Dux Bellorum - The re-match

On Tuesday evening Martin (TableTopMog) and I had another crack at Dux Bellorum.

Deployments

I used the same Saxon force as the previous game we had: Foot Commitatus, 2 Noble Warriors, 4 Ordinary Warriors, 1 Skirmisher with javelins and 2 extra Leadership Points.

Martin went for a slight change in his Twilight of Brittania force, dropping a Ordinary Riders for the Hurled Weapons upgrade: Mounted Comitatus, 1 Noble Rider, 1 Ordinary Riders, 4 Ordinary Shieldwall, 2 Skirmishers with bows and 1 extra Leadership Point, Hurled Weapons.

This time I would be the aggressor, so Martin set the table up with an impassable area on one flank, a haunted ruin only populated by goats, and a low hill on the other flank.

British centre

The Britons deployed with their infantry in the centre with a unit of riders and bowmen on his right flank and his Comitatus, nobles and bowmen on the other flank. I deployed three blocks of Noble and Ordinary Warriors weighted towards my right with the skirmishers on the extreme right.

I did intend to take a photo after each turn, but that fell apart after a few turns.

We were soon advancing towards the Britons, I split my force to clear the centre and concentrate on the flanks. After some desultory bow fire the British horse crashed into the Saxons almost wiping out one of the Warriors before withdrawing.

The lines close

The Saxon advance continued and soon my troops on the right were engaged with the Comitatus and Noble cavalry in a prolonged fight that drew two units of spearmen from the British centre. The British left was looking exposed, the Riders were soon despatched along with the bowmen, but my reduced warriors on that flank were struggling against the solid blocks of infantry.

On my right we made the breakthrough we needed, having dealt with the British archers, my skirmishers moved around the flank while my warriors saw off the Nobles, the Comitatus were looking quite exposed and were eventually charged in the flank while I positioned the javelinmen behind them.

Casualties start to tell

Of course the British Comitatus won the ensuing round of melee but we maintained contact and were soon grinding them down especially as the skirmishers prevented them from falling back and therefore taking additional cohesion points.

As we drew to a close the British had been reduced to a single unit of spearmen and the Comitatus, the latter eventually broke and the Saxons, having only lost three units of Warriors themselves were victorious.

After the game Martin and I were both very much of the same thought. The rules are ok, but the armies seem a bit small and the game a bit formulaic. We started with seven core units and had to reduce the British to a single unit to get a result, that seemed rather a lot. If we had played DBA we would have started with a dozen units and the game would have been over when reduced to three units.

 Here are some more photos from the game, my Saxons are mainly Musketeer Miniatures painted by myself, while Martins Twilight of Brittania are mainly Gripping Beast painted by himself.

The Saxon line

British Comitatus and Nobel Riders

The ghost and goat haunted outcrop

Skirmishers clash

Things go well on the Saxon left

The Warriors get stuck in

The British shieldwall proves a tougher prospect

Saxon and British Comitatus units grind away at each other

The British right under pressure

Likewise on the left

Saxon Nobles take on two units of spearmen

Things about to go bad for the British commander

But he fights off the first wave