Lost Battles Gaugamela Arbela 331BC

Having finished painting and dipping a huge number of 20mm plastic figures I was keen to play a battle with larger forces.
 Gaugamela or Arbela seemed to fit the bill so I grabbed a few books and settled down to some light research. As usual for for the time period, details vary from source to source and numbers range from educated estimates to wild and fantastic guesswork. One thing that quickly became apparent was that the Persian infantry (which may have been present in impressive numbers) played an insignificant role in the actual battle. A lack of quality and poor positioning seems to have been involved.
In fact the "Lost Battles" book has limited the Persians to 4 infantry units in its Gaugamela scenario.
Not a problem, the core rules in Lost Battles are robust enough to allow and encourage the "What if" experiments.  Adding 48,000 persian "Levy" to the battle without significantly changing the course of history turned out to be rather simple.

                               The plains of Gaugamela with Alexander on the left.

 If you are easily offended by amateur butchery on your favourite rules, Look away now!
 As the number of Persian units had increased by 50% and gone far above the normal limit (roughly 20 units for an army) I increased the -1 morale modifier for 4 units shattered to -1 for 6 units.
Attack limit increased from 5 to 6.
With the extra troops being classed as "Levy" the increase to the Persian Fighting value (and therefore their command ability) was insignificant and certainly was not going to make this mass of infantry an easy part of the army to utilise. In the end I left the FV of both armies as per the book.This actually produced just the effect I wanted.
  Last of all I needed an opponent to command the Macedonians, yet again the eldest sprog strapped on the "Sandals of Command" (magic item +50% luck, +300% wisdom, gains "Big head" and "Consume Cider").
We used turn 1 for deployment and with both of us checking the historical setup we ended up as in the above photo. Alexander initially showed more caution than usual but it was part of a cunning plan.
Darius advanced cavalry on both flanks and his right centre. Then the Macedonians advanced all along the line and used Alexanders "Turn reversal" to attack.

        The initial clash. Alexander can be seen urging his "companions" to the attack.

 On the Persian right, Macedonian cavalry and infantry pressed forward. The Persian cavalry absorbed the charge with only 2 units damaged but their return attacks had no effect.

            Persian Right. Green counters mark "levy", red counters mark "spent"

                                           View of Macedonian centre and left.

  Alexander led the charge on Darius left rear and smashed into the Persian line. In the next turn the Persian cavalry scored only 1 hit but Alexander decided to "Rally" it. Of course the dice came up double ones !!!  Alexander was speared through the thigh and unhorsed, dragged from the field by his companions, he would play no further part in this battle.

                                                       Alexander the" not so" Great

 For a few moments it looked like the Persians had gained the upper hand. None of the Macedonian attacks had been particularly devastating and on Darius left flank the Perian cavalry was opposed by a single light infantry unit.

                                       Macedon right just after Alexander falls.

As news of  Alexanders fall spread along the line the Macedonians surged forward thirsting for revenge. The Persian army was savaged everywhere it stood to fight.

                                                    Persian right about to collapse.

                                                   Persian centre under pressure.

         Persian left, not even the threat of cavalry on the flank can slow the Macedon advance.

 The Persians held on for another turn but their attacks failed to shatter any Macedonian units.
In the Macedonian turn the army of Darius started to fall apart.

                                                                        Persian rout.

 Darius had no intention of hanging around to face the Macedonian fury. Leaving orders for his remaining cavalry to fight to the end, the Persian King whipped several teams of chariot horses to death in a cowardly flight. Even though some Persian noble cavalry remained on the left flank we called the battle and ended here.

                                     Persian infantry follow their Kings example.

The pursuit and slaughter lasted well into the night as surgeons and magi worked to save Alexander.

Result by Handicap points. With a massive points boost for Alexander the persians had just enough points for a very minor victory. However even with Alexander being laid low, this did not feel like a Persian victory. Only 2 Macedonian units shattered a light cavalry and a light infantry. I think the Persian army running so quickly helped deny the Macedonians points.

Result by Battle, total victory for Alexander ! He may even recover use of his leg.
With the morale modifiers for levy troops and a timid commander it was a race to see which would break first.  Darius never seemed to have enough "commands" while the Macedonians could spare plenty for combat bonuses. The Persian infantry did not take an offensive role and although they did absorb some damage and deal out a couple of hits, their presence was never a real threat to Alexander.
  Overall the battle was just what I wanted it to be, most importantly Fun but also Fast to play and had a Historical feel. 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lostbattles/
There has been a long running discussion on the Lost Battles Yahoo site about the levels of leader mortality. I have never been concerned with the rule "as written" and am more than happy to see commanders bite the dust.  I am playing primarily for fun with the history being a great bonus.
However there is another question, is it wise to risk your leader on a rally test. In this case absolutely not! It was the first hit on a unit in the area and had no chance of causing a morale test.
  BUT !  What would Alexander have done?
My personal opinion is that Alexander would have been right in the middle of this. I don't think he was the type to see his men in trouble and not ride in.
 In Glynns shoes I would do exactly the same thing,
 "Death or Glory"
perhaps even both.

Girls, girls, girls!

With Glynn parading his new "Orlock" gang I was getting jealous. So I made a major effort to dig out my own "Escher" figures and finish painting them.
Most of these figures have been on the "Leadpile" for 5+ years. Shamefull.

Anyway, here they are...

      "The Ladies" have already made a gaming debut with two hard fought battles against the Orlocks.
    Honours are shared at one win each but both games were practise "knock-arounds". New gang rosters will be needed for the future.
  Eagle-eyed Necromunda fans may notice that the Escher ladies have not just some weapon conversions but have been altered with the addition of large amounts of "green stuff".
Sad old man wargamer ! Nuff said !

Busy busy busy

Ok,  I have eventually recovered from the shock of "blogger.com" changing their software to this updated version. just as soon as I get used to a system they change it. 4 months later and I am only now ready to post!
Not all the websites fault. I just needed something worth posting.

Over the last four months there have been several games mostly boardgames. Unfortunately boardgames do not always come across well in photos which has left this blog a bit empty.

Recently my eldest, Glynn, has managed to fit in a game of Necromunda at the club.
Somehow I was conscripted to paint his gang!

                                  The "Heavy Brigade". The "scummer" is "Fat Bob"

                                                            A choice of leader models.

                                                      All the young dudes!

             With a few spare figures that had been kicking around for years and a new boxed set from GW, Glynn has more than enough figures for a gang. Looking forward to a few games. Ross at the club is hoping to kick off a campaign very soon.

Mission 3 "Rescue"

Mission 3 or "Rescue" has always been one of my favourite.
Its a very difficult scenario for the Terminators. Squad "Lorenzo" are deep in the hulk after recovering a damaged recon droid (The C.A.T.). Squad "Gideon" must fight their way towards them, effect a union and escort the C.A.T. back to safety. Between the two squads lies a chokepoint, a large junction and perfect place for the enemy to lay an ambush.

In the last reprint of the game, 3rd Edition, the game designers had "neutered" the enemy forces to a measley 2 reinforcement blips per turn. I will play with the original scenario strength of 3 blips per turn.
(Several rules have been changed or added to the 3rd Edition that make life easier for the marines. I play with my homebrewed 4th Edition, which limits some of the marine advantages)

Again the Terminators squads should advance swiftly, control of the center junction is vital.
For the chaos forces, 3 blips per turn sounds like a lot, however they must cover several areas.
Grabbing the center junction is the best way to slow the marine advance but it is necessary to harass the escaping marines  on flank and rear. Near the marines exit point is another "spawning" area. It can give the genestealer (or in this case Demon) player, another chance to cut the escape route.

                                                               Operation "Rescue"
                                                      aka "another bloody suicide mission"
                                                    Target, Recon unit C.A.T.  Retrieve.
                                                              Estimate success   0%
                                                             Estimate casulties 100%
                                           "For Honour, Glory and a swift but brutal death."

                                            Squad Gideon rushes to seize the main junction.  

                                 Squad Lorenzo reach the main room, at the start of the junction.
                                   Two marines try to establish a rearguard while the flamer and                    
                                            "Bob" who  carries the C.A.T. lead the way.

          Meanwhile, Sgt Gideon and the Assault cannon marine are pushing forward from the other side.
Leon with the assault cannon, (he has not earned nor deserved the prefix of Bob) quickly burns his way through his action points, the command points and most of his ammo without any noticable effect. It is amost a relief when a Pink Horror drags him to eternal agonies in the warp.
  Sgt Gideon steps up and smashes his way through two Bloodletters and reaches the junction.
 Just as the possibility of success appears to the terminators, the chaos gods laugh and roll the dice!
 Squad Lorenzo on reargaurd is overwhelmed. A bloodletter cuts down the defenders and catches  the marine with the C.A.T.
 At the marines entry/exit point the demons start to pressure the defenses. A marine falls, leaving only a single terminator to hold the area.
           Defeat is hanging over the Blood Angels (again).
   
    In the Turn "Endphase" the marines catch a lucky break. The C.A.T. is now moving randomly but it scoots straight to Sgt Gideon, he quickly attaches it to his "Magnabelt TM".

                                               Gideon has a long, long way to come back.

                                           As Sgt Gideon sprints towards the exit, the Chaos forces throw everything they can into the attack. Bob "Scipio" empties magazine after magazine into the hordes. (In one turn of Overwatch fire he kills six bloodlettersand a pink horror!)
              Eventually the sheer force of numbers overrun Scipio, but even then he draws a round of hand to hand combat before falling. This single round of combat delays the demons by exactly enough to stop them catching and attacking Gideon.

                                                       "Run, run,  as fast as you can,
                                                            You can't catch me,
                                                           I'm outta here man!!!"

With demons breathing down his neck, Sgt Bob Gideon throws himself through the rapidly closing bulkhead door. Victory and Glory for the Blood Angels!!!

      This game ended up on a single action point! If Scipio had lost his hand to hand combat the demons could have reached Gideon with enough for one attack. From behind, with no bonuses, Gideon, doubtless, would have fallen.
 Even though I was playing to test out the demon rules, I was delighted with the result. This victory cost the marines 90% casulties and was only possible due to several heroic sacrifices and a lot of luck.
 Just one of the resons why I think Space Hulk is one of the greatest games ever!

  Still, I have several other projects on the go, so time for something completely different, although I will most definately be back!

Operation "Cleanse"

 For this second test I picked the "Cleanse" mission. Not one of my favourites but at twice the size of mission #1 and with ten marines, it should work ok.
 The terminators have two target rooms to destroy and the baddies get two blips per turn. Its important for the marines to push forward before the chaos forces can gather numbers.

                                                      Mission #2 Operation "Cleanse"
                                                       aka "Another suicide mission"
                                           Target rooms Alpha and Bravo. Blow crap outta!
                                            Estimate success 0%  Estimate casulties 100%
                                             "The Emperor is watching!"

                       As the Blood Angels advance the chaos forces keep pace on the flanks.
               A few Demonettes are spotted at the rear of the formation but are despatched before
            they can "dance" and use the Hypnotic Glamour ability.

  As the terminators approach the first junction they decide to "overwatch" the right flank. With interlocking fields of fire backed by an assault cannon. The main attack will push through on the left.
As per standard operating procedure, the flamer armed marine will lead the way.

                                                           "Anyone for toasties?"

 The main force push through and past the room on the left. Sgt Bob Gideon takes up a blocking position to stop the demons reinforcing this flank. The flamer marine and support are closing in on the first objective room.
 All this time, the demons have been growing in number. Most rush forward on the right flank to get ahead of the termies but back at the first junction a few Pink Horrors surge to the attack.
One of the monsters dodges through a hail of bullets and reaches the assault cannon marine. The crossfire finally kills the beast but as it is blown apart, "Blue Horrors" (Demon ability) spill from the ruined corpse and grab the heavy weapon specialist. Kicking and screaming, "Bob Leon" is dragged into the warp.

                                                                  "Aww crap!"

  Almost instantly, the terminators defensive perimeter collapses. Back at the entrance area, the rearguard are overwhelmed by the seductive demonettes. Without the benefits of a crossfire, the first junction is rapidly lost to the chaos forces.
 The lead marines are not far from the target, if Sgt Bob Gideon can only hold his position for a few moments! With his Thunderhammer and Forceshield he prepares to fight.
 The first opponent is a Pink Horror. The Sgt smashes it into pieces but again the warp rips open and a mass of blue horrors swarm over the marine. Still swinging the hammer, Bob is dragged into an eternity of living hell. (Nice :-)

                                                                         Ooops!

Now only the foremost three marines survive, Bob the Flamer, Bob and Sgt Bob Lorenzo. With demons on all sides the situation is dire. But marines never give in! So with a lucky draw of six command points, they immoliate the left target room and, back to back, await the finale.

                                                        "For the Emperor !"
                                               ("Who is actually a jolly good chap,
                                                     once you get past the whole
                                                  "Thousand souls a day" thing!")

                                                              Splat, splat and splat!
                                                     "Game over man..... game over!"

 Even though the Blood Angels lost this game they had come very close to that second target and the game was exciting right up to the end. This game was the Pink Horrors chance to shine. The "Blue Horrors" ability made two vital kills at exactly the right times.
  I think that my demon rules are pretty spot on but just in case, the Blood Angels are going to attempt another mission.

PS. Many years ago I met a Warhammer 40K player with a huge army of Ultramarines, he had given each and every one of them a name. Not to be outdone, I immediately named all of my marines.
Bob.  All of them! In the background "Fluff" of the 40K universe, Space marines are all clones, so this works for me ;-)

PPS.  Sgt Bob Gideon and Bob the Assault Cannon marine have never lived up to expectations. Gideon usually gets killed in his first or second fight (even on "Guard"), and Leon's cannon seems to malfunction (usually exploding and killing half his buddies) more often than not.
 Its only a run of bad luck but starting to be an ongoing joke around these parts.
Oh well !  On with the next mission.

Demons in Space Hulk !

I have been very busy painting minis for a Carthaginian army and needed a break for some gaming.
Time to break out the "Old faithful" Space Hulk.

For some time I've been considering my Chaos or Demonic variation to battle against the Grey Knight Terminators that I've collected. I had played a few games with some homebrew rules and although they where fun, the demons lacked enough "Bite". They seemed to be little more effective than genestealers and not worth calling in the specialist demon killers, the Grey Knights, when regular termies could do the job.
So with draft #2 demon rules and Termies from the noble Blood Angels chapter, I set up the board for mission 1 from the 3rd edition mission book.

                                           Sgt Bob Lorenzo inspires his men at the briefing.

The termies advance confidently, covering all approaches they prepare to meet the foe. It soon becomes clear that the foe is something a bit different.

                                           Whooaarr !!! Just look at the claws on her !!!

Up ahead, the forces of chaos gather at vital junctions. Just as the marines prepare to assault these positions, the rearguard falls to the "Hypnotic Glamour" of Slanesh daemonettes! With demons attacking from behind the squad must throw everything into an attack.

                                           Out-numbered, out-flanked and out-of-luck.

                                           Sgt Bob leads by example !

The chaos forces have  built up to levels that cannot be stopped by a few marines. Screaming blasphemies, they hurl themselves at the termies. In seconds the flamer marine is the only man still standing, with his last few drops of napthalene, he secures a narrow corridor and turns to make a "Last stand".

                                                    I want my mammy!

With only a powerfist to rely on, the last marine is torn to pieces by the horde of monsters.
Although a loss for the marines, this mission had worked just as I wanted. The demons had proved very difficult for the termies to deal with. The "Hypnotic Glamour" of the demonettes had worked well, acounting for two marines. The bloodletters had finished the rest. The pink horrors had not really been needed and were unable to test their "Blue horrors" special ability.
Time to try a different mission with a few more marines!

Charonea 338BC Lost Battles

         Phillip II of Macedon (With his son Alexander) must consolidate the greek nation before he turns East and invades the Persian Empire. Athens and Thebes have raised a force against him.
The Macedonians army numbered 30,000 Infantry and 2,000 Cavalry (approx)
Opposing Greek forces may have been 35,000.
For this refight, I commanded the Macedonians. My eighteen year old, Glynn, stepped up as Greek leader.

 A note RE figure unit strength.
  "Lost Battles" is a flexible rule system with regards to miniatures use. Most units on both sides in this battle are "Average" quality. Hoptlite and Phalanx units should have had the same number of figures/bases per unit. While setting the game up, I realised that I was only able to provide 2 bases per hoptlite unit. Rather than cut the phalanx units (4 bases) to half size, I simply played with the figures available.
This made little or no difference in play but, for the photographs, hoptlite forces should be twice their size (or phalanx units half the size. Take your pick.

This photo shows the initial positions. From top left, the "River Cephillus" flows past "Mt Akontion" and into a marsh. From the center left the river becomes a stream, the "Haemon", and flows across the battlefield to the right. The waters are "muddied" by recent rains and the activity of the armies ;-)
 Macedon is deployed to the left, greeks on the right.
At the top Alexander and his cavalry watch the greek cavalry across the marsh.
On the left, the phalanx has crossed the stream to face the the hoptlites.
Slightly advanced, King Phillip, his hypaspists and "heavy " infantry (represented here by Thracian figures),  are opposed by light infantry and just behind them, more hoptlites (just out of sight of the camera).
In the foreground, Mt Charonea soon to be the scene of vicious combat between light infantry of both armies.

                                                    "Macedon ready to advance"

             The first "turn" of the game is taken up with deployment so we start with Turn 2.
 The greeks move first and Glynn orders the cavalry to turn and watch the marsh for Alexanders advance.  The greek center and center/right hoptlites advance. Light infantry race up to the high ground at Chaerona. Only the troops opposite Phillip refuse to move.
  The Macedonian response is fairly predictable. Alexander turns his cavalry towards the marsh. The phalanx advances to meet the hoptlites. Phillip detaches light infantry and a unit of heavies to support the attack on Chaeronea. At this stage, I planned to attack with Alexander on the left. Push the greek skirmishers off Chaeronea and use the phalanx to hold the hoptlite line while Phillip and his veterans attack it from the side.
 Glynn had other ideas!

                                         " Greek light infantry prepare to defend Chaeronea"

 Glynn choose to start his turn with an attack by his right/center hoptlites on the phalanx.
With an attack limit of 4 attacks, I was sure the phalangites could weather the storm.
WRONG.... With a flurry of incredible dice rolls (including a double six) the hoptlites smashed six hits into the stunned macedonians. This "Spent" four units and "Shattered" the fifth. Costing the greeks three "All Out" attacks and passing a morale roll was the only good news for King Phillip.
 Oh well, maybe my center phalanx could perform better.

                                                         "This was not in the plan!"

   Next up, Glynn attacked the center zone.... With a flurry of incredible dice rolls (including a double six) the hoptlites smashed six hits into the stunned macedonians. (Wait a minute.... have I not typed this already?   Yes but he did it twice, jammy beggar!)

                                                                 " Aww,  C'mon"

This time it only cost the greeks two "all-out attacks" to shatter one unit and reduce the other four to "spent" status.  Again the morale dice was kind to the phalanx.
   Thankfully the greek cavalry attacks on Alexander were ineffective and having used all his commands for the turn, Glynn passed the dice over.

 Needing to close the gap and administer some damage, I started the turn with Alexander and the cavalry.  With two units of veterans I was sure to overwhelm the greek cavalry and turn their right flank. Three terrible attack rolls and total failure ensued. Zero damage.

                                                 A very "Timid" charge by Alexander.

Struggling to conceal the sudden onset of a facial tic, I turned attention to the badly beaten phalanx.
I thought a retreat might just buy enough time for some positive action elsewhere, also, should the greeks advance into the vacant zones, King Phillip would be on the end of their line.

On the Macedon right came the first glimmer of hope! Two units of light troops destroyed the greek defenders and captured Chaeronea.

                                              "Macedon captures the high ground"

The remainder of macedons commands were used to move single units in an effort to reinforce the phalanx.
 Glynn reset the command and turn tracker then grabbed the dice with a wicked grin.
Then I realised what he was so happy about. Retreating the phalanx had left his rightmost hoptlites in a position to attack Alexander from the side.
The greek cavalry attacked first and scored two hits. The hoptlites turned and smashed into the macedonians. In the slaughter that followed, Glynn rolled another double six! Alexander "Rallied" hit after hit (four rallies in total) and managed to hold on with all units spent.

                                                               " It's a Trap!"

In the center, the Greek units advanced after the phalanx.
A solitary unit of greek skirmishers took position below Chaeronea.

But time for Macedons response. I started with another mistake. It costs two action points for cavalry to move into a tile containing a marsh but normal cost to move out. Forgetting this I thought Alexander had no choice but to fight when retreat may have been wiser. At the very least his attacks this turn scored two hits reducing both greek cavalry units to spent status.
The position in the macedon rear tile looked promising. Four phalanx, two veteran and an average heavy unit backed up with all Phillips exemptions! (Not forgetting Attack limit 4)  I scored a total of one hit. All the hoptlites were "spent" but no morale test needed. (My facial tic was now in spasm). Even the light infantry on Chaeronea had no success this turn. Thinking that "at least it can't get worse" I passed the turn over to Glynn.

With the Macedonian army in tatters, I expected to fail the first morale test. I was not prepared for the manner in which it happened.
The first and final attack came from the five spent hoptlite units facing Phillip and the phalanx.
Two hoptlite attacks "spent" the average and one veteran heavy infantry. Phillip and his veterans had to step up as "Lead" unit. Inevitably, Glynn rolled double six!!!

   I knew what was coming even as I rolled the rally attempt. King Phillip II leapt forward to inspire his men and promptly caught a greek spear in the nads! Every Macedonian on the field turned and ran.

                                                               "Lets get outa here"

As I totalled the victory points, I glanced across the table at Glynn. In his eyes there was no remorse, no pity, only a satisfied sneer.
The points came to Greeks 174 against Macedons 52. A massive 122 point Major victory.

So this game was a disaster for me, but I made mistakes and cannot blame it all on luck. Glynn has "picked up" the game much faster than I have and played to a better plan.
"Lost Battles" has re-ignited my interest in the period and I plan to be playing it for some time. Roll on my "Empire" campaign.

As for Glynn, if he keeps rolling dice like that, I'll have to start checking ebay for a set of "Seven Daggers of Megiddo"!