Crusader Acre 1189 Wargame

Today on Little Wars TV we revisit one of the largest field battles of the Crusades--the Battle of Acre. If the name sounds familiar, it's probably due to the 1291 siege, when Acre held out as one of the last Christian strongholds in the Holy Land. But long before that siege, a massive field engagement took place on October 4, 1189 between Guy de Lusignan and Saladin. Who will win this rematch between the old foes of Hattin?

Six players wargame the battle in 10mm scale with Pendraken miniatures. But before the game, Miles and Keith discuss the historical context and how the armies arrived outside the city walls. Friend of the club Chris Grau then organizes our wargame using a "big battle" variant of the popular Osprey rules Lion Rampant. Chris will be back in a future video to talk about his variant and how you can give it a try at home.

[ShamrockCS]

Medieval Two Total War Soundtrack in the beginning :D

[ohthreefiftyone]

3:00 “Despite being directed by Ridley Scott” man I wish someone other than Mr. “Excuse me, mate, were you there?” would make big period movies.

[garretwolfe]

Sitting here in Florida with no power. Watching this banger 💯👍

[Masonms]

Really appreciate you guys going over unit stat blocks and rules to understand context. Please do more of that if possible.

[stevenverdoliva]

The aggressiveness of convention players is legendary. 😂😂
I'm running the Battle of Wagram on Saturday and expect to see the Imperial Guard committed early and often. 😂😂

[Felipe.Portugal]

Chris Grau in a battle report! That's great to see, I've been watching him paint and review minis for years, it's a welcome surprise to see him gm a game!

[CodyGrice-ne]

I was really expecting to see the Crusader's calvary completely encircled. The move of the infantry was most certainly a brilliant move. I love seeing your content and every time I learn something new.

[terminaro]

Points aside at the end a safe corridor was established: even if for just a couple of hours supplies and troops could be delivered to the city.
This is definetly a Saracen victory.

[zombiehampster]

If you're going to watch Kingdom of Heaven, make sure it's the directors cut :)
Greg's plan...i love it. At least they came up with a simple and decisive plan that imo was the best call of the game. Plus the whole heavy cav on heavy cav action with Saladin and the drama was awesome. That flanking charge by the Acre infantry was MVP though. Nice timing.
Please sirs, can we have some more?

[DeePsix]

Can't wait for a big battle Lion Rampant video!

[j.b.macadam]

Very cool! The ambiance of the new war room was perfect. Looking forward to more. Thanks!

[thebladesman]

The extended cut of Kingdom of Heaven makes it a different, better film. Still historically dubious, but more narratively sound.

[crupt]

I've been waiting for this for so long and didn't disappoint! Amazing video!

[haroldmorgan]

Very interesting Acre video BATTLE, RULES, & TERRAIN ! Our group here in K.C. did KADESH a while back on a ping-pong sized table covered by a tan-colored hexed sheet using the WARHAMMER ANCIENTS rules and the terrain layout and army OOB's based on the AH General mag variant for the AH ALEXANDER game ! The army units were Chariots (NO Heavy Cavalry Knights here), Heavy Guard Infantry, Spearmen Infantry, Light Cavalry and Archers ! The initial Hittite attack with Chariots was against the Pharoh's division camp in the lead of the other 3 Egyptian divisions strung out across the table ! The Hittite Infantry were left behind still crossing the river at the ford and would also arrive piece-meal like the rest of the Egyptian forces ! The Egyptian camp held against the Hittite Chariots with heavy losses on both sides and the bloody battle was a fun battle night ! :-)

[philRminiatures]

A gorgeous and immersive table, splendid units, impressive council of war...What's not to like here?😍😍👏👏👍👍

[richardprescott]

You lot definitely needed two halfs of a coconut for the Knights charge.
Very Monty Python.
Really enjoying the return of Little Wars.

[oldschoolfrp]

Great looking armies and table. I know some people don’t like the randomness of unit activation in LR, but it felt right in this scaled-up mod, reflecting the difficulty of coordinating factions in fragile alliances between leaders with big egos and competing interests.

[DeePsix]

How long until Greg W Spielberg releases his deep dive into Kingdom of Heaven? Popcorn is on preorder.

[bobm]

Great looking game. Love the board & the miniatures. Looking forward to the rules mods. Well done on the new room!

[Anvilarm]

Great batrep. I love the activation aspect of the rules. And the new room looks amazing.