Paul was trying out a potential Britcon list, of German City States, while I reactivated my oh-so-successful-this-should-be-useless Early Scots that had come 4th at Out of The Dark Ages in the spring.
Regular readers will remember this is a horde of nothingness, mostly tribal close short spear shieldwall in 8s, with the odd 6 and two 6s of formed superiors and one 8 of combat shy, supported by Vikings (two more units of the same, and a units of 2 handed cut and crush superiors) with a unit of Norman knights (charging lancer, devastating charge, melee experts) and a unit of mounted warriors (short spear, melee experts) accompanied by two cantabrain javelin armed light horse. 12 SUGs, breaks on 6.
We had both worked hard on our lists to get extra scouting cards, and we both managed - 10%!
I chose to attack, so Paul deployed first. My plan was simple - attack! Both our cavalry wings were away from the coastline, in front of the village. All other terrain was cavalry friendly, apart from a hill off right with my camp, my combat shy spears and my skirmishing foot boys acting as an ablative meat shield. My centre was one straight line of short spear armed foot, aiming to pin down Paul's better foot.
The advance was so thunderous it shook the ground, and my camera! On the right, Paul pushed forwards his skirmishers (defectors from the Pictish archers, traitors 😉 ) and his crossbows scramble for the cavalry friendly rough to the right, as he knew my close order tribal foot would be avoiding that (fighting at -2, no thanks). His cavalry on the left started to sweep around my rear, with two units of flexible horse deployed as SuGs (skirmishers) and a unit of superior cavalry pinning my two units of horse while my skirmish horses wonder whether they would get a shot off today.
And this is how it developed, Paul pushed round and was about to smash my flank, so I had pulled back one of my skirmishing horse out of his way, and my heavy horse had declared it would charge.
Paul's shooting had caused a wound and a slow on my knights (move reduced from 5BW to 4). His superiors had evaded past the village, but his flexible avalry had misjudged their run, and were caught up against the ditch surrounding a hovel!
The results of the charge were brutal, despite slowing me with shooting, the village had pinned him after 3BW, and I was still in a double red (+4 for rear attack, +2 SUG in combat, +2 charging lance, +1 devastating chargers, +1 for general takes us out of the combat table at +11, which stops at +7), smashes the unit with two skulls on the dice. Here Paul is adjusting the unit so he still has 'flexible' capacity. His cavalry charge had displaced my SuG, but I was so far ahead, and he was slowed by my shooting, that this turn he did not contact, but they were still a massive and game changing threat.
Paul would also counter charge with his superiors into my mounted warriors (off shot right), but did little or no damage, killing a base being two up, and I caused two wounds on the way back.
On the other flank, my traitors rolled three crosses, (worse than a double cross) and caused a wound and a half, and three slows on my end unit of spear armed average warriors, combined with a slow from his crossbows (that he is measuring here) stops my unit dead in their tracks with double the hits to their width. This is the danger in deploying in depth, rather than width, breaking up the line of the mediocre commander (who with only two cards a go would be unlikely to deal with this well).
In the centre, two straight lines, almost at contact, as Barker intended. Paul was holding his foot, knowing to charge me would trigger three units of integral shooters (+1 to me at impact).
The situation on the cavalry flank, Paul has me where he wants me, my two effective cavalry units tied up by two of his, with three spare approaching my flanks and rear fast, and I have no counter to that!
The damage the bows have caused becomes obvious, as my superiors surge on. My centre command has also dropped off its six of average foot as they were squeezed out by the approaching mediocre command.
Melee experts (+1), in the back (+2) of a SUG (+2), with a general (+1). Paul had the option to turn about, but the factors were not worth it and he needed his cards elsewhere. My general swings and kills. (0-2 to me). My pursuit would slam me into his superiors, with another unit waiting in front and a unit behind, my knights were about to be in a world of pain.
Oh yeah, those superior knights, they didn't like seeing their bezzie mates shattered did not help their morale. Both units in range lose a base (just to put this into context, that's a 1:36 chance), leaving the unit somewhat vulnerable after also losing a base in melee, as mine had lost a base too.
A dark, ominous, shadow looms over the battlefield as my cavalry's fate is soon to be sealed. However, his cavalry in contact disappear during the melee, despite being better than me (0-4)
Shaking the earth (or a dull room and camera shake on a mobile phone, sorry), Paul's two units of superior cavalry smash in, against my knights frontally and catching both cavalry units to the rear. A real brace moment! He kills two bases on the way, one from each, while my knights miss frontally, and with two black dice, cause one wound backwards, as Paul is already carrying one from previous shooting, this costs him a base. However, my mounted warriors are looking brittle.
My cavalry turns its rear ranks to face, to quote an Easy Company medic "They've got us surrounded, poor bastards!"
Oh the joys of being melee experts, to the front, two green and one white dice annihilate Paul's superior cavalry, only losing one wound in the process. Their friends in the rear ranks, not to be outdone, turn around and smack the lancers, causing enough hits to break them too. Yup, my green dice were really on form tonight. (0-8).
With this, Paul's cavalry wing of five units had been destroyed by two incredibly lucky average units. He had one viable unit left there, but I could have hunted them down with my light horse, maybe. In the centre area of the infantry, Paul was dealing out hits, but because the majority of my line was 4 deep 8s, they could absorb the damage while at either end my superior Vikings and Scots were starting to put in the damage on two units, bringing both within 2 of breaking..
My Scots cavalry milling about, as the Vikings (superior, 2hCC, and Paul is Combat shy) causing huge losses.
On the right, the superiors have the overlap, while the other superiors still face Paul's (mine, my precious) archers, as he had pulled his armoured foot back to avoid them (clever move).
At the end of this turn, in the blistering heat of 2019, Paul conceded and we retired downstairs to about 10 degree cooler lower floors on the way out. I had him in a position where I could start rolling up his flanks, his camp was open to my cavalry, and my foot was itching to get their blades blooded.
No idea how I won this one, apart from some incredibly lucky dice and catching his flexible cavalry in the rear. Paul should have torn my cavalry flank apart with his rear charge, which would have left my infantry line in severe trouble as it was all committed with only one six in reserve, and his foot should have been chewing lumps out of me, this is a good force, but not THAT good. MeG is a great rules set, but when the luck goes, it really goes.
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