Fulford Gate with Granny Grate, Portable WARG

 

   The Vikings sailed up the River Ouse, disembarked and headed towards York  

looking towards the British defenders

  Earl Morcar and Earl Edwin's British forces

                                                The Viking invaders

The Vikings attack on their left flank (top left) 

 The Vikings capture the hilltops and force the British forces to retreat into the city and giving the Norsemen a slight victory, but a victory all the same.   

For Order of Battle and to view a post of the same battle with 15mm miniatures click on this link.

Granny Grate prep

                                                   Definitely Portable

NPA Triumph! at the Camel's House

The Battle of Gaugamela/Arbela using Triumph! rules and the No Paint Armies (NPA). Please click on the photos to enlarge.

 The earth shook as the armies approached. The gods were foretelling that this would be an unsettling battle for Alexander

 Darius chooses to challenge General Parmenion's cavalry with his skirmishers on the Macedonian left.

 Alexander only activates his forces in the center.

Alexander (purple/blue) defeats the Persian (red) spears on his right flank, while holding his position with his Companions. 

 Despite early losses, the Persians activate and fully engage in their center and right flank. 

The Persian's aggression is rewarded with the defeat of the Macedonian light foot (auxilia) by the Persian cavalry. The Macedonian right flank was threatened. Would Parmenion's cavalry hold ? However, as in history, Darius and his chariots evade to the rear.

 Alexander could wait no longer and he and his Compatriots press forward on their right flank, but with mixed results.

Alexander manages to solidify his left flank, though Parmenion's cavalry falls back. 

 Alexander and his Compatriots continue to press forward on the Macedonian right flank.

 Let the die decide. Another Persian spear is flanked and defeated as the Persian chariots fail to sustain traction against the Sarissa Phalanx..

 The Compatriots continue to move forward, but the rest of the Macedonian right flank stalls.

 The Macedonian center holds firm, while Parmenion's cavalry continues to fall back.

 Darius continues to evade while the Macedonian center solidifies.

 Success on Alexander's right wing 

 The Macedonian left wing holds firm.

 Alexander and the Compatriots, supported by their javelin cavalry seize their right flank and the battle.

A very hard fought victory for Alexander at "the Camel's House"

No Paint Armies take the table for the first time

Tonight's Battle of Gaugamela/Arbela will be using my needlepoint mesh No Paint Armies and using the Triumph! rules set played on an old canvas battlefield. Enjoy the photos. Remember, photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.  Battle report to follow in the next few days. 

                                             Alexander                                      Darius III

                                         Macedonian Sarissa Phalanx and supporting Auxiliary

No Paint 6mm Plastic Mesh armies for DBA or Triumph!

Yes, I said no painting needed. My experimental work continues on making DBA/Triumph! armies with different colored needlepoint plastic mesh.  Any additional color will be done with Sharpies, and that will be limited to helmets and shield decoration (Easy peasy). The armies pictured here are Alexander's Macedonians (purple and blue) and Darius III's Persians (red and black). The sarissa troops are made with black craft wire and shields are made from different colored card stock. Cavalry are made with black, brown and white (for Darius's chariot) plastic mesh. The main figures are made with different colored #7 needlepoint plastic mesh, which is 6mm scale. 

   Yesterdays check of the Essex site indicates complete 15mm DBA armies cost $105 without shipping and still needing to be painted. I estimate one of these armies cost $1.05 and an hour slicing plastic mesh and gluing. I will be using some pre painted balsa bases 8-)

Home made gaming Miniatures for years to come 8-)

                                                       "Man up and go to the Craft store"

Battle of Issus DBA 3.0 on 8 1/2" X 11" board

Wednesday nights game was the Battle of Issus using modified (movement distances halved due to scale) DBA 3.0 rules  and played on a piece of paper ( 8 1/2" X 11" board) using Plastic Mesh armies.

Initial deployment. Top of the screen are the Persians. Cavalry and Light Horse on their right wing, the Scythed Chariots, Spears flanking the Persian leader Darius III with his chariots, and Psiloi on the Persian left flank.  The Macedonians on the bottom of the picture have Parmenion's cavalry on it's left flank. The sarissa Pikes (phalanx) are deployed in the center. Alexander and the Companions are on their normal right flank with Auxilia to their left.

                                       A look at the Plastic mesh Macedonian sarissa troops

                                                                 The Macedonians advance.

                                Alexander attacks the Persian Psiloi across the Penarus River.

Having destroyed the first Psiloi element Alexander turns to battle the last Persian Psiloi. The Persian spears and Macedonian Pike prepare to engage. Darius III does not rush into the Macedonian trap in the center but waits to face Alexander.

            The Cavalries engage on the left side of the photo. Darius prepares to face Alexander.

Mixed results with the cavalry battle, but the Persians turn the tide when their Spears defeat some of the Macedonian Pikes in bloody fighting in the center. 

Darius and Alexander face off and the Macedonians finally get themselves better organized with rear support against the Persian Spears.

Darius recoils, his supporting Psiloi are finally eliminated and the Macedonian Sarissa prove their power when properly organized.

As with history, in a very close battle, Alexander defeats Darius III and prepares to chase him across the Middle East.

Frank has been my gaming opponent for over 45 years. I have asked him to play some strange games and playtest many of my crazy gaming ideas. Playing DBA on a "piece of paper" board has to rank right up there. However, it did work and was a great deal of fun. I'm not sure I'm ready to try a miniatures battle on a 4X6 index card, but who knows.

I spent some time looking at the pricing of both 6mm & 15mm DBA armies, this week. Continuing to use Plastic Mesh at under a $1.00/army is a very attractive way to go. Please look back through this blog for details on making your own Plastic Mesh armies for DBA play.  How to ... Needlepoint Mesh Armies

The revised Battle of Chaeronea, 338 BC

Our version of the The Battle of Chaeronea . Due to the victory by Sparta in our last game (a reversal of history), the Spartans under the command of the venerable General Phragkiskos faced the Macedonians led by the legendary father and son duo of Philip II and Alexander.

                     Early dawn, the Spartans (top) and the Macedonians (bottom) assemble.

                          Alexander advances on the left, while Philip II advances on the right wing.

After inflicting early casualties to the Spartans, Alexander is wounded and his troops captured. Philip continues his assault on the right wing.

        Philip II deploys his sarissa against the Spartan spears and threatens the Spartan flank.

The Macedonian sarissa proves superior to the Spartan spears and Philip's horse turn the Spartan flank, capturing the Spartan force and freeing Alexander.

As it was in history, Greece as a political and military power was finished to be supplanted by the Macedonians who now looked to the east and the ancient superpower that was Persia. Sparta proved, in our battles, to be the superior City State of Greece, but it was no match to the superior technology the Macedonian possessed with its 20 foot pike/spear. 

Our rules held up, but still need some tweaking. We may revisit these battles using DBA rules and the new Triumph! ruleset for comparison.