He wished to field his T'Ang Chinese so used an early Central Empire version (I think ?) and I selected Sogdian as contemporary opponent.
Again struggling to field a Maximus army (had to borrow some bases from Stephen).
The terrain areas (particularly those for closed flanks and compulsory pieces) can be a good deal bigger than we are used to (40cm x 40cm maximum).
This game had more maneuvering (limited as it may be) by us both than previous outings.
Once again I struggled to use Skirmishing tactic with 'Heavy Cavalry' types.
Another fun game and we are learning the nuances of the rules in every game, Stephen as ever more adeptly than I.
I really like the card Command system (shocker) which takes away the more 'chess-like' approach of FOG adding some inertia/chaos to proceedings.
Lots of nice troops on the table, but what on earth is a Sogdian army? One left out in the rain the night before the game? :-)
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteSogdiana lay between the Oxus and the Jaxartes. It had been ruled by the Achaemenid Persians, Alexander the Great, the Graeco-Bactrians and the Kushans. As the Kushan kingdom collapased the area achieved independence. The Sogdian states centred on the city of Samarkand sat astride the Silk Road. They rose to prominence in the Tang dynasty and traded as far as Byzantium. When the Arabs defeated the Sassanids, some Persians fled to Sogdia. Qutayba ibn Muslim, Governor of Greater Khorasan under the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated the Muslim conquest of Sogdia during the early 8th century, with the local ruler of Balkh offering him aid as an Umayyad ally. In around 717 CE the Sogdians revolted. With the aid of Turkic peoples, the Sogdians were able to expel the Umayyad Arab garrison from Samarkand and Umayyad attempts to restore power there were repelled. On the arrival of Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashisome Sogdians declared allegiance to the Umayyad governor whilst others fled.