The guys from Black wolf gaming club, having already let us do a battle report on one of their participation games at St.albans museum (see
http://warformiddleearth.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-7-boudiccas-last-battle.html?zx=7d17a3c5aa2d9053), invited me back to help host another game with them. However i was busier gaming and helping to host the game this time so there arn't as many photos.
The game was a ficticious action termed the battle of Kingsbury. The back ground was that the Viking pirates had navigated up the river Vur (apolagies if spelt incorecctly) to Kingsbury wharf in the old town of st.albans to raid the Saxon village and church at the top of the bank. Myself and one of the others (the owner of the saxons) were in command of the Saxon defenders while the othes took the Viking raiders.
We used WAB (warhammer ancient battles) 1st edition with the shield wall suplement. The models are by Gripping beast and foundry (the viking longship cost £16 from revell).
Here are the armylists
Saxon defenders
Left flank (mine)
mixed unit of 17 coerls and 6 huscarls, lead by 1 earldorman with army battle standard
mixed unit of 17 coerls and 6 huscarls, lead by 1 earldorman
mixed unit of 17 coerls and 6 huscarls, lead by 1 earldorman
12 skirmishing slingers
6 skirmishing bowmen
8 skirmishing Bradwr
8 possible Bradwr in reserve
Right Flank
King Eric, army general
Abbod (Abbot) on horse
24 Theigns
24 Theigns
24 coerls
18-24 coerls
Pickets
9 skirmishers with bows in the centre
12 skirmishing slingers on the right flank
Viking Raiders
Right wing
army battle standard bearer
16 skirmishers with javelins
24 hirdmen (2 bezerkers hidden)
24 hirdmen
24 hirdmen
12 bowmen
Left wing
King
Goddi
24 hirdmen (2 bezerkers hidden)
24 hirdmen
24 skirmishing hirdmen
10 bowmen
12 bowmen
The Saxon pickets wait in ambush in the forests on the right flank and in the centre on the road.
The battle hinged on controlling the gaps between the forests, particularly the one on the Saxon left with the ridge situated along the centre of it. The viking objective was to take the town while the saxon one was to burn the longship, but victory could be obtained by holding your own line and driving back the enemy.
My Saxon Left wing led by Earlderman Beadurine the battle standard bearer. I planned to adavance in an almost greek style, with the three units of Huscarls (elite nobles) and Coerls (peasant irregulars) forming a shield wall while being provided with cover from the slingers. My job was to advance my force onto the ridge between the forests, meanwhile securing the left hand forest with archers and sending the Bradwr (Welsh Mercenary light horse) round the side of the forest in a flanking manouvere.
Within a few turns the Archers were in the woods, the slingers were on the ridge and the Huscarls had formed a shield wall 15 men long in the gap, behind the ridge. The pickets had been doing a good job with the Bowmen taking down four of their Viking counter parts to only one casualty and the slingers taking down around three hirdmen to no casualties.
Meanwhile the Saxon right wing lead by the abbod had secured the hill on the right flank and were preparing to plug the gap between the woods.
The Saxon skirmishers pepper the enemy with arrows and stones, forming a screen to the Huscarls and Coerls forming shield wall behind the ridge.
In the next Saxon turn the slingers advanced across the ridge towards the hirdmen, taking down one of them with a sling shot.
Then the Hirdmen charged them. They charged straight up the hill into the slingers who fired and fled not taking down any vikings. The skirmishing slingers run straight through the shield wall, pushing aside Huscarls and Coerls in their flight towards the village. Seeing the fellow skirmishers falling back the picket and bowmen turned tail and fled with them. Luckily the Huscarls and Earldermen kept control of their line, pursuading the Coerls to stand.
On the Vikings right an eventful battle with the Bradwr had been going on. The cavalry had skilfully evaded a hirdman unit, but had been caught by the two bezerkers in the flank losing five of their eight horse to the madmen who quickly ran off. However this didn't stop the welsh from charging the Viking javeliners sending thm into flight for the wharf and consequently putting them out of action for the rest of the game. But then the Bradwr, with the viking longship left exposed to their flame got to hot headed and failed their warband test sending them crashing into the unit of 20 hirdmen. In two turns they had fled, but had caused two viking casualties.
With the Vikings in control of the ridge the Huscarls form shield wall infront of the Coerlish spearmen.
However the Vikings then retreated back down the ridge and out of sight from a Huscarl charge, and moved another unit on to the Saxon flank. With this threat the saxons were in Cheque, they had only one move that they could make and that was what the vikings intended. They advanced up ontop of the ridge, brekaing shield wall and waiting for the viking charge.
And sure enough all along the line it came, with Viking warriors clashing with the Saxon Huscarls. As the Huscarls were mixed and in WAB casualties are removed from the front rank of a unit, i could soon be running out of them and seeing my Coerls in flight.
Over on our right wing the theigns (lead by the abbod and stopped from falling into warband by king Eric) close in on the ranks of Hirdmen with their Goddi, supported by two blocks of flanking skirmishing bowmen. Soon the Saxon Abbod and the Viking Goddi would be dukeing it out in combat, pitting the leading religious leaders of both races against each other.
With one last turn of bitter combat on the ridge it came to the braking point. With the vikings outnumbered 3-2, and taking 20 casualties to only 6 saxons they lost the combat. The remaining 24 hirdmen broke ranks and fled, also sending the army battle standar bearer fleeing.
But on the left wing of the saxon line, a unit (now containg only 2 huscarls and an Earlderman) broke ranks and fled for their village, followed by the remaining 2 huscarls and Earlderman, trying to persuade them back. Unfortunatly this flight also put into retreat a column of Coerls marching to support the ridge. On the right of the saxon line the hot headed unit went charging off in pursuit of the fleeing vikings leaving itself and Beadurine's unit surrounded at the bottom of the ridge, up against the central forest. But over all this was a decisive combat.
The viking flankers now advanced up the ridge towards the flanks of the Coerls at the top, while the other Viking units moved into position around the saxons. If the Vikings held the left hand pass from the Abbod then victory for them seemed certain, it wouldn't be difficult for them to crush the saxon left and advance to the village after that.
On the Saxon right the Abbod and his two units of theigns clash with the formed up vikings led by the Goddi. With 2 units of bowmen, 2 units of slingers and 2 large units of Coerls fleeing for the village, the saxon line held, but only just. However we made the decision not to bring on our reserve Bradwr as we had pushed the vikings over the half way line and were in as strong (if not stronger) a position than the raiders.
The saxons hold out on the Wharf road, with rallied Vikings closing in all around them, and large groups of peasant irregulars legging it from the field.
It seemed that the only hope left for the saxons was a bitter stand and charge. Beadurine's huscarls made a stand on the hill, peppering the viking unit with javelins killing one, there was the slight hope that these viking were almost in bow range of one of the rallied units. While the other Earlderman lead his huscarls charging towards the viking ranks, desperatly hoping to brake through to the abbod. He lead his hucarls to within javelin range and took down two.
In the viking's turn the charging saxon huscarls were flanked by two units of bowmen, who took down three coerls and a huscarl with a hail of arrows, but on the ridge the viking hirdemen threw their javelins and missed with everyone.
One the Viking left the battke reached braking point. The abbod and his theigns killed the Goddi before killing two more vikings and sending their unit bolting, the Viking left was as good as broken.
The coerls on the Theigns flank then got charged by a recently formed up unit of viking skirmishers, who killed one saxon for around four casualties.
At this the game was declared a Saxon victory. It was easy to see that the Saxons could now easily move in to crush off the Viking centre before driving the rest back to the boat. The Vikings had only one unit that might have a chance of advancing on the village and even then it was slim...
The saxon irregulars were still fleeing and no dought the two huscarls and the earlderman who joined them would get a good telling off later.
Viking drunks, and those other running for the wharf.
The rules were excellent and apparently in the test game the day before it had been a viking victory. However a change in tactics with the placement of the pickets and the cavalry charge proved to be good, also the plan to capture the ridge at all costs was also a good one.
And to think that the saxons still had another unit of bradwr in reserve...
From the Viking side things looked even more desolute with only a thin line left against rather large blocks of saxons. The ammount of viking extras that looked like they were fleeing the table can't have helped much either.
It was a great game (as fictional engagements always arem you have exactly the right ammount and types of troops who were there) and great playing with the guys. Soon they will be hosting another participation game, this time a "what if" tudor game from the spanish armada's landing (those of you who know me will know that i'm not a fan of "what if" games, but this does normally only apply to Lord of the rings or Fantasy, I have to say however that what i'm even less of a fan of is trying to re-enact actual historic engagements without the right numbers of model and helping the Spanish to capture England appears to me) which i will be happy to report again... so keep your eyes peeled
While talking to my fellow saxon general, it turned out that he knew Adrian White (who you may remember from
http://warformiddleearth.blogspot.com/2011/12/deal-wargames-club.html?zx=c0bd7578452813e3). Unbeknown to us he seems to be quite a name in WWII wargaming (i'm afraid to say I rather look down on period after 1918 as not really colourful enough and thus uninteresting, so I was glad to hear that he does plenty of other periods as well).
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