Monday, December 3, 2012

Espana 1084 with Hail Caesar Part Deux

More pictures from the battle for the river crossings.  


From the Moslem (Curt) viewpoint, spearmen and light cavalry advance on the bridge, while civilians cower in the village.  Off screen to the right, the mercenary Crossbows cower and refuse to enter the village (perhaps fearing the bishop's wrath for serving the Zaragozans).  In the distance, the two sides glower at each other near the ford.
Perhaps the key action of the engagement.  El Cid (Curt) sent a unit of Jinettes (light cavalry) across the river to attack Sylvain's archers who elected to stand and fight and were destroyed.  Curt rolled Vegas for his pursuit and was able to form up and swing into the flank of Sylvain's militia spearmen, who were also quickly over run.

Sylvain tries to charge across the river with his Hidalgos.  The slight advantage of ground gave the Zaragozans the edge.  Even better, they wounded Sylvain's general meaning that he added no attacks to the combat.  The ford is marked by the island, but the river could be crossed everywhere else with a penalty (treated as a linear obstacle under Hail Caesar).

This shot and the next show the cavalry action near the ford.  Curt put his archers in the marsh in the distance, who were chased out by Sylvain's light cavalry.  Both generals joined the heavy cavalry melee, and both died as a results.  The bards will have plenty to sing about!  

The denouement.  Sylvain's light cavalry in the marsh, while Curt's bowmen lurk in the top left corner having scampered off when charged.  In the centre Curt hit the Hidalgos from the front with his heavies and the flank with his lights.  The combination of the flank charge, and the early wound on Sylvain's general made the difference and the Hidalgos were routed.  

By this point, Curt had chased off the Aragonese left flank at the ford.  Meanwhile, a blunder roll on the Aragonese right resulted in a move away from the bridge, allowing Moslem jinettes and one unit of spears to cross the bridge.  The second unit of Curt's foot refused to cross the river, not wanting to get their fancy silk clothing damp!  Meanwhile, the crossbows still found reasons not to enter the village!

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the cracking good game, Peter! I really like this period (yes, even when I'm not rolling vegas) as it has such colour. I agree, the lucky wound on Sylvain's commander really turned the tide. I thought it quite suitable for both commanders to be slain in the melee. 'With my last breath I spit at thee...' Great stuff.

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    1. Curt
      Glad you enjoyed it. There is a lot of flavour and colour here - kind of like a good bottle of Rioja or a meal of grilled sardines in olive oil. The fates of the two commanders did seem appropriate - you can see the riders gathering up after the melee and looking around with "ok where's the chief" expressions on their faces.


      And thanks for the great photos!
      Cheers
      PD

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  2. Very nice looking game. I've only played one Hail Caesar game, but liked it a lot. I will try to get another game or two in, in the coming year. Best, Dean

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    1. Dean
      So far I've played two games and I've been pretty happy with the rules. I'll post some thoughts on HC later this week.

      Cheers
      Peter

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  3. Thanks for the game. It might be a good thing that the Christian commander died during the game. Not for the song, but for the sake of Christianity.. :-)

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    1. Sylvain

      While perhaps fortune will favour you next time round, or you can play the Moslem side (or both).

      Salut
      PD

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