Pisa 2005

With the lunchtime flight from Gatwick getting us all into Pisa (and onto Tirrennia) just in time for a pre dinner drink, the evening got off to an early start. One meal for 20 and a ridiculous quantity of wine, and a (rather long) detour via a cocktail bar later the hardy members of the party were in break-dance heaven, in the changing room of a large underground public swimming baths, cunningly disguised as a nightclub. 

The nightclub had a bizarre policy whereby you didn't pay for drinks when you got them, but instead had a small ticket stamped by the bar staff. After 4 drinks, you took this ticket to a cashier, and paid for them, and then got another ticket (which we did fairly often). As the evening wore on (or dawn broke, to be more precise) Mr Worsdale managed to misplace his ticket - which put us in the rather unusual position of being refused exit  from a nightclub

This got the weekend off to a late/early start, from which it never recovered..

I was using Scots Isles & Highlands, an army choice taken for the following reasons

• I thought Pikes would be popular, and this might be OK against them
• I had given up on using my (favourite) Rus/Viking figures under 3.1, so this was a welcome opportunity I hadn't expected
• Ian Mackay had suggested it, so I didn't have to do any work
• I also would get to use some neat kilt-wearing Scotsmen I had picked up in a bring and buy 7 years ago, but never used 
• It was very, very big, so even if I was totally slaughtered and hung over, I stood a good chance of sobering up before it had been totally destroyed.

My list was here 

My first game was against French Ordannance

Some of the smaller images with beveled edges are thumbnails - click on them to get the full effect. The thumbnails are fairly large files...

The French kindly deployed a river, which was then mirrored by our compulsory waterway creating a corridor of death just about wide enough for 3 of my commands to fit in, if I deployed the blade commands 3 and 4 deep. 

The French elected to tough it out and stayed mounted as the brave Scots charged forwards in a fairly coherent line.

I had deployed with bowmen on my right next to the river - with some over it racing on their highland ponies to provide enfilading fire as the main lines crashed together. The warband were safely at the back, but soon saw an opportunity to back up the bowmen 

The French were holding fast and waiting for the Scots to hit them....

The Auld Alliance was about to be rent asunder...

and this was what was coming their way ....

Eventually the lines crashed together, after some shooting on both flanks had slightly disrupted the Scots formation. 

The Galwegians were also charging into the fray, but as is their wont, became tangled up in the tail end of the bowmen in front of them, causing a Scottish pile up between the 2 allies

Faced with 4 deep blades, the French were soon in desperate trouble and needed a quick breakthrough from their embattled nobility - which was not to be.

With both wings and the centre being steamrollered, the French collapsed - 10-0 to the Scotsmen!!!

On to Game 2