DBA Late Roman vs Late Visigoths

DBA Battle time, Late Romans versus Late Visigoths. Standard rules & setup, Jack being the Barbaric Visigoths would be the attacker. I placed a Wood, a Marsh & a Hill.

II/78 Late Imperial Romans (a)Western 307 - 425AD
1x3 Cv(Gen), 1x3Cv, 2x2Lh, 2x4Bd, 3x4Ax, 2x2Ps, 1x3Kn

II/82 Later Visigothic (a)419 - 621AD
1x3Kn(Gen), 3x3Cv, 4x4Wb, 2x2Ps, 2x2Bw

The Setup, Jacks Visigoths on the left


Visigoth Chieftain Jack (with suitable Barbaric hairstyle) looks on


Amy inspects the Roman deployment


Nice view of the Romans, camp by Baueda


Visigoth Cavalry


Visigoth Boyz, Warband & Archers


The Romans advance, Measurement sticks at the ready!


Jacks Visigoths smell blood!


Jacks right flank, his General & Cavalry support the Psiloi


BOOOM!! our little piece of Western Europe is rocked by an earthquake......
Weimaraner Seismic activity!!! Two large grey paws descend & Krazy Harvey wants to join in.
He must have an urge to help his Germanic Brethren! A timeout is called & after ten minutes of Harvey stroking he leaves, Jack quickly fixes the damage to the table.


Back to the action.... The lines advance.


Roman Psiloi secure the woods


Jack moves his General to a central position


Nice view of the Barbarians.


Roman Cavalry & Auxilia watch the Visigoths


Hun Light Horse attack a lone Visigoth Cavalry element


The lines clash, but Jack manages to draw off my Roman Cavalry.
The Roman Knights charge in against.....Bows (Aaaarrrgghh!)
Plus there's some Blade vs Warband match ups. I fear the worst(shaking head).


Yes!! Jack laughs out loud, combats go his way... I'm not a happy bunny.


Its quick & brutal, two rounds of combat & the Visigoths win 4 to 2.
The Romans lose 2 Blades, a Knight & a Auxilia.


Jacks back to winning ways. I curse my (in hindsight) poor setup.
This was the first game of the night, I would get my revenge in the next game ...Samurai Scrap!

DBA IV/59(b) Post Mongol Samurai

Here's our DBA Samurai Army. We initially bought a small army from EBay & then just
kept adding bits onto it. These fellas have back banners from the brilliant Warflag site
http://www.warflag.com/flags/sam/samurait.shtml

Mind you, if there's one job that is completely soul destroying, then it's attaching loads of
back banners zzzzzzz... We had a Samurai battle the other week & it looked pretty good.
Battle report to follow shortly.

DBA IV/59(b) Post Mongol Samurai 1300-1542AD
1x3Cv or 4Bd(Gen), 1x3Cv, 5x4Bd, 1x3Sp, 4x5Wb or 4x7Hd or 4x3Sp

Samurai Army




The Samurai Lord, Cavalry or Blade General


Cavalry


Samurai Warriors on foot, Blade elements


Ashigaru, Spear element


More Ashigaru, Spear option. Peasants as the Warband/Horde options.


Up close & nasty to those revolting peasants


Samurai Bamboo Camp, guarded by Ashigaru Spear element

DBA IV/18 Lithuanian

An opponent for the Teutonic Knights in the Baltic Crusades.
Half of these figures are Mikes Models! The rest I can't say.

DBA IV/18 Lithuanian or Samogitian 1132 -1435AD
1x3Cv or 2Lh(Gen), 1x3Cv or 2Lh, 6 x2Lh, 2x3Ax, 2x2Ps

Lithuanians!




Lithuanian Light Horse


Lithuaninan General , Cavalry Elements


Psiloi


Auxillia Elements

How's it going MrF?

Oh dear, the paints have been out again after a few months on the sidelines. The last time we had this 'urge' (you ALL know what its like...) saw us building hordes of AWI Armies, mostly due to Giles Allisons BRILLIANT Tarletons Quarter Blog http://gilesallison.blogspot.com/

I've been trawling around the blogs & websites lately. Quite frankly the paint jobs out there are getting better & better, so in total envy we're back into 'Building Army' mode. We don't have any fancy set up, all the kit is in trays or boxes & the dining table is the base. So along with some good EBay purchases & plain lead, the armies are coming along nicely.

What's in the pipeline? Wargames Illustrated have just ran a great series on the 30YW, so along with a free download of flags http://www.wargamesillustrated.net/reader.asp, we've got a Dutch Army. I do fancy a 30YW French Army, complete with D'Artagnons Musketeers, so that's on the go. French Huguenots are not far behind, to go with our existing English Elizabethans. We've also finished some elements to complete our AWI Armies.

Oh and thanks to the fantastic Phils War Cabinet http://www.warcabinet.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/army_showcase%20%20italian%20wars.htm we're just finishing off an Italian Wars Imperial Army with loads of those 'hairy germans in pyjamas', Landsknects. Just need some Artillery for them, I do like Vexillia Ltds Landsknect Artillery & will be buying some when funds allow. http://www.vexillia.ltd.uk/venexia/images/scangi41a.jpg

The 'Tools of Creation'....


Dutch Cuirassiers & Dragoons, Huguenots, AWI Cavalry & Infantry


Finished elements & stuff ready for Basing


Now I'm going to have a rant. I was looking through the 'creations' the other day & have you ever had that 'I just don't like the look of them...' urge? Well it was our Sassanid Persians & I'm not happy with our current banners. Yes I know LBM do a flag sheet, but it's for 28mm. (I once spent an eternity at a Games Show Stand measuring up the LBM flagsheet against one of our Sassanid figures. After much 'oooing & aaarring', I still wasn't happy, as it would of meant cutting down the lovely flags. So I left, buying a paintbrush in guilt at taking up so much of the nice traders time..).

I've also seen the free Persian flags on Fanticus, but I've used them elsewhere. I've trawled round Google, looking for Sassanid designs, but found very little. SO... if anyone out there has some cool designs & wouldn't mind sharing them, then please please please leave a comment on our blog with a link or something.

I'm due to start a 7 day shift pattern at work, so new posts may be thin on the ground.
Cheers MrF

BBDBA II/47(f) Tencerti Early Germans

Here's 36 elements of Ferocious Hairy Germans, a BBDBA army based on the Tencerti.
Imagine this lot staring at you across the battlefield baying for blood!

f) Tencerti - 2x3Cv(Gen), 1x4Wb(Gen), 3x2Lh, 27x3Wb, 3x2Ps

Tencerti Early Germans








Just to spice things up, we including some Warhounds, they will act as Warbands.

BBDBA Early Imp.Rome vs Dacians/Sarmations

Back in 2006, England played in another Football Tournament. So fearing the worst we had a BBDBA game as the match played. Well it was a good thing, as England crashed out again. It is tough being a supporter of the two most 'disappointing' football teams in history, Middlesbrough & England. Oh & don't mention Middlesbroughs latest pathetic performance in the FA Cup, beaten 2-0 at home in the FA Cup Quarter Finals... but GOOD LUCK to Cardiff, we hope you go on to win it.

Anyway this is a DBA Blog so back to the 'REAL' action. Romans & Dacians again. I played the Dacians with Sarmation allies, Jack was the evil Romans.


II/56 Early Imperial Roman 3x3Cv(Gen), 4x3Cv, 1x2Lh, 1x2Ps, 12x4Bd, 12x4Ax, 3xArt

---------------------------------

II/52 Dacians 1x4Wb(Gen), 1x3Cav(Gen), 2x2Lh, 12x3Wb, 4x3Bd, 4x2Ps

II/26 Sarmations 1x3Kn(Gen), 11x3Kn

My plan was to have the Sarmations as one Big Fist, crush Jacks Flank then sweep into his centre. The Dacians would just use the terrain & hold the centre. Jack was too over confident & placed his units all over, his cavalry were used in the centre.

Initial Set-up, Dacians on the left, Romans the right.
Jack sports his England shirt for Good Luck.


View from the Dacian lines


Both games are in full swing


Jacks Roman set-up


All the Sarmations (this was before we built our Old Glory Sarmation Army shown earlier)


Jack attacks 'en masse'


RAAAHooooo! or whatever Sarmations cry riding into battle...


Nice match up in the centre, Dacian Blades in the centre, Warband to the right


The Dacian King leads a small force through the woods


Jacks centre, Blades & Cavalry about to crush the Warbands


HO HO HO! It's looking good for the Sarmations


Jack reinforces his left flank


Sarmations again...


The Roman Legate takes cover between some Artillery.


Jack lines up his attack in the centre.


The lines engage in the centre.


The Dacian Blades quickly HACK down the Romans, the way is open!


Jacks Auxillia get 'bogged down' before the swamp (sorry bad pun...),
he could of used these units elsewhere


Ohh, look at that open space!! Jacks General has to take action.


Nice view across the battlefield, the Sarmations find the way is open to the Roman camp.


As expected, the Sarmations are winning the hill.


Jack's looking troubled! He knows the end is near.


It's a stalemate in the centre



He's had enough & so have England in the Footy.


A nice battle, Jack knows were he went wrong. After this game his tactics got better (& mine got worse!). 12 Sarmation Knights ploughing into your line is a toughie!!!

DBA II/52 Dacian

Here's our Dacian Army that was featured in one of our battles posted earlier.
http://mrfarrow2udba.blogspot.com/2008/01/dba-early-imperial-rome-vs-dacia.html

II/52 Dacian 60BC-106AD
1x4Wb or 3Cav(Gen), 1x2Lh, 6x3Wb, 1x3Bd, 2x2Ps, 1x3Bd or 3Kn or 2Ps or Art

Well for the final selection we have gone for the Knight option...Sarmations!
So we've imported an element from our Sarmation Army.

We got the majority of these from Ebay, they were sold as a Thracian/Dacian morphable army. They look like Essex Minis, the Sarmations are Old Glory.

The Dacian Army

The Dacian King, Cavalry General

Dacian Light Horse

Dacian Warband

Psiloi

Dacian Blades, ready to chop up Romans

Mighty Sarmation Knights

DBA IV/30 Teutonic Orders

Now for those nice 'fellas' who spent their time Crusading against anyone in the Baltic region. Lots of Knights for the offensive action, but with some choices for the remaining options.

IV/30 Teutonic Orders 1201-1522AD
1x3Kn(Gen), 3x3Kn, 1x3Cv, 2x2Lh, 2x4Cb, 1x4Sp, (1x3Ax + 1x2Ps) or 2x7Hd

We got inspiration for this army from the Polish Film 'Krzyzacy', our copy has English subtitles. It is a bit dated now, I think made in the 60's. However the film culminates in the Battle of Grunwald, where all the Teutons neighbours got together & gave the Order a sound thrashing. Really good battle scenes & I thoroughly recommend it. If you get the chance get a copy.

The Teutonic Army




The Grandmaster & his Knights


The Grandmaster of the Order


Teutonic Cavalry & Light Horse


The Horde Elements


Auxillia, Psiloi & Crossbow


Up close to those Nasty Spears


Gotta love this one.. Teutonic Camp burning the Pagans!

DBA II/47 Early German

Very Loud Aggressive Hairy Germans now, just right for bashing each other or the Romans. The Early German list has no less than 7 different selections. Here's our generic German Army that should cover all of those selections.

1x3Cv or 4Wb(Gen), 10x4Wb, 2x2PS, 2x3Cv, 1x2Lh, 2x4Ax (Batavians)

We have collected enough Germans to cover a BBDBA Army as well. I'll put pics of those up later. The Camp is a scratch built effort, its a Sacrificial Pool just nice for offering those captured Romans to the Gods of the Forest.

II/47 Early German 115BC - 250AD
a) Cimbri & Teutones(113-102BC) - 1x3Cv(Gen), 1x3Cv, 9x4Wb, 1x2Ps
b) Ariovistus (58BC) - 1x4Wb(Gen), 2x3Cv, 8x4Wb, 1x2Ps
c) Batavi Rebellion (69AD) - 1x3Cv(Gen), 2x4Aux, 8x3Wb, 1x2Ps
d) Other Batavi - 1x3Cv(Gen), 9x4Wb, 2x2Ps
e) Cherusci - 1x3Cv or 3Wb(Gen), 9x3Wb, 2x2Ps
f) Tencerti - 1x3Cv or 4Wb(Gen), 1x2Lh, 9x4Wb, 1x2Ps
g) Others - 1x3Cv or 4Wb(Gen), 10x4Wb, 1x2Ps

Generic Hairy Germans






The Warbands


Batavian Auxillia


Psiloi, Young German Warriors


Cavalry or Warband General


German Light Horse
(Oooops.. Jack has pointed out that we only need 1 Light Horse element)


General Gunther RedBeard guarding the Sacrificial Pool

DBA II/26 Later Rhoxolani Sarmation

Who CAN'T fail to love the Sarmations, the opportunity to have 12 Knight elements pounding
across the table. Well here's our attempt at a Later Rhoxolani Sarmation Army. Although the list has a few options available, it's the 12 Knight option that we have gone for.

The figures are a mixture, the Heavy Cavalry Bowmen are 15mm.co.uk Isarus Range. http://www.15mm.co.uk/The_Sarmatians.htm

The fellas with the Huge Lances are Old Glory. We painted these ones up & still remain one of my favourite paint jobs.

II/26 Sircae, Iazyges, Later Rhoxolani Sarmation (310BC-375AD)
1x3Kn(Gen), 8x3Kn, 1x2Lh or 3Kn, 2x2PS or 3Kn

Sarmations, ready to pound the Romans into the dust




Old Glory Sarmations


Isarus Sarmations


Sarmation Prince, Knight General


Close up of the Old Glory Sarmations

DBA Classic Indian vs Alexander Macedonian

Back to basics now & a nice little scrap with a very unexpected outcome.
We had watched the totally dreadful Alexander (Well I had, Jack had given up
& got bored). I ended up just marking where the battles scenes had been &
we watched them back together. Film story = pants, Film battle scenes = great.

So here we go the Macedonians vs Indians, we had no Jungle terrain so we played
with a flat plain & simple terrain.

II/3 Classical Indian(500BC-545AD)
1xEl(Gen), 2xEl, 2xLCH, 2x3Cv, 1x2Ps, 4x3Lb

II/12 Alexandrian Macedonian (355-320BC)
1x3Kn(Gen), 1x3Cv, 1x2Lh, 1x4Ax, 6x4Pk, 1x2Ps, 1x4Ax

My plan was simple destroy the Macedonian Cavalry with my Elephants, Light Chariots & Cavalry. Avoid the Pike at all costs. I set up with two areas of rough dominating the middle. "Great" I thought, Jack would have to send his Pike down the flank.

'Alexander Jack' to the Left & the Indians the right


The Macedonians, Cavalry on one side & ALL of his Pike on the other.
Light troops in the middle, they didn't concern me (my BIG mistake...)


My right flank was where I'd win it. I placed an Elephant led force on the other just in case.


My Right flank, after Jacks setup I'd have more elements there than him.


The Mighty Macedonian Pike, Jack kept them all together.


Jacks Auxillia & Psiloi rush off to dominate the middle of the board.


Advantage to the Indians on my Right.


The Battle unfolds - his Pike are gonna take a long time to reach my lines...


The plan is working, I'll crush his cavalry


View from Jacks side


Screaming Indians plough down on Alexander


Alexander(that Tough we put him on base by himself..), Cavalry(Xyston) & Light Horse


Jack senses the danger & puts an Auxillia out to support his Cavalry


Clash of Horse


It's looking good for the Indians & I force back the Macedonian Horsemen


That PESKY Auxillia is making life hard, I can't manoeuvre my troops - AArrrgghh!


Jack takes out a Indian Bowmen & a Psiloi in the centre.
He even has the cheek to attack my Elephant General with a Psiloi !!!!


I manage to take down the Macedonian Cavalry but it's a bottleneck


O.. O.. OOOO... Jacks sneaks in with an attack on my Camp & ousts the defenders.
"That's 4 to 1, I win, I think" utters Jack..........


Disappointing, my grand plan in tatters.


Final view from above, totally underestimated the light troops.
Jacks Phalanx haven't even engaged!!!


Well there you go, the power of Psiloi & Auxillia.
Definitely not involved in the initial plan but they won the game for Jack.
Shows that you don't just need the Big boyz to win Battles.