28mm Fantastic Battles - The lost book of the Illiad where the Trojans fight the orcs

Jim and I met up this week for a 1200 point game of Fantastic Battles using our 28mm armies on a massive 8'x4' table. My Trojans are the only 28mm army I have that is large enough to field 1200 points, so we ended up playing my favourite lost book of the Iliad - the one where the Trojans send out a force to attack the orcs... 

The wide table suited the large army of defending orcs more so than the Trojans. Noting the lack of captains and hoping for some command problems among the orcs, I weighted the deployment of the Trojans to the right - opposite the faster orc flank - leaving nothing but open ground in front of what I perceived to be the slower orcs on their right, my left. The three-company unit of elite Amazon warriors led by an Amazon rogue were deployed in ambush amongst the woods to ahead of the Trojan right flank, just below the whirling wings of the wyvern-powered Orcopalyps-Now-battle-copter.

During the Mishaps phase, the orcs, with their surprisingly competent quartermaster, suffered no real issues other than a single unit of reckless forest orcs on their far-right flank who were late.

Among the Trojans, a unit of spearmen suffered from disease, and the massed hoard unit of irregular archers were late. Otherwise, the battle line was sound.

In the opening turn, the massed Trojan chariotry charged forwards towards a large unit of irregular orc archers who moved more cautiously forwards to ensure a good volley in the next shooting phase. The Amazons advanced out of the woods up the hill towards the wyvern-copter, while beyond them to the right a unit of orc boar-riders advanced passed the woods towards the extreme Trojan flank. 

In the following shooting phase, the mixed archers among the Amazons managed to destroy the orc catapult at the top of the hill (losing their own roague-commander in return fire), while the orc archers had much less luck against the Trojan chariots. Being out of command, the orc archers, having fired their volley, then turned around and tried to move back up the hill, only to be charged in the rear by the chariots. The ensuing melee was a massacre and the orcs scattered after the single round.

On the far-right flank of the Trojan line. the orc boar riders needed to reform into line, leaving themselves open to javelins and sling bullets. The following turn saw them charge the slingers and be charged in the flank by the javelineers. Both Trojan units survived the melee, while the boars also scattered. The Trojans, job done, would spend the rest of the game trying to hustle back over towards the rest of the action in the centre. The orcish left flank was now reduced to the single wyvercopter with an attached captain. The battle was well and truly going in favour of the Trojans but, as the saying goes, it's not over 'till the fat orc sings.

 

While the diseased spearmen, successful javelineers and massed chariots started to swing back towards the remaining orc forces, the tougher orc units (big units with heavy weapons and large shields, trolls and chariots) were closing on the Trojan left flank.

Behind the main orc line, the reckless-but-late forest orc spearmen were attempting to block off the advancing Trojan chariots. A variety of circumstances left them out of command briefly, at which point a trojan prophesy dice came into play and activated their belligerent racial trope. Rather than charge towards the chariots, their column swung to the left and straight into the flank of their own artillery. It was a mean move on my part, but oh, wasn't it funny. The fight between the orc spears and the orc artillery lasted two rounds with the predictable result in favour of the spears.

Back among the green bodies on the destroyed orc left, the copter was playing silly buggers with the Amazons, flying backwards and forwards over them to line up shots against the Amazonian rears.

But the battle was being decided back in the middle. Following the destruction of their own artillery, the reckless orc spears finally got into line and charged the Trojan chariots. The orc chariot and trolls were pushing hard against one unit of Trojan spearmen, while the two tough units of orc commandos were taking on the Trojan irregular archers and the Trojan guard-axemen respectively. The small unit of diseased Trojan spears had also finally made their way into a supporting position to hit one of the heavy orc units in the flank.

The orc army was now four companies away from breaking, while the Trojans had still lost only the Amazonian rogue. However, several Trojan units - including the six-company hoard of archers were badly shaken.

And then it all happened at once. The reckless orc spearmen collapsed before the Trojan chariots. Among the infantry melee, one unit of heavy orcs scattered, taking the Trojan guard with them; the second heavy orc unit held, scattering the hoard of Trojan archers. The orc chariot was all that remained of the battle alongside the trolls against the large Trojan spear unit.

It was certainly a Trojan victory, but not the overwhelming victory that had been anticipated the turn before. In the end the Trojans lost 11 units of their 13 unit breakpoint, the orcs lost something like 17 against their breakpoint of 14.