“Cunnilngus”s team was led by Andy Cummings, with Paul Cockram, Derek Whittenbury and Simon Day in support. “Portentious Gleeson”s team was led by Warren Gleeson, with Glenn Foden, Jason Clarke and Paul Nettle in support. Everyone was using Romans from the WAB list, except for Derek who was using a Slave Revolt army from “Spartacus”. Andy and Warren had 2,000 point armies; everyone else used their campaign armies (1,500 points + territory bonuses). For example, Paul Nettle’s army was 1,690 points, but was allowed no unit standards and only two unit leaders.

The teams fought over a 4” by 18” table, scattered with terrain but with three hills down the middle. The objective was to win two (or three) hills.
Deployment was like this:

Both teams had 3 players each going for two hills, and one player each going for the last hill.

This picture shows the deployment along the tables. You can see the three hills, although the last table is in shadow. Note the huge gap between Warren’s (white shirt) right flank troops and Glenn’s troops (on Warren’s right). More of this later… Simon, nearest the camera on the left, has comprehensively outflanked Jason opposite him, but Simon’s troops are a long way from the hill…
Throughout the game, Glenn and Paul Cockram had a lonely game somewhat divorced from the swirling action elsewhere. Paul’s army was composed of raw troops and they comprehensibly outnumbered Glenn’s army. After some hard fighting in which Glenn took the hill, numbers began to pay off and Paul Cockram ended up in possession of the hill, although only because he had more troops on it. As you can see, Glenn had a unit of veterans on the hill too.

Paul Cockram’s troops are on the movement tray. Glenn’s veterans have the red shields, and Glenn’s General is on the right of the unit (left as we look at it).

On the other end of the table, Jason and half of Paul Nettle’s army attacked the other hill, and Simon found his army under hard pressure. However, some heroic break test rolling by Simon’s veterans (down to a single rank) who twice rolled a ‘snakes eyes’ when anything else would have seen them break, almost won it for Simon. However, they did eventually break and Jason got control of the hill. Simon had several units ready to attack the hill, but they couldn’t march due to some heroic fighting by Jason’s auxiliary cavalry, who single handedly held up four of Simon’s units.

Here Simon has one unit with its toes on the hill (right) but Jason’s troops (with moulded movement trays) are rampant.
In the centre the two general’s went head to head.

This picture shows Warrens troops (top of picture) getting onto the hill first, facing Derek’s warband with added Gladiators.
Warren’s army was somewhat smaller than Andy’s because Warren’s army had a lot of veterans. Warren soon found his right flank, hanging on thin air, under extreme pressure. Derek’s troops exploited the gap between Paul Nettle’s forces very well, but it was the fighting on the hill that dominated, with units of Romans elbow to elbow fighting against similarly packed enemy Roman units. Warren’s units prevailed initially, taking out several of Andy’s units, but it was Warren’s weak right flank which proved his undoing and Andy slowly but surely began to roll-up Warren’s army from the flank. Andy had an elephant which rampaged around the skirmisher-free centre of the battlefield, taking out Warren’s cataphracts, but this did not effect the fighting for the hill too much.

Andy’s elephant (central foreground, left) advances on Warren’s cataphracts (right).

In the foreground, left, Derek’s purple shielded troops flee the Gallic warband as Derek’s German cavalry hit the warband in the flank. You can just see Paul Nettle’s blue shielded Romans (above the purple-shield unit) chasing Andy’s Romans from the hill, whilst Warren’s green shielded veterans, with the General, pursue off the hill. On the hill, uncontested, Andy’s left flank rolls up Warren’s right flank.

n a critical last dice roll, Warren attempted to restrain one of his units from pursuing a broken enemy – and failed – and his unit ran off the hill! This left Andy with undisputed control of the hill, and with that, the game and the campaign win.
Well done to Andy for winning the campaign, and thanks to everyone for taking part in the campaign, especially to those who lent armies to newer players so that they could tale part. Finally, thanks to Simon Day for taking all the pictures.
Things we learned:

• Regular and Veteran Roman Legionaries are over-pointed for what they can do; raw troops with an army standard bearer are the way to go.
• Most players use Romans three deep – good for STR (Stupid Roman Tricks) but not so good in combat against other Romans when you lack unit standards and leaders. Four ranks became popular.
• Auxiliary troops, skirmishing with throwing spears, can dominate the flanks – beating any other skirmishers and form up, if necessary, against cavalry. At least two units of these are really good and can be battle winners.