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| Etruscans on the left, Romans on the right |
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| Opposite end |
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| Forces advance |
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| Cavalry combat Roman right flank |
On Thursday afternoon Garry came over and we played an Etruscan versus Tullian Roman Midgard game out in the shed. The two sides were essentially Etruscan armies of the sixth century BC, while both of our armies are really Later Etruscan. Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, its second Etruscan king who ruled from 578 to 535 BC, and is credited with extending the voting rights of the plebs, which also incorporated military reforms of the five classes. The Etruscans were the attackers and both sides advanced eager for combat. Cavalry combat on the Roman right and then left flank was a protracted struggle. In the centre skirmishers exchanged missile fire and the first, second and third class infantry positioned themselves for what they hoped would be a devastating charge.
The Roman cavalry routed but the surviving Etruscan cavalry were below half strength and down to their last stamina point. One of these cavalry units charged some slingers who were destroyed but scored enough hits in combat to knock off the cavalry as well. The Roman infantry charged the Etruscan infantry but the devastating charge failed to materialise and they were soon retreating with quite a few units reduced to half strength. In the end the Etruscans ground the Romans down until they were victorious. It was a fun and satisfying game that was reasonably close.
This was our first game with the four new fold up tables bought from Bunnings which give a twelve foot by five foot playing surface which worked well, though the mat we used was only nine by five foot. My old rickety table tennis table has been retired after fifteen years and probably hundreds of games, my partner really hated it and has been plotting its demise for years! I also picked up second hand from Abebooks, this Italian language book on Etruscan armies by Ivo Fossati, published in 1987 it's obviously not as recent as the Osprey Etruscan book but it is has many photos, some colour and is nicely illustrated with English language captions and introduction as well as Italian.
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| Cavalry combat Roman left flank |
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| Protracted cavalry combat on both flanks |
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| Roman infantry charge, their cavalry rout |
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| Etruscan victory |
Great photos! and sounds like a fun game—often the most memorable are the ones where momentum swings a few times before one side finally grinds out the win...oh great looking painted minis too!.... cheers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, it was good fun and nice to get two Etruscan armies on the table. I think you’re right, the momentum shifts and grinding out a result made it more satisfying.
Deletebefore I forget I really love your painted armies/figures they all look great! not sure which are my favorites, Etruscans? Biblical? your DBA? I won't :o) go on because all your work/painted figures are marvelous!
DeleteThanks Phil, very kind of you, I’m a pretty slow painter and just paint to a wargame standard, try to make my armies consistent.
DeleteGood looking game and a real hard fought battle by the sound of it. The book you got looks very interesting, great cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie it was pretty close. It is interesting, pity I can’t read Italian but nicely illustrated.
DeleteLooking really great as always, sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal, it was a fun game.
DeleteWhat a fab looking battle!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray, it was good to get both Etruscans armies on the table.
DeleteYour armies look lovely and the size of the action is just right for me. The Midguard rules seem universally praised. I have Wars of the Roses figures on 80mm bases - do you think the rules would work for me or is 80mm a bit unwieldy?
ReplyDeleteNorm it works well for most periods and is a lot of fun.He has some WotR army lists on his site Mogsymakes. 80mm would work fine there is a set of 80mm markers and tokens available from the TFL’s site which is designed for 15mm but would work fine for 28mm as well.
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