My Trojans invaded Mick's

Hittite Empire (figures and list loaned by umpire Dave Mather - Mick's

first look at them was as we began to deploy :o) ). Invading! Darn

it, 28AP of PFs stay in their custom-made box.

The list was a minor tweak of one I've used before:

Hector (Irr Cv(O) Ch)

7 Irr Cv(O) Ch

6 Irr Bd(F)

2 Irr Ax(O)

6 Irr Ps(O)

6 Irr Ps(I)

27ME

Guides Stratagem (used, but useless on this occasion)

Aeneas (Irr Cv(O) Ch)

4 Irr Cv(O) Ch

32 Irr Sp(I)

27 ME

Helenus (Irr Cv(O) Ch)

7 Irr Cv(O) Ch

8 Irr Ax(O)

10 Irr Ps(O)

8 Irr Ps(I)

27 ME

6 Army Baggage

I won't list Mick's army, as there may be spies watching. :o)

Basically, 3 Reg Kn generals, a wing of heavy chariotry, a load of

mixed Pk(X)/Wb and some more chariotry with filler.

The terrain all fell on my side of the table. A GH on my left, with

the right cluttered with two V and a DH.

Mick deployed first with (from my left to right) a sub leading his

heavy chariotry, then the massed fearsome infantry under the CinC and

out on the right a lesser chariot wing with filler hiding at the back.

Left to Right I stood Sarpedon and his Bd(F) Lukka on the GH, with

light infantry outside them and the chariotry poised behind to head

out wide. Then Aeneas had the main body of Sp(I), angled back.

Helenus had to cover the right (terrain-cluttered) half of the table,

but with all that Ps and Ax he had the boys for the job. We also had

a guides stratagem which we used to put a path across the DH on the

right, intending to shoot Helenus chariotry out wide that way. The

basic plan was to get the Cv(O) wide on the flanks and hope that we

could stretch Mick's smaller forces too thin.

Mick advanced with great elan. On the right (his high PIPper), his LH

hit my Ps and Ax. They cut a few down, before being massacred by

Hector's chariotry in return (Mick rolled five 1s in a row in that

combat bound!) His Kn(O) plowed forward and into the Bd(F), standing

uphill. I popped a Kn in the middle, but Mick had a reserve to plug

the gap. The Bd began to crumble while I struggled with PIPs to do

something constructive with the chariots. One Kn turned the flank fo

the Ps line and then cam under pressure itself as it advanced away

from its supports. It got away with it after a number of 3:2qk

efforts, and managed to get involved with the Cv(O) chariots.

Finally, in one disastrous bound I lost 2 Bd and 2 chariots which took

me from healthy ot broken in one fell swoop. Gulp!

In the centre, the Hittite infantry (low PIPing) swept past the

vineyards stuffed with Helenus' Ps with nary a care in their hearts.

They had the Sp(I) in their sights. Aeneas' chariots sped out and

engaged the infantry with flanking support from Ps. Initial success

led to two files of Pk(F) and Wb(F) being taken out of the game, but

rest plowed on, albeit giving up overlaps. The Hittite general was

committed to cover an open flank and eventually was roughly handled

from behind and the side by Ps(I), after rashly pursuing into a

vineyard. (not a healthy place for a chariot corps!) His loss,

together with the other casualties from the infantry fight (due to

overlaps etc the Sp(I) held up well against the Pk/Wb combo) broke the

central command, which incidentally disheartened the victorious heavy

chariot wing. However, since these were almost all 2ME troops, they

ignored that minor inconvenience other than to no longer be impetuous

against Hector's routers (so it was actually a benefit to them!)

On the left, we both stalled. Helenus had very few PIPs all game and

those he did have were absorbed by the Ps. The majority of his

fighting was done by the Ps(I) (for example taking on (and taking out)

the Hittite general noted above).

The Trojan Sp(I) managed to sneak an element behind the victorious

enemy chariots on their left. 2 chariots and 3 LH down, one more

chariot would do it. We wangled another rear hit, on 3qk:1 - no good!

If it had come off, victory would have been ours.

Then my fatal error. A chariot had been bounced off by a Sp(I). I

brought Aeneas up as flank support, forgetting that at 40p the chariot

doesn't (as currently interpreted!) count as TZed. He backed off, did

a 3-point turn, and advanced diagonally across the Sp's TZ to a

position where he could conform to Aeneas! (Cursed "roll-on/roll-off

chariots!) 2 more enemy chariots hit the rest of the thin Sp-line.

3qk:4 roll for Mick to kill Aeneas, dice let me down and we had a dead

proto-founder of Rome on our hands. The rest of the Sp(I) in the line

got charged down too, for exactly 9.5ME lost and my centre broken.

The Aegis had been shaken, and the Trojans were running for their

homelands. Hittite supremacy in the region was re-established, but it

was a very tight game.

Mick lost over 40% and 2 broken/disheartened commands. I of course

lost the army, so 15:10 to Mick.

Great game - a real page-turner as we both pushed aggressively, with

the result swinging on Mick's chariot that survived the 3:1 rear

attack and then my mistake in allowing him to get a charge in on Aeneas.