Battle of Charonea: an Ancient & Medieval Warfare refight

Since my first game wasn't entirely satisfactory, I decided to replay Charonea immediately with the Neil Thomas' Ancient & Medieval Wargaming rules, with an improvised scenarion based on the previous game. I supposed that the much simpler and more intuitive Neil Thomas' rules would probably suit my brain state much better!

 

 

 

I used the following forces:

 

The Pontic Army:

1 unit of Pike (Elite, Medium Armour)

4 units of Pike (Raw, Medium Armour) 

2 units of Auxiliaries (Raw, Medium Armour)

1 unit of Heavy Cavalry (Raw, Medium Armour)

1 unit of Light Cavalry (Raw, Light Armour, Javelins)

1 unit of Heavy Archers (Raw, Light Armour)

1 unit of Light Infantry (Raw, Light Armour, Javelins)

1 unit of Scythed Chariots (Special) 

 

The Roman Army:

3 units of Legionaries (Elite, Heavy Armour, Javelins)

1 unit of Auxiliaries (Average, Medium Armour)

1 unit of Heavy Cavalry (Elite, Heavy Armour)  

 

So some heavily outnumbered but stronger Roman units facing a variety of weaker Pontic units.

 

One side of the board is the slopes of Mount Thurion, whereas the other side is the bank of the River Cephisus (not represented, but keep in mind that that flank was fixed for both sides). 

The Set-Up: 

Pontic Army to the left and bottom, Romans to the right, with the Thracians on their left, slightly refused (i.e. right of the photo); the Pontic camp is to the top-left.

Another view

And another of the main Pontic host

Looking past the Pontics towards the smaller Roman force

The Battle

The Pontic advanced forces (chariots, cavalry, stratiota detachment) advance on the Romans and Thracians.

Another view

The Roman Cavalry takes the initiative on the far flank (bounded off-table by the River Cephisus) and charges the Pontic Light Horse; ordinarily the Light Horse would have avoided being in charge reach of the heavier Roman cavalry, but they are somewaht boxed in by the Stratiota and the archers.

The scythed chariots did their work well - note the damage done to the centre unit of Roman Legionaries (right); now the Javelinmen are moving up to take their turn

On the far (Pontic Left) flank, the Pontic Light Horse have inflicted more damage than might have been expected; they are still getting the worst of it, however.

Meanwhile, the Stratiota are fighting the Thracians on the Roman left (centre-bottom); the Thracians might be thought of as being ahead on points, at this stage.

The left-hand Pontic phalanx is moving up, to try and get at that disrupted Roman centre

The Roman leginaries have taken additional casualties from the Pontic archers and javelinmen in the centre; on the other hand, the Thracians seem to have gained the upper hand on the Roman Left (centre-bottom right)

Taking a calculated risk, the right-hand Legion attacks the leading Pontic phalanx in the flank, exposing its own flank to the Pontic bowmen; its rear is still protected by the threat of the Roman cavalry, who retired to regroup (top-right); the flank attack has been somewhat successful, but the phalanx is still intact

Proving once again that fortune favours the bold, the Pontic archers ran off!! The left-hand phalanx is therefore in a sticky situation; with the defeat of the Stratiotas imminent on the Pontic Right (bottom right), the Pontic Cavalry advance in support (centre)

And in short order, the left-hand phalanx (see gap near Roman L-shape, top-centre) and the stratiotas (centre-right) have been defeated and run-off; the Pontic reserves move up to compensate

The battle has run on a little here; the Pontic Right (bottom-centre) sees the Pontic cavalry engaging the Thracians; two more phalanxes have engaged the two central, and quite weakened, Roman legions (centre); the stratiotas on the Pontic Left (top-left) are facing off against a Legion and the Roman Cavalry; the Pontic javelinmen have moved to the back to get out of the way (bottom-left); the Pontic reserves (a Phalanx and a group of Stratiotas) are moving towards the centre to assist.

The main fight in the centre is weakening both sides equally; in the bloody struggle in the foreground, both Thracians and Pontic horsemen are falling in droves, but slighly more of the latter than the former

However, that Pontic Cavalry unit seems to be fighting down to the last man!  This was matched by the heroism of the Stratiotas on the other flank (top) who have seen off the Roman Right in its entirety - just!

Can't be long now for the Roman centre...

And another legion goes down! The Romans are defeated, with only one legion and the Thracians still in viable units, and both of them heavily understrength

Game Notes:

A nice, fun game with a distinctly lower level of complexity than Polemos SPQR. Because of if, Neil Thomas' Ancient & Medieval Wargamning is really easy to pick up and play from the shelf after a period of absence, because there really is not that much to remember; in particular, there are very few exceptions and special rules. It does probably lead to an unrealistically 'zippy' game, with the mighty phalanxes easier to start and stop; but on the other hand it didn't seem to make that much difference: in this game, maybe some of the actions on the Pontic Left (top of the board) were slightly more complex than a set which focused more on command would allow, but apart from that, it wasn't so jarring. Neil Thomas' rules are generally fairly attritional, and these are no exception, although the possible of cascading unit morale failure is always there and happened a few times in this game.  Light troops are much easier to use and more effective than in other games, although other troops will crush them if they can catch them. The 'no interpenetration' rules do ensure that there are significant control, if not command, problems. Of course, given the emphasis on attrition, the Romans in this scenario were always going to be in for a thin time, it is extremely difficult to win in these games unless a force is at least 75% strong as its opponent, with some morale or tactical advantages to assist.

But genuinely really nice to get these rules to the table again.

 

Battle of Lincoln 1141 - An Ancient & Medieval Wargaming Refight

Never one to intentionally waste a good scenario, I found that I had sufficient time to replay the 1141 Battle of Lincoln, previously done as a DBA battle, using Neil Thomas' Ancient & Medieval Wargaming set instead.  It shares some key assumptions (keep it simple) but is really on a different branch of rules development.  In particular it has an emphasis on attrition, where DBA emphasizes shock.

 

 

The Scenario:

The details are broadly as in the first re-fight, but with the forces re-jigged as follows:

 

The Forces:

The Royal Army: 

4 units of Knights  (Heavy cavalry, heavy armour, average)

3 units of Armoured Infantry (Medieval infantry, heavy armour, average)

2 units of Unarmoured Infantry (Medieval infantry, light armour, average)

2 leaders (King Stephen and William of Ypres)

 

The Rebel Army:

4 units of Knights (Heavy cavalry, heavy armour, average)

2 units of Armoured Infantry (Medieval infantry, heavy armour, average)

3 units of Unarmoured Infantry (Medieval infantry, light armour, average)

1 unit of Welsh Infantry (Medieval infantry, light armour, levy)  

2 leaders (Robert of Gloucester and Ranulf of Chester)  

Neil Thomas' Ancient & Medieval Warfare rules don't have an appropriate list in the 'Medieval' rules section, so the armies above are a compromise between the troops in the scenario as written and the closest army in the rulebook (the "Early Frankish" army in the 'Dark Ages' section), but replacing the 'Dark Age' infantry (who use shieldwalls) with 'Medieval infantry' (who don't).  The Norman cavalry is downgraded morale-wise from 'Elite' to 'Average' in keeping with the scenario ratings.*  In any case, it seemed to work okay.  I use an additional rule that generals can re-roll any failed morale roll, but if the re-roll is a failure, then they become a casualty.

 

The Royal Army is considered beaten when reduced to 2 units, the Rebel Army to 3.  Loss of the King means that the Royal Army has to immediately lose another 2 units.  This is not applied to the other leaders.

Other scenario rules are as in the DBA battle: the Royal Army's knights must charge forward in their first turn.

*There is always a difficulty in ascribing how far a troop types' 'elite' status is considered an integral part of the unit's inherent characteristics and how much not in any given ruleset.  I think that on balance Thomas is probably a bit too generous to the average Norman mounted soldier in making them all Elite, but I don't know how one would definitively argue the case either way.

The Set-up:

The set-up with the Empress' troops on the low ground (bottom) facing the King's army on the high ground (top)

A different angle, showing Robert of Gloucester leading his foot soldiers (foreground)

The Welsh infantry looking exposed at the front-right of the Rebel Army.

Another view of the King's Army, with William of Ypres' knights on one flank (right) and 'The Earls' on the other.

The Battle:

William of Ypres and some of the King's knights charge the Welsh infantry

The Welsh infantry suffers heavy losses (red/pink markers indicate base losses), although they stoutly inflict some on the attacking knights too.

There seems to have been a couple of pictures missing, not sure why exactly!  Anyway, the Welsh infantry have been killed or dispersed, but Ranulf's rebel knights have charged the Royal knights in their turn (centre-right); battle has been joined on the other flank, with 'The Disinherited' and 'The Earls' charging each other - 'The Disinherited' have the better of the initial melee.

 The Rebel infantry starts to enter the fray in support of the Rebel knights

 

A wider shot

Losses mount on both sides but particularly to the Royal Army, as the knights on both flanks are worsted by their opponents.

Battle is engaged across the line, with a bulge in the centre.  The somewhat depleted Earls on the Royal Right (left) have managed to hold on, despite the unfavourable conditions; whilst the Royal Left is in some flux, although Ranulf of Chester's men have had, on the whole, the worst of it.

One of the Rebel knight units is eliminated on the right, flattening out the line at this point.

However, Ranulf of Chester personally leads his men into action against William of Ypres' knights, killing and dispersing them and capturing the leader himself!

Like so.

However, 'The Disinherited' rebel knights have decisively got the upper hand over 'The Earls (left), leading to a gap in Stephen's line - both of the Royal Army's flanks look a bit shaky

and looking shakier by the minute, as more and more Royal knights fall on each flank, as pressure and numbers tell

The infantry fighting in the centre increases in ferocity, despite Stephen's personal leadership...

Until suddenly the King is down!

With the Royal Left flank also caving in (Right) and the Right flank hanging on by a thread (Left), there is little doubt now about the outcome

And the thread breaks - the last Royal knights flee and the rout becomes general

The position at the end of the battle.

Game Notes: Another fun game, with a fairly similar outcome to the first.  If anything, this felt a bit easier for the Rebels.  Why is that?  In Thomas' more attritional rules, numbers matter both for inflicting and absorbing damage.  In the DBA-battle, the Welsh were dispersed much more quickly than in this battle, in which the Welsh were able to delay and damage the oncoming mounted attack.  Not by much, but by enough.  In DBA, the tactical battles tend to be both more equal and more chancy.  The physical character of the battles change slightly but noticeably too.  Damage in A&MW is straightforwardly represented by physical losses, whereas in DBA the more basic element of damage is the 'recoil', which can then be exploited to lead to losses; conversely there is also a much higher chance of quick-killing entire units than in A&MW.  However, A&MW can effectively model a degree of fatigue as losses mount in small increments in a way impossible in DBA.  So, À chacun son goût and all that. A&MW remain very user-friendly rules, you never feel lost or confused (although you may well disagree with some of the assumptions).  I used the variant from Thomas' Simplicity in Practice horse-and-musket era rules where hits achieved are used to generate a dice roll to see whether a full base is removed or not.  I think the change works from a game point-of-view, although I accept that this changes some of the probabilities implied in unit match-ups quite a lot.

Figures by Baccus 6mm, buildings by Leven and Timecast.

Ancient & Medieval Warfare: Caesar's Landing

Miniature Wargames 371 was a particular favourite of mine and amongst many other things (there was a particularly good Conrad Kinch column in this issue) there was an interesting scenario for the Roman Invasion of Britain in the late summer of 55BCE.

 I had wanted to do a game with Neil Thomas' Ancient & Medieval Wargaming for a while, and this seemed highly appropriate.

This features the Romans trying to get ashore in slightly disorganized fashion against a growing number of Britons.  The Romans are coming ashore in two waves, so cannot overwhelm the initial opposition.

The Forces:

The Romans:

First wave:
1 x General
6 x Heavy Infantry units (Average, Heavy Armour)

Second Wave:
4 x Heavy Infantry units (Average, Heavy Armour)

The Romans also have artillery support in the form of missile throwers on their boats.  One piece has a range of 30cm from the edge of the board, two pieces have a range of 18cm from the edge of the board.  Any British unit can be attacked (as long as it isn't in melee combat) but no unit can be attacked more than once.

The Romans are divided into two-unit groups, one group for each third of the beach.  A die decides where in this third each base lands.  For the second wave, also randomize which beach each group lands in too.

Troops move at half-speed on the beaches and in the sea.  The Romans start disorganized so fight as Auxilia rather than Heavy Infantry initially.  They can form as heavy infantry as soon as they have reached the beach, remain stationary for a turn and pass a morale test.  Hills are moved at half-speed, both up and down.  Woods are impassable to horsemen and chariots.

The Roman player moves first.

The Britons

Initial Forces:
1 x Light Chariots (Average, Light Armour, Javelins)
1 x Light Cavalry (Average, Light Armour, Javelins)
1 x Light Infantry (Levy, Light Armour, Javelins)

First Reinforcements:
1 x Light Chariots (Average, Light Armour, Javelins)
1 x Light Cavalry (Average, Light Armour, Javelins)
1 x Warriors (Average, Warband, Light Armour) 

Second Reinforcements:
1 x Light Infantry (Levy, Light Armour, Javelins)
2 x Warriors (Average, Warband, Light Armour)

Third Reinforcements:
 1 x Light Infantry (Levy, Light Armour, Javelins)
2 x Warriors (Average, Warband, Light Armour)
Fourth Reinforcements:
1 x Light Chariots (Average, Light Armour, Javelins)
1 x Light Infantry (Levy, Light Armour, Javelins)
1 x Warriors (Average, Warband, Light Armour) 
Fifth Reinforcements:
1 x Light Infantry (Levy, Light Armour, Javelins)
2 x Warriors (Average, Warband, Light Armour)

The reinforcements each roll a D6 twice, once for arrival and once for location.  The British table edge and the the 18cm of each adjacent flank are all possible arrival zones - dice with an equal chance of each.  Each reinforcement rolls  for arrival: 1-2 End of Turn 1, 3-4 End of Turn 2, 5-6 End of Turn 3

The Set-Up:

The Roman invasion beaches ahead...

A closer look to the left...

And to the right...

The first British contingent in place, concentrating against the Roman right flank.

The Battle:

The Roman Centre and Right splashing towards the shore...

And the Left...

And a view of the whole thing

Just when you thought it would be safe on the beach, you meet some fierce locals flinging javelins at you...

The Britons are concentrating on the flanking Roman unit

British reinforcements arrive behind the hill on the British left

The Romans get to the beach, without suffering too much so far

Except on the Right, where they are attacked to front and flank by horsemen splashing through the water!

Casualties on both sides, but the Romans look to be hurting most...

And then their morale collapses, as the legionaries lie dead on the beach or in the waves, with the remnants dropping armour and swimming for safety...

The British warriors puff up the hill...

Whilst the remaining British warriors arrive nearer to the centre

The Roman centre tries to get off the beach, despite being swarmed by javelin throwing Britons on horses, on fott and in chariots...casualties in the remaining Roman units are trivial so far, however

A wider view

The second wave arrives, this group on the Roman Left

And this group on the Roman Right

The Roman Left reaches the grass and reforms into close order

The Britons contonue to put pressure on the Roman right flank

Cumulative casualties on the Britons, mainly from the naval missiles, are mounting

However, some nifty charioteering and javelin-throwing has caused quite serious casualties in part of the Roman centre

The Roman Legionaries'' advance pushes back the lightly-equipped Britons

And thinking that the beach defence is no longer possible, the British commander brings his men back a little, out of range of the ships.

A wider view, with the Romans pushing onwards

The British chariots pounce on a weakened Roman legionary unit and destroy it!

A wider view: the last British reinforcements are coming into the battle (centre, top-right)

Roman forces converging on the hill on the Britons' left (top-right)

Seizing the initiative, the Britons charge, causing some losses

Meanwhile legionary and tribal warrior clash in the centre - both sides hold their own

The legionaries push forward, starting to inflict heavy casualties in close combat - the British troops are crammed a bit tightly and are struggling to withdraw...

The legionaries on the right are suffering heavily, but the remainder of the Romans are scything through the lightly-armed opposition (centre)

British chariots attempt to take the Roman legionaries in the flank in the centre

But the Roman Right has finally got the upper hand!

The Roman legionaries in the centre have suffered heavily, but they have defeated their enemies, held on, and reinforcements are just about to arrive...

...like so...

The Romans are catching the British warriors in the flank

Whilst the Romans are also making good progress in the centre

The Roman Left is cleared of enemies

And British casualties on their Left are mounting catastrophically...

The British commander realizes that the Romans are now too strong and he must withdraw to save the remnants of his force!

Game Notes: Neil Thomas' rules usually give a good game, and this was no exception.   They are easy to get back into and easy to modify and add scenario rules to, and such like.  For those who know his rulesets, are
Plus points are the very intuitive nature of the mechanisms and the light troops are very easy to use - the opposite of DBA where it is harder to get the hang of it.  This combines with the absence of command limitation rules to make them pretty effective, because they can always be used every turn.  It creates quite a convincing "push-back" effect as the light troops try to stay within range where they can use their javelins but not be caught by the otherwise fearsome heavy infantry.  It also gives a reason for a budding Caesar to pack some Numidian cavalry or Balearic slingers, because they then become specifically useful in disrupting the enemy's light troops, far more than in any other set I am aware of.
  The negative points...I have never been particularly convinced the combat is as well calibrated as DBA or Polemos, but that is no biggie; from a gameplay point of view, more serious is that you are going to be rolling a lot of dice - this can get a bit wearing, especially towards the ends of games where units can spend a lot of time doing little or no damage. But I know lots of gamers like their buckets'o'dice and this game doesn't disappoint in this regard...