This solo game came about because I am determined to have a Kadesh style epic chariot battle and being a solo wargamer I do not have to go to the expense of having ‘exact’ chariots of the correct type. Inspiration for this game/mini campaign came from Wilbur Smith’s [did I ever tell you about the time I met this great storyteller?] book ‘River God’ and I am on my third or fourth read of it. Apart from the legions of chariots I need for this, I also require vessels for trips up and down the Nile and so out of theirboxes came a myriad of boats of all shapes and sizes. There was no trouble with the troops because I have plenty of Biblical types but could possibly do with some Hebrews etc, but they can wait until next year.
So I have my general idea, the troops and the boats, all I needed now was the terrain and I was basically set. My original thought was to have rolling desert or plains and then knowing the limited tactical problems playing on a ‘snooker’ table would cause, I slipped in a few obstacles. A map will be published in the next edition.
I am a firm believer that if actual battles were only fought when both sides had the same number of men [points] very few battles would ever have been fought at all. Accordingly, one of my sides, usually the ‘opponent’ has numerical superiority and thus I have a problem right at the start of the game, namely to fight or run. Guess which one I always choose?
So the scenario began to form and it went something along these lines:
- a. The True Pharaoh, based at Thebes, with his personal guard regiments of Chariots and Foot were inspecting the national grain stores at Abnub as part of a flag waving exercise around the country.
b. Meanwhile the False Pharaoh, from Memphis, had learnt of this and decided to put an end to the divided country by killing the usurper from the south. A large force of chariots and foot had been secretly gathering just north of Abnub and were just a waiting the right time to strike.
The terrain is laid out, the True Pharaoh and his men are encamped along one end of the table and the Northern Horde are just beginning to enter from the far end. Will keep you informed as the saga unwinds.
“A desert wind begins to blow, muffling the sounds of horses, chariots wheels and the measured tread of thousands of armed and determined men”.
More Chariot Saga
Chariot Saga 2003 Part 2
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