ADLG Late Roman v Romano-British

Another outing for the 28mm Late Romans and a first game for the newly painted additions. The opponent this time was Gordon's previously Sub-Roman- but now Romano- British army. Gordon kindly agreed to play at 230pts so I could accommodate my new figures (also apparently this is the right points total for a 6x4 table).

Assuming that Gordon (who won the initiative) would have a lot of terrain troops I chose minimum terrain. I was surprised therefore when Gordon also went for minimal terrain. We ended up with a fairly open table with just a hill and field on the Roman right and a plantation on the British left.

Anticipating that Gordon would deploy his cavalry on the right mainly as it was an open flank I deployed my cavalry and archers command on my left, the mixed command of cavalry and infantry in the centre and an infantry only command on my right where I assumed Gordon would have few mounted:

Again my assumptions were unwise as Gordon placed a large block of spearmen and light troops on his right and centre:

Gordon had in fact deployed his cavalry wing on the left and immediately dashed forward helped by a good command role. Lead by King Arthur the cavalry was a quality force and after a couple of moves things were already looking dodgy for the Romans:

King Arthur urges his men forward:

On the left the Roman cavalry and archers have started to move over to the right to counter Arthur's cavalry attack. While the Roman's still have a solid line on their left the light cavalry will not hold up at all against the British foot and will quickly be driven off leaving the flank of the Legions very exposed:

The British assault the Roman-held hill. This should be a fairly even fight as the Roman Auxilia are uphill, in the open the British would definitely have the advantage:

The combat on the hill goes badly for the Romans with the Auxiliary being destroyed. The Roman Javelin men have gained a little revenge though attacking a British cavalry unit in the field in the rear:

The right of the Roman infantry line attacks the British spearmen. The attack goes well with the Romans inflicting a lot of damage to the British line:

On the Roman left all the light cavalry apart from a single Hun left as a sacrifice to delay the British has retired to safety. The Remaining Legions have been charged by the British Spearmen and will soon have enemy arriving on the flank as the Romans have nothing to stop them:

On the right a single British cavalryman contests the hill with the remainder having been killed or driven off. The right flank has been stabilised but at what cost?
The Romans have also been suffering from indecisiveness regarding where to commit their cataphracts resulting in the armies most powerful troops aimlessly marching toward one area after another and achieving nothing:

The initial Roman attack with the Legions and Auxila had gone well but rapidly declined to disaster as the British fought back hard. All the troops committed have taken hits though one British unit has been destroyed:

The only positive area for the Romans is the right flank where more Legions are moving up to support the already committed Roman foot and there appears to be a bit of a gap in the British line:

Even this positive does not last long though as some Irish foot emerge from ambush in the plantation and menace the advancing Legions:

The Legions and Auxilia are being cut down and gaps are appearing everywhere in the Roman lines. Belatedly the cataphracts finally advance but are too far back really. The British have taken some losses but have a large army and are easily able to absorb them:

On the hill the single British cavalryman is still holding out preventing the Romans sending troops to support the outnumbered Roman infantry. The appearance of the Irish has proved decisive with the British having numerous opportunities for flank attacks:

Finally the British cavalry on the hill are cut down but it is too little too late:

The Roman lines are shattered and the army disintegrates in rout with victory going to the British:

For the second game in a row my opponent completely out-thought me. Both with his terrain choice and his deployment Gordon started off in a much better position which I compounded by my reaction to his moves. Normally I avoid the order-counter order-disorder situation but in this case I fell right into that by moving my cavalry from the left flank to the right and dithering with the cataphracts.

Gordon's aggressive use of his cavalry really paid off for him and the ambush was perfectly timed. In hindsight I think I'd have been better off attacking on the left and centre and perhaps just committed the cataphracts to hold off Gordon's cavalry. 

Another very enjoyable game all in all and some lessons for me to learn from it in future!