Anyway, I had a great time at the Forum Party (once again). I had the chance to play from 2:00pm till about 4:41pm. Here are the opponents I fought today:
- 4 games against TheKid951 So, I'll give a summary of each battle I played today against my fellow Forumers... Macedon (Prince_of_Macedon) Germania (TheKid951) Battlefield: Grassy Flatlands I've never lost to the Germans EVER. I went into this game with a lot of confidence. TheKid951 posted his cavalry evenly on both wings while the rest of his infantry were placed in the center. This battle opened up with our archers rushing forward to exchange arrows. At the same time, I decided to charge TheKid951's cavalry on both wings. All but one of my cavalry units were successful in routing the German cavalry. It was on my left flank that I was losing the battle. His remaining cavalry unit was reinforced by several units of Chosen Axemen and a few Night Raiders. They poured in around my phalanx who was just sitting there waiting for action. Around my phalanx they went! And they spent this time chasing my skirmishers. On the my right flank, my Companion Cavalry were slaughtering Night Raiders and Chosen Axemen left and right. One after another, his infantry were routed. Eventually, only his Chosen Archers opposed my right wing cavalry force.. And so I sent my diminishing Companion Cavalry charging directly into his archers. I knew my numbers were diminished, but I didn't expect his Chosen Archers to stand and fight. In fact, they were knocking down my Companions. At that moment, his routing cavalry had rallied themselves back into battle. His returning cavalry sandwiched my Companions between his horses and his archers. My Companions were slaughtered. Without my cavalry force, my Royal Pikemen were quite vulnerable to flanking maneuvers. As I chased his infantry around the map, I realized that I wouldn't be given the chance to fight his infantry in a frontal fight. Instead, TheKid951 spent his time maneuvering his troops into position for an enveloping attack. One by one, my 4 Royal Pikemen panicked and were cut down by the Germanic army. At this point, I still had my skirmishers mainly intact. But they were clearly outmatched. So I spared them the agony of a last-ditch attack. Result: Defeat! Seleucids (Prince_of_Macedon) Egypt (TheKid951) Battlefield: Scottish Highland I don't know what I was thinking. I decided to use the Seleucids for the sole purpose of Cataphracts. I've never actually used them before but I've seen them used. The battle started off with our skirmishers marching ahead of their armies to shoot missiles at each other. At this point, I decided to charge all of my Cataphracts at TheKid951's right-wing chariots. Strangely enough, his 2 Egyptian Chariot Generals managed to outfight my 3 Cataphracts. I even switched to maces once my Cataphracts were done charging. The remaining Egyptian Chariot Generals (on TheKid951's other wing) whipped freely around my Silver Shield Legionaries and slaughtered them from the flanks and rears. This was not a pretty battle! Result: Defeat! Macedon (Prince_of_Macedon) Egypt (TheKid951) Battlefield: Grassy Flatland Alright, I decided to stick with my Companion Cavalry this time. Both armies balanced their wings with an even distribution of cavalry. The first move TheKid951 made was a suicide charge of his Peasants. I didn't want to lose any of my skirmishers so I ordered my left-wing cavalry to intercept the Peasants. The initial charge routed the Peasants instantly. I pulled these horses back though when I saw his opposing wing of Egyptian Chariot Generals rushing forward. While this was going on, our archers were blasting each other away in a skirmish. I didn't care who won the archer battle. If I couldn't beat his chariots, this battle wouldn't last very long anyway. So I was determined to hurt them... Using a combination of heavy cavalry and skirmishers, I engaged both of his chariot wings simultaneously. On the right flank, I was very successful (where my general was positioned). On my left flank, I wasn't nearly as successful, but I did succeed in depleting his chariots into a token force. My right wing cavalry proceeded to run some of his archers over with its hooves before they found safety behind the Pharaoh's Guards. I couldn't defeat his Pharaoh's Guards with my horses alone so I ordered my Royal Pikemen forwards. My phalanx was outnumbered by TheKid951's, but the presence of my Companion Cavalry negated the disparity in numbers. Flanking moves with my cavalry won the battle. Result: Victory! Macedon (Prince_of_Macedon) Germania (TheKid951) Battlefield: Grassy Flatland This battle opened up with another clash of the archers. In this battle, it seemed as if we learned the same lesson from our first Macedon-Germania battle: support your cavalry with foot soldiers. Unfortunately, his German infantry was significantly faster. So after our initial cavalry clash, my horses were overpowered by the presence of nearby hostile infantry. By the time my Pikemen arrived, his infantry simply ran away. In this battle, I was completely outclassed by TheKid951. Result: Defeat! Macedon (Prince_of_Macedon) Parthians (Gaius Colinius) Battlefield: Grassy Flatland (?) Unfortunately, Gaius Colinius' computer crashed towards the end of this battle. It wouldn't allow me to save the replay; thus, I can't recall the specifics of this battle. Gaius Colinius raised the classic Parthian army (the one that had slaughtered Crassus at Carrhae). If I remember correctly, all of my Companion Cavalry charged his Cataphracts at the beginning of the battle, but they were beaten back with little effort. After the clash of heavy cavalry, the rest of the fighting involved my Royal Pikemen getting surrounded by Gaius' enormous force of mounted archers. They were shot to pieces from all directions. Result: Defeat! Macedon (Prince_of_Macedon) Parthia (Noviomagum) Battlefield: Grassy Flatlands Noviomagum placed his Cataphracts and Elephants in a refused center while his mounted archers manned the wings. His Persian Cavalry occupied his left wing while his Horse Archers stood on the right wing. I sent my Light Lancers charging into his Horse Archers who had formed a Cantabrian Circle once my archers began shooting their arrows. As my Light Lancers charged into his left wing, all of his Cataphracts crashed into the side of my lancers. Immediately afterwards, my Companion force crashed into his Cataphracts. Soon after, I saw his War Elephants charging towards my Companion Cavalry. At the last second, my Companions retreated behind the safety of the Royal Pikemen who had also joined the battle. The War Elephants were forced back with heavy losses as they ran into a wall of Royal spears (along with a hail of fire arrows from my Archers). After that clash, his mounted archers formed into circles again. I ordered my Companions to charge his Persian Cavalry. Instead of retreating, they decided to stay and put a fight. To help with the ensuing cavalry clash, Noviomagum ordered his Horse Archers to join with the Persian Cavalry with their swords drawn. They were immediately slaughtered by my Companion who were better equipped for a melee fight. The battle then switched to the other flank where his Cataphracts were now determined to fight. A combination of Light Lancers and Companion Cavalry drove his Cataphracts away. When his War Elephants re-joined the battle, they just as quickly lost control of themselves when my Archers and Peltasts rained missiles on the large beasts. Result: Victory! Macedon (Prince_of_Macedon) Parthia ( Battlefield: Grassy Flatlands Once the battle began, I ordered my army forwards. The only part of his army that I could definitely attack would be his foot soldiers (composed of 6 slingers and 6 archers). His footsoldiers, by the way, were backed by his Cataphract Camels. But I have to hit back somehow. So my Companion Cavalry charged forward towards his infantry. Standing in my path is a single unit of Horse Archers who stand where they are. Those Horse Archers are pushed aside with ease. But even with the speed of my Companion Cavalry, they are cut to pieces by the barrage of missile fire from the enemy footsoldiers (along with the Horse Archers who are still firing from their Cantabrian Circle). My 2 units of Royal Pikemen are rushing behind the Companion Cavalry to assist with the Cataphract Camels who are running about. 1 unit of Cataphract Camels is actually routed by my Companions (backed by the Pikemen). But at this point, my troops are thoroughly bloodied up by all of the missile fire coming from this skirmisher army. I really didn't have a chance against Result: Defeat! [This message has been edited by Barbarian_Prince (edited 02-27-2007 @ 05:56 PM).]
- 1 game against Gaius Colinius
- 1 game against Noviomagum
- 1 game against
- 4 Companion Cavalry (plus general)
- 4 Royal Pikemen
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 5 Chosen Axemen (plus general)
- 4 Night Raiders
- 3 Chosen Archer Warbands
- 2 Gothic Cavalry
- 2 Barbarian Noble Cavalry
Denarii: 10,000
- 3 Cataphracts (plus general)
- 4 Silver Shield Legionaries
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 4 Pharaoh Bowmen (plus general)
- 1 Bowmen
- 4 Egyptian Chariot Generals
- 5 Pharaoh's Guards
Denarii: 10,000
- 4 Companion Cavalry (plus general)
- 4 Royal Pikemen
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 4 Egyptian Chariot Generals (plus general)
- 5 Pharaoh's Guards
- 3 Pharaoh's Bowmen
- 1 Bowmen
- 1 Peasant
Denarii: 10,000
- 4 Companion Cavalry (plus general)
- 4 Royal Pikemen
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 5 Chosen Axemen (plus general)
- 4 Night Raiders
- 3 Chosen Archer Warbands
- 2 Gothic Cavalry
- 2 Barbarian Noble Cavalry
Denarii: 10,000
- 4 Companion Cavalry (plus general)
- 4 Royal Pikemen
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 1 Eastern General (plus general)
- 4 Cataphracts
- 12 Horse Archers
Denarii: 10,000
- 4 Companion Cavalry (plus general)
- 2 Royal Pikemen
- 4 Light Lancers
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 3 Persian Cavalry (plus general)
- 3 Horse Archers
- 4 Cataphracts
- 1 War Elephant
Denarii: 10,000
- 4 Companion Cavalry (plus general)
- 2 Royal Pikemen
- 2 Archers
- 2 Peltasts
- 3 Cataphract Camels (plus general)
- 5 Horse Archers
- 6 Slingers
- 6 Archers
Denarii: 10,000
So I ended today's Forum Party with 2 wins and 5 losses. Despite my many defeats today, I still had a great time. I eagerly await the next Party!
"It is a lovely thing to live with courage and to die leaving behind an everlasting renown." - ALEXANDER THE GREAT