MT07 Byzantine–Sassanian War (602-628) 

Semi Final Battle of Ninevah
Gonzo (Byzantines) 7 banners 26 blocks killed
Stephent (sassanids) 1 banner 8 blocks killed

Early Sassanid advance on left while Byz concentrated all HBC and leaders in center, then moved right to threaten.  Sassanid left redeploys into center in time for 2 cav charges from Byzantine.  Byz SHBC overextends and is wiped out, but good rolls kill Sassanid leader and multiple center units for win.  Thanks to Stephen for good match.  Forgot to save logfile before power outage dropped game.
 

the wrong log file! Think I recognise that one..

Stephen promised me a laugh if I watched it.. something about the charge of My Little Ponies..

Semi Final Battle of Ninevah
Gonzo (Sassanid) 7 banners Killed 25 blocks
Stephen (Byzantine) 6 banners Killed 33 blocks
Tight battle.  Sassanid left cav retreat to middle.  Byz left advances against repeated LBC screening, allowing rest of Sassanid Cav to get there and kill 3 and a leader.  Byz left eliminates the e foot units left behind to their front.  Sassanid Cav attacks middle for final banner.  Although Stephen killed more blocks, could not seem to get the last one.  Well fought.

Semi-Finals
BYZ09 Battle of Nineveh (12 December 627AD)

GAME 1
mk20336 (Byzantine) 7 banners won, 23 blocks lost
John of York (Sassanid) 5 banners won, 31 blocks lost


GAME 2
mk20336 (Sassanid) 7 banners won, 25 blocks lost
John of York (Byzantine) 6 banners won, 29 blocks lost


We played two very exciting and close games with John. One needs to remember that due to heavy rain the range fire is limited here to 2 hexes which really impacts mechanics - namely, most of the fight is in melee. Romans have superb quality, Sassanid more scattered units - still, they can also put up the fight. In initial play, we were going very closely, up to 5-5 when last-chance desperate Roman charge scored two points and victory for me.
Second game was even crazier. Unlike first, where action started almost immediately, here before first blood was drawn, a series of redeployments commenced, with both sides getting rid of useless cards. And then the whole Hell broke lose... We had some crazy rolls (like my Ambush which changed tempo of battle or successful leader escapes). In the end, both sides could win, battleground was scattered with fallen soldiers and scattered groups of survivors. And then in last push, Sassanid prevailed.

Thanks to John for two very great game!

Game 1 of our SF match is done and game 2 is to be played on Tuesday 28th. 

Round 1  Battle of Antioch
gotigerssc (Sassanids) 4 banners
gonzo (Byzantines) 8 banners
Started with many rounds of ineffectual range fire.  Sassanid Cav on right, close and flank looking like it will kill many units only for dice to grow frigid.  Byz counter charge crushed them and rolls up flank into center for win.

mk20336 wrote:

That tie-breaker in Sassanid group... sorry Mark!

I blame Stephen and his double leader win at Antioch. But for that 1 in 36 fluke I'd have cleaned him up next turn to win 8-7.

That tie-breaker in Sassanid group... sorry Mark!

But if you’re interested the Napoleonic tournament is now open for signup

the rounds are just about finished and the semi finals are about to start. So too late this time round. Sorry.

Is the tourney open? I would like to join

Round 1, BYZ07 Ambush at Archesh (1 March 625 AD)

mk20336 (Sassanid) - 6 banners won, 24 blocks lost
gdnuke (Byzantine) - 4 banners won, 6 blocks lost

What a crazy game it was; George started very well, with outflank, pushing at full speed towards my baseline. The losses were inevitable and I believe 13 Sassanid blocks were killed in first Turn! I slowly and steadily moved my slow units back, some of them sacrificing until leader and AUX escaped (3 VPs!) at which moment I though - that is max I can do. Luckily, the Cavalry was away and Roman infantry approached; so my two units sallied from nearby camp. That was risky but paid off as I managed to get the last VP! Thanks to George for fun game!

 

Thanks for posting my R3 Ganzak report Mark.
Log file attached

Round 4 BYZ06 Aghdam

gotigerssc (Sassanids) 4 banners won and 35 blocks lost

gdnuke (Byzantines) 7 banners won and 22 blocks lost

This scenario seems highly dependent on the Sassanid die rolls that bring on reinforcements. As in Mark's game a couple early cavalry (1 HBC and 1 MBC) and leaders helped the Sassanid effort, and were key to the destruction of the 2 HI and 2 MI units that scored the banners for the Sassanids. They were not enough, however. as the Byzantines made their main effort in the center with HI and MI units attacking Auxilia and a secondary effort on their right with their HC and 2 MCs against the LBs and Auxilia there.

The Byzantine idea was to have leader support where the Sassanids did not. Having only 1 leader at the start does put the Sassanids at a big disadvantage but the Byzantines must move quickly. The cards were never there for cavalry charges or double times so the Byzantines were slower than they hoped, but they did use First Strike and Ambush to good effect. The Sassanids' cards were better but their dice were colder, including one 4die roll of all blue symbols against a single block HI (and the attacker had leader support as well). At least the battle back was ineffective! All in all, the battle went as I think this should most of the time, with the Byzantines moving out to an early lead and the Sassanids hoping for lots of reinforcement units. They only got 2 units and 2 leaders in this one, and while the other rolls were used to good effect (a timely retreat to save a 1 block MI and some good extra CC attacks), the Sassanids really needed more units to make this one an even fight. Justin was, as always, a skillful and patient opponent and the game was fun, with the special rules making for some interesting decisions and options. 

R3 Ganzak
Michal, Sassanids, 0 banners, 23 blocks lost
Steve T, Byzantines, 6 banners, 2 blocks lost (5 but 3 were rallied back)

This was a very difficult one for Michal’s Sassanids. My Byzantine right flank cavalry advanced to bow range and prepared to happily start peppering the out-ranged Sassanids. Given this, Michal gave the only sensible order, and his left flank Sassanids charged forward – each side lost 3 blocks from the HC unit, my Byzantines rallied them back and, out-numbered, the Sassanid left flank cavalry and leader were destroyed (0-3). Khosrow and his HI charged forward, the Byzantine cavalry evaded, and the Sassanid infantry were overwhelmed by massed Byzantine cavalry.
Thanks to Michal for staying good humoured – I had the stronger army, cards (starting with two leaderships and a rally), inspired actions, and dice. And also thanks for finding me where I was waiting for him in CCA rather than CCM….duh!”

Round 2 BYZ04 Ophlimus (622AD)

mk20336 (Sassanid) 6 Banners 17 Blocks lost
Gonzo (Byzantines) 3 Banners 21 Blocks lost

This is pretty interesting scenario due to its special rules and Heavy Cavalry with a Leader appearing in somehow unpredictable space. In our game it was left/central position and that unit was leading devastating fire on my center. The crucial moment of the game was when this HC attacked my weakened MI and was met with both First Strike and Ambush. Special rule says clearly - both the unit and the leader dies. Then it was more or less matter of time till the game reached its finale. Thanks to Joe for flexibility in scheduling the game.

Round 2 Ophlimus
gotigerssc (Sassanid) 6 banners; 17 blocks lost
stephent (Byzantine)  4 banners; 20 blocks lost

My upfront MI in the center was the focus and first casualty of the fight but the luck of having Ambush and First Strike on the same turn helped put the MC away to give me a slight cavalry advantage as his HBC had been dwindled to 1 strength. A timely Rally action helped remedy that a few turns later to bring up the penultimate cavalry conflict that was a tense one. His Mounted Charge went first and did not eliminate anyone but did do some damage against my HBC to lower it to 1, and after battle backs, his two heavy cav units each had 2 blocks remaining. I played my own Mounted Charge not knowing that he had a First Strike that eliminated my full strength HBC and claimed the leader. Score was now 2-4 in favor of Byzantines. However, my 1 figure HBC was able to eliminate both of the HC units (plus the auto leader) to claim the win. Was never sure of the outcome until it was over!

 

Round 3 BYZO5 Ganzak (625)

gotigerssc (Sassanid) 3 Banners 22 Blocks lost

ezpickins(Byzantines) 6 Banners 18 Blocks lost

I charged forward on my left flank with my heavy and medium cavalry and force the Sassaniid  to the edge where all four were eliminated for no Byzantine losses. I then took the camp for a 5-0 lead.  His heavies in the center then got going and killed three of my cavalry in some back and forth action. My center group was scattered but my lights were able to slip around his right flank and will a 1 step heavy cavalry in his rear for the win. 

It was a closer game than it looked. I had some vulnerable units that I luckily was able to keep out of his reach. Great opponent.

Round 2 BYZ04 Ophlimus

rjvonline (Sassanids) 0 banners won and 24 blocks lost

gdnuke (Byzantines) 6 banners won and 9 blocks lost

This was a tough game for the Sassanids. Their cards were mostly left section cards in a game decided in the center, and their dice were relatively cold.  The Byzantines took Mark's hint from a post here and brought the HBC with embedded leader on in the first turn, albeit in a conservative location on their right center. That unit barely survived the Sassanid leader and SHBC attack and was knocked out of the fight to its baseline but it did not yield 2 banners to the enemy. When the Sassanid SHBC was destroyed the offensive punch of that army was gone and they were down 4-0. The dice were hotter for the Byzantines who scored 3 hits or more on at least 3 attacks to kill strong Sassanid units outright. When the dice and the cards favor your opponent it is going to be a short and unpleasant day on the C&C battlefield.  Cheers to Renaud for taking it all in stride! I'm sure he will get the chance to repay the favor. 

R4 Aghdam
John , Sassanids, 1 banner, 29 blocks lost
SteveT, Byzantines, 7 banners, 8 blocks lost
My Byzantine left flank cavalry positioned themselves then mounted charge into the Sassanind right centre, with follow-up support from the Byzantine centre infantry. John’s Sassanids fought back bravely, but the result was a massacre, with the Byzantines unable to miss and the Sassanids unable to hit; their cause was not helped by the Sassanid reinforcements being leaders, with their cavalry only arriving just before the end. Thanks to John for the game and apologies for the dice.

RD 6 SARUS

John of York (Sassanids) 7 banners 30 blocks lost
gdnuke (Byzantines) 3 banners, 33 block lost



 

Round 5 Ambush and Archesh
rjvonline (Sassanids) 3 banners 18 blocks lost
gonzo (Byzantines) 6 banners, 1 block lost

Sassanid leader not among the dead or fled

Round 4  BYZ06 Aghdam (January 625 AD)
Mark_McG (Sassanids) 7 banners, 25 blocks lost
TTC (Byzantines) 1 banners, 26 blocks lost

This scenario depends a great deal on the luck of the reinforcement die, and I was fortunate to get Red on the first 2 turns. Those 2 HBC pretty much won the battle by themselves, with Shahraplanken along for the ride.

Also a weird division of dicing.. in missile fire I couldn't get a hit, I was 8-0 in hits after several turns, but once the melee started, the dice reversed and I smashed the Byzantines. Block losses ended up 25-26, so quite even in that regard, but ranged fire will wear down the units till they retreat, melee can eliminate units in short order.
 

Round 4 BYZ06 Aghdam

rjvonline (Sassanids) 3 banners, 31 blocks lost

soul1st (Byzantines) 7 banners, 15 blocks lost

For this battle the Byzantines attacked on their flanks with cavalry hammering the Sassanid flanks. The Sassanids replied with ranged fire and foot onslaught to stop the attacks. The Byzantine cavalry kept attacking and managed to break the Sassanid line. At this stage the Sassanid forces were scattered and lost four banners. The Byzantines lost most of their cavalry on their right, but the left flank cavalry kept up the attacks, securing a win. 

I feel this scenario was a bit unbalanced, favouring the Byzantine side. The Sassanids were unlucky on their reinforcement rolls which did not help for a balance.

 

 
 

Round 3 BYZ05 Ganzak

Gileforn (Sassanids) 4 banners, 24 blocks lost

soul1st (Byzantines) 6 banners, 18 blocks lost

The action started at the Byzantine left (Sassanids right) where a Sassanid LC and then an MBC got surrounded and were decimated, killing also a leader with a lucky dice roll.
After that the other flank saw the rest of the action. The Byzantine cav managed to destroy a Sassanid auxilia. The Sassanids retalliated and killed a Byzantine leader. The next part of the battle was the Byzantines chasing the Sassanid HBC and Khosrow II. First strike cards were played by both sides resulting in a banner win for the Sassanids. The Sassanid player used a Clash of Shields card to score two more banners. Both sides now had 4 banners. There was some inconclusive ranged fire after that. The Byzantines attacked in the center and scored two more banners against units with severe block loss, securing the win.