Dumnorix sallies south

Pushing past the Turkish forces had been easy. Evading rather than confronting the Turkish (and British) forces had been easier than he'd believed, and so here he was entering the land of the Egyptian, a land of great necromancers, a land purportedly raised up by mysterious visitors from the skies. Here was a chance to create legends, a chance to carve eternity into the legends of the peoples of the north.

And so Dumnorix surveyed the scene as his forces arrayed against the armed might of the mystical Egyptians.

Andy and I managed a Big Battle HotT army ...  it must be summer holidays.

Initial deployment, Semi historical Egyptian forces  on the left face up to the intruders, the Barbarian hordes from the north.

Egyptian blade backed up by their knight general

Egyptian archers, with their alien commander in mysterious flying saucer, supported by smaller flyers

Huge feline behemoth supports the Egyptian blade

Dumnorix' warband warriors supported by Mammoth behemoth, and riders from the east

The stomp of giant trolls made the very ground shake

Another troll, supporting knights from the north

The alien presence overflies the barbarian line as the forces advance to contact

Dumnorix' left, only intended to hold. Dumnorix had decided not to contest the woods ion the centre

The centres

Dumnorix had managed to concentrate significant force on his right, against a weakened Egyptian left, knights supported by riders and trolls

The centres clash, lines of warband charge in against Egyptian spear

On Dumnorix' left

Dumnorix himself detaches from his line and attacks the alien CnC

However Dumnorix is bested... his bodyguard destroyed. Where is Dumnorix? Will he survive?

Dumnorix' left is whittled down, the warband falling to the Egyptian blade!!

On the right, Dumnorix has the Egyptians outmanoeuvred and outnumbered ... but the command is starved of PIPs

The aline CnC attacks Dumnorix' right flank from the rear

There is much pushing and shoving in the centre, warband vs spear

The centre/right is fully engaged

Dumnorix' left is bested

And in the centre the 'argy bargy' continues

The alien CnC is eliminated buy the hero general commanding Dumnorix' right

Who then also eliminates one of the supporting flyers

The centre still pushing and shoving... please, where are your manners? Less pushing and shoving ..

But Dumnorix' riders and knights are not fairing well on his right

Trolls and knights begin to get stuck in to the Egyptian spear centre

But there's not much left of the demoralised barbarian left

Finally the Barbarian God appears on the left, but too little, too late

Still going in the centre

More casualties on the barbarian right

It's still all on, in the centre

But there is little left of the demoralised command on the left

The Barbarians are making progress in the centre

The right is fraught..

But finally Dumnorix' hordes, missing their great leader who had been escorted from the battlefield sorely pressed, fled the field. The army had taken 50% casualties, and more than the Egyptians. This was not to be the time for creating new legends for Dumnorix... but that time would still come.

This was a great Big Battle HotT game in which my Barbarians had faced off against Andy's Semi Historical Egyptians...

The armies are all 20/25mm figures, from a range of manufacturers.

Weird World War 1 .. all very weird indeed..

Two further games of HotT for the evening, this time Weird World War 1, and both 24 points,, Andy's host hasn't quite reached 48 points yet.

For the first game I field an aerial hero general, and a magician, two riders, and a mix of shooters and blade. Andy fielded shooters, hordes, blade and a hero general (the captured Mk IV)

Deployment, from behind the British lines

Ghostly German hordes, shooters and the hero general

The British aerial hero buzzing around behind the British lines

Riders take the British left wing

Advance ...

The British magician (artillery observer/counter battery team) ensorcels the British hero on one of those 1vs6 die rolls

The British stronghold.. a mystical deathly chateau

But Andy manages a 6, and brings the ensorcelled hero back to attack the British stronghold

British bayonets (blade) advance against the Germans

Action....

The hero is repulsed but goes in again

And destroys the British stronghold... 

So, time for another game, for which we each change the composition of our forces, just because we can, and we want to try out the new figures/models.

I take out the aerial hero and the magician,. and take a behemoth, a hero, and aGod (a gas cloud). Andy adds in an airboat (Roland C!! ground attack plane).

Deployment

The Behemoth on the British right pushes forward, supported by a rider. The hero can be seem in the middle left of the photo, supported by a second rider

Attacking a ghostly German horde

The airboat pushes forward, but is caught in a control zone in bad going by a rider

Meanwhile the German right advances. The British hero has raced across to hold up the left flank

A German blade base is destroyed by the behemoth and the rider together

The British left is looking distinctly thin on the ground, no re-animated British hordes to be seen

The airboat has withdrawn to try to find some freedom of action, while two British blades go in with the bayonet

The behemoth and rider tackle the German blade bases

It's all very muddled in the centre

That behemoth is still chugging away, slowly but surely

The Germans are feeling the pressure with mounting losses - an aerial view of the 'state of play

German shooters advance and attack the British hero who is feeling somewhat alone at this point in time

And still the right flank tussle goes on

 

British blade try to take out the last of their German opposition

As does the behemoth

Now we are all over the place .. 'ubique' as the gunners would say

The hero has managed to withdraw, one base width at a time in that bad going

The airboat swoops back into the action in the centre to support the German blade

Finally the British God appears - clouds of yellow gas descent

The Hod tackles the airboat, while the behemoth and rifer are still at it against those German blade.. tough fellows!!

The airboat recoils

 However casualties have mounted and this day belongs tot eh British. A great game.. lots of fund. We are pondering customising some terrain for these actions.

While we are here, I wanted to showcase Andy;'s stronghold for his Germans .. a little 'Area 51' ish..  As we would say in reo Māori here in New Zealand 'Ka mau te wehi' .. awesome!!!