Today was my monthly "get away day", when I get paroled from my family obligations and get to do what I want. So,as has been my pattern, I worked a half shift, and then headed over to the recently relocated Phoenix Games in Fridley MN, to meet up with my buddy, George for a quick game of Warmaster Ancients. We have been playing for several years, 1000 pts, which plays about 3 hours from setup to clean up.
Phoenix Games in now located in a narrow storefront focused mainly on Magic and Warhammer. Retail in front and a half dozen gaming tables along the the walls in back.
We commendeered a 4x6 table decked with a wasteland pattern battlemat. Random terrain generated a string of 3 low hills across the midline of the battle field. A bog abutted the table edge on George's right, a wood lay near the hill in the center of the battle field, and a patch of broken ground lay between the central hill and the hill on my right. George fielded Normans:
General 8 +2 William
Leader 8 +1
2 × heavy cav nobles
4 x lt cav retainers
6 x med inf spearmen
2 x archers
1010 pts
I fielded Visigoths:
General 8 +2
2 × subordinates 7 +1
1 × heavy cav nobles
3 x lt cav
6 x med inf spearmen
4 x archers
4 x skirmishers
Gerge deployed with the archers in the center, backed by spearmen, with the retainers stretching out to his right, a block of spearmen on the left, behind the woods, and the nobles behind the retainers. William with the mounted troops, the leader with the foot.
I deployed my units with the spearmen three deep behind a line of skirmishers behind the central hill. Two more units of skirmishers extended my line to my right. My archers deployed in a line of columns on the left, with my light cav to the left in columns, my one unit of nobles behind the archers.My general lurked behind the archers, the subs in front of the skirmish line.
We then proceeded to stagger into battle. George advanced his archers toward the central hill. The retainers moved up as well. But the spearmen and nobles held back.
In my bound, only one brigade of spearmen screened by skirmishers advanced to the base of the central hill. The archers began to spread out to match frontage with the advancing Norman retainers. Next bound, George moved his spearmen into the woods and his nobles up behind the retainers but held back his retainers and archers. I advanced onto the hill with one brigade of spearmen the other advanced to the base of the hill, but my skirmishers on the right refused to budge. My archers completed tgeir deployment into a line, but the mounted held back. Archery fire at George's retainers drove one unit back with a base loss, more archery fire at his nearest archer unit confused it, but the supporting spear refused to make way. Next George charged my archers with three units of retainers, losing a base to shooting which allowed his nobles to charge. Somehow my line repulsed the charge, but three units lost a base. I regrouped with one depleted unit taking refuge on the hill, the others clustering together. Next I was able to get all my spears on the hill. Archery fire continued to whittle away at his retainers, three units reduced to a single base. The other had withdrawn behind the hill on my left. My mounted continued to sit idly on my baseline. Next George charged two of my archer units wiping them out but taking casualties as well. I charged his archers, but the supporting spearmen gave him enough of an edge that he quickly turned the tables and crushed my two units of spear sent for the task. Now he charged my mounted units with his nobles, but led by my general, they were thrown back, surrounded and slaughtered. Finally I broke his army with a charge against the spears and archers still in the open. A hard fought victory for the Visigoths.
tackles a 
