Arkham Horror with no sign of Batman, Joker or Penguin. Stuart, Simon and Alex had all played the game before and knew what they were about, I had not a clue. I was told as they grabbed their playing pieces that we needed a Guardian, so I ended up with Michael 'Machine Gun' McGlen, a bit of a bruiser light in the wisdom department, in fact I am surprised he could work a gun.

Before the table got 'busy'.

As we traversed the streets of Arkham of an evening we ran into all sorts of mysterious and foul creatures many of which I sent back to hell. As the game progresses Evil seeps in to the surroundings like rising damp but faster and our job was to stop it, sadly Evil had the upper hand and it got to the point where we had twenty-five minutes to save the world. If the game had been a movie we would have made it, but it wasn't and it was Goodnight Vienna for mankind (or womankind Reg). Some of our resident jokers had a good laugh throughout looking at my blank face as the game progressed, I found it overwhelming and typical of a Fantasy Flight game, there were oodles of cards for all sorts of things, we almost required a table each for all the paraphernalia. I did kind of get the gist by the end of the game but give me a cohort to lead anytime.

Elsewhere we had another fantasy type boardgame which again looked expensive and had loads of lovely plastic playing pieces, Julian and Ryan were chasing each other around a frozen city (Frostgrave) which I am assured I would like and is just like Dead Man's Hand, mmmmm. There was also a Bloodbowl game and a large Battlegroup Normandy game with the 12th SS attacking the Canadians with Andy's lovely vehicles and figures.

It is fairly quite on the map front at the moment as I wait for more AWI maps to turn up, I have finished a small project on the Russo-Japanese War and begun half a dozen for a history of the Zulu.

I intend to complete my pillboxes today then get the SYW artillery ready for painting. Before I forget this lovely sight turned up yesterday afternoon.

PS. Brought the photoshoot for the Seleucids forward, it is too dark, miserable and rainy to do anything else but admire a pile of wee sojers.

The 5th Muster In

I have managed at last to complete my second British battalion for my Seven Years War project, next up will be my second French battalion but before then I am going back to Ancients, something my Wargamers OCD would not allow even a year ago. As I have mentioned the SYW is a long term project and I am deliberately not pushing ahead as all that will happen is I will start something else and I really don't need that. The new battalion is the 5th of Foot with nice lime green facings so they will stand out from the crowd, they have a piece of lace on their lower arm which is different to normal and I have painted my interpretation on top of what was modelled on the arm. I should in hindsight have sheared this off then painted it but it only occurred to me after I had painted the coats. Lesson learned. I think the next battalion will be the Gardes Lorraine.

 I decided after all to get a unit of line cataphracts from Aventine and add them to the Seleucids. They turned up within 48 hours, great work, I noticed they are also now mounted on the new sized horses. Aventine used to get moans about the size of their horses, personally I had no problems with them, yes a tad smaller than some manufacturers but in all fairness GB and Victrix horses for example are probably on the large side. Anyway, these are bang on. I got the unit deal, six back rank and six in the front with kontos lowered, I gave my officer a sword, this gives him a more dramatic look. You can also see some extra officers for the Thunderbolts in the picture, a Tribune and a Centurion for when I get that new cohort. Yes, that is also the latest addition to my dice collection, my new Seleucid dice, out with the old and in with the new.

 

 While looking for something to read some time ago I noticed an Ian Ross book in the background of a photograph of some soldiers my friend Gary had sent, I got one to test the water, I have not looked back since. I managed to get them all for a pittance as they had been out for some time, the last, "Mask of Command" almost had me turning to the end to see what happened it was that good. I have now ordered up the latest and expect it next week. I highly recommend these novels.

An Unexpected Parcel

Ever since I got back from Tankfest I have been playing catch up, I have two projects 99% complete but am waiting for the authors to confirm the last maps are fine and we are good to go. I have a third which is 80% done and again am waiting for the last map, I don't like waiting, my store of patience ran out a long time ago, but hey I have plenty of other maps to draw. My missus very kindly took over my days in the PO this week in order to let me get on.

With the weekend away and so much to do I decided to give the club a miss this week so no battle reports. The missus shouted up yesterday that the Postie had just delivered a parcel for me, I was a bit unsure as I have not ordered anything for a couple of weeks now, but she was adamant and it was a large box, sure enough there it was. From Celestial Games, not a name familiar with me so I was still none the wiser, I then opened it up and SURPRISE, it was my second Kickstarter, the long awaited wet palette, I still await the first.

It is a neat item and a perfect size for my desk, it also comes with a magnetic, I don't know, normal palette with five paint holders on it, perfect for washes. I managed to get some painting done last night at last after a long break and the palette works perfectly, I opened it up a short time ago and the three colours I was mixing last night are still wet, result.

I finished my second SYW unit, a French battalion from the Regiment Aquitaine, well over a week ago but have not managed to get around to putting up a picture, so here it is. I promptly ordered up the flags for my next four regiments, no patience you see, the British 5th Foot and 2nd Battalion 3rd Foot Guards (Scots) along with Gardes Lorraine and Regiment Bretagne for the French. I only have the figures for the 5th which I am painting now.

Aventine have the first of their new Successor cataphracts out this month, beautiful figures but I am holding off for the Agema cataphracts and Companions, although I was sorely tempted to get some. I figure that by the time the 5th are done I might be right on time for those last two cavalry units for my Seleucids. I might also have some cash by then to buy them.

The Legion Complete.

I finished the last of my Aurelian Romans last night and Auxilia Cohors II joined the army this morning, I am very please the way they turned out, I was a bit dubious about the blue shields but I decided to make blue the primary colour for the unit and after a dusting down it all looks good.

Mate Dave Toone threw the gauntlet down on his WAB page with a photo of his Republican Romans and a 'show me yours' dare, so, as I have a window between map projects I took the time to muster the full Legion and call his bluff.

I like all my armies but I have a special liking for the Thunderbolts, they are a complete historical unit with a history covering several hundred years, from Caesar until their mention in the Notitia Dignitatum on the Euphrates frontier in the 5th century. Not only were they honoured with the Fulminata title they also have Paterna (alluding to lineage?), Victrix (Victory), Antiqua (longevity), Certa Constans (surely constant) and Galliena (honorific from the emperor Galliena). It had a sticky time in 62AD being defeated by the Parthians and again in 66AD when it lost its Eagle during the Zealot Revolt but apart from that was a first class fighting force.

Next on the tray are the plastic archers, again no hurry for these but at the same time not hard to paint so maybe not long until they are done, they are primed and ready to go. By the way, that is not my library in the background but the book exchange in the PO.

War and Conquest Weekend Swindon 2

Sunday morning arrived and fortified with the full English I set off for the village hall, we were allowed a lie in and hostilities would commence around 0930 hrs. My first game of the day was against Rob Broom and his Masai army, yes we all know the Masai were not an enemy of Rome but as the author of the rules he is allowed certain liberties, it also helps that he is a nice bloke. I have faced Rob before at Foundry and inflicted a heavy defeat on his Spartans, I was unsure of his Masai and indeed of my own troops after a disastrous day on the Saturday.

I decided to put more thought into my tactics, concentrate a bit harder and from my experience of the previous days fighting to open up my cohorts into two lines instead of three the better to withstand elite/fanatical/veteran warbands. My Auxiliary light infantry as the men of the match from the last two battles, I now called Lanciarii as they had earned it, it is less of a mouthful than Auxiliary light infantry, were going to be called on once again to clear the enemy skirmishers along with their mounted friends. This time my objective was Test of Strength, which meant that at the end of the game I had to have a unit in the enemy deployment zone and none of his in mine, I think Rob had the same.

Rome vs Masai

The Twelfth Deploys

 I managed to win most of the initiative rolls and quickly advanced my right flank while holding the extreme left, in a very short space of time I had destroyed the Masai skirmishers and engaged their left, as they valiantly fought the legionaries my Contarii smashed into their flank. I began to win on the other flank as well as Rob had no option but to attack, the auxiliary cohort stood firm and again a cavalry unit made a flank attack, my slingers and Lanciarii along with the horse archers began to make life miserable for the Masai reserve. The balance suddenly tipped and the warbands began to run, all being caught by my rejuvenated 'Thunderbolts' one in particular had fought desperately but this also ran in the end. With only one unit left and it suffering under a hail of missiles Rob conceded defeat, he generously gave me that unit as well as it could not possibly stand alone against the whole Roman army. The decimation had worked, with renewed vigour and eager to please their Emperor the Twelfth had pulled off a stunning victory, the score being 56 to 0 in my favour. My die rolling was at least average if not better in this game, Rob however suffered the wrath of the gods.

The Emperor and his entourage.

Superb

I have to mention the detail in that Masai army, it was beautifully painted and organised with little vignettes and fantastic characters from the chiefs wives to the shamans and the hyena's used as push and shove markers it was a joy to fight and despite his loss Rob obviously loved to fight with it.

Another Dark Age clash.

After lunch I was up against more barbarians, Germans commanded by Phil Turner, Phil and I too had fought once before at my first tournament in 2014, I was beating him quite decisively before grasping defeat from the jaws of victory in a spectacular manner right at the end of the battle. My objective was to destroy 75% of the enemy, something which I doubted I would manage but decided to try. Once again I had to deploy first, I put most of my light troops and cavalry on the left this time to contest a wood and delay any attacks in that area. Again the Auxiliary cohort would hold the left of the infantry line while the three Roman cohorts would simply attack and then turn and roll up the enemy. Phil now deployed and for some reason he put two of his warbands opposite or near the wood, it was difficult terrain and they would take time to get through it, but of course he couldn't ignore my cavalry either, the other four battle formations faced my legionaries. Again I swept the field clear of enemy skirmishers within a short time and this allowed my cohorts to race forward without taking casualties on the way in.

As the main lines clashed I found myself inflicting dreadful casualties on the Germans while managing to take minimal myself, a complete turn around from the Saturday, we had a running gag that I had sacrificed one of the chickens wandering around the building that morning, whatever I had done it was paying off. Phil muttered what I can only presume were German military terms under his breath as his units collapsed, ran and were caught. As I turned my victorious legionaries to march to the sound of clanging swords I got my 75% and a score of 46/6, Phil and I shook hands over the bloody debacle. The Twelfth had earned their nickname of the 'Thunderbolts' in spectacular style after a shaky start, I too felt I had actually played better.

My Auxiliary troops and the cavalry had fought well in all the battles and I had used them much better than previous battles, the Germans in particular suffered from my slingers and the Lanciarii. I have an idea to add another Auxiliary cohort to the Legion in the future. And of course the legionaries were back on form just in time. I came joint fifth at the end and I am very happy with that, Dave Howes won overall with 172 points narrowly beating Declan Waters who had been leading right up to the last battle, Colin Farrant of the excellent Charlie Foxtrot Models won the prize for the best painted army, narrowly beating Jenny's Celts and Phil's Germans. Colin's Almohads are a stunning example of the art of painting miniatures with subtlety and precision. Matthew Bulpin got a prize for the youngest player and both he and young Tom Poole knew the rules better than many of us and were not to be taken lightly on the battlefield.

A couple of Colin's units, my picture does not do them justice.

The prizes and points are there in the main to add a bit of interest, I think all of us are happy to fight four battles over a leisurely weekend with like minded individuals, the next tournament the 4th 'National' will be near Newark in May. I am thinking of commanding my Romano-British for that one.

Note: No chickens were harmed in the winning of these games. I also apologise for no pictures of my game with Phil, I was overcome with excitement during that battle.