Roll Call 2017 L’art de la Guerre -the triumph and the tragedy!

It’s the start of the Easter holidays and something new is brewing. Not for us, the glamour and glitz of nightclubs and casinos. No, what better way to spend your holiday than following the international Wargames fraternity invading a primary school to the east of Milton Keynes.

Parting is such sweet sorrow…..

  That’s Easter! Witty banter, fried food and model soldiers.
My regular reader will remember that my choice for the 15mm competition was the Free Companies. This gave me a corps of heavy knights with the advantage of “impact”. The rest of the company comprised a mix of dismounted men-at-arms with either crossbowmen or longbows. It was a tough army but small. My first opponent had come all the way from Southern France to avenge the “liberation” of his country by my happy band all those years ago.

Stephane had brought the super mobile nomadic Mongols. Could I bear the ignomony of sitting in the corner whilst my steppe opponent attempted to shoot me to death. The gentle hill would not suffice to anchor my flank so I thought to advance 90 degrees and push him off the table…..

The advance onto the plain begins….

The flaw, there’s always a flaw, was that my refused corps was getting stretched. The Mongols evacuated the central rise but already my keen eyed foe was sending his minions to assault my crossbows.

A few bolts found their mark but no enough before this…….

The centre of dismounted men-at-arms would not be dented by Mongol bows. My knights were within reach of the yurts but the slaughter of my right left my plan in tatters (tartars😰😷)

Game one was lost and worse still Colin C had won in the 25s. The break would be full of dice related West Country anecdotes😔. I had the destination feeling I needed more missile troops. Not a complete disaster though…..not yet!