ADLG Late Romans v Lombards

Having finished the refurbishment of the 25mm Late Romans I thought I should arrange a game for them. Tim (aka 'The Madaxeman') was free and agreed to bring along his Lombards to face the Romans.

The Roman army composition was based largely on the newly refurbished figures so had two commands of Legionaries and Auxila supported by some impact cavalry and light horse.

As usual the terrain in ADLG fell mostly on the flanks though the Romans had a usefully placed gulley on the centre right to anchor their line on.

The Roman right flank and centre:

The Roman centre and left flank:

The Roman left are facing a large number of impetuous medium swordsmen. The Roman cavalry have advanced while the Auxila hold back:

On the Roman right an impressive line of Lombard cavalry lurches forward:

The Roman cavalry on the left engages the enemy while the Auxila move forward to oppose the Lombard medium swordsmen:

A single Saxon warband has charged into the Roman line while one of the Roman cavalry has been flanked by a swordsman. The Romans need to hold out for their support to help out:

On the right the Lombard cavalry have incautiously advanced past some Roman Auxila in the gully. The Auxilia have charged out supported by one of the Roman heavy cavalry:

The Roman Auxilia on the left are charged by the Lombard swordsmen:

In the centre the Romans have continued to advanced while the Saxon foot apart from one warband that charged earlier have held back. There is now a considerable gap between the Lombard centre and right that the Romans can exploit:

On the Roman right both sides throw in more troops:

The Romans are starting to gain an advantage on the right:

On the left the Auxilia are holding out while the cavalry and Legionaries mop up more Lombards:

On the right two groups of Lombard cavalry have been destroyed and the remainder are outnumbered:

The struggle continues on the left:

The last two Lombard cavalry on the right launch a desperate charge:

Mopping up on the left continues:

The Saxons advance! Two Legios are a little further forward than their support and a bit isolated:

On the right one Roman horse archer has been destroyed but the Lombard cavalry are in big trouble and only one survives:

The Lombard army has taken heavy losses and won't last much longer despite having a large (28!) break point. The Romans with their lower break point are a bit further away from breaking but the two isolated Legio in the centre are almost swept away by the Saxon charge:

The Lombard army are now one hit from breaking, the Romans three hits. In desperation the Lombard's charge everything in!:

In typical wargames fashion the first three combats, all of which were initially in the Roman's favour, resulted in Roman losses breaking the Roman army. A series of combats where the Lombard's had the advantage followed with the luck swinging the other way and the Lombard's taking hits to break their army and result in a mutual destruction!:

It is always a pleasure to play Tim and this game was no exception. The refurbished army looked good I think and it was great to see them in action again. For much of the game I thought the Romans would be victorious but the huge break point of the Lombard's saved them. Hopefully the Romans will get more action in the future.