A Jurally of Jurchen

A Headless Body Production
Venue: An undisclosed basement
Event: A Random Knight
Players: Phil running Yi Korean, list 282
               Steve running Jurchen Jin, list 267
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

Another freshly printed and painted army hitting the table! Steve has been a demon on painting since he retired from the merchant marine.   

The Forces:
The Jurchen Jin are led by one Brilliant, and two Competent Commanders
4 Cataphracts, Elite
2 Heavy Cavalry, Impact, 1/2 Bow, Elite
2 Medium Cavalry, Impact, 1/2 Bow
5 Light Cavalry, Bow
3 LI Bow
2 Medium Sword, Polearm
1 Bowmen
1 Crossbowmen
Breakpoint of 22

The Yi are commanded by the Brilliant Kim-Larry, his equally Brilliant brother Kim-Darryl, and their other brother Kim-Darryl, who is Ordinary and somewhat Unreliable
4 Heavy Cavalry, Impact, 3 Elite
4 Steppes Horsemen, Light Cavalry, Bow 
4 Heavy Spear
2 Guardsmen, Heavy Sword, Polearm, Elite
4 Hwacha's, Integrated Artillery
2 Crossbow, Pavise
2 Light Infantry, Firearm, Elite
3 Light Infantry, Bow
Breakpoint of 25

Display Conventions: When you see a jagged word bubble like "Ouch!" or "哎哟!" or "아야!",  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.

The Board:

Jurchens deploy heavily, with two commands, on their right flank.

Their center has a hill, and a couple units of foot with pole-arms. Their left with a good command of heavy horse with bow.

Expecting Mongol tactics to swarm around the gully, Kim-Larry deployed with all his horse.

Kim-Darryl's foot are well suited to first pepper the hill defenders with rockets, then assault it.

The camp is lightly defended with just a couple of crossbowmen. And woods.

Turn 1:

The cataphracts give Kim-Larry pause. He holds his Guards Cavalry, sending forward his Steppes horse to challenge the Jurchen cavalry. And his light foot to investigate the gully.

The Yi foot advance on the double.

Assessing his odds as poor, the crossbowmen head closer for support of the main body. Their lights run for cover.

The Jurchen cavalry command reforms their lines. Their cataphract command commits to a on board flanking maneuver.

In the center, Jurchen lights posture near the hill

Their left flank horse advances at a trot. Their single light foot heads for the forbidding forest.

Turn 2:

On the Yi far right, it looks like the Guards cavalry are going to be over matched significantly. They triple march to the other flank leaving the Steppes horsemen to watch.

The center splits their forces in twain, half to push onto the hill as it seems lightly defended, the other to face the Jurchen cavalry,

The Jurchen horse on this side of the board now have difficult choices to make. On turn one, it was a matter of sidestepping the Yi foot and run down the crossbowmen, and loot the camp. An easy 8 points.

The Jurchen turn from the top. This is much easier to explain without three panels of text.

 Turn 3:

The Steppes horse get out from the front of the Jurchen heavy horse.

Facing a shortage of targets for their Hwacha's. One group of Yi foot advance on the Jurchen bowmen on the other side of the gully.

The other block of Yi foot advance to the bottom of the hill. Flanking the Jurchen horse engaged with their Guard foot

The Yi horse set up for a charge next bound. Their flank covered by foot crossbowmen.

The Jurchen horse swings around the gully.

The Jurchen horse on their left disengage. Their unengaged troops are told to rest their horses.

In an effort to shoot a gap, one Jurchen light horse runs down a Yi light foot.

While that may be thought of as a loss for the light horse, it is also a distraction for the Yi consuming many command points and significant forces to deal with it.

Turn 4:

In a similar vein, one Steppes horse is sent to the far left of the board.

Yi Hwachas turn to face the oncoming Jurchan horse.

The Yi foot assault the hill. And are rebuffed mightily!

The Jurchen light horse has it's rear and side ZOC'd and cannot evade. But the attacking lancers trip over their own hooves and fail to destroy them.

I should have committed the commander.

From the minutia department. Yi light foot attempt to shoot it out with a lonely Jurchen light foot.

Jurchen cavalry trades arrows with the Steppes horse.

The Jurchen foot charges off the hill, flanking the Yi foot and destroying a battery of Hwacha

Turn 5:

The unZoc'd Steppe horse retreat off panel. Two Hwacha batteries fire upon the Jurchen horse to no good effect.

The Yi foot leave their Guard foot (Heavy Sword, Polearm, Elite) behind while the remaining Spearmen shoot the gap twixt gully and hill.

At the base of the hill, Jurchen foot defeat a unit of Yi Spear. Yi horsemen charge the other Jurchen Medium Sword (polearm), which hold their own .

The Yi push forward with their Guard cavalry supported by their crossbowmen.

This is a close up show of the figured representing the Jurchen camp. I think I have heard of one wheel carts, but I cannot recall if, when or where.

An excellent figure with the wicker basket depth well displayed.

Another top view describing the Jurchen maneuverings. Their Cataphracts have completed their turning their flanks and have targets to attack. On the far right, one of their light horse is chasing a Steppes horse that leaked past. Their center polearmsmen manage to destroy another battery of Hwacha's Their far left horse, disordered, retreat up hill before the Yi Guards and crossbow.

The Yi score is 13 of 25

The Jurchen score is 13 of 22.

Turn 6:

One Hwacha battery disorders a Cataphract.

Yi light foot manage to disorder Jurchen archers. While Yi foot manage to turn its flank for next turns charge.

Yi Guard's Cavalry run a Jurchen Cavalry off the board.

The Jurchen Polearmsmen have ad a good romp. Routing a Yi Spear, and destroying two batteries of Hwacha's. But all good things must come to an end.

The Jurchen score is at 17 of 22

The Yi score is 18 of 25

Turn 7

I missed photos of the Jurchen turn 6. We will resume our game at the top of the 7th.

Jurchen cataphracts run down two Hwacha batteries (that completes the set!) The Yi Guardsmen hold their own though.

With the hill secured, the Yi start to redeploy their Spearmen and Guardsmen to face the wave of Cataphracts.

Around the Gully, Yi Spearmen take out an archer unit.

The Jurchen 6th turn, their horse charged the Yi Crossbowmen, but they held. The Jurchen horse were then charged in the flank. But they held as well.

Two Steppes horsemen head towards the camp to stand in the way of advancing Jurchen heavies.

One Steppes horse evades short to the Jurchen pursuing long. Saving the Jurchen camp from looting.

 There were a lot of 6-1 diceoffs here. Running both ways. Units hit in the flank comming off unscathed, and like the above, Disordered bowmen at a zero (they have support) vs Disordered Heavy Spearmen at a +2 (they also have support), and the Spearmen lose the fight.

The pressure of the Cataphracts is evident. But the Guard foot still hold.

Jurchen heavies advance towards the Yi Camp.

Final point here. The Jurchen horse ran out of luck and is destroyed for the 25th point.

So what went wrong with the Jurchen Jin? 

It was a new army, paint still dripping off of the figures. One mistake was with the cataphract command. It had a number of elements, 10 elements, in 5 groups. To mitigate this a Brilliant commander was assigned. But with the cataphract being somewhat unmaneuverable, and not great dice on the command rolls, he was over taxed. The second problem was their placement behind the gully. The thought was to double time it around it collapse the Yi left flank. Their slow speed just was not up for that mission. The Yi entertained them with a few Steppes light horse, while the their guard cavalry went to play elsewhere. So basically it was 62 points mostly out of the game.

 

Cataphracts need to deploy in the clear, and just go forward. No matter what is in front of them