Recoil! Thracians vs Medieval Irish - posted by Vince Cholewa, 13 September 2023

Recoil! Game 6, Thracians vs Medieval Irish (Allen Yaxley)

What a stonking game this was – thank you Allen for a great finale to the competition. I don’t think I have ever before played a 13-12 draw that was a punch-up like this!

The terrain was bad for me and got worse. There was waterway on my left with dunes along it near the front of Allen’s deployment area. A large area of scrub was in the centre and there was a craggy hill on the right edge of the table, at about the middle. Nowhere for my plentiful light horse to go, so I thought I might flank march on my right around the craggy hull. No! Allen was the defender and with the difference on the aggression dice was able to slide the craggy hill towards his base edge to protect that flank.

Allen deployed first and placed temporary fortifications in the scrub extending towards the craggy hill, leaving an element wide gap next to the hill.

The open area in front of the dunes, flanked by the waterway and scrub was full of ordinary blades in two ranks, with the English general and his two knights (all Kn(O)) in the middle, and a few fast pike behind. The scrub and craggy hill were full of superior auxiliaries, maybe some ordinary, and psiloi, with a small column of cavalry to come through the gap between the fortifications and the crags.

After some consideration and head scratching, my cunning plan was to screen the centre with Xenophon and his hoplites. They weren’t going into the scrub and fortifications but were quite happy to fight in the open in front of it. The Thracian sub-general screened the craggy hill and the area between that and the scrub. Again, he wasn’t going to fight uphill nor across fortifications but was happy to take on what came out. The fight would be in the open are on my left. The King and his noble cavalry would cautiously fight the blades, hoping to get recoils and maybe a lucky die roll to destroy an occasional element. His and the Greek peltasts (Ps(S)) would be on his right, hopefully creating flank pressure because as the blades pressed their attack they would have to move past the hoplites. The really interesting fight would be my light horse vs the English knights – two ranks of three light horse from the King’s command and more coming over from the sub-general's. The English knights are ordinary and impetuous, and if I could create overlaps it would be 2 vs 2 against light horse. Worth a crack!

The light horse did get one knight and had the English general double overlapped a few times. There were lots of recoils and repulses, some elements spent and some doubled. Sometimes it was right to charge, sometimes to fight on and sometimes to pull back and regroup (“You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run,” thank you Kenny Rogers!). The peltasts did a great job linking and covering between the cavalry, light horse and the hoplites, and even winkling out a gap or two.

In the end, when the dealing was done there was time enough for counting and neither Allen nor I had lost 10%. Sorry, Kenny and thank you Allen for a great game 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/2430161843810060/ 

Allen had the first bound. The blades and English knights are advancing. Thracian light horse from the King's command are in two ranks in front of the knights and more light horse from the sub-general's command on the right will come to support them.

This pic gives a good idea of why my light horse weren't turning any flanks in this game. That is a waterway and dunes by Allen and a craggy hill closest to the camera.

The terrain we played on. Allen was defender and the difference on the aggression dice let him move one area terrain feature. He slid the craggy hill back towards his base edge.

Kenny! The quotes are from "The Gambler".