Hail Ceasar Crossing Point

We had another Hail Caesar bash playing 300 point armies for each player.    It is a distinctly different format for us normally we have one big battle splitting everyone on two sides.  We have played a lot of barbarians v romans in the past.

However me and Livi with John H really have got into the 300 point army battle, we play for 2 hours 30 minutes and then swap tables, which also gives us two bites at the cherry with five hours of play between 12 noon and 5 pm.

 Kenni set up two battlefield tables fitting into the description in the Hail Caesar rules, secured by terrain on each flank, then adding a shallow river on one table and a stream on another.  The stream counted as an obstacle only so Open order units can just cross it other units needed to give up one movement segment but would be at risk of disorder as they could not retreat over it.  The river was a greater challenge but had four crossing points that caused no penalty.

Battle One Parthian v Bactrian Greek on the Stream table

The Bactrian commander was seriously pissed off at the stream across the middle of the table. Bactrian plan  was to let the Parthians cross the stream then crush them.
The Parthian plan was to attack on both flanks and shoot them to death.  Result Parthian victory.

Bactrian Centre under fire

Parthian horse archers Peter Pig

The brown strip is the stream bed. the 4 units of Parthians shot up the three units of Saka horse archers

John h's Saka horse archers

Bactrian Elephant

On the other flank the brave Agema advanced to be shot down by the four horse archer units that closed in on them.

John H's Agema

Battle Two  Huns v Later Carthaginian on the River table

Hun battleplan attack over three fords with their Heavy cavalry in the centre
Carthaginian plan cover the fords hold the centre and counter attack driving the Huns off the flanks.
Result Hun Victory after a hard difficult fight.

Hun horse archers face Carthaginian horse

The Hun left flank shot this medium cavalry unit to pieces, but their main push was to plunge all their heavy horse into the Gauls holding the Carthaginian Centre. meanwhile the Hun left hung about failing command rolls for three turns in a row.

Big Livis centre

Hun Heavy cavalry

Battle Three Successor v Later Carthaginian on the Stream table

Successor plan hammer with the pike and anvil with the cavalry.
Carthaginian plan hold the centre and counter attack driving the Successor off the flank.
Result a shattering fight in the centre the Macedonians lost, the hammer wrecked two out of four Gauls before they broke.

The Anvil

The hammer 2 units of phalangites with four units of peltasts tucked behind, Thessalains and one unit light cavalry on their left to hold back the beast of an elephant.

Livi's bane

At one point this elephant was sat on by its master

Battle Four Parthians v huns had no pictures but the parthians out shot the huns and their Catphracti smashed the Hun Heavy cavalry.

Hail Caeser Day

Today we had a Hail Caeser Day Four 300 point armies were fielded and we played four fast action battles.

Parthian v Late Persian

Later Cathaginain v Macedonian

followed by 

Late Persian v Macedonian

Parthian v Later Cathaginain

The pictures are from John H Persian and Macedonians, he is back to painting and playing after a seven year gap.

John H Persians

My Parthians

Persian Sparabara

John H Phalanbites

JH Agema

JH Peltasts

JH Companions

Agema rode these Persians down

JH Peltasts

Washing of Spears April 2018

Rouke's Drift a great 28mm diorama from David P senior and junior in 28mm.  Played out with the Men who would be Kings rules.  I got an absolute pasting from the Zulus despite starting with the mealie bag redoubt in place.  The Zulu players did moan for the first few turns about getting in but once they were in the compound it got pretty sticky

 "The army doesn't like more than one disaster in a day."  "Looks bad in the newspapers and upsets civilians at their breakfast."

Death waits you! You have made a covenant with death, and with Hell you are in agreement. You're all going to die! Don't you realize? Can't you see? You're all going to die! Die! Death awaits you all!

"Fire at will!" "That's very nice of him."

"The Grenadier Guards"

Haven't you had enough? Both of you! My god, can't you see it's all over! Your bloody egos don't matter anymore. We're dead!

What do you know about Zulus? Bunch of savages, isn't it?

If 1200 men couldn't hold a defensive position this morning, what chance have we with 100?

Johnny Reb April 2018

We were using Dave Seniors 28mm ACW figures with a six player battle on a 16'x 5' table.  so easy to fill it at that scale.   The union attacked on both flanks, the Rebs held. Result a Reb victory!

Battle of the State Farm

One of the best Barbarossa battles I have had for sometime, Soviet Defence line.  Mobile defence with 18 BT-5s, 5 BT-7s, 2 KV-1s, 1 t-34 backed with 2 platoons of infantry and their respective ATGs and ATRs.

Battle Defence line with a river cutting through one long and one short table edge with an open flat Soviet left.  Three objectives a hill overlooking the river, a bridge and a state farm.The Germans deployed their initial tank force facing these deployed 4 BT-7s and a T-34 in front of the farm

 The Soviet tanks sat for the first three turns and destroyed most of the Panzer 3s thrown at them.  The t-34 was pinned by the German preparatory bombardment. The tide turned once the German reinforcements started to appear on  turn 3 a pair of 50mm AT Guns. It turned back on turn 6 once the BT-5 company surged on table all on by turn 10

Soviet Gunline

 On the Soviet Right the KV-1 glowered on the only bridge, the Germans deployed one 88 40inches plus and tried to pot shot it until the Kv -1 Suppressed it, at the same time they brought up the second 88 than managed to pin the KV-1 for a SDFZ 222 to roar in and deliver a coup de grace from the rear.

German 88mm on the move

The BT -7s can be seen crossing the bridge in the distance.  the 88 mm was covering this advance with 3 Pz2s until we pulled two ground attack chits for BT losses. One was successful and a passing Stormivik was rolled up with a battery of rockets all 8 were let loss on the 88.  by turn 12 both sides were holding on by the skin of their teeth. However we slipped into defeat when Soviet infantry went over to the attack and were comprehensively punished

German infantry debuss.

Barbarossa - Mud and Blood

A great time has had by nearly all, JP was using cursed dice.  Battle played in deep mud conditions after early autumn rains.  Pictures only of the notable units.

400point Battlegroups for each player.  German JP and young David both panzer division, Russian Mechanised Corp, me, Rifle Division big Livy.  The Germans won an all objectives victory after five turns

The KV-1 lasted the whole game under fire from the Panzer 3s, it spent two of the five turned pinned but KOd a Panzer 3.  the Bt-7s in comparison had less impact.

This table was a sea of mud due to early autumn rains, the mechanised infantry all entered on foot, the red blob is the objective.  I had to send one squad after another running towards the objective while the Germans slide along the top of the ridge to take it.  The Russian support forces tried to pick them off.



This was the real unit of the game for me the infantry gun 76.2mm, with loader team placed right on the edge of the board on turn 2 from the reserves, it never failed to pin down a German infantry squad, half track or armoured car.



Valiant German trucks brave the roads, painted by  Young David, the Germans stuck with road movement before dismounting this kept the order count down.





Autocannon armed Panzer 2s picked off Livy's T-26s and hammered the Russian infantry, again painted by Young David, the panzer on it's side slide off the hill. Below is JPs battle cutting edge

Above Big Livy's platoon commander advanced to contest an objective on the junction but couldn't live through the storm of German fire that took out his platoon.