Saturday 5 February 2022

What have the Romans ever done for us? Part II

 We left our Roman Cohort battling against overwhelming odds, surrounded on three sides by the Germanic tribesmen.


Outnumbered three to one, with more tribesmen ready to join the fray the Romans can see two more cohorts of their comrades racing over the northern hill to rescue them. 


Too late, the Romans are cut down to a man.  

Victory conditions for the Tribesmen is to get 3 units off the table via the road to the south, so technically the game is over at this point but we couldn't just leave it there, it's not about winning, it's all about playing the game.


Just when it looked like it was all over, a unit of Roman auxiliary cavalry thunder around the woods to the north west in hot pursuit of the fleeing Tribesmen.


At the same time the alarm is raised as a body of Roman skirmishers and seen working their way through the woods.


The Roman cavalry witness the massacre of their infantry and spur headlong into a charge.


The Tribesmen reform to meet the threat from behind while their archers find easy targets among the advancing enemy cohorts and cavalry.


Back in the woods, the Germanic skirmishers have sprung an ambush on their Roman counterparts, both sides are expert at fighting in loose formation and making full use of cover, they slug it out but with little progress and few casualties on either side.


The Tribesmen have turned to face their pursuers and throw themselves into the attack, more Roman infantry are approaching from every direction but their attacks are made piecemeal and the Germans break them up systematically.


In the end the Tribesmen have taken a lot of punishment but have seen off the Romans and now continue on their way, to lick their wounds and fight another day.

The game ran to about 12 turns and reached a surprising but satisfactory conclusion, in summing up we felt that the slower ponderous movement of the cohorts was the deciding factor, if they could have caught the tribesmen as a cohesive force rather than entering piecemeal then their armoured front wuld have won the day.  As it was we both learned a great deal about the importance of pinning the enemy and then delivering flank attacks, something which is difficult to achieve in later periods with OHW where firepower is more dominant.

And it was great to play with such nice toys!

10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Maudlin Jack, the OHW scenarios don't call for much terrain but I think the figures made up for that.

      Delete
  2. An excellent write-up Brian, and a well-deserved victory for the German hordes under your command.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice toys indeed Brian, you're a fortunate man to have access to such wonderful toy soldiers! I thought the Roman cavalry might turn the tide, but it was not to be. Great battle and reports, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very nice toys, if only they were mine! ..........Sigh!

      Delete
  4. Excellent roamin in the gloamin, a super game indeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first Ancients game I've ever played, it's nice to do something different!

      Delete
  5. Nice Roman archers!

    Watching your OHW games I always get the feeling that I'm missing something when I try them, possibly an opponent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think your right about the opponent, the simplicity of he rules makes them very flexible, so you need someone who thinks different and applies them different to you. The Roman archers are metal figures that came with a magazine in italy.

      Delete