Hatti versus Wilusa Midgard Game

 

Hittites and Trojans deployed

Opposite end

Hittite right flank

Hittite left flank

Trojan right flank

Chariots advance

Trojan chariots charge, Hittites countercharge

Last Sunday Rick, Gary, Rob and I met down at Vikings Club in Lanyon for the monthly meeting of the Canberra Regional Wargames Group. We played a Hittites versus Trojans Midgard game, with Rick and Gary commanding the Trojan defenders and Rob and I commanding the Hittite attackers. The two forces advanced, skirmishers exchanging fire, then the Trojan chariots charged and the Hittite chariots countercharged. Sarpedon, the Lycian king and Trojan ally, was killed, an early casualty. 

In the centre the infantry closed in combat and the chariot combat continued. Eventually the Hittite chariots were destroyed and the now unattached Hittite hero evaded. On the Trojan right flank some spearmen finally managed to catch the Hittite chariots but the Hittites had the advantage in the infantry combat in the centre. A Hittite spearmen unit with attached commander was able to rout the Lycian warriors to finish the game.

Sarpedon is killed

Skirmishers shoot

Infantry close in the centre, chariot combat continues

Hittite chariots are destroyed, Hittite hero evades

Trojan spearmen finally catch Hittite chariots

Hittite archers and Trojan chariots both turn and face

Hittite spearmen rout the Lycian warriors,
finishing the game

Hittites versus Gasgans Chariots Rampant Game

 

Gasgan attackers deployed on the left,
Hittite defenders on the right

Gasgan force

Hittite force

The two sides mostly advance

Gasgan guardsmen, light infantry and slingers

Gasgan light infantry and archers

Gasgan chariots, light infantry and slingers

Last Tuesday afternoon I played a solo Chariots Rampant game with my 15mm Hittites taking on my recently painted Gasgans/Kaskans. The Gasgans were the attackers and had a slight points advantage but the Hittites had more chariots. The two sides advanced and after a couple of turns, were in shooting range. The Hittite chariots charged the Gasgan guardsmen who were warrior infantry, armed with bow and two handed axes.

The guardsmen retreated but then charged the Hittite chariots in their turn. The guardsmen failed a courage test and routed. The Gasgan light infantry then charged the half strength chariots and wiped them out. It was getting pretty messy in the game, the shooting activations were definitely less risky than combat. When the last Gasgan light infantry unit failed its courage test and routed, it was victory for the Hittites.

Shooting commences

Hittite chariots charge the Gasgan guardsmen

Gasgan guardsmen charge the chariots in their turn

Gasgan light infantry destroy
half strength Hittite chariots

Shooting is less risky than combat!

Gasgan light infantry charge Hittite spearmen

Hittites are victorious

Gasgan Chariots

 

Here are two 15mm Gasgan or Kaskan chariots that I've just painted. The figures are by Khurarsan Miniatures. The Kaskan tribes from the Pontic mountains to the north were enemies of the Hittites and a constant source of trouble who sacked Hattusa, the Hittite capital, on at least one occasion. Not much is known about them apart from references in Hittite clay tablets.

Hatti versus Hanigalbat Chariots Rampant Game

 

Side view of the table

Hittite force deployed

Mitanni force deployed

Hittite attackers advance

Mitanni chariots suffer casualties from shooting

Hittite chariots on the left flank
are destroyed by shooting

Hittite chariots

Hittite spearmen and guardsmen

Hittite spearmen and skirmishers

Last Saturday afternoon I played a solo Chariots Rampant game out in the shed with my 15mm Hittites and Mitanni. I've just been reading Trevor Bryce's latest book Hattusili, the Hittite Prince Who Stole an Empire, it's a fascinating read, highly recommended, quite a bit of it is speculative but very interesting none the less. Writing about Suppiluliuma I (1350-1322 BC) he says:

he undertook the biggest challenge of his reign - the annihilation of Hatti's arch enemy, the kingdom of Mittani. After a long, hard-fought war lasting almost two decades, Suppiluliuma succeeded in demolishing the kingdom, rounding off his conquests by capturing the last Mittanian stronghold, the city of Carchemish on the Euphrates. We are now in the year 1326 or thereabouts. A rump kingdom called Hanigalbat was all that remained of Mittani, and Suppiluliuma promptly converted it into a Hittite puppet state.

Trevor Bryce, Hattusili, the Hittite Prince Who Stole an Empire, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2025, p.17.

In my game the Mitanni chariots suffered early casualties from shooting but on the other flank the entire Hittite chariot unit was destroyed by shooting. The Hittite guardsmen charged the Mittani spearmen but retreated battered and at nearly half strength. On the Mitanni left flank the Hittite chariots charged and destroyed some skirmishers forcing the Mitanni spearmen to retreat and protect their flank. The Hittite chariots charged the spearmen but were forced to retreat, at this stage the game was evenly poised. The Hittite guardsmen and spearmen then both routed after failing courage tests. The Mitanni had repelled this Hittite attack.

Mitanni spearmen and skirmishers

Mitanni chariots and skirmishers

Mitanni spearmen and archers

Hittite guarsdmen charge Mitanni spearmen

Hittite guardsmen retreat battered
and nearly at half strength

Mitanni spearmen on the left
retreat to protect their flank

Hittite chariots charge the Mitanni spearmen
but are forced to retreat

The battle is evenly poised

Hittite spearmen and guardsmen rout,
the Mitanni have repelled the Hittite attack

Hittites versus New Kingdom Egyptians Midgard Game

 

Egyptians on the left, Hittites on the right

Hittites advance

End of turn one

Egyptian chariots charge in to combat

Last Thursday afternoon Robert came over to my place and we played a Hittites versus New Kingdom Egyptians Midgard game out in the shed. We diced for sides, Robert commanded the Hittite attackers and I commanded the Egyptian defenders. Both sides advanced and after shooting the Egyptian chariots on both flanks charged in to combat. The Hittite chariots on the Egyptian right flank were routed but the Hittite infantry charged in and this infantry combat was to decide the game. The Egyptian army commander who was attached to a unit of mace/axemen was killed in single combat by the Hittite army commander. Units with a charging or winning marker can reroll ones in combat and the Hittites quickly got on a roll and routed two units of Egyptian spearmen. The Egyptians lost their final reputation token and the game.

 

Hittite chariots are routed on
the Egyptian right flank

Infantry combat on the Egyptian right flank

Infantry combat on the Egyptian left flank

Egyptians lose their final reputation
token and the game