Recoil! game 3, Thracians vs Middle Saxons (Alastair Duncan)
A game in which I discovered Alfred the Great can be a brilliant general. Who knew? Certainly not me until Big Alf shouted “Huzzah!” in Old English, stormed up a hill and got +2 in close combat from a brilliant stroke. Whomp!
Recoil! is a an annual DBMM 200 competition run by Neil Williamson over two Saturdays at the Hutt Valley Wargaming Club. My earlier posts have details about the competition format, a summary of my Thracian list and a report of my first game https://www.facebook.com/.../8248.../posts/2421145204711724/, and a report of my second game https://www.facebook.com/.../8248.../posts/2421659417993636/
My game against Alastair was the first time I was the defender, which proved very important. Not only did it give me the first move and let me start getting my plentiful light horse around a flank before my opponent could move but in this game the difference on the deployment dice was enough that I could move one piece of the preset area terrain. You will see the difference between the map and the pic. I moved a gentle hill from Alastair’s left flank to my right, very much opening up that flank to my light horse.
I deployed first, placing the King’s command on my right to use the aforementioned plentiful light horse to go around what I expected to be Saxon spearmen. Noble cavalry would support the light horse, and peltasts (Ps(S) would screen the front of the spearmen. Xenophon and his mercenary hoplites were defending a large, gentle hill in the centre, with a screen of peltasts (Ps(S)) to delay and harass the expected advance of Alfred (the not yet known to be brilliant) and his household of big dudes with axes and swords (Bd(O)). On my left my Thracian sub-general expected more Saxon spearmen. He deployed his peltasts and archers (Ps(S) and (O)) in the marsh, with auxiliary peltasts (A(S)) between them and the Greeks, and his light horse on the far side of the river to skirmish and snipe across it (it was rough ground for mounted), aiming attracting Saxons away from the fight to the front.
The Saxons deployed as expected and this game, too, was afoot. The true King (the Thracian one) got plenty of PIPs and the light horse and cavalry moved fast. There was considerable to and fro but eventually mounted maneuverability in the open ground vs irregular, clumsy spearmen told, gaps and flanks started to appear, and the spearmen were taking casualties.
There was assorted inconsequential skirmishing, sniping and some biffo around the marsh and river, while in the centre Alfred and da boyz eventually got through the skirmishing Greek and Thracian peltasts and attacked the hoplites on the hill. As it turned out, the time it had taken to clear the skirmishers would prove crucial.
Alfred’s brilliant stroke gave him the edge over the hoplites facing him (instead of 6 vs 5 to me, it became 7 vs 6 to Alastair). Alfred won, the hoplites he fought died, and Alfred winning turned the two fights around him from 6 vs 4 to me to 5 all. One of the Saxon elements won but the other lost and recoiled. The rest of the combats on the hill were 6 vs 4 to me and the Saxons either drew or were recoiled.
Next bound was mine. The beleaguered Saxon spearmen on my right broke and that increased Alfred’s losses by 1 ME. Then, disaster. Alfred was overlapped on one flank and was fighting hoplites at 4 vs 4. He copped a 6-1 on the combat dice and was doubled. The additional 1 ME from the broken spear command was enough to break the now Alfredless centre. A thoroughly jammy 23-2 Thracian win, played out in very good humour by Alastair in the face of outrageous fortune. Thank you old friend 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/2422942967865281
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| Recoil! uses preset terrain. The defender choses sides and depending on the difference between the deployment dice might be able move one or even two area terrain features. I defended and was able to move the gentle hill on Alastair's left flank onto my right flank, opening up that side of the table for my light horse and cavalry. |
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| A few bounds into the game. You can see the importance of my being able to able to move the hill. Alastair's left is starting to break up and Alfred is still a couple of bounds away from his fateful charge. |
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