Well, recently Tim's Burly Imperial Romans (EIR) took on my Deflated Imperial Romans (LIR).
Tim's army was based around a massive infantry centre, with two small mounted wings:
Command A (55 ME):
C-in-C (Inert Claudius)
6 Bd (S)
24 Bd (O)
8 Ax
4 Art (F)
Command B (11 ME):
Sub
4 Cv (O)
Command C (11 ME):
Sub
4 Cv (O)
From the other side of the table, it looked very impressive. Tim's PIP dice allocation was the traditional highest to the infantry, average the 2nd and 3rd between the Cv commands, and give the lowest to the baggage (fortified).
My army was more balanced, but largely based on my available figures:
Command 1 (21 ME):
C-in-C (Brilliant Stilicho)
8 Bd (O)
8 Ps
2 LH (O)
Command 2 (24 ME):
Sub
2 Kn (F)
2 Cv (O)
3 Irr LH (S)
2 LH (O)
4 Ax (S)
4 Ps
Command 3 (21 ME):
Sub
4 Cv
4 LH (O)
4 Ax (S)
4 Ps
Stratagems: Flank Attack, Change Deployment.
I was the defender, and placed a fair bit of terrain. On my left on the centreline was a wood, with a small difficult hill a little way inboard. On my right on the centreline was a 1FE difficult hill. On my right near my base edge was a 1FE gentle hill. A waterway on my right flank played no part in the game.
Weather and time of day also played no part.
I placed Command 2 on my left, Command 1 in the centre and Command 3 on the right. Tim, logically enough, had Command A in the centre and B and C on the flanks. Tim's Bd (S) were in the centre, the Bd (O) either side of them, all in two ranks, and the Ax in columns on the flanks. The Art were spaced out behind the Bd.
My plan was to win on the wings while keeping the legionaries back in the centre. To that end, I initially gave the highest PIP dice to Command 2, the 2nd highest to Command 3, the 3rd highest to Command 1, and the lowest to the baggage (fortified). Then the victorious wings would advance on the open flanks of Tim's centre, and the legionaries would advance to complete the rout. Accordingly, I planned to use a Brilliant Stroke to change my PIP allocation to the same as Tim's, as I figured the legionaries would be doing most of the complex maneuvering.
My plan barely survived contact with the dice. It was the third bound before I got my first PIP dice above 3, while Tim didn't roll a PIP dice below 4 until his 3rd bound.
On my left I was able to send the Ax and Ps through the woods, with the mounted aiming for the gap between the woods and the nearby hill. Tim's Cv command facing them sidestepped to mostly face the Ax, and the only mounted I was able to get through to help them were the Irregular LH.. The Cv and Kn instead attacked the Ax and legionaries at the end of Tim's centre. Tim's Cv ground down my Ax, with his Sub-general fighting off two flank/rear attacks by my Irr LH. Meanwhile the legionaries and Ax killed a Kn, and these collective losses were enough to break my left wing.
On my right, Tim's Cv command raced around to the gentle hill on my side of the table, well on the way to my baggage. However, by using a Brilliant Stroke to double 3 PIPs to 6, I was able to get the Cv and LH from Command 3 into a blocking position, while also getting Ax onto the difficult hill, where they could threaten the left hand end of Tim's Bd line. Unfortunately, when I tried to attack with the Ax, the combat dice deserted me and I lost two Ax. Fortunately, the Cv battle went my way. I was able to kill a Cv and push his Sub-general off the table, breaking that command. As Tim's remaining Cv fled, I marched my Cv back towards Tim's advancing legionaries, though not really sure how to retrieve the situation.
Meanwhile, in the centre, Tim's Art had been picking off my Ps and LH, which I'd sent out in front of my legionaries as a screen. By the end of the game, the Art had Spent 5 Ps and 3 LH (including one from the right wing). Tim's Bd advanced slowly, but with plenty of PIPs he was able to split his line in two, with the right half wheeling slightly.
Back on my left, having a high PIP dice for my broken command meant the troops stuck around for a while, occupying Tim's Cv until eventually the command shattered. At this point, Tim's centre command had lost about 3 ME of troops, and he still had more than 3 times as many Bd as me; I was considering conceding to save time.
Instead, in desperation, I used my second Brilliant Stroke to change my PIP allocation, giving the highest to Command 1, the 2nd highest to Command 3, and the lowest to my baggage. Remarkably, my PIP dice suddenly came good, and I averaged something like 4.5 PIPs per command for the rest of the game, while Tim's PIP dice decreased after his broken Cv command left the table.
The result was that, although outnumbered, my legionaries were able to outmaneuver Tim's, and exploit the gap between his two groups of Bd. As well, I finally started getting lucky in combat. An Ax element killed two Bd elements with a flank hit from Ps, which opened up the end of Tim's legionary line for my Cv to exploit. Each turn, it seemed I was able to knock over a few more elements, including some of the veterans. Improbably, I was able to dishearten Tim's centre (14 ME required). Then in my next bound, my legionaries hit a pair of Bd (S) in front and flank. Winning that combat broke Tim's centre command and his army. My army was still about 3.5
ME from breaking.
With my losses at over 40% and one command lost, it was 16-9 to me in one of the more remarkable victories I've ever achieved. Thanks to Tim for such a great game, and I hope he's luckier over the weekend at Grass Crown than he was against me.
Random thoughts:
Neither stratagem was much use to me. There still wasn't quite enough terrain for me to be confident a Flank Attack would work, and as his flank commands were identical, the Change Deployment stratagem wasn't that helpful.
Nevertheless, I thought my plan was a good one. If I'd had average PIPs in the first few turns, I would have been able to get my Kn fighting Tim's Cv on my left, which would likely have won me that fight. I'd then have had two intact flank commands to turn inwards onto Tim's centre, and the PIP allocation change would have worked a lot more smoothly. As it was, though, I still changed my PIP allocation around the same time and in the same way originally planned!
On my right, I should have sent a couple of LH after Tim's broken Cv. If I'd killed one more, it would have shattered the command, costing him a PIP dice at least three bounds earlier than actually occurred. The LH would also have then been in a good position to swing around the difficult hill and threaten the rear of Tim's line.
This was a fun army to use, as long as you don't mind the grey hair it gives you. I'm not sure how it would go against other armies, but I think it'd be reasonable in the hands of someone who was confident with maneuvering in the face of a larger enemy.
