Sax and Violets*

*Damn auto correct.  Saxons and Vikings!**

**The title being a nod to Otto Schmidt's gaming magazine of the same name. See here... 

A Headless Body Production
Venue: An Undisclosed Basement
Event: Wednesday Game Knight
Players: Phil Gardocki, Steve Turn running Saxons, or Frisians, or Jutes, who knows? List 100
               Bruce Potter running Vikings
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 300 points per side.

The Forces:

The Vikings are led by Hagar the Horrible, With his buddy, Leif, the Honda.  Along the way they picked up their Breton Allies, Chevalier, and Francois. All are reported as Competent.
4 Huscarls, Heavy swordsmen, armor, 2HW, elite
12 Heavy Swordsmen, some look very motivated with very big axes
8 Light Infantry, bow and sling
6 Breton Horsemen, Medium Cavalry, Javelin
6 Breton Militia, Javelinmen
A brace of Light Cavalry
Ulfheðnar, unhinged and Elite
Breakpoint 39.  So far down a Warband, a brace of light foot, the Ulfheðnar, and scouts from Bretange.

The Eddic of Hagar was found on the bottom of a medium sized menhir that was sent out for cleaning.

ᛏᚺᛖ ᛖᛞᛞᛁᚲ ᛟᚠ ᚺᚨᚷᚨᚱ

“ᚨᚹᚨᚲᛖ, ᚨᚱᛁᛊᛖ, ᚱᚨᛚᛚᛁ, ᚠᚱᛁᛖᚾᛞᛊ! ᚨᛚᛚ ᛁᛖ ᚠᛟᚱᛖᛗᛟᛊᛏ 

ᚨᚦᛖᛚᛁᛜᛊ ᛟᚠ ᚺᚨᚷᚨᚱ! ᚨᚹᚨᚲᛖ ᚾᛟᛏ ᛏᛟ ᚹᛁᚾᛖ 

ᚾᛟᚱ ᛏᛟ ᛁᛟᚢᚱ ᚹᛁᚢᛖᛊ’ ᚲᛟᚾᚢᛖᚱᛊᛖ, 

ᛒᚢᛏ ᚱᚨᚦᛖᚱ ᛏᛟ ᚷᛟᚾᛞᚢᛚ’ᛊ ᚷᚨᛗᛖ ᛟᚠ ᚹᚨᚱ.”*****

The Saxons.  Not to be confused with the Anglo-Saxons.  Which is a whole different list...
Led by Akrylyk***, the Competent, with Pliawode*** and Vynil***, also Competent.  And as their +4, Neopreme*, the Allied, Included and Ordinary leader from the south of the Danube. 
21 Heavy Swordsmen, all Impetuous, some are elite.
6 groups of small boys with sticks.
3 units of hastily raised Levy.
3 troops of Heavy Cavalry, Bow, Elite
7 hordes of Light Cavalry, Bow
Breakpoint is 40.  So far down 4 lights and a warband.

*** I was researching basing materials to be ordered for my newly arrived Martian Front figures before creating the list.  The names were funny then.****

**** OK they were not funny then either, but it is what it is...  

Display Conventions: When you see a jagged word bubble like "Ouch!", "ᛟᚢᚲᚺ!", "Smerza!" or "Lûtê!",  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 Spear, 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.

This is part two.  Part one can be found here... 

Pictures from the last turn:

Breton(Viking) Javelinmen retreat before the Saxon warbands.

Avar scouts are trapped at the world's edge.

One of the main battles of Vikings have charged into combat.

While the other battle looks on.

The Bretons have turned the Saxon flank and have engaged.

It is the top of the 5th and the Saxons have the ball.

 

Akrylyk (Saxon CIC) has an excess of command points and tries to line up his left most forces, in case the Breton Javelinmen turn around.

Neopreme (Avar commander) is in combat and has no command points to spare for his wide ranging scouts.

For he has a sizable number of Viking Fyrd engaged, while Akrylik advances on their flank.

A brace of Pliawode's Saxon warbands are routed, trading for a single Viking Fyrd.

The Bretans also rout a warband, trading a troop of horse in exchange.

A single Avar scout exits the field. 

The battle in the center continues.

Leaf (the Honda) commits his battle to battle.

Bretons rout two more warbands and follow up.

 

At the bottom of the 5th, we have a virtual tie!

24 (of 40) for the Saxons.

To 24 of 39 for the Vikings. 

Turn 6:

Akrylik turns his best men to face down the Bretons

Leaving his other warbands on autopilot rolling up the Viking flank.

 

The Avars Disengage and prepare for another charge.

Ignore the arrows.  Pliawoods command advance to support their engaged warband.

Vinyl charges off the Breton horse.

A Wotan's eye (nod, wink) view, of the battlefield.

Having a 3-1 advantage, the Breton Javelinmen try their luck

 

At the top of the frame, the last of the Breton scouts flee the field.

 

Hagar has a shortage of command points and has to make a decision of which flanker to turn.  He cannot face both.  And it doesn't matter much as they will have Avars charging in on their flanks.

The main body of Lief's (the Honda!) command engages the Saxon horde.

After a quick breather, the Breton horse charges Pliawoods command.

With one troop eyeing up the Saxon camp.

 

This is a 300 point game, so that camp is worth 6 points!
 

But will sacking the camp be soon enough?  The Vikings have 28 of 39 towards their demoralization level

To the Saxon's 26

Turn 7:

Akrylik charges the Breton Javelinmen, and is rebuffed.

While his forces team up with the Avar's and Pliawood's warbands to surround the last of Hagar's Fyrd.

On the Saxon center, Pliawood's warbands cut through Leaf's line.  On the far right, the Breton horse stand before the charging warbands and are routed.

At the bottom of the 7th, the Saxon camp is looted.

Akrylik's best men are destroyed.  The Breton Javelinmen are emboldened to try again.

Hagar's remaining Huscarls are going down fighting.

Leaf's Fyrd surround and destroy a Saxon warband, then pile into the rear of another.

The Breton horse continues their whirling melee!

Raising the score for the Saxons to 38 of 40

to the Vikings 36 of 39

Turn 8:

Akrylik throws in another warband into the fray, and nearly routs a Breton.  Taking the Viking score to 37

The last of Hagar's Huscarls falls, Taking the Viking score to 38!

A Saxon warband is destroyed (upper left) A Breton horse is routed, Taking the Viking score to 39!  

That was the game, with the Vikings reaching their break point of 39.

To the Saxon score of 39 of 40.

But wait.  It was noted that there were to missed rally attempts.  Light infantry in the Viking rear.  Both were beyond 4 UD's from nearest foe, so not requiring command points and at a 3+.  One rally was successful.  

So GAME ON!

The Breton Javelinmen score the final point to demoralize the Saxons.

But the Pliawood's guards also disorder their foe's for a mutual destruction.

 

 

 This will be the last battle report for a while.  The queue is empty.

 

I'm going to focus on my new set of Martians v Humans in "Return of the Tripods."  For a preview, I played a bare bones game with a minimum number painted here...

 

 

***** The Eddic of Hagar translated:

Awake, arise, rally, friends!
All ye foremost athelings of Hagar!
Awake not to wine nor to your wives’ converse,
but rather to Gondul’s game of war.

Woolgathering with the Warring States

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Eisenhower Hotel (Ok, on the property.  But you can see the hotel, step out the back door, stand on one leg, squint...)
Event: Cold Wars, 2025
Theme: Classic Age, 6 mounted units maximum, Round 3
Players: Phil Gardocki, running German, 100BC
              Carl Stefanelli, running Warring States, Chinese
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.
Font: Georgian, not Paul...

The Forces
The Germans, list 91, are commanded by Asterix, the Competent, Obilix, the Competent, and Bastardix, the Ordinary, and somewhat Unreliable.
12 Chatti, "Brave", Warriors, Heavy Swordsmen, Impetuous, 4 are Elite
4 Cherusci, Medium Swordsmen, Impetuous
6 Light Infantry with sharp, pointy sticks
4 Horsemen, Medium Cavalry, 2 are Elite
2 Tencteri Light Cavalry, Javelin
Breakpoint...28

This list is best guess on the Warring states.  Probably a Brilliant and 2 Competent commanders.
3 Heavy Chariots, Impact, Elite
5 Heavy Swordsmen, Support, Impact, Elite
6 Medium Swordsmen, Support
5 Light Infantry, Various
1 Bowmen
3 Light Horse, Various
Breakpoint of 23

Display Conventions: When you see a word bubble like "Ouch!" or "哎哟!", 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 Spear, Heavy Spearmen. I tend not to point out the Lights, as they clutter the pictures for no real value.

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 vagueness or inaccuracies in the descriptions is to be considered is to be considered Fog of War, and is to be considered as part of the fun.

The Venue:

Having not hosted HMGS for a while, the hotel was moderately unprepared for us.  I'm sure the litany of complaints are on the boards somewhere else.  So I won't go there.

The bathrooms in the off board area, the "Allstar Expo Complex", were not up to the volume of people there.  But they are going to be totally renovated and expanded.  Starting the Monday after we left.

The buffet breakfast area was lackluster, but clean.  It did have constant 2 or 3 attendants during breakfast.

The dinner offerings in town were outstanding.  I had dinner at the Appalachian Brewing Company which has the best root beer I have ever had.  And at the Irish Pub, the best meat loaf in many a decade.

The Board:

The Chinese win the initiative and elect to receive the Germans in the plains.

The main reason to play Germans over Gauls is they only defend in the woods.  Which most players would avoid if possible.

The Chinese deploy their Heavy Chariots on the their right.

Their two large corps of foot take the center and left.

Asterix takes the center.

Obilix takes the right.

Bastardix's command is unseen.  But there are multiple ambush markers in the plantation to the left.

Turn 1:

Ah!!!, there he is...

With Bastardix's reliability assured, the rest of the Germans advance

Tac tip.  Always roll your unseen and/or unreliable commands first.

Obilix diverts his Chatti to the field where curious noises are heard.

Lets deal with the inaccuracy of the German list.  I did not realize that mixing the different tribes, Chatti, Cherusi, Tencteri would each require an allied General.  And I cannot mix Chatti and Cherusi in the same command.  I didn't even realize that the Tencteri was even a tribe.  I thought it was just the name of the troop type.

My bad.  I never read the explanation that was on the other side of the fold in the book!

The Chinese chariots swerve towards the German Cavalry.

Their main bodies of foot advance just a couple of steps

*loosely translated as "Fuck this for a game of soldiers!"

Bastardix bravely moves forward, running off the Chinese lights.

The rest of the German tribes advance.

Obilix advances his lights into the field, revealing the last Chinese ambush.  Which also has the effect of reducing the Chinese light horse to one move.

The view from the Chinese side.

Taking a walk down the other tables.  Best guess is this is Dan Hazelwood's Seleucid vs Al Kaplan's Gallic.

Best guess here is Tom Hazlett's Thracians vs Jay Stone's Warring States.

Guessing Jeff Wiltrout's Carthaginians vs Steve Ropers Libyans.

I don't know who this is.  My first question was where is the rest of the army?  Then I zoomed in and realized they are already in contact. 

 But two of the terrain pieces are mine, so they were borrowed.

Nicolas Begue's Selecid vs Jim Bisiganani's Ancient Spanish

Richard Woolford's Carthaginians vs Dennis Shorthouse's Oman and Gulf States.

And back to the game.  It is the bottom of the second.

The Chinese chariots boldly charge!

But their main body of swordsmen still hold their ground.

Sending their mediums forward to clear the fields.

 

We are both playing the flank game before committing the center.  On my left,  I am hoping to defeat the chariots with numbers.  On his left, he is using his superior number of mediums to clear the fields and turn my center.

Turn 3:

Tencteri get in the face of the chariots hoping for a lucky shot.

The same with Asterix's small boys

The Germans don't have a lot of missile power, but the Chinese have nothing to answer the skirmishers with.

Chinese chariots hold their ground. 

Again, so too their main line of battle

But their medium sword continue to push through the chaff.

Turn 4:

German medium horse run of the Chinese skirmishers.  The Tencteri continue to harass the chariots.

A lucky shot by German light foot.

The Cherusci charge, supported by two units of light foot.  Fortune, however, favored the Chinese in 3 of battles.

Chinese shooters finally come on line

A quick rally negates the missile hit.

Ignore the movement lines.  That was from the previous turn.

Turn 5:

Bastardix pushes his medium horse forward.  Asterix orders his foot to advance to support.

Nothing new in the center, moving along...

The battle in the field continues.

One troop of horse down.

The Chinese bring up fresh troops in the field battle.  Their only light is routed.

Turn 6:

Charges on the left, but the chariots continue to win the day

Nothing new in the center...

The one Chinese foot hanging out of the field prompts a massive charge by Obilix.  His heavies fail on contact, but the Cherusci win through!

One chariot is disordered, but the others continue to attack

You don't see this every day.  Heavy foot running down lights.

 The six points is a killer here.

The field fight turns in the Germans favor

The German score is 17 of 28

To just 8 for the Chinese

A Chinese foot bow is down, and a disordered chariot's flank is exposed

Asterix's battle line advances.  Obilix's battle line charges uncontrolled.

Obilix's forces clear the field and have already turned the flank of the Chinese line.

The Germans are at 19 of 28

The Chinese are at 12 of 23

The left flank battle continues to rage.

Again the Chinese line holds

Their left just adjusts a scoch

Off panel, below, the German camp is sacked.

Taking the score for the Germans to 25. 

 

 Turn 7

At this point I surrendered.  Carl only needed 3 points to win.  And Asterix was going to charge 6 units into the missile supported swordsmen.  The Germans were going to pick up some points, a destroyed chariot for one, but the Chinese had the flank of one unit as well, may be a kill.  And was likely to kill a medium sword as well.  If I was extremely lucky, I could score 8 more points.  Which is enough to get to 20.