GAME 1: John Barnard: Early Imperial Rome. Objective: kill, capture enemy leaders. Jonathan Aird: Irish. Objective: kill/capture enemy leaders. Donal Mac Art, warlord of the Irish host, was an impetuous leader. He delivered a rousing speech to his men, before leaping on to his chariot and surging forward, followed by the massed chariots of his tribe and a select force of warband. His subchief, Cormac Mac Lough, followed on his left, at a more sedate pace, aiming for the central hill. On the Irish flanks, warband and skirmishers advanced, out of sight of the enemy. The Romans advanced more sedately, though the bulk of their force was also heading for the central hill. The Roman army was formed in a more compact manner, though this did mean that they were overlapped on both flanks by the wild onrush of Celts. On the Roman left, their sub-general, leading two ala of Roman cavalry, crossed the river. It was the Roman cavalry which first encountered the enemy, finding themselves right in the path of Donal's hurtling chariots, who outnumbered them two to one. The crash of the encounter was heard right across the battlefield and, unsurprisingly, the Romans came off worst, though their discipline held and they did not break, even though their sub-general fell, pierced by a javelin thrown (predictably) by Donal Mac Art himself. A body of Roman archers splashed across the river to the aid of their mounted comrades, but the Irish also were reinforced, by a body of javelin armed skirmishers who burst from the woods on the Roman left. The swirling melee spread, with the Romans stubbornly retiring. In the centre, the bulk of the Roman army advanced, still aiming for the hill. An Irish warband, which had advanced to the left of the chariots, charged the furthest left of the cohorts of legionaries, only to be contemptuously brushed aside. On the Irish extreme left, a warband advanced over the hills, finding, to their surprise, no enemy before them. They swung right, through the woods, and fell on the flank of an unsuspecting cohort of auxiliaries. For a time, the auxilia held, but after a while broke and fled. Fortunately for the Romans, their Commander in Chief was close behind, with a reserve cohort, which soon put these Irish to flight, but at the cost of the general, who (unluckily) was cut down in the thick of the action. In the centre, the Roman main body reached the slopes of their objective, the central hill. As they began to climb, the Irish sub chief, Cormac, and his warband burst from cover and threw themselves at the legionaries. It was touch and go. At first, the Romans were pushed back, but eventually recovered and forced Cormac's men sullenly up the hill. After a desperate melee, the steam went out of the Irish, who broke off and retired. Meanwhile, the Romans facing Donal Mac Art had had enough. Both cavalry and archers turned and ran. The two armies took stock. Much of the Irish army was still intact, but scattered. The remaining Romans, despite terrible casualties, held together. Neither army was in a position to continue. Points Romans Irish Casualties 0 1 Objectives 0 2 (Lucky) [Luck of the Irish?] Speech 0 1 Discretionary 1 0 Total 1 4 [I reckon a player should get double points for beating the boring Romans! Replies on a £20 note…] GAME 1 Mike Buttle, Late Republican Rome. Objectives Kill/capture enemy leaders Kenn Hart, Han Chinese. Objectives kill/capture enemy leaders After giving a rousing and...er...long speech to his men, the Roman general Crassus ordered his army forward. He had seen the enemy centre secure behind its wagon laager and decided on an audacious plan - to avoid the centre and instead wheel to the right and attack the Chinese cavalry dimly seen behind the hills. The Roman soldiers dutifully set off on their march. As the Romans advanced, the Chinese under Wing Ping Pong Pooh remained stationary, awaiting the attack. As the first line of legionaries passed the crest of the central hill, they realised that the enemy cavalry force was much stronger than they had thought. At the same time, the Chinese flank march appeared on the Roman left, led by general Wing Wong. [What precision!] Crassus was forced to rearrange his forces swiftly. His reserve of legionaries, led by his friend and drinking companion Megabacchus, wheeled left, supported by Gallic cavalry and Cretan archers. The archers were able to take up a strong position on the stream line before the Chinese arrived. Wing Wong threw his cavalry into the attack, only to be repulsed with some loss by the archers. As the Chinese regrouped, the Romans moved up to support the cheering archers, discouraging Wing Wong from further attacks. Light cavalry, detached from Wing Wong's command, raced across the battlefield to attack the Roman camp, only to be ignominiously repulsed by defenders led by the vestal virgin Licinia, a... um... close friend of the Roman general. [Shame] On the opposite flank, general Wing Sover Desea hurled his force of cavalry and chariots at the legionaries before them. Gaps appeared in the Roman line and the survivors were pushed back, but Crassus' leadership was inspiring. The legionaries held. An ala of Gallic cavalry, hovering on the legionaries right flank, raced into the attack, crashing into the Chinese left. The legio pressed forward. At this moment, Wing Sover Desea fell. The Chinese cavalry wavered and fled, pursued by the yelling Gauls. [Oops] Now Crassus turned his attention on the Chinese centre. He threw his legionaries with great elan at the Chinese flank, cutting down rank after rank of swordsmen. Feeling his men waver, Wing Ping Pong Pooh charged into the battle with his bodyguard. At the height of the fighting, Crassus fell mortally wounded and the Romans fell back, dismayed that their leader might wish to deliver a dying speech. [Eas-e-e-e!] The Chinese, suddenly relieved of pressure, declined to follow up, allowing the exhausted Romans to retire with the body of their leader. Points Romans Chinese Casualties 1 0 Objectives 1 1 (Lucky) [Luck of the Irish?] Speech 1 1 Discretionary 0 0 Total 3 2 [The Chinese having killed the enemy Commander in Chief and held the field; for the loss of one sub general and let's face it what's a few casualties when we have millions to call upon, have declared this a victory! Great fun and a big thanks to Chris for inventing, running and reporting on the Tournament. If you think the Chinese were a bit way out, just wait until you see what I 'command' next time! Kenn] Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #129 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com