My first ADLG competition!

I played in my first ADLG Competition this weekend.  The theme was 55BC, so any army from the lists for that date was allowed.  The event was organised by my club mate, and hosted at our club, so the entry bar was low.  I took a force of my newly painted Graeco-Indian troops.  Heavy on the elephants, bows and pikes but light on cavalry.  For my debut game I was facing a horde of Thracians, which almost outnumbered me two to one. 

This picture below was from later in the game but not quite at the end.  We both tried to outmanoeuvre each other.  I messed up moving my pikes at one point and was too slow engaging on the left but it wasn't a total disaster.  Fortunately, the Thracians rolled some bad command dice and that slowed their mass flanking movement on my right wing.  I did managed to kill some light cavalry, and eventually reached the guys hiding at the back in the swamp.  We ended facing off across the width of the battlefield when time ran out.

If I remember correctly, it was 11-8 to me at the close, but the much greater size of my Thracian opponents meant it was a losing draw for me on the points system.

Game two was against a Ptolemaic Egyptian army.  The main line were all pikes and elite armoured legions.  On the left I was facing four impact cavalry and a supporting unit of light cavalry.  I felt outmatched on all sides. 

I don't think my setup was great but I'm not sure what I could have done much better.  Maybe I could have placed my main Indian command on the left.  The cavalry on my right emerged out of an ambush to make matters even worse.

At first things didn’t go as badly as I feared and we held the cavalry on both flanks whilst closing in on the infantry.  The main lines clashed and again it wasn’t going too badly but then I had one especially disastrous turn and lost all along the line.  After that the collapse began in earnest.  The impact cavalry broke free on the left and holes started appearing everywhere.

I can't remember the final score but it was quite a comprehensive defeat.

Game three was against more Ptolemaics.  I deployed my pikes alongside the beach with the Indians massed on my left.  I forgot Elephants are heavily penalised in Plantations, confusing it with brush, which they ignore, but, after being reminded by my gallant opponent, came out just in time.

On the right the Egyptians advanced against my pikes with their main phalanx, and a mediocre elephant on the flank.  They also brought some mediocre pikes from reserve to face my Indians, with some scary rhompaia-armed Thracians in support.  

On my left the Great Pharaoh had more second rate Pikemen, another elephant and some skirmishers facing just a few of my cavalry.

Things went okay against the main Ptolemaic line.  The palace guards were obviously in need of some training, despite their supposed elite status.

Eventually the Egyptian right got into position to threaten my left but it was too little too late. The Thracian attack was also a damp squib and the Indians cut through them and a part of the Phalanx.

Although my army had suffered considerable losses across the whole front, and was getting close to breaking, it was holding together where it counted.   By the end, the main Ptolemaic Phalanx had collapsed and with their best Pikemen gone, and the included general killed, we tipped them over the break point. 

A surprise victory, 24-18.

Other than some very friendly WAB game days, years ago, that weren't very competitive, I had never played in any wargames competitions before.  So, I was a bit apprehensive going in but I'm glad to say my fears were unfounded and it was fun to play against new and challenging opponents.  Better still, the other players were very decent and didn't at all match the nightmare tales of 'competition wargamer' stereotype.  The day left me mentally exhausted but happy with my mid-table mediocrity.  I'm not sure I could take a two day tournament but I might try another one day event in the future.

One Hour Skirmish Wargames

We have recently played a couple of test games to try out One Hour Skirmish Wargames rules by John Lambshead.  They are simple skirmish rules in a somewhat old-school tradition but using some clever card-based mechanisms that give a fast a furious game.  I was previously put off by the lack of dice but after a couple of games I'm sold on this alternative.

John has just released a follow up Ancient and Medieval variant too, that obviously concentrates more on close combat.  We have so far tried one ancients game and one modern game.  We enjoyed both and will definitely be playing these rules again.

Here, some Roman legionaries have crossed the wall in a punishment raid against the northern Britons.  The Romans successfully burned the village but the fierce Celtic warriors made them pay in blood.
 

In our modern game we switch to the 1960s Congo War.  The mercenaries, pushing into the jungle, were ambushed by a platoon of Simbas.  The Mercs outgunned and outfought the Simbas but failed to push past the roadblock.   They were forced to withdraw with two dead and a damaged armour car.

The scenario-based games are a lot of fun and make for something different and challenging.

Graeco-Indians vs Early Achaemenid Persians in ADLG

My Graeco-Indians clash with the Early Achaemenid Persians of my club mate, Mick, King-of-kings.  I forgot to take one at set up, so this is after turn one.

Centre

Left

Right

We started fighting in the fields.  Not ideal to face Javelinmen with my elephant.

 Mick’s immortals drive off my skirmishers

 

We face off on the right.  Lots of bow armed cavalry and some camels pretending to be armoured cavalry.

My other elephant and swordsmen get stuck in.  How hard can come bowmen be to kill.  It goes quite well but disaster strikes on the right.

In the centre my cunning shift to the right crushes the reckless immortals

 

And we’re winning the archery on the right.

After compulsory pursuit the elephant is hit in the flank and destroyed!😱

Everyone else lines up

The collapse in the fields continues

The main lines clash in the centre

In the fields the Persian Javelinmen finally start to break.

As do the Sparabara who have been ground down slowly

The Persian cavalry start to outflank the Graeco-Indian right

Meanwhile a wide sweep by some Arachosian light horse threatens the embarrassingly improvised Persian camp.  Just one more hit on the disguised-camels and the camp sacking points are in the bag!

 A phoenix’ eye view of the closing stages

The last of the Javelinmen break and the Graeco-Indians salvage some honour from the wreckage on the left.

The reverse occurs in the centre as the phalanx flanks collapse.

 

On the right the Persian cavalry finally flank the Graeco-Indian line but it is too little too late.

 

 

Despite a desperate fight, the Arachosians cannot defeat the disguised camels and it is all over.

Both sides broke at this point, for the narrowest of winning draws to the Persians, 24-23.  Grrr!  So close and yet so far.