Revenge at Arnesvelt, Warmaster 2000 point-a-side Battle Report, Part 3

Been playing too much Total War Warhammer of late, and its awesome! It's just like playing Warmaster in a way. So I apologise for not getting around the continuing this battle report of late. Anyway Part 1 and Part 2 of this Battler Report can be found here (part 1) and here (part 2).

TURN 3

With the stakes so high, it now became critical who won priority for the turn, as this would determine who would have the chance to charge first at the NE entrance to Arnesvelt (i.e. the Beastmen Gors, or the Empire Knights). If the Beastmen won priority and charged first, they could very well eliminate the Empire Knights and force the Empire to withdraw, leaving the Bretonnians on their own. However, if the Alliance won priority the Empire Knights could roll over the Beastmen Gors and place the Empire troops in a good position to retake the town. Moreover, the Bretonnian Knights could very well charge the Beastlords brigade and cause significant damage to the Beastmen also. This turn was going to prove to be decisive, as you will see.

Priority rolls were made for the Beastmen and Alliance, and the Alliance came up trumps rolling a 3 to the Beastmen's 2. Priority once again went to the Alliance. Even from this distance Malagor could be heard cursing the Beastmen's luck (or lack thereof).

Priority goes to the Alliance

ALLIED COMMAND PHASE

Empire Command
The Empire Knights, being within Initiative range, set their charge and hammered forwards charging down their hated foe.

Elsewhere, the Empire Wizard was not successful in getting the attention of the Helblaster unit. Clearly these men had been driven deaf by the loud blasts from their weird contraptions over the years and must also have been driven blind as nothing would get their attention.

Bretonnian Command
The Bretonnian Hero ordered the Men-at-arms up towards the SE entrance to Arnesvelt, but was unsuccessful in getting them to push forward to engage the Ungor Raiders hiding in the nearby ruined tower.

The Enchantress was able to get the Bowmen to support the Bretonnian south-left flank by moving them into line formation around the SE entrance to town.

The Bretonnian General then gave orders for his Knights to move forward 20cm so as to not fall within the enemy's initiative range should the Knights either not hear or ignore his further orders. Bretonnian Knights are famous for their impetuousness and the last thing the General wanted was to put them so close as to let the enemy dictate when the charge would occur. The General positioned his knights just within 30cm's of the enemy. If his overly zealous Knights would follow the next command, then the charge would be on!

The charge is on!

The General, much to his surprise, succeeded in his second order. The Bretonnian Knights thundered forwards and hammered into the Gor/Razorgor/Bestigor Beastmen brigade.

Charrrrgggeeeee!!!!

In a move that revealed either tactical genius or sheer desperation. The General, resplendent upon his Pegasus, desperate to drive a hammer stroke through the Beastmen before they could reinforce their tribesmen still within Arnesvelt, believed that in true Bretonnian fatalistic style this was a all-or-nothing moment. As such, at the end of the Command Phase, the General joined his men in the final impact of their charge.

Death or Glory!

ALLIED SHOOTING PHASE
The phase began with the Empire Cannons opening fire again on the Ungor Raiders. Despite the impressive barrage, their shots fell wide of the mark missing the ruined tower the Raiders were holed up in.

Next the Empire Crossbows fired on the Ungor Raiders. Despite being fortified within the ruins they suffered 3 hits, eliminating the last stand and leaving Malagor all on his lonesome!

With that, the Allied Shooting Phase came to a swift end, as no other shooting units were in range of an enemy.

ALLIED COMBAT PHASE
The first fight of the turn occurred between the Empire Knights and the Beastmen Gors. The Knights had charged into the Gors and seemed very eager to avenge their fallen Halberdier comrades as after armour saves the Knights scored 12 hits to the Gor's 2. This saw the Gor's loose 4 stands! The Gors had three supporting stands, one for each of their three units, and so weren't driven back far. The Knights pressed home their advantage and a rolling maul quickly followed.

The Empire Knights were out to avenge their fallen comrades.

During the second round of the fight, the Knights continued their mauling of the Gors inflicting 10 more hits to the Gor's single hit after armour saves. One unit of Knights had two outstanding hits on it and so lost a stand. The Gors however lost another 3 stands and gained one outstanding hit against them. The Gors were pushed back 4cm and the Knights pressed forward again rolling over the Gors and grinding them under iron shod hooves. The pursuit of the Knights took the combat into a third and last round before passing on to the next fight.

The Gors were being systematically destroyed under the relentless pursuit of the Empire Knights, but they fought on viciously inflicting 2 hits whilst negating through armour saves four hits against them. However, in the end, the Knights scored 12 unsaved hits against them in the last round of combat. With only two stands of the last unit remaining the Gors were crushed into the mud of Arnesvelt and destroyed. The Empire Knights then reformed their line, cheering their victory.

Malagor looks on in dismay at the recent slaughter of his Gors.

The next fight of the Combat Phase saw the Bretonnian Knights face off against the Gor/ Razorgor/ Beastigor brigade that they had charged into. In the true impetuous and fatalistic style of the Bretonnians their General had decided to personally join this fight. This meant that this could be a deciding battle for the Bretonnians as his loss would signal their withdrawal from the battle.

The Bretonnian General in the thick of the fight!

The Beastmen had lost 7 units and an eighth unit was down to a single stand. With the scenario special rule giving an extra unit to both sides Break Point Value, the Beastmen would have to loose another five units to be forced from the field of battle. The Bretonnians however had not lost any units and so would need to loose six units to retreat from battle. Their Empire allies still had two units to loose before retreating and so were still in the fight.

This put the Beastmen on a precarious footing. In just the last round of combat between the Empire Knights and the Gors at the NE entrance of Arnesvelt, the Beastmen had gone from being in a winning position to edging into a situation where they would be driven from the field. If this next combat did not go their way, things would become dire indeed. For the Beastmen, the secret lay in slaying the Bretonnian General. If they could achieve that, then the tides of fortune of this battle would swing back in their favour.

The Knights, with their Pegasus mounted General, scored 7 hits to the Beastmen's 6, after armour saves. Both the Bretonnians and Beastmen lost 2 stands in the melee. Due to the supporting stands of Gors and Beastigors, the Beastmen somehow managed to absorb the charge of the Knighs winning the first round of combat and forced the Knights back. Fortunately for the Bretonnians, the Knights behind their comrades were able to Make Way without becoming confused and giving room for them to be pushed back into.

Stand aside lads!

The Beastmen, buoyed by their success, pursued their prey for a second round of combat. The fighting was fierce as both sides exchanged savage blows, fighting for survival. After checking for amour saves, each side scored a total of 5 hits against each other. The Bretonnians lost a unit of Knights, due to one of their stands being lost the round before. The Beastmen also loosing stands. Again however the Beastmen benefited from having supporting infantry stands with their Gors and Beastigors and won this phase of the fight. The Beastmen full of bloodlust and rage pursued their quarry again. However this inadvertently brought the Beastmen brigade into contact with the un-engaged flanking units of Bretonnian Knights.

As the Beastmen pursue their pray for a third and final round of combat, they inadvertently drew fresh units of Bretonnian Knights into the fight. This clearly had an impact of the Beastmen as after armour saves they were only able to score 3 hits to the Bretonnian's 7. Both the Gors and Bestigors were reduced to the last stand each in their respective units. The Razorgors too narrowly missed being reduced to one stand with 3 outstanding hits leveled against the unit. The Bretonnians lost a stand from one of their units and still had two hits outstanding.

Fortunately for both sides, this was the last combat round of this particular fight. This whole combat had been a bloody one and put the Beastmen even closer to being forced to have to withdrawal. It was now crucial for the Beastmen to take out the Bretonnian General as soon as they could. However, as the Combat Phase was now over, both groups reformed their lines as best they could whilst facing each other down.

The Allied turn had now come to a close with the Bretonnians having lost a unit of Knights and a second unit reduced to two stands. However, these were the first losses in the game for the Bretonnians.

BEASTMEN COMMAND PHASE

The Beastmen now had three units that were down to one stand each and another unit reduced to two stands. With a buffer of only five units left to loose before being forced to withdrawal, it was beginning to appear that the Chaos gods had abandoned the Beastmen!

The remnants of the Gor/ Beastigor/ Razorgor brigade were in Initiative range of the Bretonnian Knights, and being full of bloodlust and rage, charged forward into their hated foe.

Meanwhile, the last stand of Chaos Hounds in Arnesvelt wasn't going to hang around and become easy prey for the Empire Knights close by. Turning tail, the flea bitten monsters ran for the SW entrance of the town hoping to outrun the Knights if they dared pursue them next turn.

Bye!

Jim the Wargor Hero finally managed to get his brigade of Minotaurs/ Chaos Giant/ Chaos Spawn out of the rive and onto dry ground.

Move it, you slackers!

Jim then amazingly managed to get the brigade moving a second time, passing his 2nd order. This placed them within just one centimeter of the Bretonnian Knights! Jim then attempted to succeed in a 3rd order to charge into the flank of the Knights, however this was too much for his dim witted troops of his brigade and they stalled within 1cm of the enemy.

Oh so close!

Finally the Centigors stop mucking about in the river and got their backsides moving towards the far shore.

Amazingly too, after having spent the entire game so far frolicking in the river refusing to move, the Centigors passed their second order to move to within striking distance of Arnesvelt. However, the Centigor Hero failed in a third attempt to get his brigade moving one last time.

As the Command Phase came to an end, the Beastmen Heroes moved up to better position themselves for next turn. The Beastmen General however decided on a desperate move. Needing to take down the Bretonnian General in order to force the Bretonnians to withdrawal from the battle, and with so many units close to being destroyed, the General decided to join the combat in front of him. If he didn't, and the remnants of his brigade of Gors/ Beastigors/ Razorgors were destroyed, the Bretonnian Knights could roll forward to overrun his position. Moreover, for the Beastmen to win this battle, the Bretonnian General would have to be taken down. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

BEASTMEN SHOOTING PHASE
In the attempt to deal with the threat from the Empire Knights, Malagor tried to cast Power of the Herd on the last unit of Gors hidden in another ruined tower in Arnesvelt, but failed. The Beastmen Shaman also failed to do the same on the Minotaur unit facing the Bretonnian Knights.

With that, the Shooting Phase came to a close.

BEASTMEN COMBAT PHASE
The only fight of this phase was between the Gor/ Bestigor/ Razorgor brigade and the Bretonnian Knights. This fight saw both Generals facing-off against one another. This was going to be a very bloody and desperate fight. The Bretonnian General on his Pegasus in single combat with the Beastmen General on his Tuskgor Chariot. The fighting was desperate and fierce with the Beastmen scoring 4 hits to the Bretonnian Knights 7 hits, after armour saves. The Gors and Razorgors were wiped out and the Razorgors had one outstanding hit against them. The Beastmen retreated back slightly and the Bretonnian Knights, buoyed by the turning tide of battle, surged forwards in pursuit surrounding the Beastmen and their General.

Now it got real interesting. The unit with the Bretonnian General was down to a single stand with 1 outstanding hit. The Beastmen General, attached to the Razorgors, fared slightly better with 2 stands left in the unit and 1 outstanding hit. If either unit was destroyed, their sides general would go down with them, bringing a bloody end to their part in the battle.

Showdown time!

After armour saves, the Bretonnians score 8 hits to the Beastmen's 3 hits. Both the Knight unit with the Bretonnian General, and the Razorgors with the Beastmen General have 1 outstanding hit each. This meant that both those Knights and the Razorgors were destroyed in the fighting, and so too were both Generals!

Oops!

With the loss of both the Beastmen and Bretonnian Generals, their forces begin to withdraw. Only the Empire General with 1 unit left to the Empire Break Point was still standing. As the Beastmen fled the field, Malagor looked on in disgust, cursing his failed luck. The Bretonnians, recovering the body of their fallen General, turn their backs on the field of battle and returned home. Victory had been secured for the Alliance, but at heavy cost. The Empire forces retook Arnesvelt's smoldering ruins and slaughtered any remaining Beastmen hidden therein.

The Alliance could claim a Partial Victory but the Bretonnians had lost a beloved lord.

A view of the battlefield from the SW....

...and the SE.

LOSSES
Empire = 4x Halberdiers, 1x Flagellants
Bretonnia = 2x Knights, 1x General on Pegasus
Beastmen = 4x Gors, 1x Ungor Raiders, 3x Chaos Hounds (and another unit down to 1 stand),
                    1x Bestigors, 1x Razorgors, 1x General on a Tuskgor Chariot.

The Beastmen dead.

And the Alliance dead.

Warmonger Miniatures 10mm Landsknecht Hellebardiere's have arrived!

I highlighted in a previous post here that Warmonger Miniatures was running another Kickstarter for his 10mm Landsknecht miniatures. This time for the Hellebardiere (Halberdiers).

I opted for four units of the new Hellebardiere and during the week, the miniatures arrived in the post. Warmonger has done another fantastic job and is true to his word in running and delivery of his Kickstarters. So if you want to know about any future 10mm Landsknecht miniatures projects, sign up to his email notifications on his webstore and stay informed. Moreover, you can pick up some of these mini's now for yourself at his webstore.

Below are some images showing a comparison with the now out-of-production GW Empire Warmaster Halberdiers for reference. Both are the same height, though the Warmonger mini's look slightly stockier than the GW miniatures. Moreover you can see that Warmonger has made his miniatures in strips of two-man a piece rather than the GW strip version. GW did produce a series of Elite Halberdiers that was done in a two-man a piece strip, and Warmonger has followed this style of strip production. By doing this you get to provide a greater level of variety to your stands than the standard GW Halberdier's permitted. You can also cut most of them into single miniatures if you so desire.

You can also see what comes in a single packet of his Halberdiers below. Each packet makes up a Warmaster unit of three stands and comes with a command strip. You can also see the 15 two-man strips that come in various poses within the packet. So if you are after either a Landsknecht army or some excellent proxies or additions to your Warmaster Empire Army, stop by Warmongers webstore and check these out.

Revenge at Arnesvelt, Warmaster 2000 point-a-side Battle Report, Part 2

Its been a little while since I posted on this battle report. Part One can be found here. Below is what happened during the second turn of the battle.

TURN 2

The Alliance won priority for Turn 2 and moved first.

ALLIED COMMAND PHASE

Empire Command
One unit of Empire Knights was within Initiative range of the Chaos Hounds and, having seen the Halberdiers mauled to a man, charged down the vial flea bitten critters.

The Empire Hero then attempted to move the Helblaster unit forward and into range of the tower occupied by the Ungor Raiders. Frustratingly though the Helblaster crews were deaf to his orders. No doubt years of working next to loud explosions from these rocket launchers had defended them!

Next the Empire Wizard ordered the Great Swords forwards and up the slope towards the NE entrance of the town.

The Wizard then ordered the separated units of Crossbowmen back into line formation, forming them back up as a brigade.

Captain Van Bekk of Marienburg, the Empire General, then ordered forward the second unit of Empire Knights (having had to determine line-of-sight with a die roll!). The Knights eagerly obeyed and charged the Chaos Hounds that their compatriots had just charged moments ago.

With that, the Empire forces completed their part of the Allied Command Phase and the Bretonnians began their manoeuvring.

Bretonnian Command
The Squires, having seen the Flagellates mauled to pieces in front of them, used their Initiative to charge the Chaos Hounds before them.

Duke Gisoreux (the Bretonnian General), mounted on his Pegasus, surveyed the situation before him. His allies had been badly mauled the previous turn and could soon be forced to retreat from battle. Worse still from the forest reinforcements of Beastmen were closing in their direction. Seeing this, the General hatched a daring plan to secure victory for the Alliance. He would lead his knights directly against the Beastlord General. If he could charge the Beastlord down and destroy him the Beastmen would become like a rudderless ship. Leaderless they would offer little cohesive resistance against the Allied forces. He must destroy the Beastlord, and quickly!

The Beastlord had crossed the river but was the only group of Beastmen reinforcements thus far to have done so. Leaving the rest of his forces to take the SE entrance to Arnesvelt, Duke Gisoreux urged his Knights forward to close the gap between themselves and the Beastlord.

Charge!

With this, the Allied Command Phase came to an end.

ALLIED SHOOTING PHASE

The Empire Cannons once again opened fire on the Ungor Raiders holed up in the ruined tower. This time however they scored only a single hit.

The Empire Crossbowmen then opened fire targeting the Ungor Raiders. However the Ungors had learnt from the previous turn and the crossbow quarrels ricocheted off the ruined tower's walls causing no damage.

The Empire Wizard however was not going to be phased by walls of stone. Also targeting the Ungor Raiders in the tower, he cast Ball of Flame. The fireball slammed into the interior of the tower causing 1 hit on the Ungors.

The Bretonnian Enchantress then cast Lady's Favour in an attempt to move a unit of Bretonnian Bowmen in to range of the ruined tower. However the spell failed and the archers remained where they were. As a result, the last stand of Ungor Raiders remained behind the tower walls with only 1 hit remaining. Given however that there was no combat about to take place at the tower this turn, the Ungors could bind their wounds and stay in the battle. The Allied Shooting Phase now closed.

ALLIED COMBAT PHASE

The Empire Knight's charge produced a devastating 12 hits to the Chaos Hounds 1 hit (after armour saves). This saw the Hounds loose 4 stands.

With only one stand left, and having lost the round of combat, the last stand of Chaos Hounds at the NE entrance to the town retreated 5cm's away from the Knights. The Knights, not wanting to be charged in the side by the Gor's holed up in the ruined chapel, elect to fall back. The fall back roll taking them 14cm back from the NE entrance to Arnesvelt, just outside on the Initiative range of the Gors in the chapel.

Next the Bretonnian Squires took on the last stand of Chaos Hounds at the SE entrance to town. The Squires, armed with a Sword of Fate, scored 8 hits to the Hound's 2 hits (after armour saves). The Hounds are subsequently crushed under the iron shod hoofs of the Squires charges. The Squires, not wishing to be separated from the rest of the Bretonnian forces and suffer a fate like the Empire Flagellates, elected to hold their position just outside of the SE entrance to the town.

With that, the Allies go in Turn 2 came to an end. The Beastmen were the ones now licking their wounds. They had lost 3 units and had two others down to a single stand each. However, with a Breakpoint number of 11 units, and the scenario Break Point special rule (see here), the Beastmen would need to loose a total of 12 units in order to be routed from the field of battle. With three units down, there was still a long way to go.

BEASTMEN COMMAND PHASE

The Beastmen Gors holed up in the ruined chapel were just outside of Initiative range of the Empire Knights. As such, they were unable to charge the Knights. Therefore Malagor, still inside the ruined tower that had copped such a beating from the Empire Cannons, attempting to order the brigade of Gors out of the ruined chapel. It would take Malagor two successful command rolls to get the brigade of Gors to attack the Empire Knights. Malagor's braying was heard on the first command roll, the Gors exiting the ruins. However Malagor's braying of a second command failed to be heard by the Gors and the stopped dead, right in front of the Knights!

Try as he may, the Centigor Hero back at the river crossing could not get his Centigors across the river. The brute beasts just kept frolicking in the cool waters and ignoring his commands to get across. Meanwhile Jim the Wargor encountered similar problems with his troops as they also steadfastly refused to leave the river and get stuck into the battle.

The Beastigor General, Khorgor of the Black Horn, resplendent (for a Bestigor) on his Tuskgor Chariot was not likewise frustrated. This dark creature's imposing stature easily inspired his Bestigor/Gor/Razorgor brigade forward. Not wanting to bring them within easy charge range of the Bretonnian Knights however, the Beastlord didn't push his troops forward a second time.

BEASTMEN SHOOTING PHASE

The Ungor Raider stand in the ruined tower was able to score a single hit on the Empire Crossbows. However Malagor failed to follow this up by shooting a Chaos Bolt. No other units were within shooting range so no Alliance stands were lost during the Shooting Phase.

BEASTMEN COMBAT PHASE

With no units in combat, the Combat Phase was over just as soon as it began. And with that, Turn 2 came to a crashing holt. The Beastmen had lost 3 units and two others were down to a single stand each. The Alliance hadn't lost any units this turn, much to the relief of the Empire General. But all this could change in the turn to come!

Revenge at Arnesvelt, Warmaster 2000 point-a-side Battle Report, Part 1

Over Easter I was fortunate enough to get in a game of Warmaster. The scenario background and force deployments can be found here and here. So how did it turn out? Read on!

TURN 1

ALLIED COMMAND PHASE

Empire Command
The Empire forces are moved once as per the First Move Free special rule.

The Empire Hero opens the command phase by ordering the Halberdiers forward towards the NE entrance of Arnesvelt. The Hero's intent is that they will take the lead in the retake of the village, supported on their right flank by the Empire Knights. Seeing the ruins of Arnesvelt inspired a determined revenge on the minds of the Halberdiers as they succeed in a second move (despite a command penalty of -3 due to distance and moves) to gain the NE entrance to the town.

However, despite this success, the Hero failed to get his message through to the Empire Knights to come in to support the Halberdiers and the Knights sat around like a bunch of preening peacocks!

The Empire General then ordered the Flagellants to the SE entrance of town and formed up the units of crossbowmen into position.

The Flagellants move up and the Crossbowmen get into range

The Allied Command Phase then passed to the Bretonnians.

Bretonnian Command
The Bretonnian Army moved under the First Move Free special rule.

The Bretonnian Hero ordered up the Men-at-Arms to cover the Bretonnian left flank on the south side of the field. Both the Bretonnian Knights and the Squires were not willing to let the gibbering fanatics from the Empire in front of them gain the first glorious revenge on their shared enemy. So they move up close to the SE entrance to Arnesvelt. However, they remain careful not to get within charge range of the Chaos Hounds on the southern edge of the town.

The Allied Command Phase then came to an end.

ALLIED SHOOTING PHASE

The Empire Helblasters were out of range to target any enemy. However the two units of Crossbowmen and 1 stand of Bretonnian Archers were in range of the 2 units of Ungor Raiders hauled up in the tower on the eastern side of Arnesvelt. Despite the Ungor Radiers being fortified within the ruins the Crossbowmen and Archers range was true, causing 2 hits on the Raiders. The Empire Cannons were also in range and, the enemy being upslope and in view, opened fire on the tower causing another 4 hits on the Raiders who subsequently lost 2 stands.

The Empire cannons open fire on the Ungor Raiders

The Bretonnian Enchantress then cast Aerial Shield on the Bretonnian Archers who fired this shooting phase. But the Empire Wizard failed to cast Voice of Command. With that, the Allied Shooting Phase came to an end.

The final disposition of the Allies

With no combat to speak of, the Allied Combat Phase was skipped and play passed over to the Beastmen.

BEASTMEN COMMAND PHASE

The Beastmen streamed out of the forest in answer Malagor's call.

The initial movement due to the First Move Free special rule saw the Beastmen from the forest all begin crossing the three fords but later, during the Command Phase proper, they slowed down to a crawl once in the river. With the free move over, in Arnesvelt the Chaos Hounds were pulling at their leashes and were finally let loose. Using their Initiative they charged the Halberdiers.

Malagor commanded the southern group of Chaos Hounds to charge the Flagellants coming up through the SE entrance to Arnesvelt.

The Beastlord on his Tuskgor Chariot pushed his brigade of Bestigors / Gors / Razorgors forward twice to cross the ford and close on Arnesvelt.

The Beastlord and his brigade, in the centre ford, serges forwards

With the Command Phase now over, the Beastmen leaders then took up new positions to better push their units into battle.

BEASTMEN SHOOTING PHASE

A single stand of Ungor Raiders scored a hit on a unit of Empire Crossbowmen. Malagor then cast Chaos Bolt at the same unit, causing two more hits and killing off a stand of the Crossbowmen. With that, the Shooting Phase quickly ended.

BEASTMEN COMBAT PHASE

First up to fight was the Chaos Hounds against the Halberdiers at the NE entrance to Arnesvelt. The Hounds scored a total of sixteen hits to the Empire's six hits, after armour saves. The Halberdiers had four supporting stands but still loose the fight and are forced back marginally as a brigade. The Empire troops loose a total of 5 stands (almost two units!) and have 1 outstanding hit. But the Hounds don't get off unscathed either loosing 2 stands.

The Hounds, smelling blood, pursue and inflict a massive thirteen more hits to the Empire's three hits, after amour saves. The Empire Halberdiers are pushed back 2cm, despite having two support stands) and loose another 4 stands and have 2 outstanding hits. The Hounds also loose a stand.

The Hounds pursue for the second and last time of this combat phase, attacking the beleaguered Halberdiers on two sides. After armour saves were considered, the Hounds scored another massive savaging of the Empire troops doing a total of 14 hits (and had 2 outstanding hits remaining also). The Halberdiers are devastated and savaged in a bloodbath and a destroyed to a man. Their only conciliation was that in the melee they were able to bring down another stand of hounds.

The Empire, in one phase of combat, have lost 4 units of their total 6 unit breakpoint. Due to the Break Point special rule, when the Empire looses its 7th unit, the army will rout.

The Empire dead on the sidelines

Next was the Chaos Hounds against the Empire Flagellants at the SE entrance to the town.

The Hounds had charged into combat and so get the extra attack dice, and they didn't disappoint! Scoring 7 hits to the Flagellants single hit in return saw the Hounds drive back the fanatics 5cm's. The Flagellants loosing two stands in the process.

The Hounds pursue their quarry and inflict another 6 hits, destroying the Flagellants . But the fanatics weren't going down without a fight, inflicting 5 hits in return on the Hounds (who also had an outstanding hit still against them).

The Flagellants were added to the Empire dead pool taking the number of units lost to 5 units. The Chaos Hounds however lost two stands, leaving a single solitary stand facing the pride of Bretonnia.

"Victory," growled the Chaos Hounds Handler, "but of course, now we are really stuffed!"

With that, Turn 1 came to a close. The Empire Army having been badly mauled loosing 5 units in the first turn! Malagor looked on gleefully. He had lost only a single unit of Chaos Hounds. Two more Chaos units were in bad shape, but it was not a bad start to the day. If he could only rout the Empire troops, he could concentrate on those colourful Bretonnian types. Now, where were those reinforcements?