Elamites and Assyrians....again...round 4!

Well the current score between these two historical opponents currently stands at Elamites (me) 1, Assyrians ( Ross) 1 and a bloody draw...1:1:1.

So in the dying days of 2024, game four was fought on a warm summer night.

I made a significant flaw in my deployment by not concentrating my heavy chariots............

My ring flank. One of my heavy chariots backed up by the three kallipani. Not good in a fight, but they sure can shoot!

 

Assyrian left flank.......

The layout of both armies is obvious in the pictures above.

The massed chariotry of Ashurbanipal......on the left flank

Assyrian right and center right

Elamite center

Elamite left racing forward. My second heavy chariot is on the right of the picture. The rest of the flank was kallipani , light cavalry and archers.

Assyrian right wing...cavalry and infantry

I hate these guys. Assyrian Guard. Good quality, tough, and they have bow!

Opening exchange on the Elamite left

another view

again.....

The center

Elamite right- a mass of struggling men, crashing chariots and screaming horses!

The only units that can match the Assyrian Chariots are my heavy chariots of which I only have a couple....and I didn't concentrate them. 

The extreme flank- light cavalry stoush.

The center- a turn or two before impact.

The final act.
The left wing has been stripped, the right wing has collapsed....and the centre is about to get a hammer blow!

The Elamites have loads of firepower and tend to cause the Assyrian problems in the early stages. They would win any long range firefight. The Assyrian Guard Archers can mix it with them but the majority of the Assyrians have to get in close. That's where the Elamite's problems really start. They don't have enough good quality heavy combat units...and I made the error of splitting the few that I did have across both flanks rather than concentrating them. 

By concentrating them I have a fair chance of winning- I don't have to beat him everywhere...but to be victorious I have to beat him on the field somewhere!!

The Assyrians took the honours for the day and Ross insisted I post the Ashurbanipal relief with the appropriate description from the British Museum website with the most important section underlined and in Italics....so see below.

Gypsum wall panel relief fragment; carved in low relief; the topmost register is represented by the 'Garden Scene' with birds and a locust in the trees, showing (from left to right) two women holding napkins and fanning the queen with fly-whisks; two more each bring a dish, which they protect with a fly-whisk, towards the enthroned queen and reclining king, who feast in the arbour amid the vines, conifers and palms, hung with the grisly trophies of victory, consisting of the head and hand holding a wand, of Teumman, king of Elam. The hands of a woman drummer and a woman harpist can be seen amid the palms and conifers. Behind the king stand two more ladies holding napkins and fanning him, and behind them is a table holding his sword, bow and quiver. The furniture is very elaborate.

Ok...ok....so my head is hanging from a tree. 

Anyway, the Assyrians have two wins. Elamites have one.  And there was one bloody draw.