Battle for Redwick

The devastating raids of the Iron Legion have unnerved the defenders of Anarendor. Unsure where the army of evil will strike next, they have been scattered among various outposts throughout the land. Thus, when a strong enemy force pushes toward the town of Redwick, only a meager force stands in the way.

The enemy vanguard approaches. Sir Dennis and a unit of infantry blocks the road while rangers are stationed in the forest. A swarm of giant spiders advance on the rangers.

More minions arrive while the spiders hit the rangers' flank.

An orc warband charges Sir Dennis's infantry. More orcs (left) and a unit of the Iron Legion (right) move to outflank Dennis. Meanwhile, the rangers are swatting the spiders.

The Iron Legion hits the infantry in the flank. Sir Dennis leads the defense and repulses the attacks, although some of the spearmen fall.

 The spiders whittle down the rangers but Dennis's men hold firm. Orcs make a dash for Redwick. However, Anarendorian reinforcements arrive and are speeding to the battle.

A fresh unit of rangers peppers the lead band of orcs.

 Forcing them to flee. Meanwhile, despite casualties, the infantry has routed a unit of orcs. Alas, the spiders have dispatched the rangers and are moving through the woods.

Sir Dennis fiinds himself virtually surrounded.

But the levy joins the fight and wipes out some more orcs. By now, more reinforcements arrive in town.

A newly-arrived unit of levy attacks a battered orc warband.

And destroys it. Dennis's depleted command continues it valiant stand. Assisted by the levy, it destroys the Iron Legion. The spiders will go slinking off into the woods.

For their heroic efforts in this battle, Sir Dennis and his spearmen earned the nickname "The Invincibles." And yet another enemy assault has been vanquished.

Game Notes
The scenario was #10 - Late Arrivals from Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames. The defending army (Anarendor) begins with only 2 units on the board while the attackers all come on at once (although you won't see them on the board because they are backed up behind the rest of the column). The defenders are trying to prevent the bad guys from seizing the town (in the lower right of the first picture)

The evil army consisted of 2 units of infantry (the Iron Legion), 3 hordes of orcs, and 1 band of spiders. They are led by a Death Lord (leader stand, which gives bonuses to attached units)

• Spiders are a special type of unit. They attack, and move like light cavalry (2A/1D/3M), although they may move through woods. They also get 2 special abilities:
• Poison - if they wound an enemy, that unit is +1 to Quality (lower is better) for the next turn. This represents sluggishness caused by the poison
• Web - a short ranged attack. Webbed units cannot move in their next turn

The good army had 1 infantry, 2 rangers (archers), and 3 levy, along with a leader. Two units start on the board with an additional two arriving in turns 5 and 10. 

Because I was playing the good guys, I choose their set-up. I opted for a forward defense, with the rangers in the woods and Sir Dennis and the infantry on the road. I figured that one of the levy could secure the town when they arrived. I was worried that the initial defenses would collapse quickly, allowing the evil army to rush the town. Fortunately, Sir Dennis put up a stout defense (their defense rolls were amazing; nothing could get through them), delaying the enemy attacking.

I did rewrite history a bit. Late in the game it became obvious that the evil army was not going to win. I thought about ending the game but decided to press on. The infantry was destroyed in the next turn, although the Iron Legion also fell. I decided to rewind a turn and allow the infantry to survive the fight.

I also, unintentionally, cheated for the good army. I forgot to apply the horde rule to the destroyed orcs. They may have returned to the battle as reinforcements. Oh well, fate was on the side of Good today.

As it stands now, the Good Army is leading 2-0 in major battles (I'm not counting skirmishes). It's looking good for Anarendor.