Lionheart's Journey. A quest for redemption.

A Silly Title Production

Venue:   Huzzah Hobbies, Ashburn, VA.
Event:    L' Art de la Guerre Team Tournament.
Round:  2, Medieval Period.
Players: Phil Gardocki (Team Jersey Boys) running Burmese
                  Richard Woolford (Team SMAC) Feudal English
                 
Game System: L' Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points

Big praises for Huzzah Hobbies.  Their staff excellently handled our unreasonable demands with both panache and grace.   They provided a clean, large gaming area sufficient for out 48 players AND a large number of Magic, the Gathering players.  Well Done!

The Forces:
The Burmese, led by the Kings Narathihapate, King Pagan of Bassein and King Pagan of Thaton, all Competent.
      5 Elite Elephants
      4 Medium Spearmen
      5 Bowmen
      2 Elite Medium Swordsmen, 2HW
      4 Light Infantry, Bow
      1 Elite Light Infantry, Firearm
Breakpoint...22 

Richard I,  who is a great strategist, has brought a collection of knights, longbowmen, and spearmen.  His breakpoint seems to be about 20. 

Anyone that has read my Anglo-Irish battle reports knows of my running joke of naming my generals Larry, Darryl and Darryl.  So too, the Kings Pagan and Pagan.  But it is not entirely a joke. Using Wikipedia as a sole source.  Burma had a number of kingdoms, some were merely city-states, but the name Pagan was a common royalty name.  I can't say they took to the field together, but the possibility existed. 

The Board:
The English win the initiative, and elect to attack into the mountains.  His reasoning was elephants don't like mountains either.   The Burmese select two steep hills, a gully, and a brush.  Confirming the rumors of Richards bipolar nature the English select an impassable and a road.  After the dice fall, all the terrain was on the side of the Burmese.

Deployment

The Burmese deployed strong left and center, with their weakest command just right of center, but anchored in the brush.  The English also deployed strong left, stronger center, ant their weakest command on their right.  After deployment, a number of mounted knights were replaced with foot knights.

With his knights now on foot, Richards forces look very formidable. 

His left command, facing a cleared off area, is still mounted.

With forces in ambush, King Narathihapate is hugging the hill's edge.

King Pagan of Bassein holds the center, while King Pagan of Thaton holds the right.

Turn 1:

Richard orders a general advance down the line.  But only his spearmen on the his right double time.

Even his Impetuous Knights on his left only manage a short advance.

King Narathihapate passed orders to his lesser kings.  "Let them come."

Turn 2:
For brevities sake, I'll just drop to the bottom of turn 2.  But truth be told, the approach takes another 5 turns, so you might want to go to turn 7.

The English proceed with a cautious advance.  With some shuffling of the command structure.  The Burmese reveal their ambush, a spear and a bow unit which ascends to the summit of the hill. 

The English send their left command knights on a wide swing.  The rest of the Burmese battle line makes a 1UD advance and a shift to the right.

The rest of the Burmese line remains anchored to the brush.

Turn 3:

Noting the near total lack of movement of the Burmese, Richard continues a cautious advance. They are greeted by Merry and Pippin.  

And we will just let that out of context movie reference sit in.

The left wing of knights contracts to a column.

First volley is served.  15-love Burma.

Second serve is a fault.  Score remains 15-love.

King Pagan can see where this is going, and adjusts the sites of his bowmen.

Turn 4:
Yes, it's the type of game that has the audience heading for the bathrooms during the boring parts. 

King Narathihapate has taken up a position next to his archers, as it looks like there is going to be an exchange of fire.  The better to rally with.

The English Javelin armed lights score a hit as well.  The score is 15-All.

On the Burmese right, the English pull up short and turn earlier than expected.

The English have retired their shooters, and so the Burmese primary target is now Foot Knights.  There isn't much percentages there, so King Narathihapate orders is men on the hill to pull back as well. 

Faced with a pending knight charge, King Pagan has withdrawn his bowmen as well. 

In the brush, King Pagan re-re-sites his bowmen, and puts out his firearm armed lights as a tease.

Turn 5:
Both players are playing cagey here.  The Burmese made on mistake with pushing their bowmen forward in the center for a fruitless shot.  Only to be threatened by knights that would kill them.  They then were withdrawn, but with damage.  If the English have made a mistake, it is in overcompensating on their left, but then doing nothing with them.  But in points its a win for them as they are tieing down about 73 points to their 55.

The English main battle line is advancing inexorably forward.

Missiles fly to no effect.

The knights on the flank also advance cautiously. 

Visible to all, the Burmese on the hill turn and face.

Shots again, both sides pick up a hit.

And, nothing much has changed here.

Turn 6:
Having over used the word cautious, the author turns to the online thesaurus. 

King Richard is circumspect in his advance.  One point of luck in his favor, his light javelinmen disperse their Burmese counterparts.  An elephant is now without it's cover.

Shots are traded on the right.  Both sides pick up a hit.

One of the English Spearmen has picked up a hit from missile fire, so there is little chance they will try to force the hill.  So King Narathihapate has his bowmen point down the project point of contact.

The English light javelinmen pick up their MVP award.  That is three hits in as many turns.

The Welsh longbows are also proving accurate.  They score a second hit on Burmese spear.  And in what may be a first, the only Burmese light foot armed with firearm score their first hit ever.

Turn 7:

It has been a long and judicious march for the English, faced by the equally leery Burmese. 

Clash!  Knights hit supported bow for only 1 hit.  King Narathihapate, looking for an early advantage against medium foot, leads from the front.  He wins, but not big enough, and so is involved in battle with reduced command points.

Other than two victories, the rest of the crush of battle goes the English's way.

On the English left, the knights put up a strong posturing, but no contact.

English foot knights are struck in the flank, but still plow under their foes.  However, they they find themselves friendless as their supports are destroyed in turn.

King Pagans men, after taking losses on the charge, now hold their own.  One of his elephants finds a knight and tramples it.

Taking a chance, King Pagan orders his elephants to charge alone.  The god Samantabhadra smiles on his audacity, and declares him worthy, and another knight is sent to their god.

Turn 8.
While this may have been tedious to read to this point, and I know, it was tedious to write.  Only about 45 minutes have passed.  When you don't move much, the turns fly by.
Richard I's army has 15 points towards their break point of 20
King Narathihapate's army has 8 points towards their break point of 22

The English foot knights are not cowed easily.  They turn to face the Burmese archers on the hill, slaying them in turn.

A cheer starts in the center of the line, then joined bot others.  An elephant has fallen.  The beasts can be killed.  Hearkened by the news, lesser men renew their efforts.  A Burmese archer unit is routed, then another.  Soon, all that is defending the camp are disordered light infantry.

With no good options available to it, a knight charges a guard foot unit.  Scoring a hit.  To distract the elephant, the English lights charge it.

Throwing all risk to the winds, King Narathihapate joins his archer on the hill.  The foot knights are taken from the rear and are ground into the mud.

There is nothing King Narathihapate or Pagan can do about the center.  Their only hope is to demoralize the enemy army before the camp falls.  King Pagan leads his elephant troop deep into the enemy lines, scoring 2 hits on the enemy longbow.

On the far right, the English skirmishers can only do so much, and are also tromped upon.

Turn 8:
It is now position vs losses.  The English have the advantage in mobility and have blown a hole in the Burmese line 4 elements wide.  But they have paid a price for that hole.
Richard I's army has 19 points towards their break point of 20
King Narathihapate's army has 14 points towards their break point of 22

To secure his right, Richard throws in his last reserves.  Spearmen flank charge an elephant scoring 2 hits.  Skirmishers charge another beast, causing it to rampage through the lines.  Knights charge bowmen, but are halted.

Even as a strategist, Richards command points are not unlimited.  He opts not to push for the camp in the hopes of a military victory instead.

Welsh longbowmen are destroyed.  So to a Burmese guardsmen.

Richard I's army has 18 points towards their break point of 20
King Narathihapate's army has 19 points towards their break point of 22

Once again King Narathihapate joins the fray.  And by doing so, avoids losing another elephant.

King Pagan turns his troop of elephants around, but they are too far and too late.

Hoping to repeat his luck, King Pagan charges another lone knight, and just misses destroying it.

But that one point from that knight was enough to push the English over the edge to their break point of 20, the the Burmese breakpoint of also 20.  As the English had a smaller army, it was a narrow win for the Burmese.

The Battle for Krong Battambang

A Headless Body Production

Venue:   Huzzah Hobbies, Ashburn, VA.
Event:    L' Art de la Guerre Team Tournament.
Round:  4, Medieval Period.
Players: Phil Gardocki (Team Jersey Boys) running Burmese

                  Jeff Robertson (Team Spoilers), Khmer
                 
Game System: L' Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points


Big praises for Huzzah Hobbies.  Their staff excellently handled our unreasonable demands with both panache and grace.   They provided a clean, large gaming area sufficient for out 48 players AND a large number of Magic, the Gathering players.  Well Done!

==========================================================  
The scouts approached the Great King Narathihapate, as per custom they went to their knees and bowed their heads until commanded to speak.

"Rise, and speak", commanded the great king.

"Oh mighty one, we have seen the enemy and can report their numbers!  They are a great host, and have many elephants."

"How many elephants", asked the Great King?

"Six troops, mighty one!"


King Narathihapate looked to his vizier, and asked, "How many troops of elephants do we have?"

"Five, my King."

"Are you sure?"

The vizier pointed to the massed stablemen with their over sized shovels.  "Yes, my king.  One thing is certain, and that is how many elephants one has."
 ===============================================================
 
The Forces:
The Burmese, led by the Kings Narathihapate, King Pagan of Bassein and King Pagan of Thaton, all Competent.
      5 Elite Elephants
      4 Medium Spearmen
      5 Bowmen
      2 Elite Medium Swordsmen, 2HW
      4 Light Infantry, Bow
      1 Elite Light Infantry, Firearm
Breakpoint...22

The Khmer prefer a more formal style of war and have sent a complete list of their assets.
      6 Elephants, all Ordinary, 2 with Artillery
      6 Medium Spearmen, 2 elite guards, 2 ordinary, 2 mediocre conscripts
      2 Medium Swordsmen, 2HW
      2 Bowmen
      6 Light Infantry with a mix of bows, javelins, and crossbows
      2 Medium Cavalry, Mediocre
      1 Servant, Levy
 Breakpoint...25

 ==============================================================
"How did they get here?", murmured the King, "The forest is very dense."

 "Elephants can clear the forest like nothing else", came the reply.

"They have many men, how are they fed?", he asked.

"With many elephants, much food can be carried."

"And the great mountains between us, the deep valleys?"

"After clearing the forest, they have much timber to build sledges and bridges."
 ==============================================================
About the Kings.

Anyone that has read my Anglo-Irish battle reports knows of my running joke of naming my generals Larry, Darryl and Darryl.  So too, the Kings Pagan and Pagan.  But it is not entirely a joke. Using Wikipedia as a sole source.  Burma had a number of kingdoms, some were merely city-states, but the name Pagan was a common royalty name.  I can't say they took to the field together, but the possibility existed. 

The Board:
The Khmer won the initiative and elected to attack in the plains.  The Defense selected a gully, a field and a gentle hill.  The vile attackers selected two fields of their own.  When the dice had settled, all the terrain was on the defenders side of the board, save the gully.

Deployment
The Khmer deployed from center to their left, with their weakest command on their right, and their main attack command on their left.

The Burmese deployed in a similar manner, with their weakest command in the center of the board, and the stronger commands to the right.  The left 2 foot of the board might as well have been cut off.

The smallest Khmer command deploys directly across from the smallest Burmese command.

The mid sized command, armed with elephant backed artillery, occupies the area just left of center.

While the main attack command, named Assault Flank, is compressed on the far left.

But he is not the only one with a cunning plan.  What is hiding behind the hill?

Four troops of elephants dominate the Burmese line.

Along with the obligatory ambush in the field. 

A shot of the whole army.

LAY ON!

The command named "Defense Flank", reevaluates its mission and races across the board.  Could it be he doesn't see the ambush marker?  Or, are they covering the flank very closely.

A double march of the Khmer center command.  Ballista's loaded and ready.

The Assault Command spends it's command points extending their line.

King Pagan of Bassein reveals his ambush.  He feels good about this matchup.  Its elites vs ordinary and mediocre's.  And a bowman on a hill vs. mediocre cavalry.

In what has to be considered the bonehead move of the day, King Narathihapate advances to bowfire (and ballista) range.

King Pagan of Thaton advances more cautiously.

Bound 2:

The commander of the Khmer left now sees his error.  He recalls his cavalry, and angles his line defensibly. 

Khmer Bowmen are not numerous, but are spot on with their aim.  2 Burmese lights are dispersed by arrow-fire.

The Khmer left flank has caught up with the right.  It looks like this is going to be a command on command fight, with nearly identical forces.

King Pagan orders a general advance, leaves the defensive ground of the hill.

King Narathihapate holds firm.  He as an brief opportunity here.  His main line is currently out of range of the Khmer bow, so only the Khmer lights are in range.  The Khmer elephant in front is the general of the command, rallying his lights.

In a sign of solidarity, King Pagan lines his command up perfectly to King Narathihapate's  

Turn 3:

The Khmer right continues to hold.

It is now the Burmese turn to fill the sky with arrows.  Khmer bowmen take hits.

The Khmer "Assault Flank" command approaches and sets up its attack. 

King Pagan starts the grand melee.  Unfortunately, one of his guards was out of range.  The results are mixed.  One Khmer unit is destroyed, but the Burmese elephants take a hit.

Fortune has favored the Burmese elephants so far.  3 rounds of artillery fire have missed them so far.

On the other flank, King Pagan also charges.  He scores some minor wins and some major losses.

Note to the above.  This was not done correctly.  The Burmese bowmen could not have made the charge upon the Khmer elephant. 

Turn 4:

On the Khmer right, the fight continues.  The Cavalry is recalled back to the line to prevent the elephant from being flanked.

The Khmer center command, named "Base of Fire", continues in its role of shooting rather than engaging.  Scoring more hits down the Burmese line.

On the Khmer left, the slaughter has started.

At the bottom of the turn, a fortuitous die roll has led to the rampage of a Khmer elephant.  King Pagan leads his Guardsmen in their assault. The rest of their command has taken hits as well.

The center command of the Burmese charges as well.  (and another incorrectly done charge of bowmen)  The results here are mixed.  One kill on each side.

On the right flank, King Pagan has lost both his troops of elephants.

Turn 5:

The battle of the flank is desperate.  The Khmer to prevent their center from turning, the Burmese desperate to get help to their beleaguered center.

One Burmese elephant has two hits, the other has turned the flanks, but has to fight a light foot instead of its intended target of another elephant.

On the right, the Burmese have nought but the dead, and the soon to be dead.

And on their left, the same could be said for the Khmer.

Its a race for the center.  A race the Burmese is losing.

And the game ends with a bang.  Both sides are demoralized. 

Our laughter of the last turn was infectious.  We both lost early on the turn, but continued fighting, just to see how high we could pile up the dead.  The adjacent table commented sheer volume of unoccupied space.  When the points were counted, the score was Burmese losing 25 of 22, while the Khmer lost 29 of 25.

On upon writing this though, I see twice where I erred and charge with bowmen against elephants. The rule (p 52) reads that bowmen can charge if "The target is a foot unit that is providing support to a friend in melee."  My selective memory ignored "foot" in that rule.  And for that I apologize.  The immediate difference is easy to see, in one case a Burmese elephant would have lost by one from lack of support, and another case a Khmer elephant took a hit that it would not have.   With that I think Jeff would have won the game at the top of Turn 5.