Bringing Katanas to a Knight Fight

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Museu de Marinha, Lisbon, Portugal
Event: Day 1, the Lusitania Challenge
Theme: Team Tournament, Feudal Period, Round 2
Players: Phil Gardocki running Kingdom of Sicily, list 188, circa 1300
               Dave Saunders, Team Londonish, Samurai, list 221
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

Questions have been asked about initial pairings and what is the ELO system?  ELO doesn't stand for anything, it is the name of the chess master that came up with it.  For a better explanation see the wikipedia article. 

 

This is not related to the current battle report, but a plug for a friends wargame site, Bill Molyneaux.  He visits battle fields and museums around the east coast of the US and promotes games you might have heard of.  

 

Each visit generates a small amount of cash dedicated to the Toys for Tots campaign. It costs you noting but time.  Visit  Bills Wargame World .

 

The Forces:
The Kingdom of Sicily are led by King Frederick II a Strategist, Darrel, who is Competent and Darrel (no relation), Ordinary and Unreliable
11 Medium Knights, 8 Impetuous, Elite, 3 Impact
2 Saracen Swordsmen, Medium Swordsmen
4 Saracen Bowmen, Light Infantry, Bow
2 Sicilian Crossbowmen, Light Infantry, Crossbow
2 Saracen, Light Cavalry, Javelin
2 Saracen, Light Cavalry, Bow
Breakpoint of 23
 

Samurai scouting report.
Commanders include the Strategist Yoshitune
2 Heavy Cavalry, Bow, Elite
2 Light Cavalry, Bow, Elite
5 Samurai, Heavy Sword, 2HW,
6 Samurai, Medium Sword, bow,  Elite
3 Bowmen, Mediocre
2 Followers withNaginata, Medium sword, Mediocre
3 Light Infantry, Bow
1 Oni, a Japanese Ogre, played as a Scythed Chariot
Breakpoint...23

 

Display Conventions: When you see a word bubble like "Ouch!" or "ああ!", this implies a disorder from missiles. Letters in parenthesis represent some value change for the specific unit. For commanders it is s for strategist, 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 Spr, Heavy Spearmen.

Inappropriately capitalized words are used to highlight terms that are specific to the game. For example Brilliant, Competent and Ordinary have specific game values for the commanders.

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

Any inaccuracies and vagueness as to specific units is to be regarded as fog of war and part of the fun.

Touristy Stuff:

Touring the city the day before, I had this sandwich on the riverfront. It is a Lisbon specialty called Francesinha.

The sandwich is stuffed with steak and pork, surrounded by mozzarella, topped by an egg and slathered in au jus!

The Venue

The Museu de Marinha has on display a number of ships from the days of sail. Most seem to have been owned by royalty and nobility. Which explains how they survived. Low usage and money available for upkeep.

Deployment:

The Sicilians win the initiative and elect to attack in the plains.

The Samurai deployed two nearly identical commands that are a mix of heavy and medium foot.

He went sparingly on the elites to increase his demoralization level to 23. I am not sure, but I think he was running an included commander in a micro command of 2 horse units.

This time, I remembered to keep my terrain picks back for ambush possibilities. But in this case, I needn't had worried, almost all the picks were on my side of the board, and only adjustments gave the Samurai their needed terrain.

This time, my knights are deployed together.

But that plantation is forcing me to face unfavorable terrain. In retrospect, I should have deployed Frederick's knights in the plantation, to emerge and head for the samurai foot on my left.

More Touristy stuff!  Near the Uber drop off point is the world famous, in Portugal, Pasteis de Belem. Which makes these custard filled pastries. Every tourist video we saw, and it was quite a few, raved over these little delights.

The Jeronimos Monastery. Between the Pasteis de Belem, and the venue, The Museu de Marinha

Turn 1:

Darrel's command advances and slides.

Frederick's knights stay in line. He reveals an ambush of two light horse.

The Samurai advance somewhat, but force their lights up to the plantation.

The Samurai inundate the field, their lights in the center distracting the Sicilian knights.

The view from above.

Turn 2:

The remaining ambushes are revealed. Two swordsmen zoc the Japanese lights, preventing them from interfering with the knight advance

Frederick's knights charge and roll long.

Another view from above.

The Samurai prepare to receive next turns charge, and set themselves up for a counter punch

Likewise their left command.

On the medieval table. Al's Hundred Year War english pulls back a command of longbow to a hill. While the rest of his line is redeploying.

On the classic table, Walt's Kushan's haven't quite gotten into charge reach. It looks like the Ostrogoths are holding the flanks

Turn 3:

A thunderous charge! But it does not go well for Darrel's knights. Losing, tying and winning just one. The Samurai will have the first flank charge counter attack. But Darrel also has a knight in position to flank as well.

Frederick's knights charge. In the center, they pursue long and slam into the Oni.

Frederick's lights hug the Feudal/Medieval event horizon and race towards the camp.

Pretty much any fight with "Scythed Chariots" is a die roll. This time the Oni rolled poorly

Samurai make their counter attack, and rout not one, but two knights.

In the center, two Samurai horse line up their shots on Frederick's knights.

The Samurai emerge from the field. One of their foot units is routed.

Bowmen exit the field and zoc Frederick's light horse. Arrows fly, and the bowmen take a hit.

Eye Candy Break. Some models on display:

Turn 4:

Darrel's (no relation) micro command is down to just a bowman.

While Darrel's knights turn the flanks of the Samurai line.

The fight near the field is whirling chaos.

 Near the camp, Samurai horsemen hold the line.

Arrows continue to fly, the Japanese bow takes another hit.

Samurai charge the last of Darrel's (no relation) lights in the plantation. The Samurai roll long, the lights roll short. But amazingly, are not destroyed.

Both the Samurai and the knights are turning the flanks for follow up attacks.

Near the camp, one knight is routed, but so to a Samurai cavalry

Off on the edge, a bowman is totally shot away by light horse!

 Turn 5:

At the top of the fifth.

The score is 19 to 10

I know this one is confusing. One Samurai is charged and destroyed, the knights following into the flank of a Samurai unit, that was also flanking and destroying a knight.

The Samurai camp is in reach, but it is too late. Another knight is destroyed, and the bowmen on the edge resist the light horse charge. Taking the Sicilians to 23 for the loss.

What went wrong?

Dave did a masterful job of setting up flank attacks ahead of time. He would offer his heavy foot to frontal charges, while the medium foot would be angled appropriately. And despite some fortuitous work by the knights, the counter-attacks would dominate the field. 

So strategically he won in splitting my knights into two separate battles, and tactically, he won using the "holding attack" tactic.