A Krush of Koreans

A Headless Body Production
Venue: An Undisclosed Basement
Event: Playing a game for the camera  
Players: Phil Gardocki running Korean               
              Tom Worden running Samurai
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

The Forces:
Samurai (list 210)
The Samurai are commanded by Larry-San, a Strategist, his brother Darryl-San the Ordinary and his other brother Darryl-San, also Ordinary.
9 Samurai, Medium Swordsmen, Bow, Elite
4 Yari, Medium Spearmen, Mediocre
4 Mounted Samurai, Heavy Cavalry, Bow, Elite
2 Followers with Bow, Bowmen, Mediocre
Breakpoint of 19

Koryo Korean (list 212)
The Koreans are commanded by Rarri, the Competent, his brother Darrir, the Competent, and his other brother Darrir, also Competent.
4 Guardsmen, Cataphract, Elite
2 Horsemen, Heavy Cavalry Impact
2 Militia Horsemen, Medium Cavalry Impact, Mediocre.
5 Spearmen, 1/2 Heavy Spearmen, 1/2 Crossbow 3 Light Cavalry, Bow 2 War Wagons, Bow
3 Light Infantry, Bow
Breakpoint of 22

The Board:
The Samurai win the initiative and elect to defend in the plains.

Normally, when there is a coastal area, the defender sets up on it, but not this time.

It could be a setup, the Samurai offering his camp to tempt a flank march. Last game, titled A Seppuku of Samurai, I did just that and got crushed.

The main body occupies barely 1/3rd of the board.  13 elites ready to fight, 6 mediocres deployed in the rear.

Rarri deploys on the left, with Cataphracts and Impact Cavalry.

Darrir with 5 Heavy Spear/Bow

Their other brother Darrir with 2 War Wagons are there to prevent a cavalry sweep of the flank.

A note on annotations. When you see a jagged word bubble "Ouch", that unit has received a missile hit.

Letters in parenthesis represent some value change for the specific unit. For commanders it is b for Brilliant, c for Competent and o for Ordinary, u for unreliable. For troops it is e for Elite, and m for Mediocre. Other abbreviations, Hvy Heavy, XB Crossbow, LB, Longbow, Jav Javelin, 2HW 2 Handed Weapons, B Bow, Kn Knight, HKn Heavy Knight, HC Heavy Cavalry, Md Medium, Sgt Sergeants, LC Light Cavalry, Chr Chariot, Cat Cataphract, Pa Pavise, LI, Light Infantry, HG Hand Gun, FKn Foot Knight, Hvy Spear, Heavy Spearmen.

"XX" marks a unit killed in that location on that turn.

"????" is an ambush marker, and so it is unknown at this time. 

Turn 1:

I was expecting the Cataphract line to run head long into the Samurai, but now it looks like a flank attack instead.  That's ok, except that Cataphracts don't turn very well

The foot bow advance just a bit, to be in support range, of the cavalry, but I don't want to engage them to early.

When you think about it, the Samurai, elite sword bow, at 12 points, beat 1/2 spear bow quite handily.  Either elite vs ordinary in shooting, or elite vs mediocre in hand to hand. 

Meanwhile, other brother Darrir, hasn't had his morning tea yet.

The Samurai commander parses off the end to cover the flanks from the Korean lights.

The rest advance to overwhelm the Korean foot.

It's a race then.  Who can collapse the others right flank first?

Samurai cavalry advance in a column.

Turn 2:

Early missiles fly.  Both sides take hits

Koryo Korean have a wide variety of cavalry available to them.  Cataphracts, Heavies, Mediums, Elite and Mediocre.  I have a mixture here.  Cataphracts for the main charge, Heavies to support them.  Mediums to cover their flanks.  The white '6's on the stands are elites, the red '1's for the mediocres.

The Cataphracts should charge next turn, so the main Korean foot line advances to missile range.  They should be close enough to prevent the Cataphracts from getting flanked on turn 4.  I am willing to lose a couple of them to keep the main attack going.

Darrir's Light Horse is not willing to trade shots with the Samurai horse

To avoid being flanked by Korean Light Horse, Samurai foot charge!  But the Lights do not flee, and survive the hit, pinning the Samurai foot.

Arrows continue to fly, and the Korean foot line is becoming more disordered.

Free from interference in the terrain, Samurai Cavalry turn the flank of the Korean main line

Totally my fault.  To bolster the cavalry with cataphracts, I traded out a unit of "Guardsmen", LMI, Crossbow, Elite, Pavise from the War Wagon Command.  Having them in the field right now would have delayed the flanking by the Samurai horse for a turn.

At the Tree of Woe, quality missile fire is showing it's edge.  The score is 4 hits on the Koreans to 1 hit on the Samurai.

Turn 3:

First charge, and first blood.  Damaged lights break off, while mounted lancers hit the flank of the right most Samurai.

Cataphracts charge as well.  Destroying one Samurai, and putting 2 hits on another.

Korean foot adjust their line to face the inevitable charge.  But arrows continue to score hits.

The score is now 5-4 in favor of the Koreans.

The Samurai right flank is damaged and flanked.  Time to advance!

Charging the Korean right flank, which holds, if only barely.

Samurai horse is looking to score some points.  They don't fight well in the rough, but shoot just fine.

There is a lot of fighting, but the score doesn't change much.

Turn 4:

The Samurai "Forlorn Hope" on their far right continues to hold.  The remaining line continues to collapse to cavalry flank charges.

And, the Samurai "reserves", IE the mediocre troops and now in charge reach by elite Cataphracts.  Talk about a fox in the hen house.

One Korean Spear unit falls, a fresh one takes it's place as flank guard.

Every point matters, the Korean lights retreat out of range.

It has been 4 battle rounds since the Samurai far right was flank charged, and they are still fighting!  In the middle, an opportunity, as a Cataphract is flank charged. But Armor and Elite proves "proof" against katana and wakizashi

Korean right flank continues to hold.

Samurai horse archery proves still effective

The view from the Fuji Blimp

Rarri thinks he is winning, the Tree of Woe says otherwise.

Turn 5:
You would think with all the flank charges the Koreans managed the score would be better.  But all those Elite bowmen the Samurai have, 13, adds up with the "death of a thousand paper cuts."

Eventually, the Samurai far right will fall, its just a matter of rolling even dice or better.  But not this turn, or the next either.

Cataphracts and Heavy Cavalry charge into the soft part of the Samurai army. One is destroyed, another gravely disordered.  And better yet, they are out of command reach as their commanders are both Ordinary.

A second Korean Spearmen is destroyed, but another Samurai foot falls as well.

Darrir has his wagons in position to protect the camp, as his last lights are scattered by arrows.

Chickens flee the hen house

Samurai horse spread out, one supporting the attack on the main Korean infantry line, another threatening the camp.

And two heading to support the collapsing Samurai center.

Samurai 11 of 19, Korean 15 of 22. 

Turn 6:

The fleeing Yari and Followers with a Bow are easily caught by horsemen and run down. 

But the last Korean spearmen are about to be engaged.

The view from the Fuji Blimp.

Casualties add up.  The Samurai are only 2 away from demoralization, the Koreans 4.

I am going to have to kill this guy before he dies...

The scene is total chaos,the last Korean spearmen fall, and the Samurai are beginning to put order back in their lines.

War Wagons have no ZOC, so the Samurai horse just races on by.

At this point there was an embarrassing moment.  Tommy declared the game over, but I replied, "No, I only scored one more point and needed two".  Then the reality set in. He had met his reach goal of 4 for the win.