Roman Revenge as Pyrrhus procrastinates

 

The lads looking a bit better organised this battle against Pyrrhus 

Well we didn’t have to wait long for Rome to act on their poor showing last time on the table to call for  the second field army army under First Consul Carlo Terribulus to regain some honour.

In our last encounter Jeff had absolutely “rag dolled” my Romans with a show of force, intelligence and a ruthless tendency to draw just the right chits at just the right time. 

Taking a lesson from the last encounter I decided to try and introduce some bite with the introduction of some artillery and a few more skirmishing light infantry.  The cavalry contingent was reduced as I felt if I had to rely on my mounted to win the battle, it was all over.  

The change of tactics were to prove significant.

Jeff’s Hoplites and lights on his left flank 

Massed pike in the centre. My artillery would concentrate on their ranks

I do like the look of Jeff’s troops

Mighty Roman lines of heavy infantry 

The right flank looks solid and steady and decided to not be too bold this time around

The artillery on the hill - couldn’t get a better position

Old Glory range of Polybian “Republican “ Roman’s - one of their great Ancient ranges

Hoplites advance and attempt to close quickly on the Roman lines

The terrain choice was to prove important as tough ground and a wood on the Roman left jade manoeuvres from Pyrrhus cavalry and Elephant’s difficult. Hence light troops from both sides fought ferociously for control of the woods and rough ground. Both would change hands several times.

Pyrrhus troops advance against the Roman right

With bolts swishing over their heads the Quincunux awaits the phalanx 

Rough ground defended by Velites

 Numidian allied cavalry

A view across the table shows the extent of the attack across the front

An opportunity presents as an overly zealous Hoplite unit finds itself isolated and alone

Great view of the Roman right as the Quincunux - legio to the great unwashed such as I
- wait back to determine the best point of counter attack.

Pyrrhus heavier troops lay back awaiting the opportunity to sneak through

Lovely troops

Keep on hitting those phalanxes lads

Though Jeff saved quite well, these artillery were worth every point they cost

The excitement of the battle in the centre caught myself and Jeff up in the frenzy. The phalanx fought well and inflicted heavy casualties however the Roman ability to rally and remove disorder ensured they were winning the war of attrition.

In the end two of Pyrrhus’s phalanxes and a unit of Hoplites were destroyed and the army melted away. Pyrrhus viewed the destruction of his infantry, looked across at his unengaged elephants and bodyguard cavalry and probably thought their lack of incision into the action was a terminal error.

What a great game of To the Strongest as always. Well matched armies and a chance to play against a friend and gentleman like Jeff.

Now…where’s the media?

Calpe Prussian reinforcements arrive into barracks

1/ 3rd East Prussian Musketeers

Big Chris has completed another three battalions of my Calpe Prussians along with some Jager skirmishers.  I’m biased however I think Chris is one of the finest  painters of large armies in the world. I know uou see some amazing works of one or a group of figures however to paint hundreds of them to such a standard is truly incredible. 

2/3rd East Prussian

3rd East Prussian Fusiliers

Another view

Maybe another - I do have to show off my scratch built graveyard 

Jagers skirmishing

An overall view of the undersized brigade

I’m so very happy with these figures. The sculpts from Peter Fitzgerald at Calpe are so wonderful and deserve a great paint job. Hopefully Chris slots me in again sometime in the next twelve months for another regiment or two.

Muppet News Flash - An Ancient tragedy unfolds as Roman run over by Pyrrhus truck!

Yes indeed folks…yes indeed.

This is where I should have called time…

Great game of To the Strongest where a Jeff C and his Pyrric army decided to once again terrorise Rome, this time at the NWS club room at North Perth.  Jeff has written extensively about Pyrrhus and his book is absolutely superb.  In fact he actually assisted Simon, alongside legend Jeff Jonas, in putting this list together. 

Me on the other hand, love history and have still got my High School History file from circa 1983 as I enjoyed the subject and my great teacher Mr Dave Healey. His New York accent was distinctive however his love of History was infectious!

Hey 80% isn’t too shabby. I’ve kept this for potential memoirs and 
future publishing. Don’t judge…I loved history😂

However, I digress…

Pyrrhus himself leads his bodyguard cavalry into the Roman right

The Roman lines await the assault

Gees those lads moved up pretty quickly!

Looking reasonably calm in the lines …YOU FOOLS!

Sorry that this is out of order as blogger does have a mind of its own at times

Brave Velites find themselves in a Forrest of pikes

The Roman lines are starting to panic as hit upon hit is telling, few blows are returned 
and the saves not made. Almost without raising a sweat Pyrrhus is nearing victory.

Cavalry wondering why the view in the centre is much less pleasant than the flanks

So at this point tears of despair start to limit my ability to record the battle for further posterity. The Senate would not need further evidence that  Consul Carlo may need to pensioned off to work the plough on his old farm outside Capua.  Jeff played a superb game and my errors of deployment at the start, especially having my cavalry away from the wings and in the centre, would prove fatal.

I thought I ordered all scribes to be silenced so the disaster could be swept under 
the carpet. Damned Investigative Frog!

As always the game was incredible fun and  a rematch is already organised for a fortnight at the club. 

“Yarkshire Reet Big Game Podcast” guest spot

Lots of fun was had this week.

I as chuffed to be asked by Ken Riley of the fantastic Yarkshire Reet Big Game podcast to come onto his show and chat about my wargaming story and most importantly, discuss the putting together of The Sands of Sudan rules.

For those who haven’t previously listened to Ken he has a tremendous passion for the hobby and a unique interview style which is both entertaining and highly enjoyable.  I had a ball as we chatted for over two and a half hours.  

Copied directly below from Kens FB page is his description of the podcast. Do yourselves a favour and subscribe to channel as the past guests are fantastic and once again very interesting.

“It's been a month or so since the last episode so it's great to be back with another Big Game Chat.

This time we are off to Perth, Australia to talk with Carlo Pagano about wargaming in general and his reconstitution of Peter Gilders Sands of Sudan Rules.

https://kenrtai.podbean.com/e/episode-30-carlo-pagano-the-sands-of-sudan/

As usual we had disappeared down a rabbit hole within 15 minutes of the start but I'm sure you all tune into wargames Podcasts to discover the difference between Crown and Flat Green Bowling anyway !

It's back to the usual 4 part format, we learn about Carlos' wargaming history and his love of Big Games. Whilst the Quiz reveals yet more food choices from your Local Fish and Chip Shop as well as what pet hate has been banished into Wargames Room 101.

The Big Topic is all about Colonial Wargaming, something we haven't covered before on the show so there is a good chat about that before we move onto the Sands of Sudan Rules.

Carlo has managed to piece together the rules from old scraps of paper left at the Wargames Holiday Centre and information provided by former players. The rules have never been formally published as they were used as a bit of a palette cleanser between Big Napoleonic or ACW games during the Wargaming Weeks that Peter used to run.

Carlo has his website at

https://withpyjamasthroughthedessert.blogspot.com/

The rules can be obtained in the UK from Caliver Books

https://www.caliverbooks.com

And directly from Carlo in Australia.

it's great to be back on air and I've got guests booked in now till Xmas and pencilled in until Feb 2023, having too many guests is a nice problem to have.

My next guest is Painter and Author Mark Hides, a Yorkshire Lad, Tune in, in a couple of weeks time as we find out more about life as a Professional Figure Painter”

The Yarkshire Gamer”

If you get a chance, have a listen and support Kens fantastic podcast channel. It’s truly great fun and a fillip for the hobby.