Sunday, April 9, 2017

Vikings vs Franks... time for a throw-down!


Hey all!

Well, I had a few friends come by today... the Joes, and my buddy Sean... and we did a little game, so we could push some figures around!

This time it was a swords-and-shields game... Vikings vs Franks.


Here are the Vikings, defending their home (I know, Franks didn't invade the Viking lands much.  Just roll with it.)  Two units of infantry, some berzerkers, some archers, warhounds with their master, and a few heroes.


Here are the Franks... three units of infantry, and two of archers.


Beautiful figures, too... my buddy Sean's.


Here is one of the Frankish heroes, ready for the fight!


And here is the other.


Here you can see the battlefield, from the Frankish side of the field.


The Franks prepare to advance across the field.


The Vikings, meanwhile, leave their camp near the ship and begin to move inland.


The Franks begin to advance.


Another shot, from the Viking side this time.


The Vikings begin to move through the village... I was handling the right flank (nearest to you) and was moving to the hill on the right, while Joe Sr. tool his force off to the left.


My berzerkers lead the advance past the houses...


The Frankish archers move to rocks in the center of the field, preparing to cover both flanks with fire.


Here is a shot from the Viking left flank... Joe Sr. advances his men towards the hill, while on the far side my Vikings move to meet Sean's Franks.


My guys move past the village...


... while Sean's troops move up the hill.


The two sides continue advancing towards each other, and...


... the Viking left flank charges up the hill into combat!


Meanwhile the Viking right moves up the hill...


Here is a shot of the whole battlefield.


The Viking left is a mess!  Axes and swords cleaving, spears thrusting, shields splintering...


... and the lines beat each other back and forth, Joe Sr. vs Joe Jr.


Meanwhile, on the right, my guys rush up the hill and smash into Sean's Franks.


They begin hacking each other down.


The fight on the left continues unabated, with more and more men falling under the frenzied attacks.


On the right the fight continues on the wooded hill. More and more men fall dead, and the two sides begin to falter.


Finally the surviving Frankish troops on the right are pushed down the hill, and begin a tactical withdrawal towards the center, where the archers await.


The fight on the left begins to turn against the Vikings... more and more Norsemen fall under Frankish weapons.


In the center the Vikings chase down the retreating Franks, but the archers leap into the fight, along with a few troops from the reserve on the flank.


On the left the Vikings fall one after another, until only the Viking hero is left!  Surrounded, he hacks and slashes at everyone around him.


In the center the Franks get pushed back again, but the Vikings start to lose steam.


The last Viking on the left flank finally falls, surrounded by nearly a half dozen Franish enemies.

It was right around here that it ended, as there were only a few Vikings left in the center, who finally turned tail and ran!

Overall, a fun afternoon of hacking and slashing!

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