More Biblical

I've just completed my third venture into the Biblical period. This time a New
Kingdom Egyptian v Hittite Kingdom encounter.

I decided to use my solo rules so I was the Egyptian and the NPG the Hittite
commander. He proved to be a better general than I and soundly whipped my army.
I didn't exploit the Egyptian mobility and he quickly managed to pin me down and
force me into a fist fight which I was doomed to lose.

Both armies had distinctive strengths and advantages. The Hittites were good in
a straight fight with their heavy chariots which were battlefield resilient.
Their poor infantry were good at supporting the chariots once the fighting
started. My Egyptian light chariots had all the potential to whizz around the
battlefield but apart from one successful unit, were forced into combat with the
Hittites. They could break away but were taking heavy casualties.

Overall another excellent game. Nice and fast with missile firepower a potent
battle winning element and speeding up the disruption of the armies.

Cheers

Brian

Biblical Take Two

Hot on the heels of my battle last night I set up a fresh encounter, once again
set in the Biblical period. This was another indulgence as I was itching to play
a Mycenean army - one from the later period where troops looked more Greek than
Summerian and which I don't have suitable figures for yet.

Opponents - I decided on the Sea Peoples. It proved a fun match up with a fast,
bloody, full on clash developing. Some minor manoeuvring from the Myceneans gave
a slight advantage early on but the Sea Peoples managed to close down their line
pretty quickly - all those auxilia in a full 12cm dash forward - quite a sight.

Both sides bows were effective, the Myceneans particularly so. The Light
Infantry also proved useful in flank attacks on Sea People warrior units when
they charged the Mycenean spear. Overall the Myceneans fought in a more
consistent fashion - better dice rolls, despite having the close quarter odds
slightly stacked against them with Sea People morale and armour advantages.

The Heavy Chariots were particularly effective in neutralising a couple of Sea
People units and were great at absorbing hits with their superior saving rolls.

Overall a cracker of a contest and most enjoyable. I had the Rome Total War
music on Youtube playing in the background so it was like playing an episode of
Time Commanders!

Cheers

Brian

First Biblical Game

I treated myself to a venture into the Biblical period for army purchases this
Christmas and got myself some nice 6mm Egyptian and Hittite figures to allow me
to pursue an aspect of warfare I've always had an urge to look into in more
depth.

Many of my early games with toy soldiers contained Egyptian chariots, Assyrian
siege engines and Mycenean heroes, and it is these fond memories which I hope to
re-kindle with this move into the period.

My first pitched battle was a treat. It proved a rather one sided affair in the
end but did play exactly the way I wanted it to and gave me all the character
and feel of a pacy Biblical encounter.

The forces were slightly out of timeline in that it ranged a New Kingdom
Egyptian against an Assyrian Empire army. The latter is a very cool combat
operation. A bit like a Biblical panzer division in its offensive capability.
Looks great aswell with a potent mix of chariots, cavalry and infantry.

The Egyptians put up a pretty valiant fight but were overwhelmed by the Assyrian
surge forward. The terror rule combined with mixed units, heavy infantry and
better armour gave a fundamental edge to any Assyrian attacks. Despite this the
Assyrians were reduced to five units vs 2 Egyptian so it wasn't a walkover.

I've got plans now to go through all the major combatants I'm interested in and
in scanning the list, it does present a suprising amount of variety in
composition and tactical fighting style.

I've figures to cover:
- New Kingdom Egyptian
- Hittite Empire
- Assyrian Empire
- Cimmerians
- Sea Peoples
- Myceneans
- Trojans

This will keep me occupied for a time. One final comment, the Biblical rules
were spot on in my estimation of the ideal good game and satisfying simulation.

Cheers

Brian