Command Sabot Bases for Augustus to Aurelian

The new Command Sabot Bases together with the activation chits that identify which commander can act during a game of Augustus to Aurelian

The recent game of Augustus to Aurelian (AtoA) between Will and myself over the Xmas break, revealed my glaring need to get on and produce some specialised command bases to enable my respective commanders to be easily identified on the table as and when their respective command chits were drawn as well as allowing me to easily identify a particular commander possessing specific traits and the orders they were operating under at any given time.

The picture below shows part of the action from our Xmas game and the Roman commander in the bottom right corner can be seen with his command markers in tow and all rather scruffy and inefficient.

My 'jury-rig' solution for marking up my commanders in our game at Xmas seen bottom right

So following that game I made a mental note to start really looking for a better alternative and then remembered seeing some command sabot bases designed by Michael Scott at Supreme Littleness Designs and being used for a Sharp Practice II collection, a game that is similarly driven by a card or chit drawn method.

Supreme Littleness Designs - Command Bases

I however was after a larger design for my sabots to enable my 50mm, 60mm and 70mm diameter bases to be successfully accommodated and with the space offered at the back to succinctly contain all the game data and identification that I wanted them to hold.

Early work on the new bases with the smaller 50mm junior leader bases at the back of the cutting mat

The first part of the design was relatively simple and Michael confirmed that he could cut the same design to the sizes I required and once they arrived I then had to think about the method to include my game data.

As you can see in these two production pictures I settled on using the designs I produced for the number chits that are produced by Sally 4th as my base identities

Sally 4th Roman Chits
Sally 4th Barbarian Chits

On the other corner I simply placed a 1.5 cm square piece of steel paper that allows me to affix the commander portrait under which I can also affix the order chit he would be operating under during the game.

A bit of a proof of concept moment as I placed some markers and a command base on the new sabot

The final look to my Dacian Command bases with number IDs designed to match the draw chits and the magnetic character profiles which will also cover up the orders that commander is operating under at any given time

Once the marker numbers were printed I sprayed them with some matt varnish to protect the ink and once affixed on the bases gave them and added coat of gloss varnish to seal them.

To soften the overall look I decided to cover the marker areas with masking tape before terraining the sabots around the edges and in between the portraits and identity numbers, thus creating a clearly delineated space to allow the markers to stand out and be easily seen.

In the end these marked up bases are a bit of a compromise as you don't want  the eye drawn away from the figures but you do want to be able to see who is who when playing the game.

Similarly my Roman commanders are marked up and ready to go for the next game

I am happy that these new bases strike the balance for me and are the best solution I have come up with so far, complimenting the look of the game chits as well.

The commander portraits are also the same markers used in the campaign system that I am currently playtesting with Steve that will allow a simple transfer of commander identities from the map game to the tabletop, more on that later.

Also not shown in these pictures are my 50mm bases that I have in reserve for the junior commanders, Level I Magnus Viri, as they are called in AtoA, examples of these being leaders of warbands or primus pilus with the legionary eagle who offer a command bonus at the unit level and for which I will in time produce some bases to act as these junior commanders.

So that takes care of the commanders and next it will be back to the units with work commenced on Dacian Warband number seven.

Battlefields in Devon - Battle of Pinhoe 1001

It was way back in December 2016 that Tom and I walked the last Battlefield in Devon report when I covered the Battle of Torrington in 1646.

The county of Devon has a long and rich history and in the last two millennia armies have come and gone and the countryside often gives little clue as to the bloody combat that has occurred among its pastoral scenery evocative of Tolkien's Shire with its narrow lanes, high hedgerows and hills and valleys, known as combes locally, interlaced with rivers and woods, only adding to the attraction of its beaches for holiday makers coming here each summer season.

The map below shows the extent of the county with its two large open high granite stones moorlands, namely Exmoor and Dartmoor where the springs of the Rivers Dart and Exe find their source. This map also serves to show the fields of battle visited so far and you can follow the links below it to pick up on other sites visited

Battle sites in Devon visited with links to previous posts below

Battlefields in Devon - Battle of Torrington
Battlefields in Devon - Battle of Bindon
Battlefields in Devon - Battle of Bovey Heath
Battlefields in Devon - Battle of Lydford
Battlefields in Devon - Battle of Sourton Down

This next battle site was touched on in a post I did covering some test games of Dux Bellorum, Steve M., Bob and I were running to put together a scenario to be played at the February club meeting of the Devon Wargames Group.

Battle of Pinhoe 1001 AD - Dux Bellorum

That game has now been played, following three play-tests prior to it, to arrive at a scenario that would capture some of the bloody struggle that occurred on Beacon Hill near Pinhoe, Exeter in 1001 and you can read how our game turned out plus pictures of the action by following the link to the DWG club blog.

Devon Wargames Group - Battle of Pinhoe, Dux Bellorum

This post however adds the final look at this classic Anglo-Saxon versus Viking Raider clash by looking at the battlefield today and a link to the PDF of our Dux Bellorum scenario should you wish to have a go yourself.

I have lost count the number of times I have written or spoken about the insights walking a battle site gives that can't be experienced by simply reading an account of what happened with a description of the key terrain.

Only when you experience how steep Beacon Hill is will you appreciate the 'charging uphill' modifier that I have applied to the Viking force in the Dux Bellorum scenario because I have experienced the effort of walking up it, not as the Vikings, clad in mail, carrying a large axe and shield, but also not having then to charge a formed shield wall on top of it, trust me, it was knackering in 1001 and it still is in 2019.

The route from Battlefield Walks in Devon by Rupert Mathews and the one I followed from the railway station up Park Lane to the open field atop Beacon Hill near St Michael's Church

I described the background to this encounter in my post about the first play-test so here I will focus on my walk and the terrain encountered.

The walk uphill to the village shops from the railway station

Parking my car close to Pinhoe station on the main line to London I began the steady climb uphill through the village towards the B3181 that forms the main road into and out of the village.

Pinhoe was thoroughly sacked and burned by the Vikings and the village you see today is a mixture of medieval, Victorian and later houses as the village grew up around the railway and the city of Exeter.

Pinhoe is typical of the villages in Devon with many an old thatch to be seen about and here on the B3181 (see map above)

Rupert Mathews in his Battlefield Walks book covering Devon, suggests Park Lane as a likely route out from the original settlement that the Vikings took after gathering in the village to eat and prepare to offer battle to the Saxons on the hill above the village.

Park Lane is a likely route taken by the Viking raiders on their climb out of the village and passes the aptly named Saxon Avenue.

On climbing the hill one immediately starts to appreciate the commanding views of the wider country together with the landing site of the raiders in the River Exe, forcing the Vikings to attack them rather than leave such a powerful force to threaten their boats and thus progress inland searching for other villages to loot.

Even half way up Park Lane you can start to appreciate the height of Beacon Hill and the controlling view of the countryside it offered Kola and his Saxon Fyrdmen

Even from the lower heights one can observe the mouth of the River Exe where the Viking boats moored and the villages along it would have had palls of smoke rising indicating the route inland taken by the invaders

It is thought that the current 15th century St Michael's Church was likely built to accommodate the ground on which the Saxon Christian burials were made following the battle and forms a useful reference point when walking up the hill.

Nearing the summit of the hill the tower of St Michael's Church, likely built on the site of the Christian burial pit can be seen poking above the hedgerows

Park Lane climbs on up to the summit of Beacon Hill

The views, once out into the open countryside, are truly awe inspiring and on the day of my walk the clouds parted to let the sun shine through and remove the threat of any further heavy showers.

The views of the Black Down Hills and East Devon are spectacular up here especially when the sun starts to break through the rain clouds

God's own country and explaining why 'Devon' rhymes with Heaven

On reaching the top, the lane leads off to the open ground above the village via a bridleway

Despite the sunshine however the previous heavy rain had left the short cross country part of the walk a little more interesting, but with a stout pair of boots on, worth the effort to see the likely site of Kola and Tokesen's bloody little encounter.

At this time of year bridleways can be a bit slippy, but hey this is part of the fun of battlefield walks

Stepping through the 'kissing gate' onto the battlefield presented the view below which, with a lot of the built up areas in the Clyst Valley below imagined as open fields,  has changed little in one thousand years.

Stepping out on to the top of Beacon Hill where Theign Kola is likely to have formed his shield wall as Tokesen's Vikings emerged onto the hill near the church in the bottom left corner

The fact that only the church tower can be seen from the hill crest shows the steep gradient up which Palig Tokesen and his raiders launched themselves into the line of Devon Fyrd

The scant report of the battle suggests Tokesen and his men launched themselves immediately uphill when they caught sight of the Saxon line and hit with such ferocity that the first charge settled the affair in favour of the raiders.

Off to the right of the Saxon line is a glorious view of Exeter and too which the they successfully broke contact and retreated to after the battle 

That said the Anglo Saxon line put up enough of a fight to be able to break off from the battle and get back to Exeter and cause the raiders to head back to their boats and depart soon after.

The same battlefield seen from the Viking lines

There is something quite moving to picture the struggle that occurred on a site particularly when situated in such a beautiful place like Beacon Hill.

I only hope this place survives the hunt for more and more building plots in this part of Devon to allow others in the future to get the experience I was lucky to enjoy on my afternoon walk.

One has to imagine around 6,000 heavily armed men going at it "hammer and tongs" as the opposing lines met in mortal combat 

The 15th c. St Micheal and All Angels Church, Pinhoe in the red sandstone typical of this part of East Devon

I finished my walk by taking time to look at St Michael's Church which forms an equally pretty backdrop and stands as a memorial to the bravery of the vicar of Pinhoe at the time of the battle who it is reported braved a journey to and from Exeter to deliver extra arrows and other weapons to the hard pressed Saxon army.

The vicar of Pinhoe, following its sacking and burning by the Vikings, is reported to have courageously ridden to Exeter to get more arrows for the Anglo-Saxon army, for which he received an annual payment of 16 shillings after the battle

St George and the Dragon in the porch window seems to capture some of the drama of 1001

The beautiful 17th c. thatched lychgate of St Michael's

Rupert Mathews the author of the book I am using to plan these walks has his own blog and you can read his account of this walk and battle in the link below.

https://thehistorymanatlarge.blogspot.com/2010/02/battle-of-pinhoe-devon-in-year-1001.html

Finally, as promised, you can access the scenario and orders of battle for our Battle of Pinhoe, Dux Bellorum game in the link below.

Battle of Pinhoe PDF - Dux Bellorum

Over the Hills Second Edition - Kickstarter

A British Square at Quatre Bras takes pride of place on the cover of Over the Hills Second Edition

The second edition of Over the Hills Napoleonic Rules are up on Kickstarter since Friday and have already reached their funding goal of £2000 since they went live.

If you were thinking of getting into Over the Hills to play your Napoleonic games, and why wouldn't you after reading the games played with the set here on JJ's and other wargaming sites, then now would seem to be an opportune moment with the new updated version of the rules already funded and set for delivery in April at a UK price of £29.00 including P&P.

Over the Hills 2nd Edition - Kickstarter

Having seen a preview of the rules I can see the chaps have very much tidied up what we had originally in the first edition with a lot of the the original rules reordered into a much more accessible format with everything relating to a specific area under one section, and as someone who took the time to do that with my revised QRS that Steve M an I used for the test games of O'er the Hills I think this is great and makes the second edition much better for that.

The new rules follow the format of the latest publications and have the period map backing to each page supported with good diagrams to illustrate play and colour pictures of Napoleonic collections in action, everything expected in modern rule-sets today.

In addition the chaps have taken on board the feedback and game time experience from players that got to grips with first edition and have included that into these rules and so we see among others changes the inclusion the d10/d6 conversion table for those players preferring to roll a different set of bones and we now have a new rule for rallying brigades that have broken off due to fatigue point failure.

The latter change I was particularly pleased to see included as a Peninsular War enthusiast, as now you have a chance to rally those weak, two battalion, British brigades that appear early in the Peninsular War and are rather vulnerable to a few casualties and a bit of manoeuvre to early fatigue loss.

With a successful rally, this rule will allow those affected brigades to rally in a rear area and not go off the table thus potentially affecting the overall army morale in a negative way.

Over the next month of the Kickstarter the chaps at Stand to Games will be highlighting these and other changes to the rules  and the Over the Hills - Facebook Page is a really good place to monitor whats happening along with the Kickstarter page for any updates.

As well as getting a copy of the new Over the Hills you can also add in an order to your pledge for a copy of the AWI, ACW rules and the O'er the Hills Peninsular War Scenario book at the same time.

I really like the look of this second edition and although very familiar and comfortable with the first  have supported this updated and improved one by ordering up a copy in time for when I want to start looking at the next set of Peninsular War games I have in mind not to mention running some games from O'er the Hills at the DWG for club members interested in playing OTH.

Sarmatian Light Cavalry

With the completion of my first two units of Sarmatian cataphracts I decided to complete a small division of Sarmatian cavalry by adding two units of light cavalry, one with light bows and javelins and the other purely a horse archer unit.

Sarmatian Cataphracts

As covered in my last post looking at my second cataphtact unit I took time to describe the Sarmatian people that joined the Dacians in their war with Rome and the fact that they were a cavalry based army centred around their nomadic traditions of living on the Eurasian Steppe on horseback and moving their families with them in covered wagons.

The Sarmatian Light Cavalry stat card for Augustus to Aurelian

Alongside the heavily armoured and armed cataphracts the Sarmatian tribes could also call on multiple units of lightly armed horse archers and light cavalry, perfect troops for raiding and for adding their missilery in major battles.

The mounted archers gain the special rule of 'Parthian Shot' allowing them to make a full move and shoot with no penalty and then immediately make a second full move after shooting, effectively moving at charge speed whilst harassing the enemy.

These light units are based in groups of just six figures and so rate as small units but with their lack of armour are not designed for close combat with Attack Factors of '2' for the horse archers and '3' for the light cavalry, which cross referencing those factors on the combat table below against, for example, medium armoured heavier cavalry, such as Roman auxiliaries, sees them scoring hits on their two D10 with scores of three or less and four or less respectively, before any additional factors.

The strength of these units lies in their rapid mobility and sting offered by their shooting factors of '3' for the light cavalry and '4' for the archers as shown below on the stat card.

Thus the horse archers get to shoot with two D10 each time with a 50% chance of hitting, before additional factors, against medium armoured targets such as Roman cavalry or infantry and with relative impunity using the 'Parthian Shot' rule and getting the benefit of being skirmishers if shot back at.

The combined Shooting and Combat table from August to Aurelian

However the Sarmatians will have to be cautious operating in the close country that typifies Dacia which will offer the Romans terrain that could neutralise these cavalry units and with the use of Roman combined units, marrying their own archers in with their formed infantry and able to shoot overhead, enable some return shooting back at these lightly clad troops.

Both these units are composed of figures from the Warlord range using their Sarmatian Horse Archer and Sarmatian Light Cavalry packs. Interestingly the light cavalry although carrying bows are not modelled with the requisite bow and arrow quivers, but thanks to the the very nice team at Warlord Games I was able to rectify that with some extra parts.

These two units complete my first batch of Sarmatians and in the next unit post I am going back to complete the next six units of Dacian Warbands, starting with Warband number seven, that will compose the heavy punch for my Dacian forces.

Next up though I will be showing off my new Command Sabot Bases and putting together a YouTube presentation on the plans going into 2019 for the additions to my Romano-Dacian collection. Plus the final play-test of the Battle of Pinhoe, for Dux Bellorum, was played last night and, thanks to inputs from Bob and Steve M, I now have an interesting challenging scenario to take to the club this weekend; with an AAR to come on the DWG blog and a PDF of the scenario to be posted here on JJ's.