Roman & Classical in Patras 2019
Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Han Chinese
Game 1 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 2 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Republican Roman
Game 3 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Classical Indian
Game 4 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 5 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Han Chinese
With the tournament stretching into the final stages in much the same way as a lamb flavoured ice cream mousse represents the final stages of a lamb starter & lamb main course with a side order or lamb -style Greek meal the final pre-lunch round saw the Assyrians taking on a Han Chinese army on a table deeply bisected by a combination of bright direct sunlight and shadow which totally messes up the ability of a digital camera to take decent pictures.
Han is a great army, with a mix of all sorts of troop types both mounted and foot as well as a cutting edge of Heavy Chariots. As a result it's difficult to predict what will be in the army, but a core of Heavy Foot and some mixed shooters backing up Heavy Cavalry with Crossbows is a decent bet.
The lists for the Assyrian Empire and Sargonid and Han Chinese from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Patras can be seen here in the L'Art de la Guerre Wiki.
The table was reasonably clear, with the Chinese deploying a number of paddy fields on which they chose to anchor their right flank.
From there the army stretched across into the deep shadows on the Chinese left where a mix of Heavy Halberdiers and mixed Crossbow/sword shooters lurked in the semi-dark.
The Assyrians again had started with a refused centre, leaving a massed Medium Foot force on their right to face off against the enemy swordsmen and mixed Crossbowmen who were hiding in the terrain. Over in the distance a mass of Assyrian Cavalry and Chariots filled up the space on the right.
What's Going on Here Then?
Both armies are skewed at deployment on to the same flank, but the mix of troop types across both lines is significantly different. The Chinese have placed a block of solid infantry and foot shooters on the furthermost flank, which the Assyrians have opposed with a more traditional mounted-led wing.
In turn this has left the Chariot-heavy centre of the Assyrian army with a seemingly underpowered but skirmish-capable Chinese cavalry centre to aim itself at.
Seeing a potentially squishy bit of the Han line, the Assyrian strike force trundled forwards at pace making a bee line for the decidedly Ordinary Cavalry holding the middle of the opposition formation.
Han China vs Rome
As the sound of plates being smashed echoed off the hillsides in the distance, the Assyrians were also pressing forward on the left
The men of the Winged Lion Empire were seeing a chance to drift their Medium Infantry command over further to that side in an attempt to either outflank the enemy infantry entirely, or if they did not fall for that, to draw them away from the Han Cavalry and leave them even more isolated.
No-one however was all that keen to take on the Chinese Chariotry.
Trembling Taramasalata!
The Han had deployed without any mounted troops on their left wing, and after their mixed Crossbow/Swordsmen units had marched out into the flank zone they promptly started pasting the Assyrians skirmishers with rapid and deadly volleys of crossbow bolts.
The Assyrians now suddenly needed to pull these guys out, otherwise they would be a couple of cheaply-lost units down early doors.
As the Assyrians drove forwards the Chinese decided that they needed much more time to plan for the upcoming combat. They turned as one and fell back in front of the puzzled Assyrians, who sought somewhat hypocritically to devise post-battle stories criticizing the Han for cowardice due to their adoption of tactics the Assyrians themselves had used on a number of occasions this same weekend.
Han China
This greatly encouraged the Assyrians, and they raced forward to further intimidate the buttocks of the Han army as they receded before them at a rate of knots on the Assyrian left.
What's Going on Here Then?
The Han bowmen, off camera, are taking big chunks out the Assyrian army on its right wing, as the Assyrians struggle to withdraw their mounted wing to the centre fast enough to escape the range of the Chinese Crossbows. With this in mind, the falling back of the Chinese centre is buying them more time to further press their advantage on the Assyrian right before a somewhat lottery-like battle is joined in the centre.
The Assyrian centre is not yet assembled well enough to launch an attack - they need the redirected troops from their right to be able to join in before assaulting the Chinese centre and right flank.
In scenes the like of which Greece had not witnessed since the time Lord Eligin pinched their marbles, on the opposite flank the Assyrian Chariotry had already launched a bold attack on the Han Heavy Infantry,
As the Chariots surged forwards, they were also working in perfect synchronisation with their Elite mounted wing who were also steaming into the decidedly Average Han crossbow armed cavalry.
A solid line of Han/Assyrian combats were now taking place, being carefully watched by the Assyrian Mixed infantry units who were poised to follow up any breakthrough and help their own Chariots exploit it.
Assyria's other pair of Chariots were neatly matched up against the Chinese pair, leaving a vaguely positive-looking set of matchups all along the rest of the line as the Mediocre/Mixed Chinese stared down combat with the Mediocre/Mixed Assyrians.
Heavy Chariotry were the premium arm of the Assyrian army, and in this last game of the weekend they were certainly keen to prove their mettle before they got back in the tin for the long trip back to blighty.
Their initial charge skittled down the lines of waiting Han Heavy Infantry, inflicting multiple hits on a pair of units who had expected to be a solid and long-lasting bulwark absorbing the Assyrian thrust.
The Assyrian cavalry were also on the cusp of a breakthrough as their better quality started to tell against the Han mounted in the centre.
What's Going on Here Then?
The Assyrians have launched a series of attacks at the joint of the Han line, partly as this has the vulnerable looking Han Cavalry force which the Assyrians see as a weak spot to break through, but also to hold back the increasingly confident and succesful Han left wing which has wiped out much of the Assyrian resistance facing it with telling crossbow fire.
This is a decisive moment - the Assyrians need to punch through here, and quickly, or the sweeping envelopment they face from the Han left wing will start to bring serious pressure on both the Assyrian centre and also maybe even their unprotected baggage.
But the high quality Assyrians were lighter on bases and men than the more numerous Han Chinese - a scenario which had already meant that the Assyrians were relying on their own Light Foot to provide overlaps in the main battle line at far too early a stage in the game.
The Han cavalry elected to rush forward and drive off the Assyrian skirmishers, and, rolling long, caught and destroyed them - leaving a Han cavalryman free and stacked with opportunity in the rear of the Assyrian army!
L'Art de la Guerre hint - Light Foot and Light Horse count as losses just as much as proper battle line troops do in ADLG. This can seem counter-intuitive initially, but what it does mean is that after the initial skirmishing phase of the battle is over you do still need to spend command and control points to withdraw your skirmishers - otherwise you risk suffering some very cheap losses.
Holy Halloumi! Suddenly conscious of the enemy roaming in their rear, the Assyrian chariots found themselves with a difficult choice - go in with overlaps against them and try and luck it out, or risk being hit in the rear and front in a subsequent Han turn when the odds will undoubtedly be worse.
A local goat had a rather disparaging take on my tactics at this stage in the game
Dither, or charge and trust to luck? This was not a difficult choice for the battle-hardened Assyrian warriors, and they launched themselves forward at great speed into the solid line of Chinese foot and mounted.
With the right flank leaning in favour of the Assyrians already, here was an opportunity for a decisive strike and a momentum-inspired quick victory !
But on the right, the initial impetus achieved by the Chariots and Cavalry had somewhat stuttered to a halt as the Chariots became bogged down and - more surprisingly - the Assyrian cavalry failed to convert their advantage to an outright victory too.
Year by Year Han China
Sizzling Spanokipitas! The dice clattered across the tabletop in waves as two equally matched lines of troops exchanged telling blows - but the Assyrians were not having the rub of the green, with one of their committed Chariots being blow away by their Han counterparts - leaving a huge hole in the middle of the Assyrian line
What's Going on Here Then?
The Assyrians can feel the battle slipping away as their key strike units are generally failling to achieve the results they are paid to secure. The loss of a Chariot on the left wing is painful, but more importantly the Han Cavalry are holding up what should by rights be a powerful breakthrough force from getting deep into the heart of the Chinese army in the centre.
The longer the melee goes on the closer the envelopment from the Han left wing will get to adding it's weight to the stoic resistance of the Han troops in the middle.
Flipping Feta! Both armies were on the cusp of defeat - the Assyrians were drifting towards an army break as losses mounted but, as in the second battle of the weekend, their speed across the ground was creating plenty of opportunities in this late, degraded stage of the battle to find flanks and opportunities - including against one of the Han Generals, in a huge 3-pointer attack!
But that attack, outrageously, failed - and then a clatter of terrible combat dice saw pretty much their entire left flank obliterated at a stroke as the Han powered forwards to overwhelm the Assyrian army, and condemn them to a first defeat of the weekend, and of their entire (5 game) tabletop career!
Before the prize giving was a chance to sneak in another brief light 6-course lunch, after which the Assyrians somehow managed to sneak away with a trophy !
And, the fabulous news that the Patras team had been awarded the rights to host the 2020 ADLG World Championships here in Patras next year!
On the way home we of course had to stop at the motorway services, to get a snap of the typically ugly roadside scenery in Greece...
But after that it had all clearly gotten a little bit too much for some of the passengers...
Read on for the post match summaries from the Generals involved, as well as another episode of legendary expert analysis from Hannibal
Post Match Summary from the Assyrian Empire and Sargonid Commander
I May Not Have Been Victory But Coming Second In This Battle Was No Shame - And I Will Kill Anyone Who Disagrees (So Be Careful!). Sometimes the Gods of Assyrian War run out of energy after along weekend, and with so much digestive activity competing for calories and brain power there perhaps is no surprise that my luck appeared to run out at pretty much the same time as my ability to have yet another beer at the end of last evening also hit the buffers too.
The Chinese played a solid and cautious game, and here their extensive volume of crossbowery was pretty decisive too, as the steady drip drip of casualties and hits eroded the ability of my men to fight as effectively as they might have hoped, such that by the time we were in combat we often had a minus factor due to shooting. It also kept up a steady drain on my pips as I had to try and pull injured stuff out of the battle line on several occasions to try and keep it alive.
To win 4 our of 5 in a first outing with this army is however still pretty decent, and to do so inbetween sessions of lamb-eating so epic that poems will no doubt echo down the ages telling the stories to generations of the future is even more impressive as well.
I will now retire gracefully back to study how yet again I May Become Victory, and I May Descend Like Winged Death on Your Countryside To Despoil Your Nation In The Pursuit Of Assyrian Supremacy! Although, perhaps I will just have a bit of that really nice salad with the crouton-ey things that go nicely damp when they absorb the olive oil first..
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
Normal service is at last resolved as your over-tired and doltish ways come home to roost like Assyrian winged lions descending on your roof and crapping great dollops of winged lion poo over your freshly painted new chariot parked on your drive to show off to the neighbours.
In a land where lions can crap on your head, it is always best to keep your chariot in the garage, and the same could be said for your army here as they fell foul to a simple and classic trick of failing to meet your lazy expectations for their composition and deployment.
You didn't see the infantry and shooty-rich force coming on your right, and then you compounded this error by not really doing enough to get out of its way leaving you vulnerable to their shooting and soon you were many units down before the real tradeoff of close quarters combat came to pass
Honestly, you essentially lost this game at deployment, and then you were too half hearted and attack-greedy to take the opportunity to correct your mistake. The loss sits at your door. When it is there it can probably put it's ear to the woodwork and hear you belching lamb-flavoured burps over your not 1st place (so you are actually a loser) trophy.
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That's the end - so why not go back to read the report from the previous Patras competition, look at the Assyrians being painted or drop into the Match Reports Index and read some more reports?
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Game 1 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 2 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Republican Roman
Game 3 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Classical Indian
Game 4 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 5 Assyrian Empire and Sargonid vs Han Chinese
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