Never hit a Hittite

 We had another bash with Basic Impetus this morning, with Peter fielding the Hittites against my New Kingdom Egyptians. I was hoping for a different result than last time, and  I got it. 

It was worse. 

Waaayy worse. 

I came acropper once one of my chariot units got pinned down on my left flank by some light infantry. 

My infantry in the centre should have been a match for their Hittite counterparts, but clearly no-one had told them that and they struggled to hold the centre.

The Hittite chariots proved decisive, using missile attacks to weaken my infantry before charging home, and continuing on after using my troops as speed bumps. 

My general tried to do the same and got stuck  and mobbed. 

Eventually, my casualties piled up and the army reached and quickly passed its break point, survivors fleeing the field after only breaking a single Hittite unit. 

A disappointing result, but a fun game, which is all that matters.  

New Kingdom Egyptians ( By Red Copper)

 New Kingdom Egyptians ( By Red Copper)

I just finished up  ( for now) my latest army for Basic Impetus, a New Kingdom Egyptians from  Red Copper Miniatures. They are usually available as true 15mm, but Campaign Miniatures offers them in 18mm as well, so that was what I chose. 

They are printed in a very study but flexible resin. Clear up is easier than metal figures and the detail is superb. They are effectively 28mm models printed smaller, so the fine detail is what you would expect in the larger scale. They also possess a lovely degree of animation, and a nice selection of poses within the range, so there is a sense of dymanism and motion to them .

There is heavy foot and massed archers in the range, along with the obigatory chariots , including one of Ramases II himself. These are particularly lovely and energetic. There is also a number of support troops available ; Numidian spearmen & skirmishers and ferocious looking Lybian mercenary warband types, looking suitably invincible.

I usualy stick to DBM basing for most of my ancients, so they will be compatible with everything else, but as this is my first foray into 15mm Bronze Age, there was nothing to match with, so I used Impetus bases, which allow for a more interesting figure lay out, and a desert theme for the bases, to better fit the setting. I will continue this with the Hittites, Assyrians & Sea Peoples armies. 

The Whole army , perched atop an Ikea storage tin

A close up of the Egyptian Infantry and archers with  vassal skirmishers 

6 chariots ( 3 units ) so far with some of the mercenary troops.

 

Skirmishers and the Royal Guard heavy foot unit behind.

Lybian Mercenaries  adding a bit of barbaric splendor ( and a dangerous charge bonus).


The range is a joy to paint. I hope to have their rivals, the Hittites finished & table ready shortly for a few games of Basic Impetus & King David. 

Basic Impetus, Hittite Vs NKE

Today we played Basic Impetus, for the first time in too long. This was also our first proper Chariot Era game, and we used Hittite Empire vs New Kingdom Eyptian, both from around the era of Kaddesh.  We both fielded the standard army with one change each, the Egyptians dropping a unit of chariots in exchange for two units of Lybian warbands, and the Hittites dropping a unit of vassal for in favour of a unit of Canaanite archers.  The terrain was rather sparse, but still managed to get in the way .

Initial deployment.  Heroic Egyptians on the left, Evill Hittites on the right.

Hittite vassal foot & Canaanite archers.

Egyptian General in Chariot.

Hittite Vassal Chariots

Hittite Chariots

Egyptian Light Infantry holding the Evil Hordes at bay.. Temporarily...

Egyptian Archers, Light Foot & Lybian mercenary warbands advance 

Two outmanouvered Egyptian units try to hold off greater numbers on the right flank. 

Decisive infantry clash on the left (I hoped ) before it disintegrated into a dogfight. 

Infantry prepare to charge which their more mobile social betters exchange insults & missile fire.

A battered Hittite chariot on the spot where two Egyptian units made a brief last stand

 Defiant Egyptian archers who haven't yet realised that they have lost.

We were a bit rusty on the rules, but it quickly came back to us, like misdeeds from a drunken haze. Ed to the Evill Hittites, I the Heroic New Kingdom Egyptians (NKE). 

The terrain was mostly to the far flanks, just a bit of scrub in the centre for the skirmishers to hide in. The first few turns were mostly maneuver, nothing spectacular as we were both feeling our way forward, unused to either army. 

Eds chariots on his left hit mine on my right, and initially drove them back, but his charge ran out of steam and devolved into a slow slogging match that he eventually won, although took a beating in the process. His stronger left flank advanced while his right sat nearer the baseline. 

My stronger left advanced, with my three infantry units engaging three good quality Hittite foot, including their General. My chariot mounted General had a bash at some Hittite chariots but to little effect. I managed to get in my own way trying to get around some impassable terrain and blocked my own archers. 

My infantry destroyed two opponents, but enemy general stood firm. My General put in a less than stellar effort and was routed by the Hittite chariots, putting my under a lot of pressure, but then my archers took out his General so we were both tethering near our break point. At this stage, his battered chariot on his left finally made it back into the fight and hit my beleaguered light foot from behind, breaking the army.

 A Hittite victory , although a costly one, but a great game with plenty of laughs. Looking forward to a rematch.  All the figures are printed resin from Red Copper and painted by me.