Many thanks to Neil Williamson for running his annual DBMM 200 competition, Recoil!, on September 25 and October 9 at the Hutt Valley Wargaming Club. I was unable to play the first day and Neil gave me a score of 12 for each game I did not play. I started with 36 points at the start of day two and finished second with 96 points after round 6. I used Later Polish, c.1500, and played three games against three excellent opponents – thank you to all of them.
First was Alastair Duncan with Ancient British. A difficult match up for Alastair, with an army based around lots of Wb(F) against my knights, cavalry and light horse. I defended and, as we were using pre-set terrain, chose sides. I had a wooded hill in the middle of my deployment area near the base edge. Alastair had a wooded hill on his right and rocky flat on his left. I chose to mass the knights from both my Polish commands in the centre to attack, with all the rest of the army protecting the knights. My Lithuanian light horse command screened the rocky flat. The sub-general’s cavalry were behind his knights, with an element each of hand-gunners, an organ gun and Tartars linking between the Lithuanian command. The CnC’s cavalry and hussars were a reserve behind his knights. The reserve proved crucial as Alastair had an ambush of chariots and light horse hidden on the edge of the wooded hill facing me. The CnC’s reserve was able to keep the ambush off the knights, while the Lithuanians and linking troops protected my other flank. Eventually, the knights broke the warband. A much closer game than the score, 23-2, suggested.
Next was Peter Noble, who was top of the table with Hindu Indians. We ended up on the same table I had played on before, and I again defended and chose the side with the wooded hill in the middle of my deployment area. I decided I would have to screen Peter’s elephants with cavalry, light horse and my one element of hand-gunners, maybe getting a shot at the elephants with the organ gun. The Lithuanians would again screen the rocky flat, and the knights would be held back to, hopefully, pick a target to attack. As the game played out, my screen was working but was being driven back taking casualties from the elephants, and the Lithuanians took some casualties from the archers in the rocky flat, supported by Peter’s Bd(F) and psiloi. Peter’s Tibetan cataphracts were between his two pairs of elephants and I was able to attack them with my knights. Peter rolled terrible combat dice and the Tibetans broke in two bounds allowing my knights to come through the centre and hit the elephants in the flank and rear. 19-6 was the score we initially handed to Neil. However, I did a recount and realised the correct score was 17-8, so we corrected the score.
My last game was against Paul Goldstone using Wars of the Roses Yorkist. I moved to a different table and again defended and chose sides. This time there was a wood in the middle of my deployment area, near the base edge, a river on my right (rough for mounted, difficult for foot), and a wood on Paul’s right. This was definitely an army I could not attack frontally – all longbows and dismounted men-at-arms – and I would have to go around. The Lithuanians started on the far side of the river and the hussars far on my left to go around Paul’s wood. I used pairs of cavalry to stop the Yorkists marching and withdrew the cavalry as best I could. I pulled my knights back and to the flanks, with my element of hand-gunners in my wood with the organ gun next to it sacrificed to make as big nuisances of themselves as they could. The double envelopment worked, with the Lithuanians crossing the river behind Paul’s army and the hussars getting around the wood into the rear of the other flank. Forcing Paul’s two flank commands to respond in two directions allowed time for my knights to redeploy and the final action was the CnC’s knights changing into the flank of Paul’s right command. 20-5.
For the record, those two points in my game against Peter proved important. Allen Yaxley, Norse Irish, won with 98 points 😊
https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/1911368085689441/
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| Some of the players and our beloved umpire: from left, Gary Lewis, Allen Yaxley (the winner - well done), Graham Starkey, Neil Williamson (front), me (back), Peter Noble, David Kinzett, Paul Goldstone, Peter Williamson, Phil Gates. |
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| My medal and a perfectluy timed prize of brushes. The brushes I am currently using are nearing the end of their life. |
Big up Neil. Hope he and peter and family are doing well 
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