Normans vs Lombards

We had more Lion Rampant action at the club on Monday. In this battle the Normans took on the Lombards, which resulted in a convincing victory for the Lombards. 

In reality, the Normans were hindered by the reluctance of one unit of elite knights to move into action. They failed around 7 activation tests which left the rest of the army at the mercy of the effective Lombards. Even the normally lethal Norman Crossbowmen couldn't rescue the situation. 

Eventually the hesitant knights launched into action and, in the final minutes of the game, had some success, but it was all for nought as the rest of their army battle line crumbled away.

Interestingly both commanders-in-chief were slain, which is perhaps just as well for all concerned.

Monday Games - WWII, Medieval and Napoleonics

Four games were hosted on Monday night, three of which are posted here, representing a huge span of military history from Medievals to WWII (the fourth one - sci fi - is covered in the next post).

These match-ups included Byzantines vs Normans, French vs Spanish and British vs Germans.

Saxons Fail to Throw Off the Norman Yoke

On Monday we had a fun game of Normans vs Saxons using Osprey's Lion Rampant rules. The Norman invaders got the better of the Saxons, despite their mounted knights making several ill-advised 'ferocious' (compulsory) charges into the woods to attack some Saxon skirmishers. In the end, the day was actually carried by the dismounted Norman knights, who managed to break a Saxon shield wall in and around the village.

A Very, Very Strange Welsh Affair....

"Wales is a country far, far away, of which we know little...."

Well. After this peculiar encounter, I think we can safely say that we know even less!

Apparently, two enigmatic Anglo-Norman-Welsh brothers (or were they even brothers?), clashed with their respective retinues. In a bizarre, and very strange, set of events, various descriptions of peculiar Welshmen waved spears and fired arrows at one another (or did they?). This encounter took place in a very odd and curious glade in the middle of some unusual Welsh forested hills (or did it?).

Either way, no one really knows or remembers what happened in this strange affray, other than possibly one of the Welsh (or was he English?) brothers was slain (or was he?). At that point, the rather odd assortment of strange Welshmen (or were they English?) gently faded back into the deep, dark undergrown of the Welsh forest, never to be seen again, only to remain shrouded in enigma, mystery and overall strangeness.

Anyway, if you are confused and perplexed, then welcome to Wales.

Mamluks v Mongols

A 13th century paring of the Mamluk Sultanate against the Mongol Ilkhanate using Lion Rampant wargame rules.

The two large cavalry forces faced off against each other on one flank, the infantry on the other. The mounted Mamluks eventually got the better of their opponents, even though they lost their commander. Likewise the Mamluk infantry was victorious, primarily due to their superior archery.

This is a very colourful period, with interesting troop types, little gamed by wargamers.

The Osprey rules were probably tested to their limit in this game, as they aren't really intended for larger battles, such as this. The shooting did appear to be overly powerful, which skewed the game somewhat. That said, everyone had fun, which is the main thing.

Monday Games - Byzantines Make and Appearance and Comets vs Panthers

There were three games at the club on Monday night - Medieval, using Lion Rampant and two Flames of War WWII games, one mid war, one late.

The Byzantines defeated the Normans in this classic medieval face-off. A German SS formation narrowly defeated a British Comet formation and a swarm of Honeys was witnessed in the mid war game.