Yesterday I was able to play the fourth encounter between the Romans and the Britons in my Midgard : Britannia campaign - Take the High Ground. It was a solo effort again, but I am hoping to build up some momentum over the next month or so to get the fifth scenario done and dusted, so that the sixth, and final, scenario can be played with my youngest son when he comes to visit at New Year.
The Take the High Ground scenario calls for the defending force to be split into two contingents; one on the table and the other held off the table to arrive on turn 4. This fits into the current narrative nicely as the main force gets held up on a hill whilst a detachment of cavalry from one of the remote camps gallops to the (hopefully for the Romans) rescue.
The Briton army for scenario 4 (97/210=307pts):
- Bellicus 3 (47pts)
- Maviloduus 2 (32pts)
- Magunum 1 (18pts)
- 2x Warriors 3 (@22 = 44pts)
- 4x Warriors 2 (@17 = 68pts)
- 2x Archers (@15 = 30pts)
- 2x Slingers (@10 = 20pts)
- 1x Skyclad (16pts)
- 2x Mounted Warriors (@16 = 32pts)
The Roman army for scenario 4 (99/161=260pts):
- Caecilius Rufinus Pulcher 3 (43pts) - late arrival
- Gaia Pomponia Thrax 2 (21pts)
- Marius Pollux 2 (35pts)
- 2x Legionaries (@34 = 68pts)
- 1x Auxiliary Archers (29pts)
- 1x Auxiliary Spearmen (24pts)
- 2x Cavalry (@20 = 40pts) - late arrivals
The playing area remained at 6' by 3', and the deployments mentioned in the rule book still worked.
The scenario dictates that there is a smaller force of defenders holding a hill until reinforcements can arrive. Due to the campaign narrative, this scenario fits well; taking into account the Roman retreat and subsequent meet up of a cavalry detachment. The Romans are therefore classed as the defenders and the Britons the attackers.
For this game I had to adjust the terrain I used; I don't have any low, flat hills which figure stands are stable on, so I just shoved a number of books underneath the play mat to give the impression of a small rise. I dotted a couple of actual hill terrain pieces on the slightly raised area to show it was a hill. I also used three resin terrain items I picked up a while back to represent the Salient Points (used to gain Reputation during the scenario).
The two armies were divided into contingents; three for the Britons (two wings and a centre) and two for the Romans (the force on the hill and the reinforcements that start off table). Apologies for the quality of some of the photos - they were taken using my phone camera, in not so good lighting.
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| 4 units of heavy infantry (2) |
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| 2 units of heavy infantry 3 |
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| Skirmishers: 2x archers, 2x slingers, skyclad and 2x mounted warriors |
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| Britons advance to cut off the Roman retreat |
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| Auxilia: Western milites and Syrian archers |
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| Roman cavalry |
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| Roman legionaries |
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| Roman milites, legionaries and archers |
Bellicus's delay celebrating the death of his nemesis allowed the waggon train and stragglers to reach the safety of a small rise just north of the Roman fortress on the road.
The centurion of the watchtower got news from his patrols that the cohort's Legate had been killed in a battle over the hills to the north, and a column of battered Roman soldiers from that battle were heading towards his position. He set out with his century to meet them in order to protect them on their journey back to the fortified watchtower. He also sent word via horse courier to the Decurio, Caecilius Rufius Pulcher, stationed at the camp out to the west, on the other side of the river, to let him know the news; he would now be the new leader of the cohort.
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| The route to the 4th battle |
Upon hearing the news, the decurion, Caecilius Rufinus Pulcher, ordered his cavalry contingent to mount up and headed straight out to bolster the defences of the legionaries at the watchtower. He also ordered the remnants of the foot at the camp to follow at their own pace and hopefully meet him at the river crossing directly east of their current position in order to defend the ford for when the remainder of the army got back to the crossing point.
Caecilius and his tumae rode pell-mell to link up with the straggling remnants of the cohort. Leaderless, he assumed the worst would happen to them, but he would advance to find out their situation at least. Maybe he would be in time to save them from an ignoble defeat at the hands of the local British tribe?
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| Starting Positions |
Bellicus's force arrived at the ridge before the Roman cavalry could get there. He smiled to himself, knowing that this should be an easy victory and news of it would make the Romans think twice about advancing upon his tribe's lands again in a hurry. He outnumbered his foe and knew that the cavalry force sent to relieve the Roman column would be a while away yet if his scouts were to be trusted. He arranged his battle lines and shouted the command to advance upon the Roman force at the top of the rise.
Turn 1 (Reputation B9, R8):
The Roman force strung their lines out between three notable landmarks at the top of the rise. This would protect their flanks, and stop the British forces from picking out one unit at a time to surround and destroy. Unity would be the way to grind out a victory against such odds.
Bellicus ordered his army forward and they made directly for the Roman lines. The mounted warriors hung back a little at first before being given full rein to hit the Roman flank at speed - he wanted them to take out the milites stationed there and then proceed to roll up the legionaries next to them. A few of the foot units were reticent, but stern commands from their leaders and champions forced the whole line to advance at the same rate.
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| The Britons advance in a tightly controlled wave |
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| The Romans watched nervously as the British advanced towards the ridge |
Turn 2 (Rep B9, R8):
The British warriors in the centre chose to charge directly for the legionaries to keep them busy whilst the flanks were whittled down by sling and arrow fire in order for the cavalry to do their job.
The archers on the British right flank traded arrows with the Roman drilled warriors, with the Romans coming out on top in the exchange. Although the British unit he was with only took minor casualties, Magunum lost his life leading from the front (Famous Death).
The slingers on the left flank fared no better, not causing any great deal of concern to the Roman milites. The rapidly advancing cavalry on their flank and the charge in front of them by the British elite warriors made them nervous though.
Both of the Roman commanders could not allow the British to have their own way in this fight, so they ordered the two centuries of legionaries to advance a little and confront the British warriors part way down the hill. Gaia Pomponia's troops held back the charging Britons in front of them whilst Marius Pollux's troops fared better and dealt with the skyclad warriors in short order.
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| The Britons advance under covering fire from their missiles |
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| The Romans begin to defend the ridge |
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| View of the ridge from the British point of view |
British losses = 1 unit skyclad, Magunum
Turn 3 (Rep B5, R11):
Momentum was with the British as they poured on the pressure. Bellicus and Maviloduus called challenges against the Roman leaders, but both refused to fight man-to-man (or woman). The British archers began to take their toll on the Syrian archers, but their stern discipline kept them from retreating under the hail of missiles. The mounted warriors hit home on the Roman flank but failed to dislodge the milites.
All along the line, the Romans fought for their lives, pushing back many of the British warriors units, and destroying one warband of warriors.
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| Combat is joined in earnest |
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| View from the ridge |
British losses = 1 unit warriors (2)
Romans gained 2 Rep from holding two Salient Points, but the British gained 1
Turn 4 (Rep B4, R11):
After a brief pause, the British warriors re-joined the combat in the centre. The archers kept up their barrage against the Syrians on the ridge, causing them more casualties; at least until the Roman cavalry reinforcements arrived directly behind them, killing one unit of the archers to a man.
Maviloduus called upon a Favour of the Gods, but it seemed as though the Roman gods were stronger today (2 hits were scored but were saved by being uphill); not only did he not push back the dreaded Romans but he took a wound for his efforts.
Bellicus needed no help from the gods however, his Legendary Weapon cut swathes through the Roman milites, destroying them as a fighting force, and thereby freeing up his cavalry to roll up the flanks.
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| The Roman flanks begin to collapse |
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| View from the ridge |
British losses = 1 unit archers
Roman losses = 1 unit milites
Romans gained 2 Rep, Britons 1 Rep from holding Salient Points
Turn 5 (Rep B4, R11):
The British forces were beginning to tire now; with almost every unit having taken solid casualties. That said, even with the arrival of their cavalry reinforcements, the Romans on the ridge were also close to collapse.
The British archers on the flank were completely over-run by the Roman cavalry, so, in desperation, Bellicus ordered his cavalry to halt the Roman mounted division to stop them destroying the warriors on his right flank. The Roman cavalry, however, got to the warriors first and with Caecilius Rufinus's call of "Today, we fight to win", he spurred his men on to inflict serious casualties on the first unit they encountered.
Bellicus called for his men to make one last effort, but fortune did not smile upon him as he suffered a wound for his troubles and his elite warriors were thrust backwards.
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| Casualties mount up (apologies for the very blurry picture) |
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| The Roman positions are over-run |
British losses = 1 unit archers
Romans gained 2 Rep, Britons 1 Rep from holding Salient Points
Turn 6 (Rep B5, R13):
Whilst one unit of Bellicus's mounted warriors spotted the charging Roman cavalry and engaged them causing some casualties, the other unit spotted an opportunity to attack a century of legionaries from the rear. Alas, the legionaries must have been prepared for an all around attack and had formed a defensive stance that stopped the cavalry in their tracks.
Although they fought back bravely against the hard-hitting Roman cavalry on their flank, a second unit of British warriors fell to their swords. Likewise, on the left flank, the noble warriors in the front rank supporting Bellicus suffered more casualties and were destroyed as a fighting unit.
At this point Bellicus realised that he was losing heavily and what might have been a minor victory for him had turned into a rout. Most of his units had lost many men and he could not afford to wait around any longer knowing that the Romans still had more reinforcements to come. He called off the fight and vowed to destroy them at the ford.
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| The fight balances on a knife's edge |
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| Have the Romans lost the ridge? |
British losses = 1 unit warriors (2), 1 unit warriors (3)
Both the Romans and Britons gained 1 Rep each from holding Salient Points
Final tally (Rep B2, R15)
This game lasted all six turns and was, again, a very tight affair. Despite the fact that few units actually got destroyed, almost all units on both sides took casualties. The Romans, somehow, managed to pull off a Crushing Victory, to surge ahead in the campaign. Again, there were a number of take-aways from this battle:
- Being uphill and using those saves really stopped the Romans from being wiped out within a couple of turns
- Somehow, even being flanked, surrounded and having nowhere to manoeuvre didn't stop the Romans from pulling through each turn and gaining plenty of Reputation Points from defending the Salient Points
- The Britons took a lot of casualties again, but actually lost few units - this may pan out well for them in the next game. I thought, what with their far superior numbers, that the Britons would overwhelm and completely destroy the Roman foot troops before the cavalry reinforcements arrived
- Do not use Level 1 heroes for the British forces - each game has seen the death of the level 1 champion
- Towards the end I started using only the British pool of dice for each side, whereas at the start I used a pool of dice for each side. This definitely favoured the Romans as their dice rolls dramatically improved when I used the British dice for them!
Campaign Score: Romans 6 Britons 3
Next game will see a lot more reinforcements for the Britons - numbers should be much higher for them as all of the units with casualties will return to full strength in addition to their usual reinforcements. The Romans will only gain a coupe of units of auxiliaries. I will post an aftermath in the next day or so to sum up what will happen going forward.
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