Burn That Down !

 Last Friday, I was pleased to welcome my old friend Benito in Madrid for a game of Infamy, Infamy ! via the wonders of Zoom.

We originally met many years ago through the Lard Community at a rather boozy session at The Fox by The Excel Centre when Too Fat Lardies had forgotten to get a table in the hall so Richard Clarke had decided we would spend the day in the pub instead !

Benito also kindly came to my hotel on the outskirts of Madrid armed with some good Spanish red wine some years later when I was on a two week tour of Wellington's battlefields in the Peninsula.

Anyway, fast forward to the age of lockdown and here we are wargaming via our computers and iPads.

Benito had helped out with the play testing of Infamy but has not had a chance to play since it has been published - well, we had to put that right ! 

He chose an Imperial Roman force against my Barbarians in Germania.

Before the game, the Infamy Terrain Generator came up with this battlefield. All we had to add was the location of the Roman Limes Tower which we diced for at the beginning of the game. (It ended up on the left hand side of the river at the bottom of the picture).  The Romans were to deploy from top right, the Barbarians bottom left - plus ambush points which the Romans would attempt to discover.

Right from the off, the Barbarian commander rushed forces forward to engage the Tower and get those faggots of wood burning. The Roman defenders threw their pila to try and fend them off.

The Barbarian War Lord arrives with his main force to add to the Tower defenders problems

Roman Auxiliaries have deployed in skirmish order and hurry to try and relieve the Tower

Barbarian slingers emerge from a wooded hill to harass them

Now the Roman Centurion rushes on with his main force

Roman Allied cavalry are sent forward rapidly to disrupt the enemy at the Tower

Roman slingers and archers join the action - the latter in a fire fight with the slingers opposite

The Centurion needs to get his Legionaries across to the Tower as quickly as possible

The archers have moved beside the Auxiliaries to keep up their supporting fire

But over at the Tower, the burning has commenced - 5 points out of a needed 20 so far - but the enemy cavalry have arrived causing problems

A small war band is detached to skirt around the Tower to worry the cavalry

The slingers are adding their weight of fire as the Centurion urges his men on

The Roman Allied cavalry threw their javelins and then charged into combat

but they are pushed back by the Barbarians, so the burning can resume 

The Legion is moving too slowly for the Centurion's purpose

The Tower guards see the flames licking up the sides of the walls 

Indeed, the magic score of 20 is reached quickly and the fate of the Tower is sealed - the Centurion has failed to rescue his men in the Tower in time

Screams are heard across the battlefield as the guards refuse to surrender - well, actually they weren't given that option if we are honest !

No doubt Benito will be looking for revenge very soon. I think he enjoyed the game despite the tardiness of the Roman legionaries this time.