Dancing with thë Danish

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Lancastër Convëntion Cëntër
Event: Historicon 2025 
Theme: Wëstërn Ëurøpë, Røund 3
Players: Phil running Saxøns the lessør, list 100
               Vince Røspønd running Anglø-Dånish
Game System: L'Art dë la Guërrë, 15mm, 200 pøints për sidë.

Thë Førcës (now with umlauts!):

Thë Saxøns arë lëd by thë Cømpëtënt Ælf, mëaning ëlf. Lëøf, alsø Cømpëtënt. Using LinkëdIn, thëy hirëd a rëplacëmënt før thë dëpartëd cømmandër øf thë Avar alliës, thë ørdinary Ismaël-Said (ИсмагӀил-СагӀид), which mëans "Lucky Prøphët".

14 Warriørs, Hëavy Swørdsmën, Impëtuøus, 6 arë ëlitë
4 Light Infantry with Javëlins
1 Lëvy
3 Avar Hørsëmën, Hëavy Cavalry, Bøw, ëlitë
3 Avar Scøuts, Light Cavalry, Bøw
Brëakpøint øf 25

 

Thë  Anglo-Dånish arë lëd by Bjørn Bjørnstëin, thë Cømpëtënt, Håråld Smålføøt, thë Cømpëtënt and Ëthëlbërt Måhønëy, thë Ørdinåry.*
6 Huscårls, Hëåvy Swørdsmën, 2HW**
10 Sëlëct Fyrd, Hëåvy Spëarmën, Armør
6 Light Infantry with Javëlins or Bøws or Slings
1 Lëvy
Brëåkpoint of 23

*A Møøsë oncë bit my sistër ...

**Mynd yøu, møøsë bitës Kån bë prëtty nasti ...

Display Conventions: When you see a jagged word bubble like "Ouch!" or "Auc!" or "Ей!" or "Øv!",  this implies a disorder caused by missiles. Letters in parenthesis represent some up or downgrade 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.  

Any ambiguity as to what was moved or who is being referred to is to be considered Fog of War and part of the fun. 

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

Dëpløymënt:

Bjørn Bjørnstëin takes the Anglø-Dånish right with a strong force of Huscarls.

Harald Smalføøt, and not fëëts as hë is claiming, takes the center with his armorëd føøt.

Ëthëlbërt Mahønëy takes the left with another strong force of armored foot.

The allied Avars take the left, some of which cannot be seen.

Lëøf takes the center.

Ælf takes the right next to the river.

I was hoping there would be mediums that Ælf could defeat, then take the camp.  But not to be.

Turn 1:

 

Bjørn's huscarls advance towards the hill, and possibly flanking Lëøf's line of battle.

Knowing it would be nearly impossible for the riverside command of the Saxons to redeploy, the Anglø-Dånish fyrd advance to pin down the Saxon center.

Their other command of fyrd advance towards the rough, potentially pinning down the Saxon right.

Over the crest of the hill rides ИсмагӀил-СагӀид's Avars.

Lëøf fearlessly advances.

Ælf advances into the rough.  He is hoping to get through it before the fyrd can close in.

4 of the 6 units of Huscarls advance on the Avar command, and are punished by a storm of arrows.

The remaining huscarls take a position with their fyrd.

The fyrd by the river effectively close off the exit from the field.  

 

ИсмагӀил-СагӀид pulls back his heavies.  Mainly to take a better position on the hill later.  His skirmishers race past the line of huscarls to threaten their rear.

Lëøf advances to charge reach and shifts right.

Impetuous troops are not rekuired to charge if the charge ends in terrain that inflicts a penalty.  If Ælf were to charge the lights, there would be a 4 in 6 chance his front edge would be out of the field, but the main body in the field.  Giving a +1 advantage to the fyrd spear in combat.

Turn 3:
As usual, just before the heavy die rolling, it is time to take a break and some pics of other games.

About 18 impetuous units are about to clash here.  This game will not be running out the clock.

25mm ADLG Open tourney.   25's looking great.

Another 25mm ADLG.  Shots have been fired.

Two of the huscarls face the Avar lights that penetrated their rear.

Two other huscarls decide not to play games with the heavy horse and vector in on the Saxon center command.
 

Which advances to within insult reach.

  

It has been confirmed, in 850AD, Ëthëlbërt Mahønëy was the first to make this overused exclamation.

While Ælf fumes impotently, ИсмагӀил-СагӀид is enjoying the air and a lovely view

A breath taking view of the mayhem below.

The clearest route out of the field is blocked, but Ælf has a numbers advantage, and uncharacteristic patience.  He sends a warband into the Plantation to eventually turn the flank of the fyrd.

 

Ælf could have just charged.  On contact, it is an even dice off at +1 each and he has furious charge, and 3 Elite warbands.  But on followup, the warbands will be at -1 for terrain, and the fyrd will have an armor advantage as well.

I haven't visited the odds calculator lately, so lets see.
Without terrain:
 Heavy Swordsmen, impetuous verses Heavy Spearmen armor
       The Swordsmen win 55% of the battles, taking 3.6 rounds on average 
 Heavy Swordsmen, impetuous ëlitë, verses Heavy Spearmen armor
       The Swordsmen win 73% of the battles, taking 3.9 rounds on average 

With a terrain disadvantage against the swordsmen:
Heavy Swordsmen, impetuous verses Heavy Spearmen armor
       The Swordsmen win 27% of the battles, taking 4 rounds on average 
 Heavy Swordsmen. impetuous ëlitë, verses Heavy Spearmen armor
       The Swordsmen win 43% of the battles, taking 4.4 rounds on average 

So that was a good call on Ælf's part.

 Turn 4:

Huscarls continue the dance against the Avars on the hill

In the center, the fyrd have two lost two units, trading for one Saxon warband.

Rules question here.  There is a small gap between the terrain pieces.  Does the Light Infantry extend a ZOC from the field, into the Plantation?

ИсмагӀил-СагӀид has been having trouble commanding his lights as they were out of range.  The original thought was to wrap around the Anglø-Dånish line causing mayhem.  But between the short range of 8 UD's for the lights, and the broken formation of the heavy cavalry, it was just asking too much of him.  So when he had a surplus of command points, he called them back to his vicinity.

Lëøf switches his command to another warband.  Just in case it survives the beating it is about to get.

Ælf orders a warband forward, running off the lights, and into the spear forest of the fyrd.

Turn 5:

Huscarls charge up the hill.

A unit of huscarls charge the flank of Lëøf's main battle line.  

Upon review, this charge was incorrectly done.  The huscarls should have impacted the warband "This is us" at the corner, and conformed.  Causing a cohesion hit there, and possible a rout.

Ethëlbërt Mahønëy's fyrd stand at the ready

 

The score at this point is 5 of 25 for the Saxons, to 15 of 23 for the Anglø-Dånish.

Lëøf begins to redeploy his battle line in anticipation of the huscarls breaking his flank

Ælf has broken the fyrd's end cap, and begins to rev his men up for the final charge.

Turn 6:

Saxon Huscarls have largely cleared the hill.

Their assault on Leof's line continues.  A warband is heavily disordered, another is destroyed.

Mahønëy's fyrd face their flankers.  And account very well for themselves.

Lëøf's warbands counterattack the huscarls.

Still showing more patience than normal, Ælf orders just one more warband to charge.

Which takes the Anglø-Dånish to their demoralization level of 23.  This is the final shot of the center.

And the Saxøn right.

What went wrong?

While inserting all the ø's and umlauts offers cølør tø the narrativë,  it was rëally annøying tø writë. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Saxaul of Saxons

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Lancaster Convention Center
Event: Historicon 2025 
Theme: Western Europe, Round 2
Players: Phil running Saxons, list 100
               Jeff Wiltrout running Saxons or Angles or Jutes or Frisians etc...
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

The Forces:
The Saxons are led by the Competent Ælf, meaning Elf. Leof, also Competent. They have managed to bribe a tribe of Avar horsemen to join them, the Ordinary Muhamadrasul Gadzhimagomed, "МухӀамадхаиӀ ХӀажи-МухӀаммад."
14 Warriors, Heavy Swordsmen, Impetuous, 6 are Elite
4 Light Infantry with Javelins
1 Levy
3 Avar Horsemen, Heavy Cavalry, Bow, mostly Elite
3 Avar Scouts, Light Cavalry, Bow
Breakpoint of 25

Jeff was kind enough to point out to me that my Allied command had too many light horse. Ordinarily the Avar can have 24,  but not in the date range where they were allied with the Saxons. The tournament organizer was informed, and he granted permission to amend the list. Don't read too much into that.

The other Saxons are led by Hrothgar, the Brilliant, Kaedon the Ordinary. They also have managed to bribe a tribe of Avar horsemen to join them. Chagan Baiyani, the Ordinary.
14 Warriors, Heavy Swordsmen, Impetuous, 6 are Elite
4 Light Infantry with Javelins or Bows
2 Levy
3 Horsemen, Heavy Cavalry, Bow, Elite
2 Scouts, Light Cavalry, Bow
Breakpoint of 25

Display Conventions: When you see a jagged word bubble like "Ouch!" or "Auc!" or "Ей!",  this implies a disorder caused by missiles. Letters in parenthesis represent some up or downgrade 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.  

Any ambiguity as to what was moved or who is being referred to is to be considered Fog of War and part of the fun. 

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

Deployment:

The Avar allies deploy on the Saxon right.

The rest of the Saxon horde deploys from the center to their left, all the way to an unnamed river.

Leof and Ælf also deploy from the center towards the river.

Along the river, Мухамадхаи Хажи-Мухаммад's Avars.  

My hope here was to repeat the last battle.  Where the Avar heavies would stop an impetuous charge, providing a overlap advantage for Ælf's foot to exploit.

Turn 1:

Ælf and Leof angle in for the attack.

The Avar horse races in for early shots.

Avar Heavy horse take a position on higher ground, their lights set to sweep around the flank.

The remainder of the Saxon line advances in an orderly fashion.

Turn 2:

Ælf's horde advances to force an Impetuous charge with an overlap advantage.

He leaves one warband back to make it more difficult, but not impossible for the Avar horse to get around the line.

Leof's battle line is losing contact with Ælf's.  Granting an advantage to the opposing Saxon (Jute? Frisian? Angle?) horde.

Мухамадхаи Хажи-Мухаммад's Avars loose arrows, with minimal results.

Chagan Baiyani's Avars have better bows.  But the initials charges work out well for the Saxons.  Winning 2 and losing one of the first 4 impacts.

In the center, each side has one warband suffer devastating hits.

On the far flank, the Avar's hold, having lost only a skirmishing light horse.

So far the plan is working out well.

Avar arrows continue to prove effective.  Ælf gains the flank of the Saxon (Jute, Frisian, Angle) line.  But also has a warband routed.

The line in the center is inconclusive with both sides picking up casualties.

On the river's edge.  The fight is also inconclusive.  

The score is 11 of 25 for the Saxons.

To 9 of 25 for the Saxons (Jutes, Frisians, Angles)

Avar archery continues to be excellent.  Their horsemen attempt to protect the the edge of their foot from being flanked, but too late.  The Saxon right flank begins to collapse.

In the center, both lines have routing warbands.

A crucial victory for the Saxons!  Мухамадхаи Хажи-Мухаммад is slain in battle!

The turn has been bloody for the Saxons.  Their score is 17 of 25.

To just 11 of 25 for the Saxons or Jutes or Fisians or Angle's...

Turn 5:

At the base of the hill, Saxon warbands charge.  Hoping to luck as opposed to another arrow storm.  

Ælf's forces are positioned to flank the remainder of the Saxon line next turn.

Leof also has a flank charge, destroying one warband, and pursuing into another.

Now leaderless, the Avars disengage from battle.

Despite having position, the score is not favorable.  My Saxons are at 20 of 25.

To just 14 for the Saxons.

I missed taking final pictures.  The Saxon camp was looted for 4, one warband was routed and another was disordered to take my Saxons to their demoralization level of 25.

The issue is settled then.  The victor gets to chisel the runes.  Forevermore, Jeff has the Greater Saxons, and I am have the lesser Saxons. 

What went wrong?

The plan to replicate the first battle's tactic's with the Avar's stoping an impetuous charge, and providing overlaps for the Saxon foot did not work.  And was executed poorly also.  I should have put the Avar's in the center for that.  

At 5 turns, our game was quickly over.  Other games are just getting started.

A picture of the Warrior(tm) ice table.With rules for ice cracking and plunging units into the frigid depths.