Anglo-Irish vs Later Achaemenid Persian

A Headless Body Production

Venue:   On Military Matters Bookstore.  Owner Operator Dennis Shorthouse
Event:    Prep for Kozcon 2019


Players: Phil Gardocki running Anglo Irish
                  Allen Kaplen running Achaemenid Persian
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 25mm, 200 points per side.
Theme: None

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The Forces:

Anglo Irish

Larry (brilliant), Darryl (competent) and Darryl (unreliable, ordinary)

      4 Longbowmen, stakes, mediocre

      2 Longbowmen,elite

      3 Javelinmen

      4 Galloglaich, Heavy Swordsmen 2HW

      2 Foot Knights, Heavy Swordsmen 2HW, Heavy Armor, Elite 
      1 Bombard

      2 Kerns, Light Infantry, Javelins

      2 Irish Nobles, Heavy Cavalry      

      2 Irish Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Javelins

Breakpoint of 23

Achaemenid Persians, 3 Competent commanders
    1 Persian Guard Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Impact
    4 Median Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry
    2 Paphlagonian, Light Cavalry, Javelin
    2 Scythed Chariots
    6 Ionian Hoplites, Heavy Spearmen
    5 Babylonian Archers, Bowmen, Mediocre
    1 Elephant
    1 Hill Tribesmen, Light Infantry Javelin
    2 Persian Peltasts, Medium Swordsmen, 2HW
    3 Egyptian Medium Spearmen

Dennis has a wonderful bookstore in Hopewell New Jersey, that he has been running for many decades.  Imagine going through a library that is nothing but military history.  If you don't think you knew him, he is a long time supporter of Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, and held the coveted #1 spot in the dealers area for over 20 years.  So if you have been to any of HMGS's events at the Lancaster Host, you probably have met Dennis at some time.

This is a picture of the fight going on in the other room.  Swiss against I think Gulf States.

Larry loses the initiative and will be attacked in the plains.



The Board:

The Black Knight represents one ambush marker.

His dismembered bits are the other ambush marker.

Darryl (the competent) takes the left command.  Squeezed in with 6 units of longbow and 2 Javelinmen.

Larry takes the center with all his 2 handed swordsmen.

While his other brother Darryl (ordinary and unreliable is assigned to hold the right.

Persian swordsmen and spearmen are escorting an elephant.

Persian cavalry, mostly medium cavalry bow,  are set up to march to the right flank.

On the Persian left are hordes of troops, mostly mediocre, some bow, some spear, more than enough to take on Darryl's small command.

That looks like around 25 units.

I have run the Anglo-Irish for a while now, but the new army has some recent additions.  You have already met the new Black Knight ambush markers, modeled after Monty Python's Holy Grail movie and sold by Medieval Mayhem Miniatures.

The Irish camp, also sold by Medieval Mayhem

Replacing some Galloglaich are the Knights that say Ni, offensive Frenchmen, and King Arthur with his Knights of the Round Table.

King Arthur himself.

Turn 1

And they're off.  The Persian foot double moves forward, their cavalry taking up positions behind them.

Persian light horse bravely advances, but the chariots are motionless.

Persian spear and bow extend their lines to cover their flanks.  They have almost a 3-1 advantage on this flank.

Turn 2:

Slowing down, the Persians advance to 4.01 UD.

After much right facing and left facing, the Persian cavalry pretty much arrives in the center where they started.

But their heaviest blow will fall on the Persian left.

Early arrow fire scores.

As does early longbow fire.

The chariots start to pick up speed.

The Persian line pauses to finish extending.

Darryl sends is disordered lights to the rear, the other to the far right.

Turn 3:

Its a slow starting game, the score is 1 all.  But that is not going to last.

Persian horse exchange arrows with the Irish longbows.

Larry advances, but his best troops are facing nought by chariots.

The bombard fires for it's 5th time, and still hasn't scored.

Darryl plans on committing his heavy horse to battle.  The bowmen are all mediocre, so his odds look good.

Darryl stands there and shoots. 

On the right the stakes come out.

Larry orders a general charge,

He joins Sir Bedivere's knights in the charge. 

The French take a hit, but the Ionian Mercenaries take multiple hits.

Darryl orders his charge.

Mediocrity has it's price.

Which, his other brother Darrel is finding out.

Persian cavalry may be stupid enough to get in longbow range, but not so stupid as to charge stakes.

Somehow I didn't think the chariots could reach my flanking Galloglaich.  But reach they could and damage they did.  King Arthurs's knights also take a chariot on the chin and lose.

The Galloglaich Clan Jordan destroys their opponents, but Sir Bediviers knights are just hanging on.

One unit of Greek Hoplites ZOC's an Irish Light Horse.  Bowmen conform and fill in the hole in front of the heavy horse.

Darryl's forces are over matched, but are going down fighting.

While their brother archers sweep the field clean of man and horse.

The Chariots are both dispersed, but the damage is done.

Another Greek Hoplite falls, but so to the "Knights that say Ni"

Shot from the rear, the Irish light horse is dispersed to the wind.

The Anglo-Irish have 12 points towards their demoralization level of 23
The Achaemenid Persians have 15 points towards their demoralization level of 25
Turn 5:

The Irish left has collapsed. 

Most of the Persian cavalry have retreated, but their elites charge.

Clan O'Lyre is flanked and run over.

Both Greeks and Galloglaich are behind each others flanks.  Who will turn first?

Darryls heavy horse have destroyed 3 bowmen so far, but their luck is at an end.

The remaining forces for Darryl are in dire straights, and it was a bad time for him to roll a pair of 1's for command points.

The center is wide open, an ideal situation for cavalry.  But all the Persian cavalry is disordered, and longbowmen have their pick of targets.

Sir Bedivere turns first, supported by Kerns and Larry, he crashes through one Hoplite, routers disordering the other two.

Darryl leaves one heavy horse behind, and races for the camp with the other.

The Anglo-Irish have 18 points towards their demoralization level of 23
The Achaemenid Persians have 22 points towards their demoralization level of 25
Turn 6:

A brutal charge!  A javelinmen is destroyed, a bowmen is pursued into.

Sir Bedevere's knights are knocked back.

An Irish Noble is destroyed.  They served their cause well.

The timer went ding, so the bottom of the 6th will be the last turn.  Darryl has a peace of luck and wins against the flanking spearmen.

The Anglo-Irish have 21 points towards their demoralization level of 23
The Achaemenid Persians have 22 points towards their demoralization level of 25

The Longbowmen disorder another Persian horse.

Sir Bedivere gets flank support, and just misses destroying another Hoplite.

And for a final chance at a win, the returning Irish lights flank the bowmen.  The luck favored the archers with a good roll, and generated a tie for a no score.

The Anglo-Irish have 21 points towards their demoralization level of 23
The Achaemenid Persians have 23 points towards their demoralization level of 25

That's .91 to .92 for a glorious Anglo-Irish win!
Of course the Persians wrote something else, but who can read their stone tablets anyway?

Lessons learned.

While Anglo-Irish  is a favorite of mine, a lot of that is still residual to WRG days, where the Galloglaich had armor and missile weapons, and the longbow were massive, carried 2HW,  cheap and could darken the skies.  For comparison purposes, they would be 12 elements and cost 50 points.  These longbow are just too fragile. and the game of when do I put out my stakes and then watch the cavalry dive for a ready flank is just too difficult.  Not when your units cost 10 points an element.

The middle command was not very effective.  It was torn between cavalry threats on the left, and Hoplites on the right.   And would up fighting both.  This lack of focus lead to the ultimate <meh> result of the battle.

The bombard on the hill did not get much press.  There is only so much "It shot, hit" or "damn, it missed"that I'm willing to subject the reader to.  It missed the first 5 shots, but after that was pretty good.  Disordering Hoplite after Hoplite.

Darryl's cavalry command.  Outnumbered as it was, did very well.  Losing 5 points and taking 6.  In 2 turns it would have taken the camp.  But, the command is too weak.  It's job is to survive and hold ground, but it may be too weak to do even that.