Gaugamela and other stuff 😀

Is it just me or does time seem to get faster ? Not sure why I have been so busy the weather has generally been great and with my son back for a week I don’t seem to have made much progress, but we have done lots of walking and I have made some small progress.

First up before he returned to the ‘Smokey city down south’ we managed to get in our second C&C game this time Gaugemela. Alexander and the Macedonians are massively outnumbered but the Persians under Darius III still have limited leadership so it will be hard to make the numbers count. Just a few shots of the  battle.

Our setup using my hex system and 28mm figures.

Alexander’s force with 4 blocks of heavy Macedonian pikemen in the centre

The vast Persian army……?

Darius foolishly doesn’t realise how fragile his elephants are sending them in against Macedonian light troops who get the better of the fight

Persian chariots also prove ineffective 

But the Persians gradually start to make headway and the Macedonian attack is blunted

Darius knocks out two of the heavy pike blocks

And Parmenio Alexander’s trusted general pays with his life. The battle is hard fought and balanced

But somehow the Macedonians manage to win again, at least the Persians put up a better fight than at Granicus.

Last weekend I played a remote Napoleonic battle against Jon which he has already written up on his blog, a very enjoyable encounter.

The weather has been kind (cold but dry) and we have had lots of opportunity to get out walking. Above a trip to High Cup Nick

Here a fantastic walk out in the central fells on Friday.

Another fly by which seems to be quite regular on Fridays

I have been running out (actually ran out) of storage boxes. After searching the internet and getting a reasonable deal these arrived, how long I wonder before these are filled ?

Finally and about time a unit painted, these are foundry Afghan cavalry bought at York show. I have added extra rifles/carbines to all the figures and given them a more 20th Century feel with khaki colours. They will play as an suitable tribal cavalry from Central Asia.

That’s it for now hopefully another game tomorrow and some more painting

Thanks for looking Matt

Granicus 334 BC

My son has been back with us for the week on holiday as well as some lovely walking and drinking slightly too much whiskey we have managed some gaming. Whilst I can’t get him to play a full wargame we have enjoyed Command and Colors and with my new hex terrain I can now get this on the table using figures. He has recently been reading about Alexander the Great so we picked The battle of Granicus he would play the Macedonians I the poorly led Persians ! Not too many photos….

The setup direct from Command and Colors Expansion #1 Greeks and Eastern Kingdoms

A closer look down the Macedonian line the river Granicus is fordable but does slow reduce the effectiveness in combat

Closer shot from behind the Persians. One key factor in the battle is the poor leadership of the Persian Satraps so they only get 4 command cards to Alexander’s 6 this makes things though from the start

My first big blunder was attempting to attack with my Persian heavy cavalry, although only narrowly they fail to break through on the right🙁

The Macedonians gradually push forward

A delicate balance on my left, both sides taking casualties 

But due to limited command and poor leadership much of the Persian infantry is stuck at the back and unengaged

Same on the right flank

Eventually the Macedonians force the crossing, the Persian turn the sky dark with arrows but they are genuinely unlucky and it only has limited impact on the advance

Finally Alexander crashes forward, linked to his companion cavalry he is a real force to behold he wipes out one unit then drives through the Persian lines to claim victory

Fun battle, nice to get the figures out, the setup works well with the simple dice markers. The Persians did indeed suffer from poor leadership was that the scenario setup or just me ?

A little bit of painting but the only completed things are these two 10mm buildings for SYW, painted to match other buildings

More wonderful weather this weekend on Friday we managed to get out walking

My son either looking intrepid or trying to keep his ears warm, the dusting of snow was from the couple of days before, warm in the sun but still cool

The Lake District looking more wild and remote than it really is

One of our snack stops looking across to Scafell

An outside chance we might get to play Gaugamela if time permits….let’s see how Alexander manages that one 😀

Back to the Grindstone !

A general lack of blogging this last week as we have been away on holiday !!!!!! The first holiday for what feels like a very long time and the first family trip for over two years. The weather was good in Yorkshire and we were out and about a fair bit. I won’t bore you with the general family stuff but hey I am a wargamer first so needless to say this was squeezed in between the ice creams etc…. So in no particular order from the last week

Yep I do try to do some painting when on holiday another American General for AWI

The first of some Norwegians…….I have painted some more stuff but it didn’t quite get finished 

Roman mosaics in Aldborough 

Son was with us so I had taken C&C ancients, we managed three battles. First up Akragas Carthaginians vs Syracuse

A strong attack by the Syracusan forces on the Carthaginian left

We stagger back as our left flank becomes exposed and my light infantry is forced to pull back

Trying to balance things Carthaginians attack on the right

But the heavy chariots are difficult to manage and are pushed back

It is only a matter of time before the Carthaginians win 5 vs 3 but a fun battle

An afternoon stroll out to see a local Motte and Bailey castle, we weren’t able to access it directly as the farmer had locked it down

Our second battle Crimissos River, the challenge here is can the Carthaginians get their reinforcements across the river before the main force is wiped out

The Syracuse army charges forward before they are outnumbered 

Carthaginians cross the river but …..

It is too late and the battle is over

We had a trip to the heavily built over battlefield of Stamford Bridge, including the short walk from the River upto the scene of the main fighting

The tallest monolith in Britain near Bridlington

Kirkham priory a tranquil spot but slightly lacking in interesting history

Apparently used by the protist when training for d day ?

A trip to Bridlington to see an even rarer creature an official wargaming shop !

I felt obliged to spend a few quid in the shop even though I didn’t really want anything so I came away with some nice early war figures and paint brushes

Yorkshire air museum a nice afternoon, Apparently one of only three Halifax bombers still in existence ?

A replica ME109

Loads of other interesting stuff…

An anti invasion Allan Williams gun emplacement, yes they were a real thing ! And I will need to make one for our Sealion games.

Some bike riding 

The big one Trebbia

Things start well for Hannibal on the left

The Romans counter but the Carthaginian light infantry advance in the centre and take control

4 vs 2 and the Romans are on the ropes with several small units, out numbered and the Carthaginian reinforcements under Mago have not yet arrived

Then they arrive and the Romans are being squeezed

But the Carthaginians can’t get the order cards they need, having to focus on their light troops unable to get their heavy infantry or elephants into the battle

A very enjoyable and close battle, the Romans sneak a victory at the last moment 7 vs 6 banners. Where did it go wrong ? I have ringed the Carthaginian units and elephants which have effectively played no part in the battle, and yet the Romans have almost nothing left ! Hannibal needs to learn how to use the elephants

Some interesting Falconry 

and fish and chips by the seaside

Back to painting and more stufff to share soon 🤪