Battle for Casa Colonna

After my trial game earlier in the week, I decided to give the A&MW rules are more considered run out. Again I used the Classical rules for the game and kept things pretty simple, with units basically being Heavy, Medium or light for ease of play. I know some gamers think this approach too vanilla, but I've found that it works as well, if not better, than adding lots of chrome.

The game was played on a 2' x 2' table and with 8 units per side. An Average Die was used to see how many unit could move each Turn. The scenario was a pretty standard line up and defeat the enemy as I didn't want to run before I could walk as it were.

OOB
'Romanesque'
1 x Heavy Infantry - Elite
2 x Auxiliary Infantry - Average
2 x Auxiliary Infantry - Levy
1 x Light Infantry - Average
2 x Heavy Cavalry - Average

'Germanic'
1 x Heavy Infantry - Elite
3 x Auxiliary Infantry - Average
2 x Auxiliary Infantry - Levy
2 x Light Infantry (Archers & Javelins) - Average

Terrain
I didn't want the table too cluttered but needed some terrain to try out the rules and to improve the visual look of the game. The centre was kept fairly open apart from the farmhouse and a hedge. As with other 'new' rules or periods, it can be a bit of a steep learning curve getting the terrain 'right' for a game. More of this later.

Turn 1
Germanic - 4 Units to move.
Romanesque - 3 Units to move. 

Both sides pushed out their Light Infantry with support where possible, whilst the Romanesque army moved their Heavy Cavalry onto the hill.

The end of Turn 1, with the Germanic army at the bottom of the table.

Turn 2
Germanic & Romanesque - 4 Units to move.

The Germanic army managed to maintain a broadly cohesive line, whereas the Romanesque one was rather untidy.

The end of Turn 2.

Turn 3
Germanic - 5 Units to move.
Romanesque - 4 Units to move.

The Germanic army split its force, sending the left flank towards the cavalry on the hill with the aim of forming a holding position, whilst their right flank delivered the main attack. The Romanesque army seemed intent on a Frederickian (or should that be Alexandrian?)oblique attack towards the farmhouse. Crucially they managed to get a unit to the hedgeline which would probably make for a good defensive position.

The end of Turn 3.

The Germanic left flank.

The Germanic right flank with their archers by the hedge.

Turn 4
Germanic - 2 Units to move.
Romanesque - 3 Units to move.

The lack of movement hampered the Germanic army's plan somewhat, but the Romanesque one continued to push forward and their archers caused hits on their opposite number.

The end of Turn 4.

The lack of movement slows down the left flank.

The right flank having advanced comes under attack from the enemy archers.

Turn 5
Germanic - 4 units to move.
Romanesque - 2 Units to move.

The Germanic javelin light infantry moved towards the Romanesque cavalry, throwing their javelins as they went. The archers returned the compliments (or tit for tat) causing hits on the Romanesque archers. Piqued by the javelins, the Romanesque cavalry charged and avoided the javelins that came their way as they closed. In combat both sides took hits but the Germanic javelin light infantry lost a base and failed a morale test, thus losing another. The archery tit for tat continued, but this time the Germanic archers lost a base but passed their morale test.

The end of Turn 5.

The cavalry charge into the Germanic Light and Auxilliary infantry and gain the upper hand.

The Germanic right flank and the archers have lost a base.

Turn 6
Germanic - 3 Units to move.
Romanesque - 2 Units to move.

Melee breaks out across the Germanic left flank and the archers trade shots.

The end of Germanic Turn 6.

The Germanic javelin light infantry retreat as the cavalry are attacked in the flank. Both side start losing bases but the fight across the hedge is inconclusive.

A rash charge by a Germanic Axulliary infantry?

The end of Romanesque Turn 6.

The melee becomes more confused as mini battles break out everywhere.

The Germanic unit is rather isolated as the Romanesque troops secure the area by the farmhouse.

Turn 7
Germanic - 4 Units to move.
Romanesque - 2 Units to move.

As the fighting continues, the Germanic army loses a base in the fight with the Romanesque cavalry.

The end of Germanic Turn 7.

The Germanic javelin light infantry move back in to engage the Romanesque cavalry's flank.

Germanic infantry try and support the isolated unit.

The end of Romanesque Turn 7.

A Germanic infantry unit breaks (4 hits on the red die).

The fighting intensifies by the farmhouse as the Romanesque left flank appears by the edge of the wood.

Turn 8
Germanic - 4 Units to move.
Romanesque - 5 Units to move. 

With fighting right across the board, the Germanic army loses two more units.

The end of Germanic Turn 8.

Many units are close to breaking.

Another Germanic unit breaks (4 hits on red die).

The end of Romanesque Turn 8.

The Germanic light infantry break having been charged by the cavalry.

Very confused fighting as the Heavy infantry joins the fray.

The protracted fight across the hedge.

The Germanic casualties.

End of Game
With the Germanic army already having lost 3 units and in a more precarious position than the Romanesque army, I called it a day, as it would be hard, but not impossible, for them to turn the situation around.
 
Post Game Thoughts

Well an enjoyable game and one that took less than an hour to play. I once again enjoyed the rules and nothing really jarred, which is nice. As always some post game thoughts and quite a few of them this time:

• Placing the farmhouse in the middle broke the battle into two distinct fights. I chose not to allow any infantry into the BUA, unless they were Light Infantry. If they did enter I would have used the same rules as for fighting in woods. Next time I will try a more open battle field to see what happens.
• Protect your flanks. An obvious statement but I was very aware of the threat that the cavalry posed. I need to paint some more up to see what effect these have on the game.
• Light infantry charged by cavalry or infantry are unable to evade as far as I can see. A simple house rule can fix this if required and I will probably use this in future games. 
• Once units started losing bases, the game becomes very attritional as it is more or less impossible to leave combat in these rules. Not a problem as far as I can see, but again a house rules could fix this should you so desire. 
• Rather like Bloody Big Battles, it is easy to remember distances as they are 8cm, 12cm and 24cm with the units used, which is a big help.
• The Average Die worked well again and I'm toying with the idea of adding a +1 whilst the army commanders bases is still on the table. 
• The Heavy Infantry are the Tiger II's of the army, able to dish out and take punishment and as per this game I will limit them to only one unit per army.
• This game did scratch that Ancients itch which is nice and the rules certainly give me game that I enjoy and feels right for me. 
• The Classical rules worked well and at some point I will give the others a run out. Certainly the Medieval rules are of interest for some potential Italian Wars in the future.
• In terms of scenarios, I will look at those in One Hour Wargames and give them a run out to see how they play. I want to keep things simple until i've got a better handle on the period and the rules.
• The 2' x 2' table worked perfectly well again for my single base units and given my current limited gaming space, I'm very happy that it did.

So there we have it. I will have another game soon but am trying to sort out the bare bones of a mini BKC campaign. I'm getting there but have too many ideas! So until next time...