Stopped at the border

The Alliance brought the Golden Idol to the Elven Temple along the border to be hidden from prying eyes. A small contingent of Dwarves from the Mountain City were enroute when the Undead Horde arrived.

The Elves took positions along the dense hedgerow marking the border and hoped the slow moving Dwarves would arrive in time.

The Elves place their irregular forces on the right flank and the Guard on the left flank by the temple. The center consisted of a line of warriors and archers backed by the fierce elk cavalry.

The enemy came on with the Dark Elf mercenaries and Goblin Clans on the left, Zombies and Skeleton masses in the center and the Rat Clans trying to cross the marsh on the right.

The battle opened with the Vampire Lord prematurely ordering a band of Trogdalytes to emerge from their tunnels and attack behind the first Elven line. Luckily, the Elk Cavalry were on hand to push the foul smelling beast back into the caves before the main lines could clash. The Elven Princess was wounded in this skirmish and it could have proven decisive if the ambush was unleashed at a better time.

The Dark Elves and Goblins attacked aggressively, sending the Wild Elves and Fanatics routing. Only the Rangers held the flank allowing time for the Dwarven Pike to advance. After several clashes, the Dark Elves had to content themselves with having turned the flank but not defeating the pike wall.

On the far flank, the Rat Clans advanced slowly but were defeated by the Unicorn Cavalry without having an major impact on the battle.

In the center, the Skeleton and Zombie hordes attacked the warriors along the hedge. The Archers held out until almost dusk before finally giving way before the third wave of Zombies. The Warriors roughly handles the Skeleton Warriors but were forces back leaving a hole in the center that was filled by a valiant counter-attack by the Heavy Elk Cavalry. The cavalry would see off repeated attacks, slowly wearing down the Undead forces.

In the end, the forces of darkness could find no way through the Elven lines and withdrew to fight another day.

I used Pulse of Battle with my adjustments for fantasy battles. The game came down to a difference of 2 morale points...closely fought.

I used some of the recently painted units in the battle with mixed results. The Heavy Elk Cavalry and Elven Archers performed very well, the Dwarven Pike held their own, but the Fanatics and Wild Elves broke early. On the opposing side, the Vampire Thralls never made contact, and the Trogs came on too early to have the desired effect.

There are rumors that the Dwarves have taken the Golden Idol back through the mountains...reports that the Idol has been stolen by a band of Yetis have not been confirmed.

View from the Elven side

Trogs emerge from the tunnels.

But are bottled up by the Elven Elk Cavalry

Elf on Elf action...did not go well for the lighter side

Thin Red Line

Goblins finish the job on the Wild Elves

Undead breach the line

But not for long...the Cavalry kept charging any unit that crossed

Pike Dwarves moved from the center to hold the flank

Trading losses with the Dark Elves

The line holds!