Last Game for the Year

We have just finished playing the last game for the year. It was an early medieval, a Byzantine force against a Frankish force. The scenario was that a rebellious Frankish lord wanted to carve out a fiefdom for himself. The Byzantines objected.

It was quite a short game, starting with a battle between the two opposing heavy cavalry forces, and eventually destroying each other.

Then it continued with the light cavalry skirmising on the opposite flank. 

Finally in the centre the infantry clashed.

A lot of fun was had by all and a good way to finish the gaming year.

The count for the year is 23 games in thirteen different historical periods.

Life Goes On...

I just realised that my last post was almost a month ago. Time is flying by!

Real life has been demanding with financial year’s end approaching,  a major project coming to fruition, another project at the kick-off stage, staff annual reviews to complete and then I have been fighting off a cold that I brought back from Europe last month. But I haven’t be idle on the painting front, having painted 84 foot and 24 mounted figures since I came back from overseas.

Below are some (less than perfect) images of the latest additions.

The first unit of WSS Bavarian cuirassiers

I have been plugging away on the Bavarian WSS army and have now completed the infantry, 9 battalions in all, and have started on the cavalry, having completed a half regiment each of dragoons and cuirassiers, and the Lieb Horse Grenadiers. I hope to have another regiment of cuirassiers ready before we play a game this weekend. Then there will be only another two regiments of cuirassiers to go to complete the army.

The Lieb Grenadiers at the head of the first brigade 

The head of the second brigade

All of the infantry

The dragoons

I have also been powering through the Wars of the Roses figures that I bought in Toulouse. I have finished the archers and billmen set and have started on the foot knights. I have yet to complete the basing of these as I am waiting on basing supplied to arrive.

The billmen

One unit of archers

The first unit of foot knights

Two stands of the foot knights

I am really pleased with the Wars of the Roses figures and will look to getting some more after we return from holiday. This will add to the other projects: Crimean War, Russo-Japanese War, WWI in East Africa, Austro-Prussian War, Great Northern War…the list just goes on!

A Visit to Carcassonne

As readers may have gleaned from my previous post I have some time in Toulouse. Leaving Stockholm at mid-day on Friday, I arrived at Toulouse via Munich at around 6:00 pm and was at my hotel half an hour later. This is my fifth time in Toulouse so I know the town centre reasonably well. After a quick stroll around some favourite haunts I found a restaurant in Place Capitole for dinner and had my favoured Maigret du Cannard and a large beer. Feeling a bit under the weather as a result of a bit of a head cold I took it easy on Saturday, but on Sunday decided to take the train to Carcassonne and have a look at the castle there.

The 10:49 train got me into Carcassone just after 11:30.  What had been a cold and overcast moring had brightened and warmed up considerably. I have been here before and could remember the way clearly from the station to the castle and the Cité, which is a walk of perhaps 2 kilometres. Before too long I had arrived at the Pont Vieux, or Old Bridge across the River Aude, which dates back to the 14th Century and for 500 years was the only link between the Cité and the Ville Basse (lower or new town)

Here I get my first real view of the Cité on the heights beyond. From here it has a sinister look to it, its walls, towers and turrets darkly silhouetted against the bright eastern sky.

Built on the foundations of a Roman fort the Cité dates back as far as 925AD, but was restored to its current state by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853, and was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.  

There are two entrances to the Cité, the Porte Narbonnaise, on the northern face, or the Porte d’Aude (or Barbican)  on the southern face. I chose the latter because it was the nearer gate, the path to which starts near the Church of Saint Gimer, also rebuilt by Viollet-le-Duc in 1859. The path ascends a steep slope to a level of perhaps hundred feet or more above the surrounding countryside, and on top of this height stands the Cité with its three kilometers of double ring walls and 52 towers.

Above, approaching the Baribican from Saint Gimer and, below looking at back the gate from the inside 

Entering to town it is a maze of  narrow cobbled streets that are lined with shops and bars. Place Marcou, near the Porte Narbonnaise, is crammed with colourful umbrella covered tables from the bistros that were setting up for lunch. 

On the southern end of the town stands the Basilica Sainte-Nazaire et Saint-Celse, that could trace its foundation back to 925, rebuilt in its current Gothic style between 1269 and 1330. Elements of its earlier Romanesque style is evident in its vaulted nave, while stunning stained glass windows light the interior and gargoyles guard the exterior. 

On the western face, overlooking the river and the approaches to the Barbican, stands the Donjon of the viscount. Commenced in 1120 and remodelled in 1229 this beautifully preserved castle features courtyards, chambers, a chapel and a museum. From the ramparts the view across the tiled roofs of the town and of the surrounding countryside is superb.

The entrance to the Donjon

The view from the ramparts with Saint Gimer in the foreground

On the ramparts 

The interior of the Donjon 

I had a nice bit of lunch in one of the bistros, at a much lower price than I was expecting, and washed it town with a couple of glasses of rosé while sitting in the sun (not bad considering there had been a high percentage chance of rain forecast) before making my way back slowly through the old town (although being a Sunday there was not much open) to the train station where I took the 3:30 train back to Toulouse, arriving there at around 4:40. 

It was an easy and pleasant way to pass the day. It is starting to cool down now and tomorrow is a busy day, so I think a cassoulet is called for tonight.

Tarawera Weekend - Day 2 Thursday 4 September

After a hearty breakfast we made our way to the garage for the next game, this time set during the Crusades.

The game was split into two parts; one in the morning, the other in the afternoon, around a central theme - a Crusader siege of a Saracen castle. 

The morning game was based around an attempt by the Saracens to relive the siege and was set in fairly open desert terrain some distance from the castle. The Saracens had three wings, one (forming their left wing) comprising of primarily light troops, a second (in the centre) made up of medium cavalry and infantry and the third (on the right) a mixed force. Opposing them was a powerful Crusader force of four units of knights, two of sergeants, some heavy infantry, crossbowmen and archers. The Crusaders were also divided into three battles.

The battle commenced with two flank wings of the Saracens attempting to envelop the Crusaders. The Crusaders needed to do little more than hold the line, let the Saracens take all the risks. The Saracens obliged and on the left moved to make the first contact. Their light cavalry skirmished with the Knights of St John, drawing them forward until they charged. The horse archers, evaded and shot down several of the knights. Over the next couple of turns the Knights were drawn into a trap where they were slowly destroyed, as were other units of the Crusader right. But the action here was draining for both sides and the two wings eventually came to a standstill. 

The battle line from the Crusader side.

On the Crusader left the Saracen advance was soon halted and the Crusaders pushed hard against them. The Saracens struck back with a concerted attack, but were halted and driven back.

The charge of the knights in the Crusader's centre

In the centre the Crusaders slowly pressed forward until finally they were able to charge. The Saracens, badly mauled finally collapsed and were driven off, ending this attempt to raise the siege.

The second, the afternoon, game was the assault of Crusaders against the castle. The players were reversed so that I, who played Crusaders in the morning, now played Saracens. 

The Saracens wait inside the castle walls.

The Crusaders were equipped with a ram, a siege tower and a number of catapults. Against one wall they hurled rocks from the catapults, while at the same time a path was made for the ram and the tower. The tower reached the wall first, the ramp was lowered and the first assaulting party stormed onto the walls.

The first Crusaders make it onto the walls

At almost the same time the catapults made a breach, while on the other wall the Crusaders mounted the wall on their scaling ladders.

The wall is breached

Finally the wall was shattered by the ram. The Saracens fought valiantly but could were overwhelmed and the casle fell.

The ram finally breaks through

Meanwhile at the other end of the table another Saracen force arrived and attempted too raise the siege, but was easily driven off. 

The relief force fails to break through.

The game over we returned to the house for drinks and snacks while the next game was set up. After a breifing for the next game, dinner and DVDs followed.