Seleucid V Carthaginian Bash Hail Caesar AAR

Only two days after the Hail Caesar game with Matt I was back over at Kev's for another HC game. The feel is quite different as the figure size is 1/72 and two very nice armies they are and Kev and Andy have converted HC to conform to hex movement which works quite well overall.

Being as nothing is scared the UgoIgo system has been replaced with a card activation system where each brigade has two activation cards plus a Joker that allows you to choose one brigade to move again. So one turn through the deck can allow you to try to activate one brigade three times and the rest two. This can lead to some tense moments as the run of the cards can add a fair bit of drama as when one division gets activated three times out of say five cards or all your cards come out early and then you have to hold on till the deck gets a shuffle. Last night they played out well creating many a worrying moment though the last two run through's Kev's cards came out in a bunch at the start much to his discomfort.

I forgot the at start pis and after failing to activate a couple of times my Carthaginian cavalry (Numidian light horse and Gaul medium cavalry) finally got going. I was facing superior cavalry so was not planning on leaving the hill with my mediums but threw my lights into javelin range to start peppering my opposing cavalry.

Glenn our commander and owner of our troops plan was to move as far forward and as quickly as possible our light troops and start to pepper the opposing skirmishing and open order troops. Meanwhile our main troops were to remain at the halt. 

I had the first success and this was to have a huge impact on my flank as Kev's Gaul cavalry was hit with two rounds of missile fire sending them shaken and retreated disordered. They went back through two other cavalry units disordering both of them. This was to slow Kev down and the Gaul's never got back in the game making the contest that bit more favourable. 

View down the table, it's still early with both sides still moving towards each other. Kev was mostly moving one sometimes two moves forward with his infantry which actually played into our plan of keeping our infantry from the pitched battle till as late in the game as possible.

Revenge for Kev, I should have evaded from the charge but not wanting to go off the table I stood. I rolled poor and Kev rolled well (one of the few good rolls for Kev who really did suffer from bad dice all game). The end result was one of my light units broken.

Our skirmishers make contact and start to win the skirmish battle. Aided by my ability to roll 6 on most save throws.

 Glenn broke one skirmish element and started to pick on the light infantry covering the pike facing our right hand division.

I kept moving my light cavalry back into javelin range, Kev would charge them and remove them from the front but I kept bringing them straight back and whilst Kev was rallying off some of the pips from his Kontos armed heavies I was always able to keep some hits on them. Whilst my cavalry remained on the hill they would be difficult to shift but Kev was not able to do enough damage on my lights and Gaul's to get a better chance of winning the melee. 

My biggest set back was one light infantry unit becoming shaken and disordered but overall our light infantry and skirmishes were getting the best of the early battle and driving the Seleucid skirmish line away from the troops allowing us to start working on the main battle line,

Glenn had a couple of great results and Kev had no luck that saw his pike blocks becoming disordered which set them in place for awhile and of course the casualties were starting to creep up. However our decision to remain near our starting locations meant that Kev would be able to get his house in order though by this point he only had his bow skirmishers left to mask his pike and they were unable to hold back our missile troops.

Kev's view was somewhat different to ours. The cavalry choke point does look tougher for him with a long trip behind the woods to get at our rear. Success would have meant I would be forced to move two to three units to block a route into my rear which may have weakened me enough for a drive on my infantry division. Failure would have really stretched his defence as I would have more space to exploit the victory.

In the centre evidence of the skirmish battle with most of his missile troops pushed back and disordered. The scythed chariot waiting for a chance to be unmasked and charge hard into my Gaul infantry but the battle lines were remaining tight.

Not many casualties but the disorder was stopping forward movement which in turn slowed down his advance in the centre. This of course gives us yet more time to keep up the missile fire.

I finally lose a second light cavalry unit which in turn allows Kev to start hammering my left hand medium cavalry unit though I was able to rally some off whilst keeping the Kontos armed cavalry under a similar number of casualties so that Kev was not confident of winning the combat.

Finally the pike close on my 2nd division but Kev's own skirmishers left in forward positions were now in his way. More time, more missile fire and just past my division the fire from Glenn finally separated a medium infantry unit from it's supports.

Just to the right of the round commander base is the rear support of Glenn's first charge, the target has not a single support whilst Glenn got rear and one flank support but his other flank being disordered are unable to help. Not that he needed it as he smashed the unit again aided by our run of good dice whilst Kev remained staunch despite terrible dice, not managing to do more than dint the attacking unit slightly.

The Iberian Celt's remain fast on the hill but once they started to move they would surge over the empty space to confront the now thinning battle line.

Energised by his previous success Glenn threw in a heavy punch in the centre with both flanks and rear support against a unit that had taken just two pips of damage. This time he would have help, a unit of Celt's and two elephants. The bad news is that all three of these supports only give two dice each whilst Glenn not only had more dice in the attack but also was one pip better on his to hits and saves. To add insult to injury he threw his general in as well (my suggestion). The loss was bad, real bad with a difference of 6 casualties the only way the loser could save themselves from breaking was boxcars! The result of course WAS double six and their reward was to be pushed back disordered with his supports. Happy for us it was the expected result that of Kev being pushed back as failed to get even one hit!

Before Kev could do anything to try and rescue the situation, Glenn gets another activation and not even double six could save him as the unit was shattered and then all three supports failed their tests to leave a big hole and broken division. Worse still his follow up was to turn to his flank and smash into the nearest pike phalanx flank.

Whilst he was not able to get my light infantry in to support his charge he still had rear and one flank support. This was a repeat of what happened to me a couple of weeks before so I knew exactly what was to follow. The only consolation for Kev was that it was not supported by any other unit and sure enough it was broken leaving a second division close to being broken and facing attacks on both flanks.

Positions at the end of the game down the line. It looks like their is still two lines facing off against each other but just past the pikes in the centre is a gap in the Seleucid line filled by our troops ready to turn towards the flanks and drive along the lines as well as burst into the rear.

Hats off to Kev has he did take a pounding that was made possible by lousy missile shots on his part that when they did get through were past far more often than deserved and then the mother of bad rolls in close combat but took it on the chin and battled on.

Not that is was all down to Kev's dice, that just made it a sure thing. Glenn had a good opening plan and despite a slight wobble early when he wanted to move forward stuck to it. All that said it was Glenn's taking advantage of that isolated units position with a quick and nasty attack that then allowed the follow on attack and the sudden collapse.