Merric Blackman
Australia
Waubra
Victoria
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Following my first game with Nash, we immediately embarked on a second game. Skipping over the utterly boring First Chevauchee, we moved to Burgos, Castille in 1366, where Henry of Transtamara was under attack by Don Pedro the Cruel and his goblin mercenaries!
I played Don Pedro for this battle; my side is the one to the bottom of the photographs.
It's quite true that I have a number of games that I haven't played that much compared to the expansions I've bought for them. BattleLore sits in that category. I'm actually quite unused to using goblins; the rare games I've played of it lately have been more historical (Hundred Years War and Scottish Wars). So, it was fun to get to play goblins again.
Soon enough, I was taking advantage of their speed - and a couple of Advance orders - to press Nash's forces heavily on the right.
The goblins swarmed in, and Nash found his units retreating and then surrounded. Meanwhile, he wasn't rolling retreat flags in his attacks on me, so the cowardly goblins weren't breaking and running. The low stream also allowed my goblin riders to attack from the side. Things weren't looking good for Henry's forces!
Meanwhile, on my left and right, Nash's cavalry and his infantry moved up to engage my lines and soon battle was joined. My light infantry took a pounding, but otherwise my lines held; maneuvering was treacherous as we tried to stay in lines to take advantage of boldness and each attempted to attack the other's unprotected flanks. Nash was slowly gaining ascendancy here.
The battle continued to rage in the centre, and my troops were failing me. I couldn't press my advantage with the goblins and my archers were beginning to wonder what they were doing in the middle of the melee! Having the heavy infantry there began to swing things in my favour, though, and I forced Nash's cavalry to retreat and began to pound in on his infantry.
And then, everything went wrong: His cavalry attacked again, on my left and my right. Pursuing and following on, they were able to eliminate two of my depleted units in quick time, and then he moved in for the kill: his cavalry and medium infantry surrounding my heavy infantry. I couldn't believe it: stripped of their comrades, they were easy prey for Nash's troops and when victory was in my grasp, I tasted the bitter dregs of defeat as the infantry went down in the mud.
Victory was Nash's: 5 medals to 4!
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