Monthly Meeting Saturday 7 June 2003

after action report

The Meeting saw a number of one on one DBM games, Jeff Herbert brought along his Pre Islamic Arabs, (again), and had two games.  The first against Tony Mathews and his Palmyrans and the second against Peter Munn and his Gauls.  Tony had tinkered with his army fielding three commands on this occasion having added a command of allied Arabs.  Jeff’s army remained unchanged from their previous two encounters.  Jeff changed his tactics slightly by placing his bows in a line in front of his blades, his intention being to place Tony’s KN X in disarray before they struck Jeff’s blades.  The tactic did not work as planned although Jeff shot away one KN X as it closed, he still had to advance his blades to take on a wall of knights.  However on this occasion Tony’s knights went down en masse to the Arab swordsmen.  On the left flank, Jeff’s allied light horse defeated Zenobia and her small party and demoralized the Palmyran allies.  The Arabs had gained another victory.

Peter Munn was the defender in the second game as the P.I.A. pre-jihad into Gaul .  Peter went for one wood and four pieces of rough going, (the wood being compulsory).  His dice throws for terrain left all the rough going on the table edges so this gave little difficulty for Jeff’s P.I.A.  Peter went for a solid centre of warbands and cavalry and chariots on either flank.  Jeff went for a solid centre of blades and bows with light horse on one flank and cavalry and light horse on the other.  Peter hoped to break Jeff’s centre with a charge of warbands whilst holding his flanks secure.  Jeff hoped to stem the tide in the centre and win on the flanks.  Jeff deployed his blades in two lines, the second line being one base depth behind the first.

It was a near run thing in more way than one.  On Jeff’s left flank the chariots and light horse battled throughout and lady fortune did not shine on the Arabs who had a number of chances to break the line of chariots but never quite managed it.  It must be said that they did however do a splendid job in what was a one against one encounter.   Peter’s warbands screamed through the centre.  Where they broke through the first line, they struck the second.  Again despite having double overlaps the Arabs did little against the fast warbands and nothing at all against the superior warbands.  Peter took out Jeff’s biggest command but then had to control his madmen.  On the other flank, Jeff ground away at the Gaulish cavalry commands, eventually, but not quite quick enough, breaking both. Jeff started to turn against Peter’s superior warbands but unfortunately Peter took out Jeff’s other blade command and the battle was lost.   In the last flickering melees it could still have been a draw as Peter was only two bases from 50% losses but despite a few chances Jeff’s P.I.A.’s just didn’t have their hearts in it and Peter won the ‘day’.  A rematch is in the offing and Jeff believes he has a better way of taking on the Gauls rather than rely on the two deep lines of blades…  

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