Viking Wargame

      While I haven't been doing as much with gaming recently, I try to work on figures at least half an hour each day. Last year I got a sizable collection of Peter Laing Viking, Norman and Saxon figures. I haven't done much with them. I wasn't crazy about the painting of the Viking so  I started stripping some of the figures. The paint came off easily; I don't think the figures were primed before painting.
   
     I also got a large collection of BATTLELORE supplement sets. These are the first series figures that are cartoonish. I personally like the figures and, with each se,t besides new figures you get additional scenarios for games. I have in the past used a couple of the scenarios to use Peter Laing figures; I fought Agincourt several times ,of which I wrote postings of.

      This week I also started watching BBCs series THE LAST KINGDOM. I had missed the first 6 episodes but luckily with my cable TV I could watch the entire 6 episodes this week. It made me want to do a war-game. I touched up some of the painted Viking and based them.  I was using my simplified BATTLELORE rules for the battle.

The Vikings are at the top of the page, the Saxons on the bottom. 

Both sides advance.

The Viking's original plan was to close then form a shield wall. One band though charged forward to draw first blood. 

The Saxons had more discipline and formed shield walls. In BATTLELORE if you have two units forward and a unit behind, they are "supported" and can ignore the first"retreat" roll.

On the hill on the left, the Berserkers are causing havoc. The Berserkers I treated as "heavy cavalry" . That gives them 4 dice to roll and can followup and combat a second time if they force a retreat.

In the middle of the picture can be seen two dice. This is where, between a medium infantry unit and light unit of Saxons  wiped out a heavy unit of Viking. The two dice shows the light infantry roll that wiped out the unit.

A close up of the above shot.

The Viking start inflecting heavy losses on the Saxons.

The two crossbow units on the Saxon left manage to eliminate the Berserkers. The Saxon Bodyguards, with help from another unit, cuts down the the Viking Chieftain and his bodyguard. Another Saxon unit drives off a unit of Viking archers.

Close up of the Berserkers defeat.

Close up of the Viking chieftains death.

With the death of their chieftain and their flanks being encircled, the Viking retreat.


I think if I continue to use these rules I will have to reread them. The fact that the Saxon peasants  fight as well as Viking just doesn't seem right. There are different rules in the more advance rules. Viking should be "bold" where they ignore the first "retreat" rolls. The Saxons should be "frightened", where every "retreat" roll they retreat two spaces instead of one. Something to think about.