This week was a Petaudia campaign week, according to my roster of wargaming activities, so I played a solo game following on from the last scenario. In this action, the Kedarian Horse Tribes, now aided by a small mercenary force sent by the Sorceress, attacked the castle and village of Artho in the Duchy of Lamria. Victory went to the assailants, who devastated the village and broke into the castle as well, helped by the fact that the relief force turned up too late. Rules are Dragon Rampant, with a few minor "home amendments". The opposing sides are larger than a normal Dragon Rampant game, but the rules cope very easily with larger numbers.

I played the attackers this time, with the basic idea of using my cavalry to "hit and run", with the spearmen assailing the village for plunder, aided by the bowmen, while the mercenaries sole task was to break into and capture the castle. The defenders were to hold the castle; the peasants - and here I had learnt from the previous scenarios! - were to unite into groups and then get into the buildings, where they would be safer, and hold off any attacks. After that, it was wait for the relief force to arrive and disrupt the attackers' efforts.

I have attached the basic rules for the scenario at the end. It should be noted that "Medium Riders" are a "house amendment" to full a gap between "Heavy Riders" and "Light Riders" in the Dragon Rampant rules.

An aerial view of the village and the castle. Yes, I know the latter is only a keep, but that is all I have for a castle, plus its ground area is plenty big enough to represent one!

Another view of the village and castle. Each building can hold one unit - usually 12 figures in Dragon Rampant; the castle can also hold a "Reduced Model Unit" - any size less than 12 figures.

The castle garrison - crossbowmen and a detachment of dismounted knights. I allowed six figures to shoot from the castle at any one time to represent the fact they are not all on the roof, but deployed through the building.

The humble peasants scattered in the nearby fields.

A spear unit can also be seen positioned outside the castle.

The attackers surge on to the table, Kedarian Horse Tribes on the left in their black and red attire, the mercenaries in green and yellow on the right, along with their secret weapon - an Umber Hulk.

Goblin swords and bows, as well as human axemen, the Umber Hulk in the centre,

all heading for the castle.

Light and heavy cavalry, the former bow and spear-armed, able to "Skirmish" and "Evade" under the rules, so well-suited to "hit and run" tactics. However, I only allow them six d6 for shooting, rather than twelve, operating on the theory they are a smaller unit than normal, plus they are probably not all in a position to shoot at once, are busy controlling their horses, etc. Twelve d6 would make them much too powerful!

Kedarian Horse Tribes' spearmen and archers heading to plunder the village.

The Umber Hulk is, to all intents and purposes, the equivalent of a modern tunnelling/mining machine, able to tunnel through rock, so a castle was not going to prove too difficult a task!

Mercenary axemen. The eagle-eyed may spot a few goblins among the humans. I think this is entirely plausible, mixing up different races to form such units.

The defending peasants were all able to get into groups early on and head for safety in the buildings.

The goblin swords made short-shrift of the spearmen, even though the latter went into "Wall of Spears", which enhances their armour class. A bad "Courage" test and they broke and ran!

The Umber Hulk prepares to start mining the foot of the castle.

The knights from the castle sallied out to try and distract the Umber Hulk, but had to repulse an attack by the mercenary axemen. The green die represents "Strength Point" losses on the knights; normally, with twelve figures in a unit I just remove the figures, as one figure represents one "Strength Point".

The Umber Hulk takes on the knights.

The Kedarian spearmen begin to attack the peasants sheltering in the buildings.

The axemen try again against the knights, but get beaten off again,

although not before causing some losses.

The blue counter next to the spear unit shows it is "Battered", having been repulsed by the peasants in the building they attacked.

The Umber Hulk attacks the last knight.

Back to work!

Three buildings plundered and set ablaze. By this time, the only peasants left were in the manor house - the stone and thatch building on the right.

The mercenary axemen attempt to batter their way in through the main door.

The blank dice represents loot from the buildings. The unit has to withdraw to the table edge and dump its ill-gotten gains before returning for more.

The Umber Hulk has entered the base of the castle; the goblins are waiting to follow it inside.

The last of the unfortunate crossbowmen about to meet their demise!

The relief force arrives, but too late to influence the battle.

The attackers begin to withdraw with their plunder.

The fall of the castle ends the game. Its capture, plus the destruction of the village, at very little cost in lives to the Kedarians and their mercenary allies, gave them a decisive win.

Attack on a castle and village.

a) Terrain:  a minor road running across the table to a castle keep, with several buildings about it for the village, plus gardens/orchards, a few hedged meadows, the rest of the table is open ground, representing fields.

b) The Horse Tribes and the Flamian Column approach from the south edge. The peasants are out in the fields and about the village, deployed individually at least 2” apart; of the garrison, the crossbows and knights are inside the keep, the spearmen are drawn up outside the castle.

c) The Horse Tribes and the Flamian Column must loot the village and capture the castle; the Lamrian defenders must prevent this occurring. The Kedarians have the initiative for the game. 

d) The peasants have to pass a “Move” activation test to form up as a unit before they can take any action against the attackers. Any villager who is contacted by a hostile unit whilst on their own is immediately overrun. Once the group has united, it moves and fights as a normal unit.

e) Apart from the knights, only one other defending unit is allowed inside the castle. A maximum of one defending unit is allowed in any of the village buildings.

f) An attacking foot unit which is in contact with an undefended village building can elect to loot and burn it that turn as long as it passes an “Attack” activation test. Once looted, the building is set on fire and the unit must move to the south edge of the table to dispose of its loot before returning to the action. If such a unit is attacked while looting and burning a building, or moving to the south edge of the table, they fight as “Battered” (because they are loaded with plunder).

g) The Umber Hulk lives underground and has the ability to mine through rock. Therefore, its main function in this action is to tunnel into the side of the castle and open an entry for the attackers into the structure’s lower level. On reaching the castle base, the Umber Hulk will begin to tunnel. Roll 1d6; the result is the number of turns it will take to get through the foundations and into the castle. Once it has entered the castle, it can attack any defending unit. Any attacking unit can also enter the castle behind it and will attack the defenders if the Umber Hulk is forced to withdraw or is destroyed.

The defenders inside cannot shoot down at the Umber Hulk once it is at the base of the castle, it being in “dead ground”. Nor can they prevent it tunnelling; they can only wait for it to complete that task and then engage it inside the building. After one turn, the Umber Hulk is considered to be out of sight underneath the castle. During that turn it can be attacked directly by units outside the castle, which will disrupt its work; if it beats off the attacks, it can return to its tunnelling, but this will require a re-roll of the 1d6. Missile fire will not stop it undermining the castle, only inflict damage on it.

h) However, the Umber Hulk is unpredictable. It is meant to be under a powerful “Control” spell. However, it has passed so far from the Sorceress (who cast the spell), that her hold over it has weakened considerably. Each turn that it loses one or more Strength Points, roll 2D6; if the number rolled is less than the total Strength Points it has lost so far, the “Control” spell is broken. The Umber Hulk will then automatically “Wild Charge” the nearest unit (i.e. it does not need to pass an “Attack” activation), regardless of which side that unit is on, and continue to fight it until a decision is reached. It will carry on making “Wild Charges” in this way at the end of each side’s turn until it is destroyed or the game ends. If it loses a “Courage” test and becomes “Battered”, it will retreat directly to the south and leave the table, avoiding any intervening unit. If it was inside the castle at this time, it will be considered to tunnel its way down into the ground and escape by a subterranean route.

i) At the end of Turn 6, roll 1D6. If 5 or 6, the Lamrian relief force arrives on road at the west edge of table at start of next turn. These will aid the defenders. If not 5 or 6 on 1D6, then continue to roll each turn thereafter until the reinforcements have arrived or the game ends. If the reinforcements arrive, each unit requires a “Move” activation to enter the table.

j) The game ends when either side have lost half their points (i.e. they give up the fight) or the castle falls to the attackers (i.e. they achieve their main objective) or a unit including the leader of either side is destroyed (i.e. they lose their motivation to fight on).

k) Victory Points:

Attackers:      

            50 VP if the castle is captured

            10 VP per village building looted and burned

            1 VP per enemy figure killed

            50VP bonus if all the village buildings are looted and burned

Village Defenders:

            10 VP if the castle is not captured

            10 VP per village building not looted and burned

            2 VP per enemy figure killed by peasants

            1 VP per enemy figure killed by Lamrian troops

            50 VP bonus if none of the village buildings are looted and burned

l) Opposing Forces:

Horse Tribes of Kedaria

Heavy Cavalry    6 x figures    Heavy Riders    7 Points    x 1**

Light Cavalry    6 x figures    Light Riders    6 Points    x 2

Bows    12 x figures    Light Missiles    4 Points    x 1

Spears    12 x figures    Light Foot    4 Points    x 3

**Includes the Horse Tribes’ general. 

Flamian Column (Mercenaries)

Goblin Swords    12 x figures    Light Foot    4 Points    x 1

Goblin Bows    12 x figures    Light Missiles    6 Points    x 1

Axemen    12 x figures    Heavy Foot    6 Points    x 1

Umber Hulk    1 x model    Greater Warbeast    10 Points    x 1

Duchy of Lamria Troops (Castle Artho)

Garrison:

Spears    12 x figures    Heavy Foot    5 Points    x 1

Crossbows    12 x figures    Heavy Missiles    4 Points    x 1

Foot Knights    3 x figures    Elite Foot    6 points    x 1

Village:

Peasants    12 x figures    Hordes    1 Point    x 3

Relief Force:

Men-at-arms    6 x figures    Heavy Riders    6 Points    x 1**

Hobilars    6 x figures    Medium Riders    4 Points    x 1

Longbows    12 x figures    Light Missiles    4 Points    x 1

**Includes the Lamrian general.

Last week Steve, my regular gaming opponent, came round for a game. I opted for the 1670s again and chose a scenario from the online magazine "Warning Order" (which I highly recommend; there is a link on my blog to the WFHGS site), which I adapted heavily for the late 17th Century. Steve, as the French, was tasked with intercepting an Allied convoy, commanded by me, as it progressed across the table. I had a mixed force of troops to defend it, most of which were not visible on the table at the start, only being revealed as the French moved into positions to see them. I had put several infantry regiments in the village and farm, but this turned out not to be the best idea! Steve's cavalry broke through in the centre and destroyed quite a few wagons, while he used some infantry to by-pass the village and strike the rear of the convoy. I eventually defeated most of his cavalry and blocked his attempt at the bridge, but by then he was well ahead on points by causing so much damage to my wagons. I was pleased that some amendments to the rules I had made in the wake of our last game worked well. A very enjoyable game.

Table was 6 feet by 4 feet; figures almost all North Star 1672; wagons are mainly from League of Augsburg/Warfare Miniatures; rules are my own for the period. Here are some photographs:

The table set up ready. The river can only be crossed at the ford and bridge. The two leading French cavalry brigades are on the table to the left, either side of the wood; the Allied screen of cavalry and hussars is in the centre, supported by a light cannon.

The head of the convoy can be seen passing through the village along the main road,

heading for the bridge.

The Allied hussar regiment. They proved less than useful,

fleeing the field as soon as they were charged by the French cavalry!

These are Old Glory figures.

The Dutch Kurland Horse Regiment with two squadrons.

Commissaire Général and Villeroi Horse Regiments.

La Reine and Royal Cravattes Horse Regiments.

The Allied commander, i.e. me.

The supply convoy making its way very slowly across the table.

A siege mortar in transit - I do not remember the manufacturer of the wagon and gun, but the horses are from Colonel Bill. It is followed by an ammunition wagon.

This is one of my favourite wagons from Warfare Miniatures.

French infantry moving onto the table: Grancey to the left, followed by Anjou.

The hussars fleeing the field!

Dutch cavalry - Ginkel and Nassau-Friesland.

Steve decided to send his right-hand cavalry brigade over the ford at first, but they soon came back again once they encountered Dutch foot in the woods.

Dutch foot - Reede. The flags are homemade.

French foot - Turenne at the front, followed by two battalions of Picardie.

Anjou in the lead, followed now by Douglas, a Scots regiment

(later to become the British 1st Foot, Royal Scots).

Back go the French cavalry over the ford!

Grancey attacked the farm, wherein was a Dutch infantry regiment. The assault was unsuccessful, but it was a useful way of testing my new built-up areas combat rules.

A wagon about to be destroyed.

Allied dragoons - the Austrian Lodron regiment. I inadvertently forgot about them being hidden in the copse on the hill for a few periods, then I could not really decide how to use them! In the end, they just took pot shots at any French cavalry passing nearby, which was not very effective!

Another wagon seized by the French.

Reede Foot Regiment put up a good fight for a while, holding back the French infantry beyond the river.

Lodron dragoon horseholders.

Reede Foot Regiment having broken and run, Ingen-Nielant Foot Regiment took over the defence of the bridge. Again, these are homemade flags.

At this point, the game was called in favour of the French, who had wrecked seven of the nine wagons in the convoy by this time. I only managed to get two away to safety!