Later Ptolemaic versus Ghaznavid

Another exciting 800 point FOG game today with my Greeks taking on Mark’s Ghaznavids.

A lot more terrain than usual (I am still learning how to handle medium foot and as I was running a unit of Thracians and one of Cretan militia I thought hiding them in a vineyard and on a steep hill would be the way to go against a cavalry army).

In the picture above the Ptolemaic left is anchored by the Cretan javelin armed conscripts on the steep hill, which has disordered them, but hopefully put them out of harm’s way.  The right is the vineyard where the Thracians are heading.

The Ghaznavid centre, defending their camp.

The Ghaznavids wanted that vineyard!  In the centre can be seen the Ghaznavid skirmishers harassing the Ptolemaic pikemen.  Thorakitai (Hoplites doing double duty) guard the flanks of the pike phalanx.

More skirmishing on the left: the elephants being too slow to get into action, but still wheeling around all the same.  The little chap is sounding the alarm in Ptolemy’s fortified camp.

The Cretan foot on the hill look on terrified as the Ghaznavids successfully assault the camp, despite the efforts of the trumpet dude.

The Thracians fight grimly for the vineyard, but are being worn down, particularly by the enemy elephants.  The Xystophoroi lancers are trying to come to their rescue.

The Xystophoroi are too late and the Thracians are broken.

Ptolemy checks out how his centre is going.  At this stage I was two units and my camp down.

But on the left things started to look up.  A unit of Ghaznavid Mameluks are wiped out when trapped between the Cretans infantry they had been hassling on the hill and the elephants that came round to attack them.  In the background the other Mameluk unit, laden down with loot from successfully sacking the camp, is shot to pieces by some Ptolemaic archers.

On the right a unit of Ghaznavid light horse fought desperately so their lancers could take the Ptolemaic spearmen in the flank.  On their cohesion test they would break on anything but an 11 or higher ...

However that had used up all the Ghaznavid’s good luck and their cavalry came off the worse in the resulting combat.

Ptolemy himself, doing his best Alexander the Great impersonation, has revenged the Thracian foot, but is now in a standoff with the Ghaznavid elephants.

Meanwhile on the left the Cretan conscripts aided by the elephants defeated a unit of Ghaznavid bowmen who had arrived too late to save the Mameluks.

Ptolemy’s fight with the elephants was not going well, but by this time the Ghaznavid morale had broken.  Phew!

And just as well as clearing their remaining force off the hill would have been a hard slog.