26 Feb 2009 Scenario 12: Fighting Across The River

This game was played between Gary McMahon using my 25mm Achamenid Persian vs his 25mm+ Assyrians using Warhammer Ancient battles.

We cut out a 6'x8' section of Gary's table to play this on. Looked like a verrrry long stretch of river to Rossius, King of Hants. My army consisted of 1 unit of 9 cavalry and 6 infantry units with 18 figures in each. I placed my Immortals at the right hand ford supported by slingers. Two units of Persian foot guarded the left hand ford, stretching in towards the center. Some Saka foot with bow and axe occupied a hill in the center while some Bythnian peltasts (javelin and rhompaia) and the cavalry formed a mobile reserve. The motley horde of Assyrians and allies came pouring through the gaps in the woods, cavalry, cart mounted archers, auxiliary warbands and skirmishers on their right, heavy infantry and skirmishers on their left.

 With 2 armies of archers, the arrows darkened the skies but as usual in WAB, to little effect, some skirmishers were chased away temporarily but no major units cracked. I delayed on planting my shield barrier in case I needed to maneuver but Gary decided to concentrate and come straight at me, counting on superior numbers to break my line and open a hole for his cavalry to exploit. Once his massed archers got in range, my unarmoured infantry started to drop alarmingly so I planted my shields and this miraculously increased their defensive value enough to balance the numbers (a questionable rule at best). As darkness fell, the Assyrian Guard Cavalry passed through their skirmish line and splashed through the ford to hack at the shield wall. This went on turn after turn with the Persian spearmen more than holding their own but the cavalry sticking it out. As the Assyrian center thinned, I brought up my cavalry and Bythnians and sent them across the river just as a massed Assyrian archer unit in the center broke under fire, taking the general with them. The Assyrians weren't coming across today.