Saturday 30 May 2020

Retreat to the Longboats : Al Andalus

So we have the last in our mini-campaign looking at one of the many viking raids which took place during the period of Al Andalus in 844 AD. Historically with the Norsemen having sacked Isbiliya (Seville) the ruler of Córdoba Abd ar-Rahman II called in support from neighbouring areas and with the support of one Musa ibn Musa al-Qasi the Norsemen were defeated at a significant pitched battle at Talyata. This would be a great opportunity for a battle so we’ll come back to this when lockdown is over, but skirmish games are better in the virtual world so we skipped  few days to the flight of the remaining Norsemen who made a dash for their boats. No doubt carrying their loot many were caught and captives according to the record I have read were hung from the palm trees as a warning. This escape and dash for the longboats would make a much better closing scenario for our campaign.

The Norsemen would start from three points in one corner the Arabs under Musa al-Qasi from the other two. The treasure capture at Seville would be secretly distributed across the viking units and they would attempt to get as much as possible....if any away to their boats. These scenarios when we have played them are notoriously difficult for the ‘escaping’ side so we made it slightly harder for the Arabs three of their units had wild charge so could be dragged into the difficult terrain where they could be potentially slaughtered, it also means they will be slightly harder to get moving. Anyway on to the action.....
The viking army rolls successfully and brings on every unit first turn a good start
The longboat awaits but the Arab cavalry can be seen coming on from the left
After a single shot the cavalry fail an evade test and are cut down by the quicker than expected vikings, bad start !
The rest of the norsemen are making good progress but are being attacked with arrow fire
...and then Musa al-Qasi arrives together with more heavy but impetuous cavalry
He idly charges in against the heavy viking warriors..possibly not a good idea
Meanwhile nearer the boats the arab light infantry is hoping to hold back the vikings on the left
Gradually the norsemen are whittled down and Ragnar himself decides to make a push for the boats
Once the heavy cavalry has polished off the remaining warriors
They focus their attention on Ragnar...he mustn’t get away
Despite his wounds he bravely fights on and in fact has a chance to escape but uttering an oath to Thor he heroically stands to fight to the death and join his kin in Valhalla, but his end is les dramatic shot down in the end by arrows........
Burn the boats........... and praise be the north men have been defeated.

So our little campaign has finished, a draw in the first battle and one good win each. It has been fun mixing things up with vikings vs Arabs as they give greater variety to the conflict.....at some point we will come back and do the larger battle of Talyata........perhaps I need a few more vikings ! Not surprisingly the vikings also raided the Christian territories of Leon and Castile so i might try that at some point. Historically the Arabs learnt their lesson and built a wall around the city of Seville......too late i think !

Weather has been ridiculously good here, so two more shots of the beautiful Lake District  
Mungrisedale Common
Ullswater looking due south

Not her game planned this evening and the weather remains good, so more soon 👍

32 comments:

  1. Everything you take on is first rate, Matt! Your game and photos are superb. Makes me long for a return to Andalusia and a couple of weeks on the beach in Nerja. You have splendid cycling country. How many miles are you logging weekly now? My mileage is begin to creep up this week after a few poor weather weeks. Logged 125 miles this week.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan very kind......I was planning a holiday to Spain myself this year but lockdown has put that on the back burner. Cycling is going well, I am aiming for 100 plus per week and am keeping ahead of this target. The weather is quite hot here so I am actually having to limit how much I do !

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    2. 100+ miles per week is great! Under a 100/week and I tend to maintain my weight or gain a bit. 150+/week is when the weight begins to fall away to noticeable effect. I gained some extra weight over the winter/leg break/COVID. Hopefully, I can start shedding those pounds as summer approaches. Temps were 85F when I was out Friday afternoon. Cycling in the heat is more fatiguing but I enjoy the warm weather.

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    3. Weather crazy here for the time of year. 150 every week is an impressive level if consistent , it would be pushing it for me and would likely apply unwanted pressure although I do go over that some weeks.

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  2. Another great battle, weather great isn't it

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    1. Thanks Martin....weather a bit crazy really ....

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  3. Mmmmm, what a fantastic photos of nest fantastic battle!

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  4. What a great idea for a skirmish game Matt, love this scenario.

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    1. Thanks Michael it is close to one in the rule book although some added local complexity

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  5. Excellent stuff, impressed with the heroic last stand by Ragnar, a place in Valhalla for sure.

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    1. Sadly his sons were not there to put him on the burning boat

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  6. Wonderfully entertaining AAR!Great looking game too. As usual, the location pictures cheer me up!

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    1. Thanks David 👍 the Lake District provides almost limitless opportunity for landscape photograph

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  7. So near, and yet so far for the Vikings. Great game report, and lovely scenery.

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    1. Thank you sir ......butchered on the beach it felt an appropriate way for him to die

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  8. Spectacular images, Matt. Wonderful figures, terrain and scenario.

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  9. A splendid looking game Matt...
    I look forward to seeing more Nordic Mediterranean adventures... and Lake District photography...

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly I have a plan for another raid against the Christians sometime in the future.

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  10. Wonderful and spectacular pictures Matt, what a great looking game!!

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    1. Merci Phil, these smaller games are keeping me motivated through our lockdown period. That appears to be easing slightly so hopefully some bigger games soonish

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  11. Lovely looking game, nice to see the continuing Saga of Ragnar, well until his glorious end! Looking forward to the big battle and lovely landscape photos!
    Best Iain

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    1. Heroic end indeed and he can join his fathers in Valhalla. I think I might need a few more vikings before I do the larger battle. Although If i co-opt the Saxons I have I might make enough. We’ll see......👍

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  12. The scenarios that come in the rule book are aching to be tinkered with, some are better than others and some need a lot of tinkering.
    Still, great looking table as usual! I know I have a dark ages collection around here somewhere...posts like this make me want to find it. 😀

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    1. Thanks Stew, we have played all the scenarios both straight and modified and yes they give a good ‘jump off’ with a few tweaks, absolutely agree some work better than others. You certainly need to get those dark age figures out sometime 👍

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    1. Thank Neil...if I provided a short diversion from the depressing news then all the better

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  14. Fabulous stuff, learn something new everyday!

    Cheers
    Matt

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    1. Many thanks hopefully encouraged you to have a look at Avery colourful period

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  16. Good stuff! It is not often you get to put Muslims up against Vikings! Well done.

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    1. Thanks for looking , they fought more often than people think !

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