ATHENS DAY TWO THIRD GAME

Things were getting more and more serious or should I say tense. I was to meet Frédéric Dufour, the leading french player who would use a Nobunaga army with Takeda ally.

So, we both had very similar units but he had an edge in shock cavalry and I had the edge in shooting power

Once again, I won initiative and went defender and in mountain, once again I out scouted my opponent by 10 % a new kind of normality .

Fred deployed rather conservatively with gaps for his small cavalry TUGs and his mounted shooty bushi are on his right wing.

I deployed also rather defensivly as I feared his lancers and their mobility.. I know Fred likes outflanking moves and as my ally is rather mediocre but also shooty it held my left flank . Between the marsh and the border of the table there is less than 2 MU so any move would be slowed down . My dried and highly mobile ashigaru were mostly in reserve behind the SUP line. I decided to , once again, dismount my mounted bushi as I decided to let Fred come and wanted shooty power to kill his CL. I also knew that Fred would come in an organised way

The first moves. I also started to advance towards Fred's line as I wished for a game. It's also Sunday morning and I always have some trouble concentrating, some say it is age and I answer it is Long Covid :-)

My right flank

Yes both lines do advance

Fred calmly threathens my left flank.

My shooting takes a small toll but in the long run his cavalry will suffer enough to make a difference as it will not be able to stay out of the 5 MU forever even if I did retreat into terrain with my line

He advances slowly and after the game will admit he failed to coordinate his moves as he wanted to strike all along the line but in a coordinated way. On that flank I will suffer as he will dismount his samurai and shoot as skilled on my ashigaru who will suffer.

they will also outflank a SUP But along the line the charge will be general . Dice being what they are, impact will be advantageous for Fred who will roll 4 skulls on 4 dice while I'll roll a wound ..bad omen indeed. His lancers will charge my PB and manage to reach them even if reduced. Being not sufficiently focused I left a gap and some of my foot SUP LS were outflanked by the CL but those charge will not have a great effect. In the mountains foot samurai will fight foot bushi for some time and in the end, he will break only one TUG while I'll break his 2 small mounted TUGS so for an end result of 6-4 to my advantage

One more turn might have changed it to 8-8 or 6-8 we will never know

An enjoyable game but as it is often the case, Fred and I cancelled each other