Been playing a lot of heavy foot centric armies. Feeling am getting repetitive. So it was time to go back, way back. The main reason for the choice of this list was access to the Ark of the Covenant (Sacred Camp). Hoping to build up a little camp with some melting Nazis, which is a little out of this time period but Rule of Cool trumps realism.
I like this list. You look at the Numidians and you are expecting a centre of heavy foot and flanks of javelin armed cavalry. What you are not expecting is a block of rock hard Roman legionnaires. Though I wonder if the list is legal, don't Early Romans have to take some heavy cavalry? (I may have missed an option). The mediocre elephant is to give some pause to any mounted aggression towards the Numidian foot. Light horse command to pin a flank, go on flank marches and just generally been annoying.
The good guys (from my point of view). Heavy chariot command to punch holes, medium foot command that has a little bit of staying power in the Gibborim Warriors. The bowmen are questionable but compulsory. If you can find them some terrain to hide in they can annoy cavalry a little. Final command is a little bit of fun. Can't stand up to any mounted, but might be able to run around foot and the ability to evade is always nice.
Pic is at the end of the Numidians turn one. Numidians elected to attack into the forest. The hills are steep, the woods are woods and the piece of terrain to the North West is brush. The Hebrews placed a coast. No way am I having swarms of javelin armed cavalry running around my flanks!
Numidians deploy... errrr.... where are the swarms of javelin armed cavalry that are going to try and run around my flanks!? Instead we have 10 heavy sword impact..... five of them nasty elite armoured Romans. We also seem to be missing a command. It is either hiding behind that steep hill, or is busy making its way round in the West... hmmmm.
The Hebrews deploy almost their entire medium foot command in the woods (ambush) leaving the bow and the light infantry behind to deal with any flank march.
There is Stampy the mediocre buy keen elephant. Notice he has ablative armour to both front and rear. He has been positioned slightly back. He wants to see where the chariots go, and meet them there for brunch and bashings.
Okay, Hebrew plan. Smash through the elite Romans, hopefully with help from the fast moving medium foot on the Western flank. First problem. Placed ambush markers too far into the woods and couldn't get mediums out in one turn, so they are moving at two UD.... great start. Did manage to bow a Numidian light horse, so right at this point I am winning!
Refuse a flank, smash through with chariots, home in time for crumpets (insert local equivalent here)
The Numidians in the East form half column and advance. They are hoping that the Romans hold and they can get into the chariots flanks. Stampy is getting closer. The Numidians look to the West... dust clouds!
Things are actually looking good here for us Hebrews. Might have to sacrifice a chariot, but the medium foot are coming home strong in the West and not a lot to slow them.
(sigh) So I didn't take a photo of the Hebrew chariots crashing into the Roman line. Why? Cause it was so awesome that I was to busy dancing around the table crying out "YOU LIKE THAT! YEAH! YOU LIKE IT LIKE THAT!" The Chariots hit the Roman line and didn't loose a single combat, they drew one. More importantly, helped out by the general, the Elite armoured Roman on the end of the line routed on combat. Flank was turned! Two light infantry were sent to try and take out the elephant. Two bow armed lights vs elephant is even money (elephant +1, light 0 with +1 support) was hoping to just put a hit on the big guy, instead was a drawn combat.
Right we up to spend, onto the Numidians turn. In the far east the Numidian ambush is revealed! Four lights with javelin enter the fray and start hoofing it along the back line. No doubt thinking they had time to get across to the brush before the Roman line collaseped...
Four light horse come screaming in from the West, likely a turn too late, but still was going to tie up some troops. The battle in the centre raged with two more Elite armoured Romans routing back to Italy, the General joins them, he misses his time in the baths anyway (dammit, no skull marker on pic to represent this, bad Andrew). Numidian CnC looks on thinking "how did you guys conquer anything?" There is a win for the Numidians though. Their heavy troops flank charging the Hebrew light, routing him instantly and saving Stampy. So there is one up tick....
The highlighted guy is a Roman medium foot. He is having some issues, most of them regarding abandonment... he couldn't move as the Generals limited pips went elsewhere.
Okay, its getting messy, will do my best. Hebrew turn. We go round the board starting South West. Hebrew javelinmen charges out of forest hoping Numidian light flees off table, it doesn't. Probably should have just ZoC'd him. Didn't have the pips to bring up the bow. Half the medium foot command turns in the brush and moves towards the light horse, one of them takes a javelin in the face (the foot, not the horse). The other mediums get jiggy with the Roman medium.
In the Centre, one chariot flank charges, two chariots withdraw, one chariot (ZoC'd by Numdian heavies) turns and charges, trying not to think about what Stampy will do to him next turn. A Hebrew javelin comes off the safety of his steep hill to add in a flank charge. The combat goes well, but the Numidian doesn't die and Stampy trumpets loudly!
Its going pretty well for the Hebrews. The Numidians should be able to turn their lines and secure their flanks but they have taken some horrific casualties. While the Hebrews have only lost a light foot.
Stampy is about to enter the mix vs his favoured opponent, he needs to do some work but it is possible if he combines with the heavy foot there is a workable and defensible line. Of curse the Hebrew have allocated a team of crack elephant hunting lights to take on Stampy so we will have to see.
Numidian turn.... There is a death splat marker that shouldn't be there... that happened last turn, but hey pays to remind your opponent how bad its going for them. Yeah, see there, that's where your dude DIED! Stampy comes crashing in!
This took a bit to work out. Both sides are hard flanked. So start at -1. Both get a support taking them to 0. Javelinmen adds 0 for being in the flank, Stampy adds +2, further to that, Stampy sticks so bad that he gives a -1 to the chariot. So the net result is the Numidian heavy is up +3, the chariot is armoured and elite so is not all bad. The chariot only takes one hit and the Hebrews cheer!
Start of the Hebrew turn and Stampy gets flank charged buy lights. I think we may have got this wrong. Stampy doesn't drop from being in contact with two units (cause light doing the flank charge), but I believe we counted him as fighting at 0. I don't think this is right. Stampy should have fought at his base factor 1, lights would have been 0, +1 support, + 1 flank. So up, but not up +2 as we played it. Dammit.
Elephant takes two hits.
So the chariot fight. Chariot is still hard flanked so -1, support +1 so fights at 0. Stampy doesn't offer support or factors, but does keep chariot at -1 and still smells bad. Numidian can still claim support from friendly heavy infantry North of him. So fights at 0, making the Numidian +1 on the die.... I think. Fight is a draw.
Camera ZOOMS out. In the West medium foot charges light horse. Due to Javelins the light horse fights are all even (one on the South has light horse general, but medium is supported). Sides exchange a unit each and a hit is placed on a hebrew medium. Overall I think the lights won this first round exchange, but not by much. To the East the Roman medium is hard flanked and routs. The blue lines show a brilliant general doing his best to command his somewhat dispersed troops who are now in seven groups and he has to stand alone in the middle of the battle field shouting orders. In the far South East a Hebrew general comes of the steep hill to encourage the lights back to fighting form.
A chariot charge takes out the last Roman heavy. I didn't mark it out of respect, but for those that want to know it occured in the centre North, as he runs he put a marker on the Numidian light horse.
What do you mean there is a general there?! Its a flaming light horse!
Not a lot of lists allow included generals in lights.
Numidians turn. They are starting to run low on troops, but they are going to go down swinging. In the South the Numidian light horse is with striking distance of the Sacred Camp. In the West the Light horse general takes a hit. The last remaining romand, a light infantry bow, turns a charges a medium foot in the rear. Does two hits... think that makes him the most effective Roman unit in the battle..... Stampy gets some support, but it isn't enough. With one last trumpet he routs, charging straight ahead and into the wild blue yonder. Placing a hit on the Hebrew light as he rampages through, this is in spite of the rule that states elephant rampaged doesn't effect light troops . The chariot light foot battle resolves with the chariot winning, no one is more surprised than the chariot.
All six of the Hebrew chariots are upright. There are now more chariots than Numidian heavy foot and some hebrew javelinmen dancing among the back line.
There is a wall over there, you don't even need good eyesight to see the writing on it. The Numidian list isn't small, but its starting to only have lights on table.
Hebrew turn. The light horse oh slow close to the camp is stopped, shot, and basically stuffed. In the North the Numidian light horse General routs another medium foot, making him best on ground for the Numidians. The last Roman falls to the blades of the Hebrew mediums, there is now not a single Roman on the field. With that depressing thought the Numidians quit the field of battle and run!
Victory to the Hebrews!
These two spent some quality time just starting at each other (technically throwing pointy sticks at each other). Numidians hoping to do some damage to force the Hebrews to spend pips to evade off table.
Happy with the game. The chariot charge was truly glorious, better to have good dice than a good plan.
Few school boy error mistakes.
Mediums move 2UD in difficult, ambush marker just needed to be a smidgeon forward.
Charging the light horse out of the woods. Should have ZoC'd and brought up the bow.
Looking back over the report my elite armoured medium foot never actually got involved face to face. Seems a waste of expensive troops. Wondering if I should have diverted them early to deal with flank march,
Think the Numidians should have done more with their lights. Spring the Ambush on the hill first turn and get the lights moving towards the steep hill in the Hebrew deployment Zone. I may have had two Javelinmen, but moving 2 UD and no ZoC.... think four javelin armed lights could have caused problems. At the very least the Stampy hunting lights would have had to be diverted onto the hill.
I also wonder how the impact Numidians would have done if they had gone up the hill. The factors are even in the first round. I suppose the Hebrews could leave combat, but maybe two impact heavies combined with some lights in support could have cleared the hill.
Great game had fun playing it.
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