About Me

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London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
A mythical beast - a female wargamer! I got back into wargaming in the summer of 2011 after a very, very long break and haven't looked back since. I must admit that I seem to be more of a painter/collector than a gamer, but do hope to correct that at some point in the near future. My gaming interests span the ages, from the "Biblical" era all the way through to the far future. I enjoy games of all sizes, from a handful of figures up to major battles (see my megalomaniacally sized Choson Korean and Russian Seven Years War armies).

Monday, 26 August 2013

AAR: Sarmatians vs Early Imperial Romans (800 points)

Jerry's Romans first faced my Sarmatians about 18 months ago. That game was 650 points and his Romans back then were Mid Republican; my meatheads were Iazyges. This rematch was Early Imperial Romans against Rhoxolani. Could I do better than a narrow win this time?

My army consisted of:

FC + 2 x TC
1 x 4 Light Horse (Average, Unprotected, Bow Sword)
4 x 4 Lancers (Superior, Armoured, Lancer/Sword)
4 x 4 Other Cavalry (Superior, Protected, Bow*, Light Spear/Sword)
Scythian Allies -
FC
3 x 4 Light Horse (Average, Unprotected, Bow, Sword)

Jerry's Romans consisted of a bunch of Legion, some medium foot auxiliaries, a few cavalry and some useless skirmishers.


As you can see from our deployments, the decision to play on a 6' x 4' table was vindicated!


"Meatheads - prepare to advance"

On my right flank are the Scythians. My plan was to use these to distract (and maybe break up) Jerry's line of Roman legions. My meatheads were aiming to edge across onto the Roman right flank, supported by some of the shooty cavalry.


Things look to be going to plan, with Jerry voluntarily breaking up the legionary line in response to taunts from the Scythians. The Sarmatian light horse charged and caught the evading light foot; Jerry's light horse were being variously charged and shot at by my shooty cavalry on my left flank.


One of Jerry's legionary units has charged the Scythians, mainly to allow his lancer cavalry to join the scrummage against my lancers. Of course, this left the legionaries rather isolated and surrounded by skirmishing light horse.

At the top of the picture you can see the Roman cavalry moving into position to prevent my carefully positioned flank charge against the legions. Oh well!


A couple of turns later....

Remember that legion which charged the Scythians? See that unit just up and right from the centre spot? Same one, broken by massed shooting and a flank charge! There do seem to be a lot of "Broken" markers and missing units on the Roman side....


And the Romans are routed! In the last melee phase I managed to break 2 more units to win 22:3 - a much better result than last time.

This game did teach me two things - Protected Bow* cavalry aren't much cop and I need to work a bit more on light horse positioning.

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13 comments:

  1. Anonymous26 August 2013 at 20:07

    Great AAR, well done on the victory. I noticed from the first photo that the Romans seemed to be on the orange juice whilst you chaps stayed on the good stuff. The best generals always give the troops a good drink before battle ... gives em some balls as your report shows
    :-)

    Jason.

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  2. The Happy Whisk26 August 2013 at 20:22

    Pretty cool that you get to play this. And nice to see you blogging again as well. Cheers and boogie boogie.

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  3. Simon Quinton 26 August 2013 at 20:42

    Nice report and a win! Hoorah!

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  4. Clint26 August 2013 at 21:08

    I have wanted a Sarmation army for about 6 years now but not as yet found the figures I really like. Maybe I should have another scout round the manufacturers as your Army look quite neat and tidy on the table-top. (Well as neat and tidy as a Sarmation army can be). Nice AAR. and a decisive win, it always helps.

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  5. Unknown26 August 2013 at 21:28

    You creamed him!!

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  6. Rodger27 August 2013 at 11:30

    Excellent stuff Tamsin!!

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  7. Monty27 August 2013 at 12:10

    Very nice! Must admit, though; I am a Roman fan, so I was cheering them on ;)

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  8. CelticCurmudgeon27 August 2013 at 14:19

    This really seems like Carrhae all over again except you did not quite use the archers to the same degree.The early imperials lacked enough cavalry and missile troops to adequately impact a force of heavy cavalry supported by horse archers. They might stand a chance if they could deploy their artillery, back it with slingers and archers and simply stand ground defensively.
    Good work!

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  9. The Angry Lurker27 August 2013 at 14:30

    Well they were Romans and expected to win!

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  10. fogsoldiers27 August 2013 at 18:48

    Congratulations on your victory Tamsin :-)

    Marzio.

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  11. TamsinP27 August 2013 at 23:18

    Glad you all enjoyed the AAR :)

    @ Jason - my opponent only having orange juice helped my troops to focus on fighting the battle rather than trying to capture his beer!

    @ Clint - my figures are from Donnington if you're looking for 15mm

    @ Monty - sorry to disappoint you ;)

    @ Jerry - the Sarmatians did manage to destroy a Roman army on at least one occasion. Carrhae was rather different, with the Parthians wearing the Romans down with shooting over a long period rather than a pitched battle.

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  12. James Fisher28 August 2013 at 08:11

    You promised us some reports in your last post. What a great one to start with. It is never easy to beat the wascal womans, well done!

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  13. Jerry3 September 2013 at 11:09

    A very enjoyable game and you were the deserved winner. when I lose any terrain to hide behind I am at a bit of a loss on what to do. thought I was pleased about how long I was able to hang on in there!

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