Helsinki IWF 4 – Romans vs Seljuk Turk (photos)
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:20 pm
I found myself facing Terry Shaw’s Seljuk Turk. I was starting to realise that I wasn’t going to be facing any easy match ups this comp! The only other time I’d played Terry was at a previous IWF – in Melbourne under DBM. Terry had convincingly beaten me. Was I due for another thrashing?
Terry’s army was (from memory):
1 IC
2 TCs
1 x 4 Knights (arghhhhh)
5 x 4 Turcoman LH bow sword
4 x 4 Ghilman Cv armour bow sword
1 x 6 LF bow
1 x 6 LF jav
12 BGs with an initiative of 4. Needless to say, Terry kept the initiative and chose steppe.
My army was:
3 x TCs
3 x 6 HF “Average” Legionaries – armoured IF + sword
3 x 4 HF “Veteran” Legionaries – superior IF + SSw
1 x 4 Spanish LH – unprotected, average, undrilled, javelins, lt spear
1 x 4 Gallic Cv – undrilled, armoured, superior, lt spear + Sw
1 x 6 Bow LF unprotected, average, undrilled, bow
1 x 6 Sling LF unprotected, average, undrilled, sling
1 x Jewish ally TC
1 x 6 Jewish slingers LF unprotected, average, undrilled, sling
2 x 8 Jewish phalanx of the foot MF protected, ave, drilled, off. spear.
Fortified camp
Well, the plan was for the fortified camp to secure a wing, the table edge to secure the other wing, and to execute a left hook. The game would then be swung around 90 degrees. In the process I’d try and pick off units if I could. Given that I knew Terry had knights which he’d have to support in an attack I figured there was a fair chance of running some units down, provided I held against the knights.
I stopped the knights and even managed to rout them with a counter-attack from my reserve line and from a flanking unit, but I had lost three units to do so - 2 legionary BGs and my reserve Gallic cavalry. The game had swung Terry's way with a single charge from his knights.
Meanwhile, on Terry's baseline...
And on my baseline...
By coordinating my light foot and light mounted I even managed to rout one of the 2 Turc LH opposite the camp (the routed unit is out of photo shot). However, Terry eventually managed to rally the routed LH units through the timely intervention of an IC.
But now Terry's LH were everywhere, including roaming around the rear of my somewhat fluid lines.
But the rest of the Romans were in the game and still fighting...
In the end it was an 8 - 12 to Terry. I'd lost 3 BGs - all to the knights, and Terry 1 (he'd managed to rally the LH I routed near my camp. We both managed to loot each others camps so that cancelled out. I managed to fragment a unit of ghilman cavalry so I was 8 APs down to Terry's 6.
Altogether a great game with a lot of bounds played and a lot of manoeuvre.
Post Game Analysis
The two armies balance each other out well. The Turks have more manoeuver capability, but the Romans, being armoured rather than protected, are difficult to shoot down, even with massed horse archers. In the end the knights gave Terry a slight edge which he took advantage of. We'd both allowed the game to "open up" in order to try and find an opening in each other's army - but with limited success as we each managed to counter the other's players moves.
The next game, game 5, can be found at: viewtopic.php?t=7110
Terry’s army was (from memory):
1 IC
2 TCs
1 x 4 Knights (arghhhhh)
5 x 4 Turcoman LH bow sword
4 x 4 Ghilman Cv armour bow sword
1 x 6 LF bow
1 x 6 LF jav
12 BGs with an initiative of 4. Needless to say, Terry kept the initiative and chose steppe.
My army was:
3 x TCs
3 x 6 HF “Average” Legionaries – armoured IF + sword
3 x 4 HF “Veteran” Legionaries – superior IF + SSw
1 x 4 Spanish LH – unprotected, average, undrilled, javelins, lt spear
1 x 4 Gallic Cv – undrilled, armoured, superior, lt spear + Sw
1 x 6 Bow LF unprotected, average, undrilled, bow
1 x 6 Sling LF unprotected, average, undrilled, sling
1 x Jewish ally TC
1 x 6 Jewish slingers LF unprotected, average, undrilled, sling
2 x 8 Jewish phalanx of the foot MF protected, ave, drilled, off. spear.
Fortified camp
Well, the plan was for the fortified camp to secure a wing, the table edge to secure the other wing, and to execute a left hook. The game would then be swung around 90 degrees. In the process I’d try and pick off units if I could. Given that I knew Terry had knights which he’d have to support in an attack I figured there was a fair chance of running some units down, provided I held against the knights.
I stopped the knights and even managed to rout them with a counter-attack from my reserve line and from a flanking unit, but I had lost three units to do so - 2 legionary BGs and my reserve Gallic cavalry. The game had swung Terry's way with a single charge from his knights.
Meanwhile, on Terry's baseline...
And on my baseline...
By coordinating my light foot and light mounted I even managed to rout one of the 2 Turc LH opposite the camp (the routed unit is out of photo shot). However, Terry eventually managed to rally the routed LH units through the timely intervention of an IC.
But now Terry's LH were everywhere, including roaming around the rear of my somewhat fluid lines.
But the rest of the Romans were in the game and still fighting...
In the end it was an 8 - 12 to Terry. I'd lost 3 BGs - all to the knights, and Terry 1 (he'd managed to rally the LH I routed near my camp. We both managed to loot each others camps so that cancelled out. I managed to fragment a unit of ghilman cavalry so I was 8 APs down to Terry's 6.
Altogether a great game with a lot of bounds played and a lot of manoeuvre.
Post Game Analysis
The two armies balance each other out well. The Turks have more manoeuver capability, but the Romans, being armoured rather than protected, are difficult to shoot down, even with massed horse archers. In the end the knights gave Terry a slight edge which he took advantage of. We'd both allowed the game to "open up" in order to try and find an opening in each other's army - but with limited success as we each managed to counter the other's players moves.
The next game, game 5, can be found at: viewtopic.php?t=7110