Game 2 - vs Sassanids
It was about time one of my commands was unreliable, and against a Sassanid army as well
There was I just hoping for a gentle push forwards, until the Sassanids fell off the back of the table down to a horrible end amongst the pie wrappers and discarded coke bottles, but there were several flaws in this plan:
- I didn't have enough spears to cover even half the table, even with a river
- The Sassanids would be able to fight my Alans, who were LH vs Cv (S)
- They also had Kn (X), which were the nemesis of my army, and also elephants, to stop Arthur neutralizing the Kn (X)
I decided on a very optimistic and positive plan, deploying 2 spear commands next to the river (stone me, what a shocker - bet Steve never expected that eh?) and the Alans extending the flank. the bonus was that the spear from Arthurs command were given an opportunity to shine on center stage, and pushed forwards to face off the elephants, helped by the eager, but probably slightly overoptimistic Ax (I) who clearly fancied a spot of elephant hunting.
Arthurian Auxilia and Spearmen prepare to meet the Elephants head-on
Arthur was firmly behind the picket lines, waiting for my spear command to collapse in the face of an expected Kn (X) assault, and ready to rush in and claim the glory later.
However the decisive element of the game was yet to come - with one of my commands neutralized by indecision and a pip dice of 1 first bound, and the Sassanids showing no sign of being willing to rush to their possible doom with an unsupported charge against the spears and the Table Circulaire redeployed large chunks of their cavalry to face off the Alans - who had initially started the game fancying their chances against a largish Hunnic LH command and had already closed in.
At this point the wind picked up, swung behind me, and blasted a huge cloud of foul-smelling dust and grit into the faces of the horrified Sassanids (this is what happened in the game, DBM weather rules-wise, it's not me just describing being sat behind some fat bloke who was letting rip via an attractively displayed arse-cleavege).
This paralyzed my uncommitted command, but more importantly transfixed the Sassanids and especially their friends the Huns, even with the support of the Sassanid cavalry who had just finished redeploying to meet them. The Alans charged in madly as their chances changed from "dicey, but do-able" into "so, we are 4-1 up on the LH, and 4-2 on the CV, and you can't get away from our supporting spearmen who are pushing back your line to give us initial overlaps....). The Alan Kn and LH, with the weather factor improving their odds dramatically and the cloud of dust obscuring the view of the two Sassanid generals who had chosen to remain with the main body of their cavalry in the center and conduct operations from afar, simply ripped the Sassanid line apart.
The dust storm was short lived, but when it lifted the Huns were gone and the Kn (X) were staring at their flank with a worried expression on their faces. They decided to go for the big charge whilst the rest of the army held - they charged in, and bounced!!!
But, they then charged in again and blew away a huge chunk of spearmen - suddenly the large foot command was looking shaky, and Arthur's command was again broken, as its pedestrian spearmen imploded even before the Table Circulaire could be committed.
So, another frantic race to the finishing line - could the spearmen turn the Sassanid flank before 6 Kn (X) turned them over ?
Erm, yes, but only just..........phew
8-2 to me!!
