Hawaiian Vs Chinantec

Deciding which game to write up is sometimes a hard one. Had some great games recently, but this one stood out. Not necessarily cause of game play, but how often do you see this part of the book out and about!

We are right up at the top end here. List 287 vs list 300!

31 units! That is a lot of Hawaiins. Am not sure how I feel about this particular list. I like the mediocre javelinmen, they can protect a flank, ZoC and evade. In a PINCH can fight... kinda, but some maneuverability and control in an impetuous core is not a bad thing. 8 Impetuous is, probably too many. If set on 8 I would have had two medium sword (non-impetuous). The centre of pike is fine, the last core...... I dunna get it? It don't shoot well, it don't fight well... whats it for? I would have grabbed more impetuous and have at it son!

So have been wanting to run this for a while, just needed the paint to dry on a zillion pike miniatures. Nothing clever here. Crap ton of crappy pike, some bow to reach out and make friends, and the elite nobles who are combined medium sword bow, NOT half/half. So suffer no penalties. The included Generals I am not sold on. I have a fear of being run down by horse and being able to do nothing about it.

Bloke I was playing has a better handle on geography than do. So when i made the comment that we were close in time and place he pointed out that it was a 6,200KM journey from Hawaii to the Chinatec homelands, and a LOT of that was over the ocean.... whatever.

Basing, I am told, is on its way! But the badies look ready for action.

Hawaiians attack in the Mountains. Note the steep hill and the worlds most unlooking gully. I will forget that this is a gully seconds into the game and treat it as brush...

My fear of having my commanders run down by nasty four legged badness is somewhat alleviated by the complete lack of a single pony (on either side). I can't remember ever playing a game without a single horse.

My initial thoughts are I am fecked. There are more hawaiians and their furious charge is going to rip though me like a hot knife through lightly cooled butter. My left flank isn't a terrible situation, the centre a crap shoot and the right... oh is horrible.

Hawaiians move forward. Revealing an ambush.

The Chinatantec move forward. Even engaging some lights in the West. Being +1 up (support) with lights is always risky. Given the bad guys are a bigger army they can afford to trade. I want the lights out of the way so my shooting can get started. Luckily those that can shoot miss as THEY ARE IN A GULLY AND CAN'T shoot out.... In the East.. I leave the bow behind and move the rest up. Probably should have not done this, there is no win on this flank.

Now that I am one down the light infantry win the fight. The supporting light leaves and runs back. Shooting again is ineffective... which is good, cause they shouldn't be shooting!

So the West flank is probably my best bet for some damage. On paper my core is stronger than his, assuming the bow can put a hit or two on.

In the West the Chinatex General charges into combat. Crap. My included general is still touching the gully (not a brush). Fighting someone not touching the gully. This means another plus one to the bad guys, which turns that draw into a loss... double crap. (Only combat in the West). Elsewhere bow fire is starting to have an impact, even taking out a light in the East.

Okay, lets start in the West. A Chinatec light takes the hill! The Chinatec general in combat draws again, given he should have lost last Turn, and we forgot the gully bonus, he should be on two hits (one of routing). In the center the pike lines hit (doesn't look like it, pike on pike don't get that close), but the miniatures are fighting. In the East the elite impetuous line comes crashing in. Worth talking about my decision to leave a hole in my lines for the bow to shoot through. This was dumb. I just had one of of those no thinky moments. The gap was less than a UD wide, so he can't utilise the gap, but I can shoot through it. Thats not how the game works. He charges in, can't conform, then I conform to him in my turn. All I have done is given up overlaps to get a few bow shoots. The mediocre pike either side of that point take three hits each (furious charge taking two hits to three) and my line is wonky as.

The West sees the light charge down the steep hill. This is a +2 combat (hill, flank for the light, the jav is 0, +1 vs lights -1 difficult terrain) he draws. Bow fire is starting to have an effect and the Chinatex general most have got a fairly impressive result as he one shots the medium foot in front of him (this would not have been possible had we been playing the rules correctly). The dice are unkind to the Hawainias this turn as the Chinatex fight back along the front! The good guys have yet to actually take a loss and the Hawaiians look to have stalled.

The Hawaiians find the gear box and unstall (I know nothing about cars or how you destall them). In the East impetuous troops crash into the brush (which is actually brush) routing some of the bow and heavily damaging the other. The Chinantec East flank is broken. Is now only a matter of clean up duty. The Chinantec included general that advanced after winning last bound has been ZoC'd by crappy javelinmen. He needs to get out of there before the troops to his left and right persih.

Jeepers what a turn! Chinantec turn. In the West the Hawaiian is hard flanked and routed. Chinantec included general charges forward with some support. The pike on pike battle is going the Chinantecs way. If you stop scrolling at this point it looks all good.... The East, well in the East the other included general charges the jav, which evades. I am not sure this was legal. To pull this off at that angle he would have had to wheel at the start of the charge, meaning his base crosses an enemy unit. Need to look that up. Elsewhere the Hawaiian elites are carving up the Chinatec Eastern forces. In the far East the Chinatec bow scores a hit on the elite Hawaiians.

The Hawaiians are actually in trouble. I know it doesn't look that way from the pic,

They have wiped out almost a full command, but the issue is what next? Even with their brilliant commander, the command is in 10 separate bits. The Hawaiians need time to pull their elite troops together and start cracking the next round of heads. The Chinatex have plenty of killing to do right in front of them.

And killing they do. The Hawania centre collapses, and the race to see who breaks first is on. In the East the Chinatex general charges the mediocre javelinmen, which hold. This is not suicidal. Unless the Chinatx general can blow through in one turn, he is getting hard flanked. He is only one up... and draws. Oh well. He had a good run.

Hawaiian tuern. In the East the Chinantec general gets hard flanked. The bells are toiling.

However, casualties have mounted for the Hawainina. After a hard fought battle they just tip over as the Chinatec General is routed in the East. Some lights shoot down a Chinatec pike, sad face. The Hawaiians leave the pitch and begin the VERY long walk/sail home.

So... I cheated. Looking at the board state, my included General in the West has a hit on him at then end of battle. So he should have died/been routed and probably earlier in the battle. He personally took 4 break points of the enemy. Instead he should likely be routed, leaving that flank without a general. That is all way to game changing to consider this a fair win and will have to concede the match to the Hawaiians.

I also played badly in the East. I should have just given up the flank and moved away. Instead everything was routed and I think the Hawanians lost one of their eight elite impetuous units in doing the routing. The centre battle was a crap shoot that I won, but no real skill there, and in the West I cheated. All in all... not a great day of ADLG for me.

Maybe I should have written up one of the other games.....