1067 & All That!

Time to give my Normans and Saxons some tabletop time we thought when discussing the next game in GHQ after last week's epic Ancient battle over at Phil's Olaf'sHQ. The figures are bar three from Wargames Foundry and were sculpted for them by my son Matthew. I painted the Saxons and Phil painted the Normans for me, at "mates' rates" I'm pleased to say. (I'd definitely recommend his painting service to you, even at the full rate its superb value for money if you enjoy well painted units in your game!) The rules we chose were Lion Rampant from Osprey Publishing, in my view one of only two decent sets they've produced, the other being Honours of War. (You should be able to guess my view on Frostgrave and the like...)
I laid out the table for the game, with the Normans lead by Phillipe de Rawnsli, the newly created Lord of the Manor or Worsul, tasked with harrowing the small Saxon settlement near Penda's Ford, home to one Bicca, a stout supporter of the late lamented Harold and holder of the Manor of Penda's Ford, despite what that bastard from Normandy might say. I've taken a few pictures which I hope will illustrate for you the see saw nature of the game and a most unexpected outcome at the end ~

The Saxon defenders of home and hearth, the 'good guys'!

The b*stard Normans!

Norman crossbow unit, the Saxons really suffered from their fire in the early
stages.

The Foot Companions, the Hearth Guard, take the centre of the Saxon line.

The Lower Class spearmen move around the flank to attack the crossbows.

The Upper Class spearmen, much reduced by fire from the crossbows, are
charged by Norman knights.

The Upper Class spearmen are driven back and the knights also route the
Lower Class remnants just for good measure!

Norman and Saxon close for hand to hand fighting while the knights look on.

More Saxon Upper Class Spearmen route. Its not looking good for Bicca!

The Hearth Guard are thrown into the attack along with the remaining Lower
Class Spearmen. Its all or nothing time!

Its a stalemate, neither side can press home an advantage, and both withdraw
to tend to their wounds and plan the next phase...

Two and a half hours of harmless fun. What more could you ask for from a game? We felt we coped with the rules quite well, despite the long interval since they last had a run out. From looking a lost cause, the Saxons were saved by two Norman failures in Courage tests after the Leader's unit routed! Early in the game the Saxons were made to pay for choosing no missile troops, and indeed t as the Norman crossbowmen's threat which saved them from total defeat at the death.
Next up here in GHQ will be a Black Powder SYW game with Jon on Wednesday evening. I shall hope to have that up on the blog for interested readers by the weekend. Pop back soon to see how to went.