It's been a while since Jennifer and I played a game of Warhammer, so she dusted off her copy of the Dwarf army book and put together a 1,500pt list as follows.
Dwarf Army
Thane
17 Dwarf Longbeards
Thane - Battle Standard
17 Dwarf Warriors
18 Dwarf Warriors
Dragon Slayer
17 Trollslayers
8 Thunderers (handguns)
8 Crossbows
2 Bolt Throwers (each with an engineer)
1 Cannon
Bretonnians
My force was quite similar to the army that vanquished Dave's Orc horde just days earlier
Paladin (Questing Virtue)
8 Questing Knights
Paladin BSB
5 Knights of the Realm
Paladin
5 Knights of the Realm
6 Knights Errant
6 Knights Errant
5 Mounted Yeomen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen - Skirmishers
Both armies chose few magic or runic items as they always seem to get forgotten.
The Battlefield
Alas, I forgot to take a picture but in honour of the occasion I got out my (rather large) coaching inn and placed in the centre of the table - and very impressive it looked too. The rest of the table was scattered with a few hills, woods and more buildings on the flanks. It looked splendidly scenic - trust me.
Since I'd set up the table I gave choice of sides to Jen. Not surprisingly she chose the side that would afford her missile troops the best view of the approaching enemy cavalry.
The Battle
As is typical of most games I had to forgo the first turn in order to gain the blessing of the Lady. The Dwarfs stood firm and unleashed a hail of crossbow bolts, bullets, spears and cannon shot, but not a single Bretonnian was slain ... charge!
The entire Bretonnian army moved forward, even my "trusty" peasant bowmen who I had rather stupidly deployed just beyond the 30" range of their longbows. This would leave my army dreadfully exposed for the next turn, but there was nothing for it if I was to close for combat quickly.
The Dwarf heavy infantry moved forward slightly to close down my choices for charging next turn, but the missile troops stood firm and once again hurled everything at the rapidly approaching cavalry. This time a number of shots found their mark and several brave knights fell, but (amazingly) no panic tests were failed.
Due to the clever manoeuvre of the Dwarf heavy infantry I had to charge two Dwarf units (Slayers and the Warriors with the BSB) with three cavalry units (Knights Errant and two Knights of the Realm). The Questing Knights took on another unit of Warriors, whilst a brave unit of Knights Errant hurled themselves at the Dwarf General in the vain hope of stopping them attacking the flank of the Questing Knights next turn. The Mounted Yeomen just failed to reach their target, the crossbows, and stumbled to a halt within short range of their enemy.
The combats went well for the Bretonnians. The large five unit combat in the centre went convincingly to the Bretonnians who routed the Warriors, but of course the slayers would fight on to the end. One unit of cavalry pursued and slaughtered the fleeing Warriors. The Questing Knights wobbled a bit but just about won their combat and routed the other unit of Warriors. The Knights Errant did well against the Dwarf General and his Longbeards but were soundly beaten. Needing a 5 or less to avoid a rout they failed their first roll but the presence of the Battle Standard allowed a re-roll which they passed, thus achieving my aim of delaying the Longbeards for a turn.
Next turn, with most of the cavalry in combat or out of LOS the Dwarf artillery turned its ire upon the hapless peasant bowmen. Such punishment is not worth any amount of turnips and they soon headed for the nearest tavern. The Dwarf crossbows must have been laughing when the Mounted Yeomen pulled up in front of them, having failed to charge successfully. But their round of shooting killed only one yeomen - not enough to force a panic test on their dreadful Ld of just 6. The Yeomen spurred their horses forward and readied their spears!
The combat between the knights and the slayers ground on and resulted in only a handful of knights remaining. The Dwarf General and Longbeards defeated the impetuous Knights Errant but by then the Questing Knights were able to charge and subsequently defeat them. During these turns however, the Bolt Throwers exacted a hefty toll on the knights, their best shot reserved for the Bretonnian General who was by now accompanied by only 3 knights. Therefore the shot had to be randomised (character in a unit of less than 5 models) and truly skewered him.
The game finished with just 6 brave Thunderers left of the Dwarf army. The Bretonnians had three units of Knights left, but of these 2 had taken heavy casualties.
The Victory Points were Bretonnians 1904 to Dwarfs 1141, giving a solid victory. However, I do not think the VPs give an entirely accurate picture of what proved to be a very bloody, hard fought, yet funny and thoroughly enjoyable game of Warhammer.
Dwarf Army
Thane
17 Dwarf Longbeards
Thane - Battle Standard
17 Dwarf Warriors
18 Dwarf Warriors
Dragon Slayer
17 Trollslayers
8 Thunderers (handguns)
8 Crossbows
2 Bolt Throwers (each with an engineer)
1 Cannon
Bretonnians
My force was quite similar to the army that vanquished Dave's Orc horde just days earlier
Paladin (Questing Virtue)
8 Questing Knights
Paladin BSB
5 Knights of the Realm
Paladin
5 Knights of the Realm
6 Knights Errant
6 Knights Errant
5 Mounted Yeomen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen - Skirmishers
Both armies chose few magic or runic items as they always seem to get forgotten.
The Battlefield
Alas, I forgot to take a picture but in honour of the occasion I got out my (rather large) coaching inn and placed in the centre of the table - and very impressive it looked too. The rest of the table was scattered with a few hills, woods and more buildings on the flanks. It looked splendidly scenic - trust me.
Since I'd set up the table I gave choice of sides to Jen. Not surprisingly she chose the side that would afford her missile troops the best view of the approaching enemy cavalry.
The Battle
As is typical of most games I had to forgo the first turn in order to gain the blessing of the Lady. The Dwarfs stood firm and unleashed a hail of crossbow bolts, bullets, spears and cannon shot, but not a single Bretonnian was slain ... charge!
The entire Bretonnian army moved forward, even my "trusty" peasant bowmen who I had rather stupidly deployed just beyond the 30" range of their longbows. This would leave my army dreadfully exposed for the next turn, but there was nothing for it if I was to close for combat quickly.
The Dwarf heavy infantry moved forward slightly to close down my choices for charging next turn, but the missile troops stood firm and once again hurled everything at the rapidly approaching cavalry. This time a number of shots found their mark and several brave knights fell, but (amazingly) no panic tests were failed.
Due to the clever manoeuvre of the Dwarf heavy infantry I had to charge two Dwarf units (Slayers and the Warriors with the BSB) with three cavalry units (Knights Errant and two Knights of the Realm). The Questing Knights took on another unit of Warriors, whilst a brave unit of Knights Errant hurled themselves at the Dwarf General in the vain hope of stopping them attacking the flank of the Questing Knights next turn. The Mounted Yeomen just failed to reach their target, the crossbows, and stumbled to a halt within short range of their enemy.
The combats went well for the Bretonnians. The large five unit combat in the centre went convincingly to the Bretonnians who routed the Warriors, but of course the slayers would fight on to the end. One unit of cavalry pursued and slaughtered the fleeing Warriors. The Questing Knights wobbled a bit but just about won their combat and routed the other unit of Warriors. The Knights Errant did well against the Dwarf General and his Longbeards but were soundly beaten. Needing a 5 or less to avoid a rout they failed their first roll but the presence of the Battle Standard allowed a re-roll which they passed, thus achieving my aim of delaying the Longbeards for a turn.
Next turn, with most of the cavalry in combat or out of LOS the Dwarf artillery turned its ire upon the hapless peasant bowmen. Such punishment is not worth any amount of turnips and they soon headed for the nearest tavern. The Dwarf crossbows must have been laughing when the Mounted Yeomen pulled up in front of them, having failed to charge successfully. But their round of shooting killed only one yeomen - not enough to force a panic test on their dreadful Ld of just 6. The Yeomen spurred their horses forward and readied their spears!
The combat between the knights and the slayers ground on and resulted in only a handful of knights remaining. The Dwarf General and Longbeards defeated the impetuous Knights Errant but by then the Questing Knights were able to charge and subsequently defeat them. During these turns however, the Bolt Throwers exacted a hefty toll on the knights, their best shot reserved for the Bretonnian General who was by now accompanied by only 3 knights. Therefore the shot had to be randomised (character in a unit of less than 5 models) and truly skewered him.
The game finished with just 6 brave Thunderers left of the Dwarf army. The Bretonnians had three units of Knights left, but of these 2 had taken heavy casualties.
The Victory Points were Bretonnians 1904 to Dwarfs 1141, giving a solid victory. However, I do not think the VPs give an entirely accurate picture of what proved to be a very bloody, hard fought, yet funny and thoroughly enjoyable game of Warhammer.
Great battle report! Thanks for an enjoyable read.
ReplyDelete