Vikings!

Today, we had to forego our planned 'Lily Banners' game, due to transport problems, so we quickly arranged a Viking skirmish using my Sword and Dagger rules - I had just finished painting my new Wargames Factory plastic Vikings, so it was a good time for a first outing!

Rod and Ian would try to take a farm from Lawrence and myself.

Rod deployed opposite me...

Ian deployed on his right. 

Their forces were divided by a wood to their front. 

The farm was Lawrence's...some more lovely 4Ground buildings. 

Lawrence deployed on my left, opposite the big wood. 

My Vikings, led by a little  Ragnarr Loðbrók and Lagatha!..deployed opposite Rod.

Although we deployed opposite Rod, apparently aiming to concentrate on his force, our plan was to move rapidly to the farm and attack Ian. 

I detached my 4 archers to harass Rod.  

 Lawrence, eschewing the cover afforded by the wood, advanced his archers towards Rod as well.

 Against my expectations, under Ian's iron hand, Rod's force advanced rapidly!

As did Ian's. 

 Rod's archers slowed to shoot at Lawrence's bowmen.

Ian's archers were filtering through the big wood 

One of Lawrence's archers suffered a light wound from an arrow. 

 This rapidly became a wound and 2 light wounds, before...

 ...Lawrence withdrew them into the cover of the wood.

 Rod's main force was pushing to join Ian beyond the wood.

 Ian looked to be winning the race to the farm.

 My archers now got forward to be able to support Lawrence against Rod.

One of my arrows wounded a warrior! 

The clash of Shield-walls seemed imminent. 

 My men managed to wound one of Rod's archers. 

 His men were continuing to pepper Lawrence's archers.

 The survivors broke and ran!

 One of my archers took a light wound from Rod's archers, now their original target had departed!

 Rod had mailed archers, which stopped a lot of our arrow hits.

 Ian's archers got some surprisingly good hits on Lawrence's Hearth-Guard.

 Our Shield wall began to form, as we became aware of Rod's approach.

 Another of my archers took a minor hit..

 ..but they gave as good as they got!

Lawrence's Hearth Guard advanced a little too close to Ian's men, some of who spontaneously charged. Some amazing die rolls left 2 of Lawrences men dead and another 2 wounded! 

Ian charged in his archers and swordsmen too, though less effectively! 

On our left, Lawrence's Lord killed his opponent, but his companions were dropping like flies! --I charged in Ragnarr Loðbrók and his companions to help on Lawrence's right.

 Ian charged in his reserve unit - who broke through our Viking line.

 My dice rolling was as bad as Lawrence's! - we made no headway at all, and looked set to be hit in flank by Rod's Berserkir.

Rod's spearmen looked vulnerable to my 2 units? 

Lawrence's Lord now got wounded by his many enemies, and was forced to beg for quarter.

 My spears charged Rod's, and despite more bad die rolls, were just about winning by sheer numbers!

At this point,  Ragnarr Loðbrók called for a retreat. With the appalling dice luck we were having, there was no way we could recover the battle.

There will be another day.....!!!