Hammy-tastic graphs and stuff from Cannes 2006
Very much a straight advance to fight, where my winning of the attacking roll, together with having 4 regular commands and some decent first round dice proved a very difficult combination for the Arabs in this list incarnation - to counter. The Lh windscreen wipers had proved an amusing distraction for both sides, but if anything they had been spending valuable pips to buy time, which had reduced the ability of the Arabs to redeploy their main fighting troops, but had not solved the inevitable problem of having to make 1st choice in all of the matchups.
Pip Dice
(shown as used left to right from my viewpoint - highlighting allied commands dice in blue)
(My commands were deployed 3/2/1/4, these number refer to those set out on my army list)
| Dice by bound | Totals | ||||||||||
|
me |
|
|
|
David |
|
|
|
mine |
Davids |
||
|
5 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
= |
16 |
20 |
|
|
6 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
= |
18 |
14 |
|
|
3 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
= |
11 |
8 |
|
|
5 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
= |
14 |
15 |
|
|
3 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
= |
11 |
15 |
|
|
6 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
= |
19 |
9 |
|
|
6 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
= |
11 |
16 |
|
|
2 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
= |
11 |
16 |
|
|
1 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
= |
15 |
19 |
|
|
126 |
132 |
||||||||||
With regular dice its fairly clear that I was concentrating on my left flank, and using the right hand mini command as a pip dump to retreat from the advancing Arabs!
Summary
Here I got suckered into deploying my forces for a battle in the open ground, hoping to ignore of screen off the rough ground to my right but the Roman screening on my left proved more effective in occupying and effectively neutralizing my two largest commands than did my attempt on my right. Getting separated into too many elements on my right was a consequence and whilst in theory the troops there were robust enough to hold up the Romans for long enough element-to-element, being so fragmented of course opened the door for a catastrophic situation like my loss of 4 elements in one combat which a 15.5 sized command just cant handle.
Conversely, if the Arabs hadnt managed to roll a crucial 5 to escape from the back of the table, they would have been fled off table, and their loss would have tipped the scales and given me the win but the credit goes to Rome for deployment, and for managing the skirmish screen well enough to buy the time they needed on my right.
Pip Dice Analysis
(My commands were deployed 2/1/4/3, these number refer to those set out on my army list)
|
me |
|
|
|
Bernard |
|
|
mine |
Bernards |
|||
|
3 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
= |
18 |
14 |
|
|
5 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
= |
19 |
21 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
= |
15 |
8 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
= |
15 |
10 |
|
|
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
= |
11 |
8 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
= |
15 |
7 |
|
|
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
= |
11 |
15 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
= |
19 |
13 |
|
|
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
= |
8 |
14 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
= |
14 |
11 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
= |
6 |
11 |
|
|
4 |
6 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
= |
15 |
17 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
= |
13 |
16 |
|
|
179 |
165 |
||||||||||
Highlights (in yellow) when the command lost its general, and in blue the allied command. The Pink dice roll was the crucial one allowing the allied Arabs to escape from the advancing bowmen. Pips allocated to my 4th command tail off significantly after they were broken about half way through the game, and then also to my 3rd command as they too broke !
Here it is represented graphically my better pips initially allowed me to close with the Romans (ie get into a real mess) but then fluctuated wildly in the vital end game, when fighting was at its most intense.
This chart shows the same game, but excluding the commands on the far left of my line the ally and the Egyptian command they were effectively neutralizing.
Yep - virtually identical isn't it? Can't blame that then....!
Summary
Having played this (exact) game before successfully was certainly an advantage, and the composition of the Arab army, combined with the terrain did not help their chances of forcing me to fight the warband head on. The game demonstrated the weaknesses and to a degree the strengths of this troop type, as the lack of manoeuvrability was largely to blame for the destruction of the main command they had no real answer to the exposed flank created by the terrain. However splitting into two groups, which led to them being broken up even further, speeded up their demise. The command that lost its general, despite being smaller, proved harder to kill as they simply chugged forwards en mass and the new rules meant flank attacks were harder to carry out, and less destructive on this coherent body of troops.
Pip Dice Analysis
(My commands were deployed 2/1/3/4, these number refer to those set out on my army list)
|
Arabs |
|
|
me |
|
|
|
mine |
Arabs |
|||
|
1 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
= |
11 |
11 |
|
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
= |
16 |
19 |
|
|
1 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
= |
18 |
13 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
= |
18 |
14 |
|
|
4 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
= |
9 |
12 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
= |
14 |
16 |
|
|
2 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
= |
12 |
18 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
= |
13 |
18 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
= |
14 |
20 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
= |
9 |
16 |
|
|
6 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
= |
21 |
14 |
|
|
3 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
= |
14 |
13 |
|
|
169 |
184 |
||||||||||
Showing the ally in blue and then in yellow once the general was killed. A further general dies towards the end of the game
The pip distribution fell kindly for me here good pips to allow me to get into position early on, after which the Arabs were committed and following which I was only playing with a minority of my elements anyway, as Cv hunted for the warbands flanks.
Summary
As in the Roman game 3, on my left flank I badly and continually underestimated the ability of LH to hold up a group of advancing archers and got suckered into advancing straight ahead without taking time to expand, hoping to sweep them from the field before my over-brittle right flank collapsed.
As with Romans, the Chinese (Mongol Ally) managed to extract himself at the last moment. The Chinese successfully used their dice to concentrate their more mobile forces against me, and in the ensuing tradeoff of elements there was only likely to be one winner. I had pinned my game plan on my CinC managing to achieve a quick breakthrough (and ideally a regular-dice-denying death by shooting) against the Chinese CinCs command, but they had held up too well and my guard-the-flank-by-attrition policy failed again.
Pip Dice Analysis
(My commands were deployed 2/1/3/4, these number refer to those set out on my army list)
|
game 4 |
Total Pips | ||||||||||
|
Jean-Luc |
|
|
|
me |
|
|
|
mine |
Jean-Luc |
||
|
4 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
= |
14 |
11 |
|
|
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
= |
13 |
13 |
|
|
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
= |
15 |
11 |
|
|
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
= |
16 |
13 |
|
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
= |
16 |
9 |
|
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
= |
16 |
9 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
= |
14 |
12 |
|
|
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
= |
11 |
9 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
= |
13 |
21 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
= |
10 |
13 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
= |
12 |
16 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
= |
14 |
4 |
|
|
1 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
12 |
||||||
|
164 |
141* |
||||||||||
* excludes last bound
Ally shown in blue
Bounds 4 through 10 were where I was trying to push on and close on the Yuan skirmish screen, but as I was heavily engaged in the middle the dice ended up giving me effectively two "pip dump" commands on both flanks which made doing a complicated expansion with the bowmen, keeping their flanks protected with Cv or blade AND continuing to make 2 moves to close up to 4" from the retreating Mongols impossible.
Again my pips were consistently better until the armies closed and we entered the bloody and fierce fighting of the end game I had used my pip advantage to overstretch myself and open up holes and flanks !
Army summary
Well, its a bit brittle isnt it? Hardly a surprise, but combined with my style of play the army size/composition arguably cost me wins in both games I lost, as I was an element or two away in both. Getting at least one more break point up to 6.5 is probably needed, and that would mean dropping a boat which is maybe not a great loss and maybe changing another General to a Ps.
The LH F in the smallest command was also a nice to have, but not that useful another Cv (S) would have been better, giving me 5 Cv instead of 4 . So perhaps the boat-free Milanese competition version was better, and the boats had proved to be just an affectation, taken because they were pretty.
Play-wise, I twice totally failed to deal with skirmish screens they occupied 1/3 of my army in two games, and I was unable to avoid them. Deploying or getting the bowmen into 1 rank as quickly as possible to chase them down was probably needed but I thought of it too late!
