A Fatality of Fatimids

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Lancaster County Convention Center.
Event: Historicon 2024
Theme: Africa, Round 2
Players: Phil Gardocki running Tuareg, list 210
               Joe DiCamillo running Fatimid Egyptian
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

The Forces:

The Tuaregs are a borrowed army and are led by Ibid, the Competent, Ad Hominem, the Competent and Ad Nauseam, the Ordinary.
14 Warriors on camels, Impetuous, 7 are Elite
6 Warriors sans camels. Impetuous
4 Scouts, Light Camel, Impact
2 Scouts, sans camels, javelin
Breakpoint...26
 

The Fatimids were led by 2 Brilliant and one Ordinary Commanders
6 Mamluks, Heavy Cavalry, Bow, Elite
2 Bedouins, Light Cavalry, Impact
3 Arabs, Light Cavalry, Javelin
4 Abid al-shira, Medium Spear, Bow
2 Abid al-shira, Heavy Spear, Support
1 Light Infantry, Bow
2 Daylami, Medium Sword, Impact, Support, Elite
Breakpoint...20

 Historicon, where a simple stroll to the gents can have you witness the storming of Omaha Beach.

With flames simulated by flickering LED's

 

Or the storming of Metropolis by a random Kaiju

Or an active river crossing...

by pike armed infantry

But that is not this game. This game is about some smelly camels 

The Fatimids win the initiative roll and elect to defend in the plains.

An overhead view of the board.  The Tuaregs are at the bottom.

On the Fatimid right is an Ordinary commander with a large force of light horse.  The center is a Brilliant commander with 6 Mamluks.

Their left is a strong force of foot, about half missile armed.

Ad Nausium lines up his forces to attack the field, way-over-there, while trying to avoid being flanked by the Fatimid light horse.

Ibid lines up to attack the Mamluks

The job of assaulting the infantry line falls on Ad Hominem

 Turn 1:

Ibid races across the board, his march stalls on a single ambush marker. 

Ad Nausium eagerly advances on to the Mamluks

Ad Hominum stalls at the gate. 

Agile and well commanded, the Fatimid light horse dances around the edge of Ad Nasausims line. (like that was ever going to work )

 

The Mamluks dressage their command into multiple positions.

The Fatimid foot's flank is secured by terrain, and by the Daylami investing the field.

Turn 2:

Ignoring the lights which he cannot do anything about, Ad Nausium advances on towards the field.

Ibid's forces charge down the line.  Winning 2 and losing 2. 

Ad Hominum's command was late getting started, giving the Fatimids a temporary advantage on the edges of Ibid's command.

Fatimid lights racing around in the rear.  Other than the Tuareg camp being exposed, they haven't been an inconvenience yet.

Mamluk reserves charge.  Other units begin to rout.  And this is only turn 2.

However the breaks are more beneficial to the Fatimids.

Turn 3:

Ad Nasium pushes into the field.  Unfortunately, there is nothing of value there. 

Ad Hominium's warriors charge at last.  One is routed on contact.  Other warriors close up the hole exposed by earlier breaks.

Fatimid light horse head into the rear of the Tuareg lines.

While their foot begin to turn the flank of Ad Hominiums line.

Bottom of the third, and the Tuareg count is at 18 of 26.

Time for a bio-break.

From one of the Warrior(tm) tables.

 

Great looking Arab cavalry

Turn 4:

Ad Nasium gets some of his foot into the combat.  But the Mamluks just run it down.

Chaos ensues in the mid field.  A Tuareg camel takes a Fatimid spear in the back.

The Tuareg count is now 21 of 26.  The Fatimids are at 11.

A largely unnoticed fight in the center of the board of lights on lights.

The Daylami charge from the rough.  Routing a Warrior on Camel.  That and another flank attack by foot for a point brings the Tuaregs to their break point of 26.  To 12 for the Fatimids.

What went wrong?  Two major things really.  One was the Tuareg foot command had next to nothing to fight.  Wasted points.  But the major failure was the lack of coordination between the two camel commands.  Had they charged together, there would have been a fair, but not great, chance of success.  But the center command had plentiful command points on turn 1, and seeing naught by cavalry in front of him, raced across the board.  While the right command rolled minimal command points and only advanced one march.

Not to blame to dice here.  But the plan should take that into account.  When the center command rolled his command points, decisions were made that did not include the idea that the right command would not be there.  

Piss poor execution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pthinking about the Ptolemaic

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Lancaster County Convention Center.
Event: Historicon 2024
Theme: Africa, Round 1
Players: Phil Gardocki running Tuareg, list 210
               Mike Kennedy, Ptolemaic
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.
Font: Helvetica, for the Helv of it

The Forces:
The Tuareg are a borrowed army and are led by Ibid, the Competent, Ad Hominem, the Competent and Ad Nauseam, the Ordinary.
14 Warriors on camels, Impetuous, 7 are Elite
6 Warriors sans camels. Impetuous
4 Scouts, Light Camel, Impact
2 Scouts, sans camels, javelin
Breakpoint...26

The Ptolemaic are led by unremembered commanders of reptutably impteccable character.
2 Elepthants
4 Heavy Cavalry, some Impact
2 Light Cavalry
6 Ptike, two elite
5 Medium Sword, various characteristics
3 Light Infantry
Breakpoint...22

Historicon.  The Mecca of the Ancients gaming world.  Those arriving early were greeted with some amazing models.  On Wednesday night...

An assault on the Parthenon

An Greeks are well prepared for their celebration

On the left flank, several Taxis of pikemen have withstood the barbarian charge and are now putting the pressure on them.

Courtesy of the Warrior(tm) group.  Scott Holder and Richard ????  Sorry Rich, I'm drawing a blank here.

Deployment

At dawn's early light Mike and I deployed the terrain for the matchup.  The Tuaregs will be attacking the Ptolemaics.

A fairly open battlefield.

On the Ptolemaic left, Ptike and elepthant anchor on the village.  The Medium Infantry run the gamut from Impetuous, 2 handed weapon, to just plain sword. 

In the center, more Ptike.  The silver shields are elite.  And Heavy Cavalry, one is Impact, Elite, the other plain vanilla.

And on the other end, another elepthant.

pTurn 1:

 

The Tuareg camel corps are each 7 troops, 6 in front, one in reserve.  Half are Elite.

It is thought that with Furious Charge, the center command of camel-less troops can fight the Ptike.

The Ptolemaic fit well in the gab between village and field.  The Tuaregs are a bit over stuffed.

With excellent command points, the mixed forces of the Ptolemaic right advance without fear.

The center march in perfect formation

Without the fear of missiles, the left command moves his skirmishers into the terrain.

pTurn 2:

The view from above, before the dice have rolled.

Ptolemaic lights were in charge reach, prompting a charge.  The camels roll long on the pursuit, and slam into the Ptike and Elepthant.  One of the Medium Swordsmen is run over, but overall, it was a bad time for the camels.

I was hoping to get the foot warriors in first, but se-la-vie. 

Ad Hominium's corps also charges, with significantly better luck.  (zero wins, zero losses)

I seem to be off my game in photo shooting.  I missed the bottom of the 2nd.

pTurn 3:

If you are asking "Why didn't he..."?  It was because Mikes command dice seized up. 

With unmaneuverable units and short on command points, the Ptolemaic line cannot react to the threats to their flanks.  A Taxis of Ptike is flanked and routed.  The Tuareg Light Camels, armed as Impact, remain a threat as well.  The left corps reserve warrior is called up to pin the Ptike in place.

Another view from above.  Warriors on foot have engaged the pike, but have not done well.

The right side corps has broken past the Ptolemaic line.  But most of the camel warriors are hung up. 

The mid game score is 14 of 26 for the Tuaregs.

To just 9 of 22 for the Ptolemaics

 

Across the narrow sea, a much better dressed Tuareg force is engaged with the Fatimid Egyptians

Sorry, I cannot name the players or the armies here.

Dennis Shorthouse running Tuaregs against Mark Crotteau's Tulunid and Iqshidid Egyptian

The Elepthant's are pturned, and trample a troop of camels.

The center command is under pressure, but holds.

The Ptolemaic left is beginning to collapse, and so they commit their reserves.

The Tuareg count is now at 22.

To just 10.

pTurn 4:
75 minutes in and on pturn 4.  Looks like a long break coming up before round 2.

The Ptolemaic right is trying to reform to attack the center.  But the Tuareg scouts have a different idea.  One Medium Sword is routed through their friends near the village.

Their center doesn't really need much help.

The Ptolemaic left corps flank is pturned.  Only a Light Foot holds the field.

But too little, too late.  The Tuaregs have passed their breakpoint of 26.

To a somewhat respectable score of 15.

What went wrong?

A major part has to do with inexperience with impetuous units.  I am a control freak.  And when running these, I just let them follow their bliss and charge.  A bit unfortunate they pursued long and into the Ptike and Eleptant command.

But I don't know what I could have done otherwise.  The center was as lined up as it was going to be, and I don't know if another pturn would have mattered.  Another pturn would have brought the Ptolemaic camp into charge reach, but it would be pturn 6 before it would have been looted.