Off the Painting Table (Oct 2020)

In September I completed my PSC 15mm Sassanids, which I thought were OK.  I ordered the PSC Late Roman starter pack and quickly got painting. I am more impressed by the Romans, the sculpts are better and have more variety. It is interesting that the regular legion figures have more poses than the irregular Persian foot. I always find that regular armies are much quicker to paint, and in 3 weeks I had completed the Romans. The shield patterns are not too fancy, which is a relief. Overall, I am happy with the results.

 

Next I calculated the Sword & Spear points value for each army and found both added up to 330 points with 2 commands each. Normally I play using either 400 or 500 points with 3 commands. I decided to give the forces a trial battle to see if the smaller size made a significant difference. Using 330 points gave a good game, even though the Romans were trounced (very poor dice rolling). I therefore I think I will stick with the forces I have completed and not immediately expand to my more ‘normal’ size of army (also storage is very compact). So, a pair of useable armies for only £70!

AAR; Ottomans v Late Hungarians (S&S); 03Oct2020

On a wet and windy Saturday Ian came across to my place and we played a game of Sword & Spear (S&S) using my Ottomans against Later Hungarians. I played the Turks and Ian the Hungarians. The terrain set up resulted in an open plain with a few small gentle hills; this was not going to be an infantry battle. Ian out-scouted me, so I deployed in a standard formation with cavalry on both wings and my elite Kapikulu cavalry as a reserve able to move to support either wing. Ian countered by placing most of his cavalry opposing my right flank.

I advanced on both flanks and moved my reserve to bolster my right. Ian advanced with this left and held the other flank back. Initial skirmishing between the light cavalry was fairly balanced, and Ian’s light horse actually impeded his knights for a turn or two. I hoped my bow armed cavalry would score some hits and reduce the hitting power of the Hungarian knights. This did not happen and I swiftly lost a unit of Timariots, with the attached general escaping. The victorious Hungarian knights pursued and hit a second Timariot unit, to whom the Turkish general had moved. This second unit was destroyed and the general killed. My elite Kapikulu, together with the C-in-C counter-attacked, but were held. The remaining Hungarian knights charged in support of their break-through, whilst I moved my Janissaries to try and stem the flow. The Janissaries did well with their firing, especially the skirmishers armed with handguns, but not enough to destroy the heavily armed knights. In a disastrous turn my Kapikulu and heavy Timariots were beaten and the Turkish C-in-C died. This effectively ended the game with a major Hungarian victory.

On reflection I should have opted for more difficult terrain which would have allowed my infantry and artillery to come into play. I did not manoeuvre my light horse enough and foolishly expected too much of my bow armed cavalry. The heavy armour of the Hungarian knights is tough to overcome, and I should have exploited their slow mobility more. Losing 2 out of 3 generals is also an impossible hurdle to overcome.

So, a well deserved win for Ian. Win or lose, it is good to play again. I forgot to get my camera out, so no pictures.