AAR: Sarmatians vs Early Successor

Another game against Alan, this time against his Early Successor army with the same Sarmatian list I used against Jerry. For this game we agreed to play on a 5' x 4' table. I must apologise for the quality of the photos - the table was in a dimly lit spot and Alan kept blocking the light so I had to snatch shots quickly (hence the camera shake. Believe me, the pics I've omitted are even worse).

My main force - most of my lancers flanked by half my shooty cavalry on my right wing with the Scythian light horse forming the centre. Their job would be to delay, harass and maybe break up the lines of his pike phalanx.

My left wing was over at the edge with the Sarmatian light horse, the 4th lancer unit and the other half of my shooty cavalry. The plan was to drive through the gap between two areas of brush and come onto Alan's flank and rear. Alan had other ideas though, and sent his medium foot supported by light horse and some cavalry to occupy the terrain and threaten my flanks.

My right and centre are going to plan. The lancers and shooty cavalry are starting to get into position to turn the flank of his phalanx, whilst the Scythians have disrupted their line a bit and are no holding off his skirmishers and smellyphants.

Back on my left wing, the light horse have broken Alan's light horse and my left-hand shooty cavalry have broken his lancers. However, his medium foot are in position to charge my right-hand shooty cavalry in the rear....

....as this picture demonstrates quite nicely!

Heading back to my right wing, things didn't quite go to plan, and I've lost a unit of lancers to his Elite pikemen. Mind you, I've got cavalry who could potentially get into position to flank charge his pikemen, which would help.

Unfortunately the landlord called time before I could play my last turn. I was nicely set up here to charge the fragged medium foot in the rear (which would automatically break them) while my other shooty cav and lancers would charge those two units of medium foot, who are "in the open" with one of them "in column".

However, I didn't get to play that turn, so I only managed a narrow victory having broken 2 and fragmented 1 of Alan's units, whilst only 1 of mine was broken.

What I could have done better:

1. Run my lancers hard up the right edge of the table in column before turning them to come in on the flank and rear of the phalanx. The Sarmatian light horse and shooty cav should be used to screen them and prevent the phalanx turning/wheeling to meet the lancer threat.
2. Pick an army where the shooty cavalry are Bow rather than Bow*
3. I should have run the Scythians up on the left wing, through the central block of brush terrain.