Irregular Wars Wargaming

  The only painting I've been able to finish this week is a rogue for my 10mm Wyld elf force. The figure is another 3D printed blade dancer from Excellent Miniature's 'elves of the wood' range. The sculpt is so dynamic that I wanted to use her as a character, so I glued her to a spare tree to use as a rogue. I can't explain it, and I don't know where the thought has come from, but everytime I see her I hear a wee voice calling out "Ca-caw ca-caw! You thought I was a tree!" followed by maniacal laughter. It's been a tough week...

Having suffered rebuttle in the west at the hands of the Seleukids , the Parthian Empire turned its eyes eastwards to Alexander's legacy in Arachosia and northern India. The only thing standing in the way of eastern plunder were the Indo-Skythian Kushan. The stage was set for the next outing of Andrew's Parthians... The Parthians deployed the same army as last time with a large command of medium and light horse archers commanded by a strategist, a command of seven cataphracts, and a micro-command consisting of two units of light horse archers. Opposite them, my Kushan were feeling very symetrical. The centre consisted of two elephants flanking two mediocre pike units screened by light infantry archers; the commander was embedded in the right flank elephant unit. On either flank were four catepharacts and four light cavalry - Maues the Indo-Skythian king commanded the right where two of the catephract units were elite. While I was expecting the small command to be on a flank mar...

Progressing slowly with my small Wyld Elf army, I've now finished up a two-company unit of rangers and a captain - all 3D printed models from Excellent Miniatures' Elves of the Wood archer regiment.  

Returning to L’Art de la Guerre after a hiatus of a couple of months, it was a with great enthusiasm that I took the role of a youthful Antiochos III defending the Seleukid Empire from Andrew’s Parthian incursion (c.210 BC). The armies mustered on opposite sides of an open plain overlooked by a village on a tell (situated on the Seleukid left). The Seleukid army deployed between a number of fields and a plantation, with a wide gully to their front. The left flank command consisted of all three of the pike-armed units, two units of Asiatic archers, two units of Bedouin camelry and two skirmishing units of slingers hidden in the village. The central command consisted of two units of elephants flanked by two units of armoured thorakitai, and screened by two units of elite Cretan archers. Both the left and central commanders were rather ordinary. On the right, Antiochos – a strategist – commanded four units of lancers (two elite), two units of Skythian horse archers, and another unit of As...

As part of the playtesting process, five foolish players set out to play several years of a campaign, combining battles with diplomacy, recruitment and logistical challenges. The following post chronicles the opening year in the Trollbridge War. The sprawling city of Trollbridge controls the only crossing of the River Essence between where it rises in the Watershed Downs north of Duncreggae, and where it empties into the broad marshlands south of Barrowfield. A vital node in the trade route inland from the bay of Byzernium, Trollbridge maintains a precarious neutrality between it’s the human neighbours in Balquhidder and Byzernium. To the west, beyond the ancient Wyldwood, lies the small halfling principality of Hearthshire, while stories of fur-covered shadows in the night and the distant chink of thousands of bony feet on the march heralds an emerging terror in the east. Year 1 – Starting positions, diplomacy and army musters Balquhidder : The human Kingdom of Balquhidder starts in...

 

  More 10mm printed miniatures from Excellent Miniatures to join my small force of Wyld Elves. This time, a couple of non-elves. This figure is a forest wraith hero, but I'll be using her as a huldra (forest-wife) magic-user with an entangle and a bless spell. I wasn't sure which way to go with the 'skin' parts of her; flesh coloured, woody, or green all seemed valid, but in the end I opted for olive. I'm pleased with the result, but can't help feeling that this is what the daughter of Gamora and Groot might look like... And what self-respecting wood elf army would be complete without a little air support in the form of a giant eagle?

It has taken me longer than I'd hoped, but I've now finished up the first of my new elf characters and units from Excellent Miniatures. This will be the warlord of my small Wyld Elf army, Hjartardottir, and her bodyguard of elite stag-riders. The detail on these 3D printed figures continutes to amaze me, although it is quite disconcerting how light they are when you pick up a base...

This week’s Fantastic Battles pairing saw Andrew’s ratkin of the Vermintide deploy opposite my Ziggurat Dwarves. The Mishaps roll following deployment was surprisingly inobtrusive as you can see in the photo. Only the two-company unit of ratkin assassins on the extreme right of the ratkin line (top left of photo) were delayed and forced to deploy further back. In the dwarvern ranks, all appeared equally calm – at least on the surface. The large battery of ballistae on the crest of the hill were badly hit by disease, and dissent in the ranks caused an entire company of the redshield shieldwall on the dwarvern right to desert the night before the battle. The opening phases of the battle saw plentiful artillery fire – there were two companies of ratkin jezails and four batteries of dwarvern ballistae so missiles were firing thick and fast. The jezails concentrated their fire on an isolated ballistae battery on the right of the dwarvern line, while the ballistae spread their shots between...