Battle of Arden Forest

Greetings!

It is time to splash out the very first Warhammer Fantasy Battles 3rd Edition battlereport! This is the first game of 3rd Edition I've ever played but it went rather well, considering I had only just finished reading the rules and creating two 1000p army lists to pit against each other.

The battle was a simple lineup between the forces of Bretonnia and the Dwarves, as I thought a Pitched Battle would be the easiest way to test out the ruleset. In later games I hope to include a bit more narrative objectives and story-driven victory conditions!

In this particular game I also left out magic spells and magic items, just to leave me with the basic rules used together with advanced formations and weapon stats. Without further ado, let's have a look at the army lists!

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Bretonnians - Viscomte Gaude's Svedonnian Expedition

- Viscomte Oliver Gaude : lvl 15 hero, heavy armour, lance, shield, barded warhorse
- Marquis Rogier Sanguin: lvl 10 hero, heavy armour, double-handed sword
- Baron Maussart de Bar: lvl 5 hero, heavy armour, double-handed hammer
- 8x Noblesse D'epee: heavy armour, lance, shield, warhorse
- 8x Chevaliers Rampants: heavy armour, lance, warhorse
- 16x Rapscallions: bows
- 16x Rapscallions: bows
- 20x Brigands: light armour, shield, spear
- 16x Villains: light armour, halberd
= 1075p

Dwarves - Hold Master Olud's Mountain Patrol

- Hold Master Olud Emberheart: lvl 15 hero, heavy armour, double-handed axe
- 10x Hammerers: heavy armour, shield, double-handed hammer
- 12x Iron Breakers: heavy armour, shield, hand weapon
- 10x Dwarf Crossbowmen: light armour, crossbow
- 10x Thunderers: light armour, arquebus
- 20x Dwarf Warriors: light armour, shield, hand weapon
- 3-man Cannon: 3 Dwarf Crew with hand weapons
= 1031p

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Lord Oliver Gaude rode along the grass-patched forest road ahead of his column of retainers. The heavy hooves of the his finely-bred warhorse, Heureux, clattered on the hard-packed dirt of the road as his small army ate away at the miles ahead of them. The Viscomte and his men had left their coastal holdings in the west a week or so ago, to pay a visit to his colleague, Viscomte Franceis of Gisoreux. It had been years since they had last met, and Oliver was looking forward to go hunting with his friend again.

Behind him trudged a long column of men: his knights and their peasant levies who had had the honour of accompanying the Viscomte on his journey to the east. The deep ranks of red-faced men puffed on in the parch of the midday sun, swarming the road and forcing the farmers and traders they met to lead their carts off the road until Lord Gaude and his retinue had passed. Bringing up the column's rear was the baggage train, a couple of horse-drawn carts accompanied by a handful of cooks, smiths and servants. Amidst the crates and barrels of the baggage, a silver-lined strongbox lied hidden away from curious eyes; it was Lord Gaude's gift to his friend, a golden bracelet inlaid with House Gaude's family crest, the twin crowns of Svedonnia.

As the day turned to an evening and clouds began to gather in the skies, one of the squires acting as forward scouts raced back from the front, bringing word of an armed dwarven force blocking the way ahead.
"Quoi?" the Viscomte gasped, raising his bushy eyebrows. "Tell me, Pierre, deed you azk de dwarz politlye to mov azide frrom de rood?"
"Oui, I did, messire," the scout called Pierre replied, nodding repeatedly. "But de dwarz replyed by giving me a laughe to de face!"

There was a loud, collective gasp from the gathered knights around Lord Gaude. What insolence!
"Bons Messieurs," the Viscomte addressed his men gloomily. "Diz iz a grrave insult which must be anzwered with zword and lance!"
The knights roared their approval, the peasants rolled their eyes, and the Bretonnians spread out their column into a battleline.

As the men and the dwarves arranged their lines of battle, both sides had their baggage trains rounded up off to the side from the fighting, with makeshift barricades raised to give each army's supplies some protection. Should either force's baggage train fall into the hands of the enemy, the consequences could be disastrous: Viscomte Gaude's Bretonnians would have to turn back for more supplies, delaying their visit to Gisoreux, whereas Hold Master Olud would have to end his patrols prematurely and return to Garban Hold in shame.

The battle was commenced by the dwarves as the Bretonnian lines marched into view. The dwarf cannon roared deafeningly, spitting an iron ball into Viscomte Gaude's Nobles in the centre. The shot ripped three knights to bloody shreds as it hurtled through their tightly-packed ranks, their plate armour and shields offering no protection against the engine of war. Lord Gaude tut-tutted to himself. What a dirty and unchivalrous game the foe was playing!

The dwarven Thunderers fired their arqubuses at the distant Bretonnians, failing to hit their targets by a long shot. The Dwarf Crossbowmen on the south flank did a little better, their volley of bolts raining into the Chevaliers across the field and toppling one of the knights from the saddle. The dwarven Hammerers and Iron Breakers marched forward on the south and north wings, respectively, with Hold Master Olud Emberheart also taking his Warrior regiment boldy forward in the centre.

The Bretonnian reply was meagre. Both units of Rapscallions had formed a wedge and now poured shafts into the skies from their bows, failing to cause any casualties on the advancing dwarves. With their arrows proving ineffective against the enemy armour at this range, the peasant archers resorted to crude gestures and shouted insults.

The Chevaliers advanced in the south, with the remainder of Lord Gaude's Nobles joining them on the middle clearing. Marquis Sanguin took his mail-and-halberd Villains forward in the centre, blocking a path in between two patches of woods. Baron de Bar followed this example and led his shield-and-spear Brigands onwards along the north flank, seeking to close in with the dwarven baggage train.

Four knights of Bretonnia were already growing cold on the ground, and not a single blow had yet been struck in the battle!

The dwarves were relentless in their barrage. The cannon risked overheating and fired again, this time sending the cannonball into Marquis Sanguin's Villains at point-blank range. The projectile ripped off arms and heads as it flew straight through the peasants, leaving six of them sprawling on the ground in bloody ruin. The morale of the Villains began to waver, but Sir Sanguin gave voice to a litany of encouraging shouts that reminded the peasants of their duties.
"Anny cowarde foolizh ennuf to think of running shall hang by hiz ballz by zundown!"

While the Thunderers were reloading their arquebuses, the Dwarf Crossbowmen unleashed an ineffective hail of bolts at the Chevaliers closing in on the south wing, the missiles clattering harmlessly off the magnificent armour of the knights. At the centre of the field Olud Emberheart maneuvered his Dwarf Warriors so that Gaude's Nobles couldn't strike him in the flank, trusting that the enemy Villains across the woods would not be a threat. The Warriors adopted a shieldwall formation, overlapping their iron-bound wooden targes to turn their unit into a solid obstacle on the field.

The Bretonnians were enraged by the enemy missile fire by now, and charged at their foes with the sound of thunder echoing across the forest glade! The Rapscallions in the back lines reformed into regular ranks to be able to move, their targets on the battlefield reduced now that melee was about to commence. The archers on the south flank tried to reach the enemy Crossbows with their shafts, but missed terribly due to their recent maneuvering.

In the south the Chevaliers thundered into the Hammerer formation in a wedge, piercing the first rank of the dwarves but grinding into a halt at the second. The single dwarf they had managed to run through with a lance was swiftly avenged by the rest of the Hammerers, their greathammers mauling the knights' lead rider from the saddle. Despite their casualties the momentum of the charge and the presence of their lord's banner allowed the Chevaliers to drive back their stubborn foe a couple of strides, but the enemy still held.

In the centre Viscomte Gaude charged his Nobles into the awaiting Dwarf Warriors, while Marquis Sanguin brought in his Villains from the flank. Together the two Bretonnian units engaged the Dwarf Lord's regiment from two sides, battering away at the shieldwall with lances, swords and halberds. Oliver Gaude himself accounted for the single dwarf they managed to take down, his lance driving through the foe's shield and torso, but the dwarven retaliation saw one Noble and one peasant fall to their axes in return.

Baron de Bar forced his Brigands through the patch of woods in the north, but this turned out to be a bad move: as they sought their way throught the thicket and reappeared on the other side, the peasant formation had lost its coherency altogether! The Baron was forced to halt the unit and start redressing their ranks in the full view and reach of the dwarven Iron Breakers!

As the melees whirled on along the width of the battlefield, bolts and arrows whirred past each other in the skies. The Rapscallions finally managed to skewer one of the Dwarf Crossbowmen with a lucky shaft, but one of their own fell to the return volley of bolts right after. The Thunderers had reloaded their firearms but kept themselves from firing as there were no good targets in their view. The cannon crew decided to seize fire as well, letting their gun's barrel cool down a bit.

In the south the fight between the Chevaliers and the Hammerers raged on. One more knight fell to the heavy hammerstrikes but the Bretonnians refused to give ground, drawing courage and strength from their banner. In the centre the shieldwall of the Dwarf Warriors held firm even though four of their number were slain by the combined pressure of the enemy Nobles and Villains pressing down upon them. The dwarves fought back doggedly, bringing down the last three knights and a single peasant halberdier, which broke the morale of the Bretonnians who routed in terror. Hold Master Olud decided to let the Marquis flee with his peasants and pursued after the fleeing Viscomte Oliver Gaude himself!

In the north flank the unformed shambling mass of Baron de Bar's peasants was still redressing its ranks when the Iron Breakers' charge hit home. The dwarves were armoured head-to-toe in strong plate as they plunged into the group of panicking humans, cracking skulls and caving in chests with their hammers and axes. They slew three peasants on the first moments of the rush, causing the Brigands to panic and rout. The Iron Breakers only caught a single fleeing peasant as the humans turned and fled, but it didn't matter as the Brigands ran off into the woods for good, dragging the cursing Baron with them from the battlefield.

After their victory over the Brigands, the Iron Breakers set about securing the north wing by advancing towards the enemy archers behind the patch of woods. The dwarven Cannon did not fire, still cooling down its barrel, but the Crossbowmen in the south pulled a rather risky move and let loose into the whirling melee between the Hammerers and the Chevaliers. Miraculously none of the dwarves were hit by their own side's bolts, but one of the knights cried out in pain with his flank boasting several protruding shafts. The Hammerers made good use of the Chevaliers' confusion and battered one more knight into the dust, pushing the enemy back several strides.

Hold Master Emberheart led his Warriors in a charge across the centre field to catch Viscomte Gaude as he turned back to the battle from his rout. The dwarves failed to inflict wounds on the human lord despite their best efforts, while the Viscomte slew one Warrior with his sword and his warhorse gave Olud Emberheart a nasty kick to the ribs.

The Rapscallions had formed wide ranks in the back lines of the Bretonnians, and now that their front line crumbled away they let loose their volleys. They were once more largely ineffectual, but a single shaft caught one of the dwarven Cannon's crewmembers in the belly, reducing the operating crew of the machine down to two. That should slow down the firing rate of the damned thing!

As if to remind everyone it was still present on the field, the Cannon roared once more. The shot missed Viscomte Gaude by a finger's breadth, flapping the lord's tabard as it whistled past and emdedded itself in the earthworks surrounding the Bretonnian baggage. While the Cannon kept everyone's attention, the Iron Breakers advanced slowly but surely around the northern woods.

The Rapscallions exchanged shots with the Dwarf Crossbowmen once again, with both sides littering the ground with missed shots. Under this canopy of flying shafts, however, the Hammerers bashed two of the Chevaliers to death and ran down the last one as he tried to flee the battle after trampling one of the Hammerers. Both Bretonnian knightly units had now been wiped out!

In the south Viscomte Gaude drew noble blood with his sword, giving Olud Emberheart a nasty scar in the shoulder as his castle-forged blade bit through a joint in the dwarven plate and mail. Cursing aloud, the Hold Master and his Dwarf Warriors couldn't get close enough to the trampling warhorse to land any return blows on the human.

In the north the Iron Breakers emerged from behind the woods, forming into a testudo by covering their formation with shields from all directions. Despite the protection lended by this moving block of steel, one of the arrows from the enemy archers' volley found its way through the eyeslit of one of the dwarves.

The Cannon belched forth fire and smoke as yet another ball of iron hurtled across the field, this time crashing into the Rapscallions in the south in a spectacular spray of gore. Half a dozen peasants were torn to bloody ruin by the unstoppable projectile, the rest throwing down their bows and fleeing the field.

The fight between the Viscomte and the Dwarf Warriors was still inconclusive, the human lord failing to land any telling blows on the dwarves that couldn't get close enough to retaliate. Those few strikes that managed to connect with the Viscomte were turned aside by his magnificent plate armour!

The Hammerer advanced across the field towards the Bretonnian baggage, intent on seeing what valuables it would hold.

In the north the Iron Breakers charged into the enemy archers, killing one peasant with the sheer force of their armour-clad rush and driving the enemy back. The Cannon let its barrel cool down once more, and the Thunderers advanced with their loaded arquebuses. It looked like they would soon have nothing to shoot at anymore!

The Hammerers and the Crossbowmen moved forward as well, as if to impose their dominance over the corpse-strewn battlefield.

In the south Lord Gaude took a direct hit from Olud Emberheart's great axe, the heavy weapon biting through the Viscomte's armoured side and sinking deep into his flesh. In return the human lord stabbed down with his blade, finding the exposed skin in the Hold Master's neck and landing a killing blow. Hold Master Olud Emberheart had been slain! As the grieving Dwarf Warriors surged forward for revenge, the lord's warhorse kicked out and slew one more dwarf.

Pressing on despite their losses to recover the body of their master, the Dwarf Warriors closed in on the Viscomte, only for the wounded horseman to cut down one more warrior with his sword. In the north the Iron Breakers struck another Rapscallion dead on his tracks, causing the peasants to turn tail and abandon the field.

Seeing that his army had been slain or routed to a man, Viscomte Oliver Gaude held out his blade upside down for the dwarves around him.
"Arrêtez! Ztop! Ztop! I yield, Messieurs, I yield!"
"Ye what?" one of the Dwarf Warriors called out from behind the shields. "Ye had enuf fightin' already, umgi?"
"Oui, yez, we've had ennough bloodzhed for de day," Lord Gaude nodded, casting down his blade at the feet of the dwarf. "Accept my zurrender, zir dwarrf. My fammily will pay de most handzome of ranzomz for my lyfe."
"Aye, I can't see why not," the warrior shrugged. "I do hope fer yer own sake tha' yer relatives can pay fer the wergild o' the slain Master o' the Karak, as well!"

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A decisive victory for the Dwarves!

The game was truly exciting, although it took far longer that I would have thought. I really loved the casual pace of combat and the various formations units can adopt in during the battle! It really helped not to have spells or magic items involved, but I'm sure I'll be trying to include some simple spells soon enough.

The only rule I seem to have forgotten (so far) is that dwarves do not suffer Movement penalties for wearing armour like the other races: this means that my Iron Breakers moved 4" per turn at most for no reason at all! Oh well, I'll be trying to remember that the next time I field this army in 3rd Edition.

The game was immensely fun, all things considered. I really love the depth of the rules, and even if a game takes the entire evening on average, it really is worth its while as an act of relaxed wargaming.

I'm already looking forward to playing more of these!