Usk 2001......
The Initial Deployment - Game 1 vs Sicilian Normans:As planned, (with our aggression of 1) we had ended up defending against a 3 command Sicilian Norman army. With 3 compulsory terrain features (WW, HS, Wd) we were hoping to cover the board with dodgy ground, and as you can see we almost succeeded. A big rough hill closed down the right, whilst the demon piece was the 2 adjacent pieces in the center - "Tim & Mick's Bow Motorway".
Initially the battle was joined on our left, with the CinC's command advancing to engage Sicilian Auxilia in some rough going - here you see our Vikings storm along the shoreline under the command of their glorious leader (Mick actually has more hair in real life...).The Sicilian Knights were held back - waiting for an opportunity, or waiting for later in the game when they could do an all-or-nothing charge !
Across the line we pressed forwards where appropriate, anchoring our line on the Bw deployed in the "Tim & Mick's Bow Motorway" . The left flank Vikings were being sucked into combat, and the Flemish pikemen (in the German ally) next to them started to clear their throats ready for combat. On the right the largest command was hanging back as well.....waiting for ........well, not really that much of a surprise - a flank march. In turn 3 or 4 it duly arrived - all 24.5EE of it !!! Doh!!
Double Doh! The Sicilians were horrified as Blades, Auxilia, Psiloi... and 6 Irr Kn (F) boiled onto the table. As art imitates life, dice imitated psychology ...and their next pip dice articulated perfectly how they were, ahem, "slow to react" / "paralyzed by fear" (pick one, any one...)On our left Mick continued to push along the shoreline, with the longships waiting menacingly off shore, engaged in a skirmish with Bw (X). The Vikings were in danger of losing their flanks, and were being steadily whittled away by the Auxilia in the RGo.
"Vroom, Vroom"But, things looked better on the right - the landestroppen charged on, waiting only for the invention of butter (and, in the meantime building a small fire with which to gently heat up an already-sharp knife) so they could use an appropriate metaphor to describe their progress through the Sicilian left wing.
As the lines clashed on the left, more desperate elements were thrown in by both sides to shore up the weakening lines - here you see a Sicilian LH fleeing from combat. Probably not where he wanted to end up........The two lines clashed - and the Sicilian left collapsed in a pile of trampled auxilia ! The Germans piled in, and as our bow on the Motorway were pushed back, the Germans pressed forwards - a flank was exposed, a Pikeman turned, 3 auxilia were killed -
Game Over, 10-0
