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#1

Tabletop AARs / More Hastings

Last post by MengJiao - April 07, 2024, 06:17:18 AM

I decided to try some "what-ifs"  so I tried "What if Tostig had Joined his older brother Harold?" plus
"What if the Papacy had sent some mercenaries as well as cash and a banner and a proto-anti-English crusading encyclical?"

It seems the mercenaries would have been enough since here they are chewing through the center of the English array:

#2

Tabletop AARs / Re: Hastings October 14, 1066

Last post by MengJiao - April 04, 2024, 09:10:50 AM

This is the third version of Hastings that I have played over the years and by far the best.

 It's also the only time I've seen Harold capture William.  Things were going pretty well for William.  He was scoring the usual 2:1 in inflicting casualties.  Harold had nearly been killed once, but Gryth, his little brother and probably historically the smartest of the Godwin brothers (Sywein, Harold, Tostig, Leofwine and Gryth) had broken ranks and rushed out to get him back in the shield wall.  Harold was staying out of trouble reassembling his housecarls after repelling Eustace while William was close to killing Gryth when a rare and very lucky bowshot unhorsed him and his crew.  Harold took the risk of charging out with his housecarls and routed Williams unhorsed knights and took William prisoner.
That's one for the history books.
Technically, the Normans and company could still win, but I'm too demoralized to go on.
End of battle.

#3

Tabletop AARs / Hastings October 14, 1066

Last post by MengJiao - April 04, 2024, 07:17:18 AM

This is the third version of Hastings that I have played over the years and by far the best.  It's a very complicated battle.  It went on from mid-morning until well after dark and things looked bad for William once or twice.  One thing that this game brings out that is otherwise not clear is that those supposed moments when Harold's army broke ranks and rushed out after the Bretons or the Norman's or Eustace's forces, were probably coordinated attacks from unengaged parts of the line to stop penetrations on engaged parts of the line.  Those are tricky moments, but given Harold's need to defend a fixed position, probably better than retreating to restore the coherence of the shield wall line.  On the other hand, venturing out of shield wall formation definitely leads to higher losses for both sides and it seems like Harold was probably critically outnumbered in terms of fully equipped troops in chainmail, maybe something like 2000 to 1000 and with say 500 of those out on each side things got worse (say 1500 to 500 when the Anglo-Saxons began to retreat and things collapsed).

#4

Tabletop AARs / Stamford Bridge September 25, ...

Last post by MengJiao - April 03, 2024, 07:43:44 AM

So, 19 days before Hastings, Harold smashed the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge.  The Men of Iron
series simulates this pretty well in the Norman Conquests.  After a couple of turns,
the Housecarls batter down a great many Norwegians:

#5

Tabletop AARs / Re: I Corps versus I Corps: Th...

Last post by MengJiao - April 02, 2024, 10:45:00 AM

Possibly.  Here's the situation at 2:20 in the afternoon.

3:40 -- things start getting violent.  The French are pulling back to cover Plancenoit, but have held up the Prussians reasonably well:

#6

Tabletop AARs / Re: I Corps versus I Corps: Th...

Last post by MengJiao - March 22, 2024, 12:05:35 PM

This outta be interesting!

Possibly.  Here's the situation at 2:20 in the afternoon.

#7

Tabletop AARs / Re: I Corps versus I Corps: Th...

Last post by W8taminute - March 16, 2024, 03:02:44 PM

This outta be interesting!

#8

Tabletop AARs / I Corps versus I Corps: This t...

Last post by MengJiao - March 16, 2024, 07:59:08 AM

So at Waterloo, elements of the French I corps and elements of the Prussian I corps did collide on the NE side of the battle.

What if Both Corps had turned up in full strength at 1pm?

#9

Tabletop AARs / Re: Papelotte, June 18 1815, 1...

Last post by MengJiao - March 09, 2024, 06:54:00 AM

5pm, the Prussian I Corps begins to deploy to push south to where the IV Corps is engaging the Guard.

  I'm usually pretty bad at running attacks against myself, but in this scenario, I blew Saxe-Weimar's defense (it was his fault really since he rolled the very worst set of rolls ever seen except for being stunned rather than killed)
And then managed a reasonably systematic attack with the very good troops of the Prussian I Corps and barely got a technical win for the Prussians.

#10

Tabletop AARs / Re: Papelotte, June 18 1815, 1...

Last post by MengJiao - March 08, 2024, 10:57:17 AM

By 4pm, the French have completely routed the Prince of Saxe-Weimar and all his associates.  The English Cavalry
have withdrawn since things are going wrong to the west.  Now the French just need to seriously delay the Prussian I Corps which will be approaching from the NNW (ie the Chemin de Ohain and not east of the Ruisseau de Smohain).

  5pm, the Prussian I Corps begins to deploy to push south to where the IV Corps is engaging the Guard.