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Friday, 23 November 2018

Romans vs Huns

We played a big game of DBA last night - 48 elements per side, split into four commands. The armies were a Late Roman and opposing them a Hun/Ostrogoth alliance.

Peter took the Roman centre, Dave their left and I the right-wing cavalry. Gary ran the Ostrogths and Caesar the Huns.

Here's the Roman right.


Caesar's Huns consisted of two commands.


Gary's Ostrogoths were also two commands, one mostly mounted and the other mostly foot.


The Romans reorganised their right as the first wave of Huns moved in. The second Hun command was a little slow in supporting them.


The Huns attack! Peter's troops held; specifically his line of mighty cataphracts not only held, but destroyed a number of the Hun attackers.


As the Hun line thinned I brought up some of my heavy cavalry in support.


Caesar finally got his second command organised just as the first broke. They closed in on my troops.


Meanwhile on the other flank Dave had swung his Romans forward very rapidly, and the two infantry lines fought in some woods.


Caesar's first command had now completely disintegrated.


An aerial view of his second command approaching my troops. Already he had lost two elements to the Roman's archery, which was deadly accurate during this game.


The Ostrogoths pressed home another attack. Their cavalry was preparing to charge the main Roman line.


When it did, it swept all before it. Another push from the infantry broke the main Roman infantry command.



But it was too little, too late. Caesar's surviving Huns had attacked ...


... and were repulsed or held. Their losses mounted until the command broke.

The Romans pressed forward in a counter-attack. If they could catch the Huns before they could flee, and destroy a couple more elements then the entire army would break.


It broke.


Roman losses on the right were negligible. I don't think the Huns destroyed anything. Archery from the two elements I had on the extreme right accounted for at least four Hun elements. Caesar was ridiculously unlucky with his combat rolls. I didn't follow the other flank in detail, but the fighting there seemed closer, with the Ostrogoths getting an eventual breakthrough against the Romans giving them their one real success of the evening.

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