Warring States Game

The Doctor and I finally got to field our Warring States Armies today. (here's a link to a pic of the army)

Simple set-up, my army is on the left, the Doctor's on the right. Both armies are the same except that I have chariots and fanatic swordsmen, he has light horse, cavalry and peasant hordes. The terrain was kept simple, but the two hills made a big difference when I realised that chariots couldn't drive over them (rough ground).

I opened the battle with a general advance - as with Warmaster, inevitably not all the army makes the command roll. The archers on the left did well, gaining the hill and firing down on the spearmen below (1 and 2, below), while one block of spearmen advanced down the middle (3) and the chariots pushed ahead (4). This was when I realised that the chariots would never be able to go over the hill.

The Doctor responded by sending his spearmen, in line, to engage my troops. Light horse on his right (1) engaged my skirmishers in a shooting duel, while spearmen (2 and 3) attacked the spearmen.

At this point, a general attack developed in the centre, as my spearmen charged straight ahead (1) while the chariots crossed the frontage to take position in the middle, where they eventually charged in for the attack. The skirmishers stalemated the light horse (3) and the reserves (4) moved up too slowly to make a difference. Of note is (5): the two units of fanatic swordsmen, who in this picture are just beginning to move over the hill, and who would play an important role in the final action of this game. (6) shows my opponents cavalry, who would eventually thrown their weight into the centre and almost decided the outcome.

In the end, the centre developed into a massive melee that ate up several units on both sides, with the fanatics and the chariots deciding the outcome. Not the most exciting of games, but a good warm-up to exercise the troops, as it were, and to get ready for the campaign to follow.