The Battle, Part Two (turns 3 & 4)[/b]
In the little valley, Lord Sternbrow and the bloodied Tyrant Agrabog hacked and slashed at each other. On the Ironbreaker’s left the Longbeards were faced with a pair of Maneaters, followed closely by several ranks of Ogre Bulls.
Not wanting to receive a charge, the Longbeards charged in themselves. On the hill behind them the Thunderers reformed, readying themselves to attempt to put a stop to whatever it was the Hunter loping up on the far right flank hoped to do.
In the centre of the field, as is their wont, the Dwarven warriors continued their slow but steady march forwards, while the cannons behind them sent two balls ploughing into the massed Gnoblars (admittedly not their intended targets) bringing down six of the greenskins between them,
When the Quarrelers and the Thunderers joined in the shooting, however, they proved more capable of upsetting the foe’s advance, for they laid low one of the two Leadbelchers who had just fired at them and sent the other running in panic. The Organ gun opened up immediately after them and tore eight Gnoblars apart. Unsurprisingly they proved no less shaken by the experience than their larger comrades and they too fled as fast as their legs could take them, pouring right through the two bewildered Ogre Bulls behind them.
As all this was unfolding in the centre, off to the dwarfs’ right the two Bolt Throwers could not fell the giant now looming over their Lord. Thane Ilvar Flatnose and the Longbeards were a little luckier, managing to slay one of the Maneaters they had charged, but they could not break the other, who proved stubborn before them even though he surely had no chance against them and could not harm them back at all. Flatnose’s luck was as nothing compared to Lord Sternbrow’s, for he and his Ironbreakers proved to be very devils in battle, Sternbrow slaying the Tyrant Agrabog, then his warriors sending two Ironguts lifelessly rolling down the hill to join his corpse. The remaining Ironguts stumbled back in confusion and despair only to be butchered a moment later.
The death of their Lord and his Bodyguard proved too much for the Butchers and Ogre Bulls - both regiments beneath the hill turned and fled, while the addled Slave Giant suddenly found himself the target of Lord Sternbrow’s attentions.
The Ogres’ situation was now becoming desperate. Boondak the Hunter released his brutish hounds at the Thunderers with a cry of “Sic ‘em, boys” …
… but both were riddled with bullets before they got close. The only Bulls left on the field that were not bloodied or wounded then followed the same route as the deceased dogs to get closer to the Thunderers, while Boondak himself made his way off to the right in an attempt to aid the Maneater fighting an entire regiment on his own.
Of the two fleeing units of Bulls, only those led by the Butcher Fumpem rallied, the others wanting to put a lot more distance between themselves and a Dwarfen Lord who could dispatch the likes of Agrabog the Mighty! Bodo the Giant had not even lifted his club before he too was hacked down by Lord Sternbrow’s magical blade. Out on the Ogres’ right, every unit attempted to move forwards, but all (starting to wonder why Agrabog had not yet broken out of the little valley) had a feeling that something was going wrong.
The massive regiment of Dwarfs now launched their charge at the Gnoblars before them. The greenskins had no chance against such warriors and after umpteen were slain the rest broke and fled as such pathetic fighters always do!
While Boondak wondered whether there really was any point in sacrificing himself in the service of a dead Tyrant …
… the Dwarven artillery and missile troops fired once more. Several more Bulls tumbled to the ground, and the lone survivor on the far left turned and fled as had so many Bulls done already.
Lord Sternbrow stood on the brow of a hill, looking stern (Author’s note: Sorry, couldn’t help it!).
The Ogres were beat, and everyone on the field knew it. What few Bulls and Gnoblars survived had sense enough to quit the field, and hastily.
Agrabog the Mighty was dead, and thanks to the Dwarfs of Khazid Hafak none of his Ogres would be entering Wissenland.
Result: Obvious massacre, and only half way through turn 4!
Congratulations to all those who guessed right. You get cookies or whatever it is you fancy with my permission. Go on treat yourself, and if anyone complains, send them my way. Commiserations to those who assumed the underdog would win. No, like usual, he lost, and lost badly.
Game Notes:
What can I say? I set up the terrain in an attempt to make it look pretty and so that Uryens would not think it unfair, thus creating what turned out to be a natural fortress for the dwarfs, with raised platforms for all his artillery giving lovely fields of fire throughout the battle. I also made the big mistake of assuming that Agrabog could defeat Lord Sternbrow and his Ironbreakers straight on. I was ridiculously unlucky in the rolls, even Uryens agrees on that, but it was my folly to base a battle plan around a toss of a coin situation like that. If Agrabog had won that combat oh boy(!) would things have been different! I think.
What say you?
