Hannibal's anniversary- But Cannae do it again?? Sorry for the bad pun.

The 2nd of August 2015 was the anniversary of one of Rome's greatest defeats- and an opportunity for Nick to put his Carthaginians on the table and for Paul to put his Republican Romans on the table. The important thing was that- as every one agreed- there was no chance of MY Romans going anywhere near the table given my previous results ( see last blog!). They did make the mistake of allowing me to command Romans...and using some of my cavalry to make up the numbers!

Ross, Paul and I were Varro et al and Nick and Geoff did the Hannibal bit. Refighting such a well known battle always has the potential to just follow the course of history, especially if the original deployment is followed.
Nevertheless, following the historical layout, the game was on!

View from the Roman third line.

How many defeats can a wargamer bear????? My Roman Shame....AGAIN.

This game was played late last year after many  humiliating defeats at the hands of Ross' Macedonians. I demanded a rematch to restore the honour of the Roman army and stop the shame and humiliation that had been attached to my family name for generations to come. The table was set up, the rules produced, the armies deployed...and well.....read the report.....my Romans are persistent if nothing else.

I had high hopes when I deployed my troops. I was wiser after my multiple defeats and was determined not to let Ross and Paul have a victory again !!!

Well rather than bore you all with a long report that basically tries to make excuses for my catastrophic defeat...just look at the photos. Suffice to say I led with my left- held back my right and got kicked in the balls. I give up. The Romans are going into a cupboard and staying there for a while.

My Romans

Samurai vs Samurai.

In a previous blog I wrote about Nick's purchase of a beautifully painted Samurai army.  I also have a Samurai army, but as Nick pointed out it was not big enough. So I told him exactly what I thought of that: lend me part of his.  He thought about this for a brief period and then agreed.  Not too many of us can put as many figures on the table as Nick can as he likes to play games 'in a grand manner' with maximum points, maximum space and enough lead to buckle the table.  He had over 1500 points, I had under 600.  So he lent me enough to even out the points,  he had less cavalry than I did ( I took all the upgrade options) but he had more Samurai and Archer Retainers. I had more monks and light infantry.  The armies were from the Kamakura period and many of the Samurai also carrying bow. This was going to be a tough game with  lots of tough infantry and loads of archery!

My cavalry on my left flank- Ross commanded these guys and he did a good job in taking out the opposing cavalry commanded by Roger- but my centre failed to hold out long enough to take advantage of this!