A Leisurely Friday Afternoon Part II Seljuk Turks vs Later Crusaders

It has been a busy month and I am long overdue with the 2nd part of this posting. Blame the weather, blame the Canadian election, or better yet blame the Canadian tax filing date. It has been a busy month. Today was the first day in almost two weeks that I didn't have some tax related function that I had to fulfill.

Anthony and I met so I could introduce him to DBA the last Friday in March. Our first battle was a Roman Civil War after which we stopped for lunch. For our second dust up we looked for some medieval inspiration and decided to do a Crusader Game. I suggested we play with a Later Crusader (IV/17) Army and the Seljuk Turks (III/73). I forget the method used to pick sides but I ended up with the Crusaders.

We fought the game beside of a waterway. which ran along the western table edge. The northern two quadrants each had rough going and the southern quadrants had a gentle hill in the east and an oasis with palm trees in the west. I rolled a 1 for a total aggression of 2. The Seljuk Turks have natural aggression of 3, so he didn't even bother to roll. He was the invader. Anthony's army entered from the north, which was the table edge he wanted. My forces established their camp in the south.

Armies In there Initial Positions viewed from the West

(Transport Cases in background)

Later Crusader (IV/17 Ag 1)

1x 3 Kn (Gen) Non Hospitaller

2 x 3 Kn (A chance to use  my Knights of the Order of Saint John the Hospitaller)*

1 x 3 Cv or 3 Kn (I choose an 3rd Hospitaller Kn element)

5 x 4 Sp ( represented by Halberders with one Element assigned to guard the camp)

2 x 4 CB (I used LB)

1x 3 Bw

* See Captains Blog

Seljuk Turks (III/73 Ag 3)

1 x 3 Cv (Gen)

1 x 3 Cv or 2 LH (Anthony choose a 2nd Cv Element)

8 x 2 LH (A chance to exercise Jef's Hun's)**

1 x 2 Ps or 3 Bw or 3 Aux or 2 LH (3Bw Chosen) and the same choices repeated

1 x 2 Ps or 3 Bw or 3 Aux or 2 LH (3Bw Chosen again)

** See Captain's Blog

Anthony go off to a slow start and kept his forces intact. I was lucky with my pips and rapidly advanced in three battles.

 

After two more bounds Anthony rushed his light horse forward into my knights. Units on both sides had remained out of bow range to this point. My spear had grabbed the high ground and I was feeling confident with my position. My spear would defeat the light horse they faced and could move to protect my right flank. My bow were positioned to guard the left flank and were safely positioned in rough terrain.

 

Anthony's General and BG, and bow held back on his right flank. My general was in the forefront of the battle but I was overlapped.

Oh how the mighty fall. Tactical lessons are forgotten and one of the beauties of DBA is the rock, paper, scissors aspect of the game. Knights are quick killed by Light Horse. My General and another Knight Element fall to superior numbers. Even though I had a +4 tactical factor to a  +2 for Anthony's Light Horse, God was not with me. Death and disaster are risks one takes when leading from the front.

 

After the initial meeting it was all over but the crying as my general and another element of knights  were blown away with no loss to the enemy. Below the remaining knights look in disbelief at the horde that will wash over them.

A Leisurely Friday Afternoon Part III

It was about 3:00PM and we decided to play one more battle. In order to save time we would use the same two armies but change the look of the battlefield.

Once Again Armies In there Initial Positions viewed from the West

Both Armies Advance, but it looks like the Seljuk Turks will be able to grab the high ground and the better tactical position before the Crusaders.

 Seljuks and Crusaders Battle for Control of the Hill Crest.

Suddenly Two Elements of Light Horse are Destroyed

The Seljuk BG (L) and Gen (R) slam into the Crusader General (L) and BG (R)

 The Battle Ebbs Back and Forth. Both Generals Recoil

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!!!

 

Two More Seljuk Elements are Destroyed (a 3Cv and a 2LH) for a total of four Elements.

The Crusaders lost a 3Kn in the Battle for the Hilltop.

Proclaim the singing of Non nobis throughout our Host

It was about 4:00 and the day was done. I was able to get some of my miniatures in action and I hoped that Anthony enjoyed his introduction to DBA I re-staged the battles about a week after we fought. I used the photos I took at the time and a couple of quick notes to set the stage. I hope I got it right.

A Leisurely Friday Afternoon Part I Roman Civil War

Yesterday I  introduced Anthony to the world of DBA. It was an opportunity for me to display some of my miniatures and to actually get them out onto the kitchen table, I mean into the Fields of Battle. We played three games over a leisurely Friday afternoon. 

The first match was a West meets East Roman Civil War. Anthony commanded the western conference and I, the eastern. Our armies were fairly evenly matched. having both selected our troops from The Middle Imperial Roman Armies lists II/64. The west was the visiting team wearing the blue jerseys. My men were mainly dressed in green

  Antonius, C-in-C West, as he awaits the outcome of the Cavalry Battle.

Army of the West: 1x3Cv (Gen), 1x3Cv, 1x2LH, 1x3Bd, 3x4Bd, 4x4Aux, 1xArt
Army of the East. 1x3Cv (Gen), 1x4Kn, 2x2LH, 1x3Bd, 3x4Bd, 3x4Aux, 1x4Bw

Eastern Claimant with Bodyguard and Screening Force

LH close with enemy Artillery while Kns wait to charge Cv

The terrain was a 3 foot x  3 foot battleground. A river ran from the north to the south, near the centre of the board. A road traversed the battlefield east-west, with a stone bridge crossing the river. Orchards were located in both the NE and NW quarters while a steep hill was situated in the SW quadrant.

Battlefield: Looking North

I sat up in the south. My camp near the eastern river bank. My general and the cavalry located on the west side of the river but east of the hill.  My infantry was formed in two ranks on the river's east bank. In the first rank, the Bow was on the  left and three elements of Aux stretched in line to the east. The second rank of troops was 4 elements of Blades, with the 3Bd element positioned behind the Bow.  The two ranks were separated by 100 paces.

 Western Arty destroyed along with one Eastern LH

In response to my sit-up Anthony placed his General and Cavalry, along with his Artillery on the west side of the river to face off against my Cavalry wing. His Blades were in a column of march, on the eastern riverbank, with the Aux troops stung out in a line, through the orchard in the NE quadrant of the battlefield. He had one element of Aux in a 2nd rank. Antonius then commenced his advance.  On the western side of the battlefield his advance was limited by the speed of his artillery. In the east, Anthony kept the Aux dressed in line with the slower moving Blades.

Eastern Bowmen fall behind in the advance, but Aux hit Aux. 

Western Blades have overlap.

Eastern Blades seen entering the bottom of the photo

I advanced my Troops. I planned to use my LH to screen my General and Knights from the ranged Artillery fire. On the east side of the river, my Aux quickly outdistanced my Bow and the followup Blades. Our Infantry clashed near the centre of the board fighting over the road. I soon lost two of my Aux Elements but fortunately my Blades arrived in time to fill the empty sectors of the line. In addition I had overlapped his eastern most element. With a little luck I was able to push Anthony back while destroying his Aux elements.

Eastern Blades take position in the front Rank. 

Western Aux are pushed back before breaking.

No Room for the western Blades to expand into line

On the western side of the river I was able to charge my LH forward, getting into close combat with his LH and Artillery. My Knights closed the distance with his Cav and my General held back to manage the battle and to be a mobile reserve if needed. He was not needed. In the final round of combat The west lost his third Aux Element. With the destroyed Artillery unit it was enough to give Victory to the East, which had lost three elements (one LH and two Aux).

 

Eastern C-in-C, now Emperor surveys the carnage. 

It was now time to take a break for lunch. Two more games were to follow in the afternoon. The Later Crusaders (IV/17) will face off against the Seljuk Turks (III/73). Those tales are yet to be recorded.