Mitanni versus Hittites Midgard Game

 

Armies deployed with fortified town in the centre

View from the Mitanni side

View from the Hittite side

Front view

Side view

Back view

Side view

Armies advance

Hittie chariots are within bow range

Last Sunday down at the Vikings club I picked up two real bargains with a nicely painted 15mm Baueda bronze age Mycenaean fortified town and a big box of paints, for small donations to a cancer charity. I already have some of these walls, towers, gate and buildings that I'm painting, and I'm undecided whether to keep it as is, or incorporate it in to one bigger fortified town with matched painting. Storage is a bit of an issue as well. There is only one gate and the tower doors accessing the battlements aren't actually facing them in two of the rear towers.

Anyway I was keen to try a game using it and played a solo 15mm Mitanni versus Hittites Midgard game out in the shed yesterday morning. The Hittites were the attackers and it proved to be another very one-sided game. The armies advanced and the Hittite chariots were soon in bow range, their shooting was effective and once they charged in to combat, all the Mitanni chariots routed. The Mitanni infantry were rolled up on their left flank by the Hittite chariots. The Hittite infantry then charged in the centre, it was just a matter of time. A last ditch charge by the Mitanni army infantry against the Hittite chariots saw them rout and lose their final reputation token.

Hittite shooting is effective

Hittite chariots line up a charge on their left flank

Mitanni chariots are destroyed, army
commander retreats to an infantry unit

Mitanni chariots on the left flank
don't last very long either

All the Mitanni chariots rout

Flank charge on the Mitanni infantry

The squeeze is on! Hittite infantry charge as well

Mitanni are almost down to their last reputation token

Last ditch charge of the Mitanni
army commander and infantry

Mitanni infantry rout

Battle of New Market 1864 - Valor and Fortitude Game

 

Confederate army deployed on
the outskirts of New Market

Union army deployed

Confederates advance

Union advances

Imboden's cavalry brigade Confederate right flank

Artillery shooting proves effective

Confederate cavalry line up charge

Union infantry advance in the centre

Last Sunday Craig, Gary, Rob, Rick and I met down at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for the Canberra Regional Wargames Group's monthly meeting. We played an ACW Valor and Fortitude game, the scenario was the Battle of New Market 1864. Craig, Gary and Rick commanded the Union forces, while Rob and I commanded the Confederates. 

The Union army had a numerical advantage but their reinforcements came on in turn two with Tibet's cavalry brigade and turn four with Thorburn's infantry brigade. The Union army couldn't take a trick and the Confederates had all the luck in the game. The Union losses steadily mounted throughout and when their reinforcements arrived, they had little impact. In the end a last ditch Union infantry charge failed, it was a comprehensive Confederate victory with three Union brigades broken.

Wyncoop's dismounted cavalry on the Union
right flank is blow away

Union cavalry arrive on the table

Union cavalry charges

Confederate cavalry charge the flank of
a Union infantry regiment near the road

Union losses are mounting

Cavalry combat

Confederates have all the luck in the game

Union reinforcements are needed
but have little impact

Last ditch Union infantry charge fails

Philistine Chariots

 

Here are three Philistine chariots that I've just finished painting. The figures are by Newline Designs and Castaway Arts. There is a group photo and comparison photos below with the Warlord three crew Pelset chariots. The Pelset settled in Palestine, became the Philistines and gradually adopted chariots with archers. I’ve added an archer figure to the Newline chariot in the top photo and given the Castaway Philistine crew, bow and quiver in the second and third photos above.

The Philistines also gathered to fight against Israel: three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen and troops as numerous as sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

1 Samuel 13.5

Trojan Wooden Horse and Later Mycenaean Chariots

 

Here's a Trojan Wooden Horse and two later Mycenaean chariots I've just finished painting. The horse is a resin model and the chariots, crew and horses are metal, all by Museum Miniatures. I have both 15mm Baueda Trojan Gate, Towers and Walls and 28mm Grand Manner Trojan Gate, Towers and Walls to use with this, it's scaled for 15mm but is quite a decent size and could be used with 28mm figures. The photos below show the horse with 15mm Red Copper Miniatures Sea People infantry and the Museum Miniatures rail and dual Mycenaean chariots.

 

Mount Tifata 83 BC - Strength and Honour Game

 

Sulla's army deployed, on the wrong table side!

Norbanus' Marian army deployed along the Via Apia 

Sulla's forces advance

A veteran legion attacks

Sulla's cavalry attack on the right flank

Last Sunday Gary, Rob, Rick and I met down at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for the monthly meeting of the Canberra Regional Wargame Group. We played a Roman Civil War game of Strength and Honour with our 2mm armies. The scenario was Mount Tifata 83 BC and this is the first of three battles, in a mini campaign for Sulla's second civil war, by Mark Backhouse in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy 142 magazine. Apparently there's a Medieval version of the rules being play-tested, Chivalry and Honour, and there are some really impressive 3mm 3D printed armies around.

We stuffed up the deployment and set up on the wrong side of the table, by the time we realised both sides had fully deployed, we continued with the game regardless. The 2mm bases of figures are a bit of an acquired taste and a lot of gamers seem to really dislike them, but there are lots of practical advantages with this and other small scales. The Strength and Honour rules are also an excellent set for refighting historical scenarios and deserve to be more widely played. Our game turned out to be very one-sided. Sulla was killed early in the game and the setback and disaster cards quickly mounted. Sulla's army became fatigued and on a second Homunculus Est call they were well and truly broken with 27 points on an army break of 18!

Maintaining a line is often hard to do with
all the push backs in combat

Sulla is killed early in the game,
the setback and disaster cards mount 

Marian cavalry flank charge a legion,
Sulla's army is fatigued

Sulla's army is well and truly broken
with 27 points and an army break of 18!