Brush with Plastic

Here are the completed infantry units from my recent purchase of Warlord plastics. They are a little larger than my usual Old Glory metal figures but close enough not to matter. I spent about 5 or 6 hours assembling 40 foot and 24 horse and this would be time better spent painting. I had to remind myself that the figures were a great value while assembling, to get through it.

Once assembled the figures looked great. There was a little bit of mold line that I ignored and as you can see from the pics, the lines are not visible once painted.

I printed off some ECW flags from the excellent Warflag website and voila, 40 figs build and painted over a 2 week stretch.

Next up will be 24 horse made into 4 units. I have them assembled and primered. I am painting the horse first and then the riders. Stay tuned for cavalry reinforcements and then a big game of Baroque to blood them.

Battle Royale

Here are the highlights from last nights Sword and Spear game with Martin. The Romans faced off against Mithradate's Pontic army.

We tried out the terrain placement rules for the first time. This resulted in a hill and swamp in the centre front of the Roman deployment zone. The Pontics had a woods in their rear and a hill and field on their left and another field on their right. This was a fair bit of terrain for an ancients battle and had quite a bit of influence on the battles outcome.

The Romans were out scouted and deployed their heavy infantry on the hill with their flank anchored against the swamp. Cavalry deployed on the right and archers with light cavalry formed a screening force and reserve on the left.

The Pontic Army set up opposite the Roman heavy infantry and cavalry. They had a larger army and were able to stack the flanks with extra light units. to try and win on the flanks.

Deployment

Setup

The Roman plan was to attack with a refused left flank. The cavalry clashed on the Roman right resulting in a quick loss of a Pontic skirmisher and cavalry unit. The remaining units on that flank settled into a seesaw battle.

Cavalry battle

The Pontic Army invested their initiative in moving their flank attack on their left but found themselves hampered by the swamp and cultivated field as well as low troop discipline.

The Romans advanced the right of their heavy infantry toward the Pontic Imitation Legionnaire line, hoping their cavalry would hold long enough to avoid getting flanked. The Pontic responded by attacking the partially committed Roman heavy infantry.

Heavy Infantry closing in the Centre

The Romans spent the next few turns sending in more troops into the centre until their two sides were engaged in a major press of shields.

It became apparent that the Pontic flanking maneuver would not arrive in time to alter the outcome in the centre. The Romans were slowly winning the cavalry fight on the other flank. In the centre, Roman armour and discipline wore down and eventually defeated enough of the Pontic heavy infantry to clinch the win.

End Game

Martin and I talked at length after the game to decide what could have happened differently. Rome did very well in the terrain set up by getting a defensive spot to launch their attack from. The terrain deployment system in Sword and Spear has a random element that can see terrain move around or disappear and the Romans were lucky to have their gamble pay off.

The Pontic heavy infantry could have deployed further back, anchoring their flank against some heavy woods. If the Romans pursued, the Pontic could have more easily picked at their exposed flanks and Roman flankers would have been impaired by terrain. The Pontic cavalry might have faired better if they led with their melee cavalry and supported them with skirmishers in the rear.

The game was set up and played in 4 hours including a couple of coffee breaks. A very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon and a chance to try out our luck as Armchair Commanders.

Bad Activation Roll!