Final 10mm Battle of Medway AD43 Solo Game - OHW Scenario 7

 I have to admit to being a bit behind schedule this week - Wargame Wednesday didn't happen, but fortunately, Thurs 6 Feb is a public holiday here and I took annual leave for Friday 7, to make it into a four-day weekend-yay!

The relevance of this is, I got the solo game played after lunch today. I thought OHW scenario number 7 could work well for the final Roman assault on the British army of Togodumnus and Caratacus, at which the former died.

Not sure the balances work all that well sometimes, with 6 units per side, but once again, from what little we actually know, a historical result.

Needless to say, the Red army are the Britons on this occasion, with the Romans executing the flank attack on their hilltop position. The Britons army comprised three units of heavy infantry and three of skirmishers, the Romans two auxiliary infantry and four veteran heavy infantry - the legionaries.

The Britons deployed on the large hill

The four flanking veteran heavy infantry on the Britons left flank.

Turns 1 (above) and 2 (below) were simply periods of movement by both sides - two units of British skirmishers headed forwards to contest the passage of the auxiliary infantry. Meanwhile, the four veteran units close in on the Britons flank.

On turn 3, VHI II made contact with the left most of the British skirmisher units, putting 4 hits on them, whilst VHI I inflicted a solitary hit on the British HI unit, with both the British units passing the morale test. In reply, the British HI put 3 hits on VHI II, but VHI are not required to take a morale test. Elsewhere, one of the skirmish units put a single hit on the blue auxiliary infantry, who passed their test.

In turn four, the two remaining Roman VHI units combined in an attack on the front and flank of the third British HI unit at the rear of the hilltop, inflicting 5 casualties in one round of combat - but the Britons held firm. None of the skirmish units managed to cause any damage - they were rolling two hits but then had to subtract one for being LI and another because their target was armoured. I wondered if I was doing this wrong but double checked, and there is no mention of a minimum casualty rate of 1 or anything like that, so I carried on playing the rule that way for the remainder of the game.

Turn 5 was pretty much more of the same, particularly for the LI who were totally ineffective against the Roman heavy infantry.

On turn 6, every unit on the table was engaged in close combat - both the auxiliary infantry units did damage to the LI - but the latter passed their morale tests. Then, VHI I rattled the first of the British HI, and they fell back. VHI II put another two hits on the LI on the hill, but they stood their ground, and likewise with the other two British HI units at the rear of the hill.

In reply, once again, all three skirmish units failed to get any hits at all on the legionaries, whilst the hits from the two HI units still in combat were minimal.

Turn 7, and the auxiliaries were both piling the pressure on the British skirmishers, inflicting 4 and 3 hits respectively, although both British units stood there and took it. On the hill, all the veteran Roman infantry scored 3 or 4 hits on their opponents, resulting in the disintegration of the skirmish unit, which had failed to score even a single hit on VHI II. At the rear of the hill, VHI IV forced the defending British HI to give ground, as they failed their morale test after having suffered significant casualties.

In turn 8, the skirmish units both disengaged from combat with the auxiliary infantry and fell back towards the British position. The VHI on the hill suddenly gained total ascendancy, dispersing one British HI unit completely, and forcing the other two to fall back.

As the auxiliary infantry closed in at a 90-degree angle to the legionaries' flank attack, and the British army morale had already dropped by 50%, I decided to call the game as a Roman win at this point

Another fun little game, as long as you are not rooting for the Britons! They will win at some point - possibly if I do a Boudicca inspired campaign with these figures. For now, though, I might try getting some of the other collections out of the boxes and giving them a go at some of the OHW scenarios!

Thanks for popping in and bye for now!

Some Long (ish) Awaited New Arrivals

 Whilst still on Christmas and New Year leave, back on 4 Jan, I put in a small order of 5 packs of 10mm EIR metal figures from Gripping Beast, to augment my Cromarty Forge collection. These took quite some time to be dispatched, and then they took a while to get here. The actual air trip from one side of the world to the other took about three days, but from payment to arrival in house took a month!

And were they worth the wait? Well, on balance, yes, I think they probably were. I have enough figures in hand - 90 legionaries plus 10 lots of 3 figure command groups - to make around 8 x 14 figure elements, plus some leftovers. 

The downside is that, like most metal ranges in this scale, poses are pretty limited, but I have considered mixing them in with the 3D prints - having the former in the front line, with the second line made up of the metal figures.....although then again I don't want to end up with far too many Romans in comparison to their "barbarian" enemies - first world problems, and no mistake! 

Meanwhile, the last of the Cromarty Forge figures are finished, so they will appear in my next post, and possibly the first examples of painted Gripping Beast figures will join them, too. Until then, thanks for your continued interest and support!

A Few More 10mm Additions and Some Inspirational Reading

 I finished off the Roman Auxiliary slingers pretty quickly - one unit in red, the other in green - which matched the archers that are already part of my EIR force.

Also finished is a British command stand, this one being a druid and one of his acolytes, to help inspire the Celtic warriors!

Red slingers, front and rear

And the same for the green uniformed group

Druid summoning the ancient Celtic Gods to help defeat the invading Romans

His tattooed assistant holds up a recently decapitated Roman head.

On the reading front, I have borrowed this from the library recently, in addition to another couple of Simon Scarrow novels. I am hoping to find some material to inspire skirmish level games involving some of the 28mm female Soviet figures I painted a few years ago! 

In the meantime, here is one incredible story of female soldiers holding off the 16th Panzer Division at the start of the Battle of Stalingrad 

Like the rest of the Soviet Union's defenses, Stalingrad was unprepared for the Germans. When the Wehrmacht's Army Group Center approached the city from the north, it threatened to bypass all of the city's prepared defenses. In the northern area, the Red Army had only green volunteers from the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

The 1077th was a poorly trained, undersupplied unit with no infantry to support them. Their only weapons were M1939 37mm and M1939 (52-K) 85mm flak guns, with which they were to defend Gumrak Airport from aerial bombardment. The unit was also fully manned by female teenagers, fresh from their high school graduation.

On Aug. 23, 1942, the German Blitzkrieg hit Stalingrad in full force, leveling much of the city from the air. When the 16th Panzer Division began to move in on the city from the north, it came face to face with the girls of the 1077th -- and their flak rounds.

The teenage defenders of Stalingrad had lowered the elevation of their anti-aircraft guns and pointed them right into the oncoming German offensive. It was the first resistance the Germans encountered in what would become a failed five-month fight for control of Stalingrad.

For two days, the 1077th fought shot for shot against hundreds of enemy tanks, thousands of enemy troops and aerial attacks from the German air force, the Luftwaffe. According to official Soviet records, (which are probably exaggerated), the young women of the regiment destroyed or damaged 83 tanks, 15 armored personnel carriers, dispersed three battalions of infantry and shot down 14 enemy planes.

The Germans didn't discover who was manning the flak guns until they wiped them out, destroying 37 positions. After defeating the young gunners, the 16th Panzer Division referred in their official war diary to the 1077th's "tenacious fighting women," which is as close to a compliment one might find from an enemy during the Battle of Stalingrad.

There are a couple of YouTube files covering the tale, too.

Thanks for you visit and for leaving a comment so I know you have dropped by!

Wargame Wednesday - 10mm Crossing the Medway, Part II - OHW Scenario 5

 Well, I have managed to stick to the schedule so far - that is another Wednesday solo game under my belt! 

I had scanned through the OHW scenarios and found that number 5 - Bridgehead - would be a suitable follow up from last week's game. Thinking about it afterwards, I could have changed it a bit and re used the curving river set up to link the games together better - but we will just have to assume this game is a separate but related action from the previous one, at a different point along the Medway's length!

Initial layout - the Romans have one unit on the British side of the Medway. Romans (blue) and Britons (red) will arrive on turns 1-5 as shown in the OHW scenario notes below.

But first, you may have noticed a somewhat nicer looking gaming "mat" - this is a 6' x 4' double sided neoprene mat from Battlefront/Flames of War. It cost me $NZ 125 - about £60 - 120 of which was a "Prezzy Card" I got as a Christmas gift from my employer - so thanks, New Zealand Couriers!

Despite the size, the mat is thin enough (1-2mm I would say) to use folded over so it becomes a 4' x 3' mat for my 29" square table.

Now, here are the details of the game I played this evening:

I had actually used a hand drawn map and I see I did not position the woods exactly where they should have been - oh, well!

I decided to randomise which units came on, as well as where they arrived, so the units were numbered 1-6 on each side as follows:

Romans 1 - Archers 2 Cavalry 3 Veteran HI 1 4 Veteran HI 2 5 Veteran HI 3 and 6 Auxiliary Infantry (who were already on the table, north of the river crossing.)

The Britons were 1 Chariots, 2 Skirmisher 1, 3 Skirmisher 2, 4 Fanatics 1, 5 HI 1, 6 HI 2

The make-up of the two forces was rolled for, using the OHW table in the Ancient rules.

The end of turn 2, the fanatics and HI 1 came on at point C and the Roman cavalry arrived on the road at point D.

Turn 3, the cavalry had used the extra speed granted by the road to reach the far side of the Medway, and a unit of VHI had arrived at point D, whilst the Britons had the chariot unit, and one unit of skirmishers arrive at point B. The infantry, in the meantime, advanced on the flank of the auxiliaries.

On the following turn, another Roman VHI unit arrived on the road, but no extra British troops this time (as per the scenario)

Turn 5 saw the last of the Britons arrive on the other flank, at point A, whilst the first clash took place between the chariots and the Roman cavalry. I have given the chariots a D3 +1 for their first round of combat, dropping back to the D3 of the cavalry, thereafter. The chariots came out slightly ahead 4-3 on the casualty count, but both units passed their morale test. Meanwhile, the fanatics charged into the auxiliaries, again with a D3+1 - but minus 1 because the auxiliaries are armoured (I thought after, perhaps Roman cavalry should get that amour bonus as well?)

The chariots and cavalry clash

Naked British fanatics charge in against the Auxiliary infantry.

On turn 6, the final Roman VHI unit entered at point D. Meanwhile, the other units were in position to expand and defend the bridgehead, as the defending Britons moved up to attempt to drive the invaders back across the Medway. In continued melees, both the infantry and mounted troops of both sides caused additional loss to their opponents, but no one faltered, and the combats continued. (the fanatics, like the VHI, do not have to test for receiving casualties)

Turn 7 was a bad one for the Romans, as the chariots won the melee, with the Roman cavalry failing their morale roll and recoiling over the Medway. Worse still, the British heavy infantry caught the auxiliaries in the flank whilst the latter were still engaged by the fanatics to their front, and the shock of this second attack from an unexpected direction broke the will of the infantry completely (they reached the total of 9 casualties and were removed from play)

In turn 8, the British skirmishers on the Roman left scored one hit from firing, whilst the victorious chariots charged forwards into a fresh unit of Veteran Heavy Infantry, causing two casualties on them. In reply, however, the VHI and the adjacent archers combined to take the chariots in both the flank and their front simultaneously, scoring sufficient hits to drive this unit from the field.

In turn 9, the fanatics had managed to get into a position to attack a Roman VHI unit in the flank, causing the maximum possible damage of 4 hits - but being veterans, the Romans were not required to do a morale test. The skirmishers charged into the Roman archers and got a hit on them, but the archers passed their test and stood their ground. The last fresh unit of VHI crossed the Medway into the bridgehead, and the recovered cavalry moved up to the hold the ford from the south bank of the river. The Roman VHI that had survived the ferocious flank attack by the fanatics, now turned to face their assailants, and put two more hits on them, whilst the British skirmishers fighting the archers were hit in the flank by a fresh VHI unit and took 5 casualties - but passed their morale test! 

In turn 10, the second unit of skirmishers got another hit on the VHI from shooting. The supporting British HI unit charged into the Roman infantry but caused minimal loss. The other unit of skirmishers fell back from the melee with the archers, to get out of the flank attack and the fanatics got one hit on their opponents. When the Romans responded, the fanatics were wiped out, the HI by the road took two hits from the VHI, and the HI unit on the Roman left flank took 3 hits and were forced to fall back.

Turn 11 was inconclusive, as the British HI on the flank advanced again, putting a couple of hits on the Roman veterans, who chose to pull back to prevent a flank attack from the skirmishers. The second skirmish unit had re engaged with the Roman archers, and the other British HI exchanged blows with the Roman VHI, with neither side giving any ground. The Romans, however, now had an extra unit of VHI maneuvering on their right flank

Turn 11 melees in progress

In turn 12, both British HI units caused a single hit on the opposing VHI, whilst the skirmishers got one on the archers - who again passed their morale test. All the Roman VHI units were now carrying 5 hits, however. 

In the Roman phase, the "spare" VHI unit crashed into the flank of the already battered Britons by the road, getting four hits and causing the unit to evaporate. The archers got a hit on the skirmishers, with the latter standing firm, and the last remaining British HI unit took three hits from the Roman veterans, but again, the Britons proved equal to the challenge.

Given the situation at the end of turn 12, and the fact that the victory conditions only required at least one Roman unit to be north of the river on turn 15, I nearly called the game there - but I decided to play one more turn! In the light infantry melee, the Roman archers nerve finally cracked, and they were driven back to the river. The Britons joy was short-lived, however, as a unit of Roman veterans crashed into their flank and destroyed them as a fighting unit. To the Roman left, the last British HI unit also passed its break point, and the British army effectively ceased to exist, with only a solitary unit of light infantry skirmishers still on the field.

The Roman army had again been victorious, and the conquest of Britain can continue next Wednesday!

The Butchers Bill - solitary Auxiliary infantry unit to the left - and five British units to the right.

The victorious Roman general - perhaps Gnaeus Hosidius Geta, who is mentioned as being pivotal to the Roman victory in the account of the battle by Cassius Dio?

Well, I enjoyed that once again, and the results so far work in well with the idea of the campaign by Aulus Plautius to conquer Britain - not sure if I need to do one more for the Battle of Medway, seeing it was quite a titanic struggle, according to Dio, and lasted two full days - I will see what suggests itself from the OHW scenarios. Thereafter, it should be on to another river crossing - the Thames this time - before the final battle before the British capital of Camulodunum.

Very pleased with the new gaming mat, I can see it getting a lot of use, now I have finally got around to buying one!

Thanks for your visit and i hope you found the latest AAR entertaining