Sunday 16 October 2016

The Sassanids Strike Back! TTS Latest





We decided to give the "Big Grey Pin Cushions" another chance!
We had another wonderful game on ancients last Wednesday night with the might of Rome once again battling the underdog Sassanid Persians.  On this occasion we had Martin and Steve joined by Phil as the Late Romans and Guido and I were determined to put last weeks close run defeat behind us.


The battle as the two armies deploy

The extreme right Sassanid command - sweep forward with the lights at all costs!

Central command under the King of Kings Carlo the Terrible, terrible

Cookies command on the Roman left


The Romans once again went with four commands for added flexibility.  Here is the smallest.

Roman cavalry command on their extreme right

Guidos command facing it.



Persian light cavalry look to advance quickly...bloody 10!


Sassanids looking resplendent on the new battle mat

Sporting their new "Lance" markers the Saravan advance in the centre

The Sassanid "Light Division" advances rapidly as per pre-battle strategy 

The Elephants advance at a leisurely pace in support

Looking reasonably safe the Paighan Raw foot watch on.


Cookie prepares to swat away the lights in a quick series of manouveres

The Sassanid lights fall back in front of Roman allied cavalry

Another view of the withdrawal

The Gothic cavalry chased some units off the table.  A great aspect of TTS is that they at least can come back, unlike
some other rule sets where they would be considered lost.

In the centre the battle heats up.  Veteran and normal legionnaires are hit by heavy cavalry

On the Sassanid left the Saravan advance slowly whilst the Catafracts clash with Roman cavalry in the distance

Roman light cavalry can be seen making its way down the flank



Back on the right the battle rages on as the allied heavy catafracts advance forward

Not so confident now methinks.


A view from the Roman lines as the fight for survival rages on.  Many "rallys" taking place here

Deep units take three disorder "hits" and they will need every one in this fight

The extent of the Roman advance on their right can be seen here-but Guido has a cunning plan.

The elephants take a brave flank charge in the ...well...flank! 

Auxilia hit in the flank as well.

The Saravan break through

The Sassanid left is also on the rampage and the Roman camp beckons.  The day is ours.


Great fun game and wonderful to see so many great figures out on the board.















13 comments:

  1. Stirring stuff - it's always good to see a Sassanid victory. I really like your battlefield name for elephants!

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    1. Thanks C - still waiting for them to fi something dramatic however I am not uncomfortable in how they are factored in the game. I think they have been historically in our wargames rules going back to WRG, a bit too much like a Tiger Tank and less like the Pz 1 they probably were.

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  2. Beautiful and spectacular battle, this Sassanide army is very impressive...and effective!

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    1. Thanks Phil. They certainly are a colourful lot and the lists for them in TTS capture their flavour very well.

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  3. As Phil states, that is a spectacular battle! The large base size is outstanding!

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  4. Seems like a great come from behind victory for the Sassanids Carlo. Great fun for all involved, no doubt.

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  5. Thanks Jonathon. Yes the large bases certainly help with "setting the creative scene" when placing figures down and they make moving the troops on the table so much quicker and easier.

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  6. Cheers James - lots of fun. However you just know that for the Sassanids it wont last.

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  7. Cracking-looking game! I fought Sassanids at the recent "Worlds" and have the greatest respect for them- a tough army!

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    1. Thanks Simon. Yes they are a tough army and the bow armed cavalry has an inherent danger about them that you have captured well in your excellent rules.

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    2. They really darkened the sky when I fought them- terrifying!

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  8. A beautiful looking game. At our club the Sassanians lost their last two battles against the Late Romans at 250 points a side. They are an excellent army but seem to struggle in multi-player larger games.

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    1. Unless you get the ordination perfectly aligned, irregular armies can struggle against those annoying well drilled Romans!

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