10th November, Manchester

NDBML end of year MANCHESTER

Early November saw us back on the road to Manchester for the final round of the one-day Northern Doubles - probably my last FoG ancients outing* ...

We took my Later Sicilian ... probably the most flexible and rewarding army to use in open competition, if not a big points scorer.   Although almost all the figures are more recent, this army dates back to the days of 7th edition and the original Society of Ancients series.

(Manchester Doubles: the Later Sicilians drawn up against Hungarians)

We were very fortunate to get two pretty plausible 'historical' opponents ... Later Hungarian and a less contemporary but very similar Later Castillian.   Both essentially cavalry armies, both with plenty of knights to fight.

The first game was a close draw, cut a bit short due to the tight schedule of the day.   The second game swung against us in the last turn or two and would have seen us defeated had another half hour been available to complete the game.

Despite the changes, I still like these cavalry fights and we can usually get a result somewhere along the line:   two keenly fought games that combined a good attitude with a will to outmatch the enemy and a proper understanding of the rules.    

Good tournament play.

(The Glittering Prizes: lots of trinkets for players of DBMM, FoG-R and FoG Ancients)

I thought we would beat the Castillians by overwhelming their knights ... my worry was that our light troops might be driven off and the Sicilian Medium Foot would not be able to hold the line while the knights did their usual work.

Actually, the medium spear fighters repelled 3 knightly charges and the archers 2.  This enabled all the knights to get committed ... and on my side of the battle, at least ... get killed.   The Saracens finally succumbed to lost bases (auto-break in FoG) but by this stage they had been deserted by their noble compatriots ...

(the Duke of Bavaria leads his formidable Swabian and Ghibelline cavalry)

So a mid-table finish for the year - but we did get to pick up our second place trophies from the Derby round (so we didn't go home empty-handed).

The Castillians were commanded by Peter and Richard Butler who finished top of the Fog League, so we can perhaps pat ourselves on the back that we kept the game and the League in the balance for as long as we did.  Well done to them.

NDBML results 2013

This was the last year of the current organising team, so many thanks need to go to Colin Betts, Geoff Pearson, Mike Goss and Dave Ruddock ... I think Geoff and Dave will be part of the new team, Colin and Mike are taking a break.    

All the great wargames events we enjoy depend on the time and forbearance of volunteer organisers (and they are always outnumbered by players who don't get their lists in on time, roll up late, leave armies at home, don't know the rules etc. etc. i.e. the rest of us ...).  

Take a bow, all you volunteers.

Also in November, we had a big AMW Raphia refight in Northamptonshire ...

Here are the pictures:

(yellow tokens denote average units, red raw)

(down the lines from the Ptolemaic left wing)

(1/72 scale heavy infantry action: stylish old school soldiers from Trebian's expanding collection)

It looked splendid but was by turns engaging and clunky.   AMW has some limitations 'straight from the box' and we haven't got all the tweaks refined for a big Hellenistic battle like this.

Work in Progress.

See the Society of Ancients next at Warfare.   Lost Battles (Sat. only) and the Crusades.

*I enjoy all these wargaming gatherings, and look forward to meeting up with friends at Usk and Burton next year ... I just think I have got what I want out of FoG-AM, now it is in its second version - so I am hoping to try FoG-R for these upcoming events.   I will still take some photos of the ancients games, of course.

Coming soon: the Battle of Montaperti (1260)

(my 13th Cent. Italians lined up and picking sides)

This is just by way of getting the topic started.    As you may have read elsewhere, the SoA BattleDay for next year is the 1260 Guelph/Ghibelline (in this case Florentine/Siennese-Imperial) battle of Montaperti.

It has got to be one of the most colourful options available to the ancient/medieval enthusiast (I confess, I wasn't carried away at the time because I've done most of the figures already so it would be one of those 'not completely new' projects).

I have a late 14th Cent. Florentine Condotta army ... plate armoured knights and a big force of infantry liveried up based on the banners and costume at Montaperti.

(Imperial and Siennese cavalry lined up)

... And I have a mid 13th Cent. Sicilian (Imperial) army where the cavalry force is based on the Siennese and Imperial knights from Montaperti ... so around 500 pieces pretty much ready to go plus a couple of the characteristic ceremonial wagons.

The Guelph infantry from one of my armies, the Ghibelline cavalry from another.

I have a few other armies for the period which can be raided - and I will enjoy making up new command stands and other battle specific special pieces.

The original source is the Libro di Montaperti based on a collection of contemporary papers and giving a remarkably detailed account of the enterprise.   For toy soldier enthusiasts, much of this is accessible, distilled in Montaperti - La battaglia nel diorama (ed Mario Venturi) upon which I have based most of my figures.

('Montaperti' open at a page of heraldry; inset - the cover to look for)

I'll not give the entire story away at this stage save to say there were about 50,000 engaged including the Florentine Carroccio and War Bell,  there were civic militia, knights, famous dignitaries in a tale of pride heroism and treachery ... challenging to model in all its aspects in a wargame (which may make it an fascinating project) ...

The big question for me at this stage is which rules to use.   Obvious for me would be Armati ... it is my default option for historical battles and works very well in historical formats.   On the other hand, Armati is usually well-represented at the BattleDay (2013, both in optimal and epic scales).

Last time I presented a game at the BattleDay I did Plataea using Neil Thomas's Ancient and Medieval Wargaming.   AMW?   I think I would stretch it a lot to cover the human factors of this battle.    DBA is the system in which I am most interested these days - but that, too, would duplicate other projects (_and might be a bit too 'broad brush') ...

(Closing in  on some of those central Italian infantry)

Ignoring the less historically focused GW derivatives, two options that do beg for attention might be Impetus (popular, but not normally showing at Bletchley) and Poleaxed (these days, Poleaxed II) from the Lance & Longbow Society ...  The former tends to get talked up a lot - I have played it in a couple of tryout games, and quite enjoyed it ... the latter I thought very complex last time I gave it a go - but some Medieval enthusiasts swear by it ...

Hmmm ...  We need a test game or two I think.

(next SoA outing will be Colours - a big Phil Sabin Gaugamela battle on the Saturday, my 54mm Bosworth participation game on the Sunday ... plus would you like to see Phil Barker's 1960s flats collection?: taking over the big Lost Battles space with DBA I will have extra tables left _and would be able to bring these historic soldiers along if anyone is interested Phil Barker's flats)

Mid-August, Northamptonshire

A Nice Week Off

Amongst all the hurly-burly, and with a week away (so the best part of two weeks without picking up a brush) it was nice to get back to normal, prep some kit and get a game or two ...

So I painted the Egyptian boat I bought in Kulmbach.  There is some papyrus to come (and it will then be mounted up on a transparent base) - but for now it sits nicely on the Lords of the Nile river bank.

I used an experimental technique, priming in enamel, then rubbing down an oils layer (giving that interesting terracotta effect) before detailing and finishing with acrylics.

(the four main painting stages)

OK, the Nile is a bit blue, but it'll do for now.

I think I'll try an elephant next ...

(click on the images for a bigger picture)

We also tried out Treb's new Sumerians for an evening of Neil Thomas's AMW.

There are a number of things that will need fixing and between Treb, myself and IRL the Biblical expert, there was no absolute agreement over how we thought an ass-powered battlecar would actually work ...

(Summer fun: trying out Trebs new AMW armies from ancient Sumer)

... and we weren't convinced that the big bodyshields offered the minimal protection Neil gives to them ...

(Big Shield infantry - I'm sure there's some sort of 'Barndoors and Battlecars' mileage to be had here ...)

But there's undoubtedly something to enjoy in the period ..

(Battlecar showdown ... Treb uses casualty rings to mark hits) 

And we've also convened a useful session to knock Flodden into shape for an anniversary game next month.

(Flodden: King James sploshing towards the resolute English - Bankinista's Scots)

I'll write the key features up on ECW Battles as this one looks to run best with Renaissance Armati using some of my 17th Century adaptations (though inevitably the game ran much more smoothly once we got rid of separate bow and bill components and created composite Foot units for the English) ...

So a bit of DBA baggage, a pre-Biblical AMW game and an Armati playtest from the end of the period: the run in to the Autumn shows season has started well.

17th December, a shed in Northamptonshire

(Merry Christmas to all: detail from Mantegna's crucifixion)

Following the autumn's Armati, FoG and DBA events, we christened Treb's new wargames facilities with a 'double AMW' battle of Cannae ...

A narrow win for the Carthaginians: very difficult to make skirmishing and envelopments work in AMW, but a historical outcome was just about possible ...

Great game and nice to see those 20mm HaT plastics out again ...

Nice shed ..

31st March, Bletchley

2012 Society of Ancients BattleDay - Plataea 479 BC


This year's BattleDay featured the epic clash between the Persian army of occupation under Mardonius and the Greek alliance forces laed by the Spartan Pausanias.

The day started with a comprehensive introductory guide to the battle and the sources by Philip Sabin and a quick note by myself on the nature of the sacrifices which immediately preceeded the battle.

These will be available to Slingshot readers in due course together with views on the how the battle was fought under the variety of rules enthusiasts contributed to the event.

Here's a quick tour ...(Lost Battles)

(Warmaster Ancients)

(Command & Colours)

(modified AMW)

(Armati II)

(War & Conquest)

(Warlord II)

(DBMM)

(Peltast & Pila)

(DBA)

(Command & Colours)

Lunchtime then accomodated a forum with Duncan Head on matters arising, weapons and equipment etc. ... and more on sources and interpretation.

A second session of wargaming was followed by organiser Richard Lockwood's customary awards and debriefs ...

(President Boss and host Richard Lockwood distribute largesse)

Best game: Command & Colours;
Best Terrain: Warmaster;
Most Hoplites: DBMM;
Plus awards for the notable deeds of commanders and players.

('Most Hoplites' featuring in the DBMM game)

(Award winning Warmaster terrain)

(an unexpected contingent: Eric's Hoplites for the Lost Battles game were half the height he expected them to be!)

(30mm flats: the commanders from my AMW interpretation)

(another interpretation: Rob's diviner from the War & Conquest game)

More on all these games and talks in Slingshot (non-members will find a welcome on the Society of Ancients website) ... and chat on the forums (guests welcome) ...

Keep an eye out for an announcement of next year's battle.

A wonderful and illuminating day out. What wargames events should be.

Well done, Richard.

1st December, Northamptonshire

Plataea BattleDay Special No. 2(general view of our Plataea trial using 20mm traditional plastic figures)

Rules, Orbats, General thinking.

We had the first outline kick around the other evening. I asked to try Neil Thomas's Ancient and Medieval Wargaming (AMW) as an interesting starting point.

The reason is simple. It has been suggested that as my plan entails using the flats, I might consider Tony Bath's original rules (which were conceived with flats in use). This involved a fiddly system for individual figure removal with which I am not impressed - the world has moved on (and so did Tony Bath's own methodology).

I am more interested in his post combat morale tests in which more of a stricken unit might desert and run as a consequence. Interestingly, AMW, which has full base removal, also has a morale test when a base is lost which might result in the unit disintegrating further.

So, allowing us to think about this (and as a low impact way to push the toys around) Graham helpfully set up a straight Greeks and Persians tussle.

As I know from when we played through Marathon sometime back, it is a walk over for the Greeks. 8 units v 8 units (standard Neil Thomas) the Greeks lost 1 unit by the time the Persians broke (6 down).

(plastic phalanx: the Athenian wing at Plataea)

The archery was sort of deadly - but not quite deadly enough. Losing a base makes Hoplites lose their special cohesion, which costs them a pip on the dice. But losing a base isn't quite a telling risk, and the one pip isn't quite enough to swing the combat (the hoplites will still roll more dice than archers - and then the armour saves ... hoplites save on 4+, 'unarmoured' Persians save on a 6 ... close the deal).

All justifiable - but Herodotus styles it a much tighter affair, implying there is a real contest for the Persian shield line, and only thereafter is the fight one-sided (and defined by the Greeks' longer spears and better armour) ...

I'm not suggesting I go with AMW but it clarified the critical points ... a Persian arrow storm which the Greeks survive (quite possibly by the expedient of sitting down, crouched behind their shields) ... a battle for the shield barricade which the Persians are able to contest - for a while at least ... then a one-sided affair once the barricade is lost (ultimately ending with the Persians trapped in their wooden refuge where they are put to the sword).

Orbats:

I've been looking at a recently published volume, Sparta at War, Strategy Tactics and Campaigns, 550 - 362 BC by American scholar Scott M Rusch ( Amazon link ). So far so good. I particularly like the way he simplifies the issue of numbers and deployment by listing the free Greek contingents, and specifying who they fought against.

I will reproduce that list:

GREEK HOPLITES .................... PERSIAN FOOT OPPOSITE THEM
10,000 Lacedaemonians .............................. Native Persians
1,500 Tegeans ............................................. Native Persians
5,000 Corinthians ............................................. Medes
300 Potideans ....................................................Medes
600 Orchomenians ........................................... Medes
3000 Sicyonians .................................................Medes
800 Epidaurians .............................................. Bactrians
1000 Troezenians............................................ Bactrians
200 Lepreates ................................................. Bactrians
400 Myceneans and Tirynthians ..................... Bactrians
1000 Phliasians ............................................... Bactrians
300 Hermioneans ............................................. Indians
600 Eretrians and Styrians ............................... Indians
400 Chalcidians ................................................. Indians
500 Ambraciots .................................................. Sacae
800 Leucadians and Anactorians ........................ Sacae
200 Paleans from Cephallenia ............................ Sacae
500 Aeginetans ................................................... Sacae
3000 Megarians .......................................... Subject Greeks
600 Plataeans ............................................. Subject Greeks
8000 Athenians .......................................... Subject Greeks

The Greeks who take on the Indians number around 1300, those that take on the Sakae 2,000: these are probably the lowest level to represent in the game ... about 1/6 in size compared with, say, the Spartans or the Immortals.

Rusch largely ignores the light troops and all the number crunching that goes with them. He has them protecting the flanks and tying up the numerous Persian cavalry so that the battle is left an infantry contest between the opposing contingents in the list. Neat.

The armies had been against each other for some time by the time of battle, and each contingent knew their place in the line and their probable opponents. Thus the battle has the feel of a series of prize-fights between the hurriedly summoned up forces as an encounter balloons into a set-piece battle.

I have to say the latter perspective very much put me in mind of Strategos or Hail Caesar and the contingent initiative rolls rapidly throwing units forward as the enemy tries to do likewise ...

So something somewhere between Tony Bath and Hail Caesar (but which runs at the pace of AMW) will do nicely. Possibly with a more deadly archery effect which can be nullified by sitting down behind your shield?

How to depict the barricade of shields will be critical. Those Spara/Gherra shields are big but pretty flimsy, you'd have thought ... Then again, if hoplite combat usually involves a good deal of jousting and not a lot of shoving (at least not much before the general othismos ..)... that jousting will be pretty ineffectual until the whole body of troops summons enough group momentum to push beyond the barricade and put their armour and better weapons to good effect.

2 more things we might like to look at.

I'm tempted to look at retaining NT's combat model, but possibly introducing differing unit sizes. It might be a way of improving the Persian arrow storm and allowing a more worrying combat prospect for the otherwise dominant Greeks. Perhaps the Persian should be allowed on such 'massed volley'? It might be that the Sparabarra rank cannot set up or man the barricade and shoot(?) ... so once the position is set, the shooting diminishes?

It would mean that the Persian army would end up being numerically bigger than the Greek whilst giving AMW's matching off of contingent v contingent. Hmmm. I think we could live with that.

(beset by archers: Greek contingents at Plataea)

And I suspect the shield barricades should negate any natural Hoplite benefit in combat (at contact at least - should the Hoplites need to 'win' a round of combat in order to push the barricade aside and for combat then to follow the hoplite v heavy archer norm? That sounds like the Herodotus story ...)

1. Break the unit size mould and give the Persians more bases.
2. Move Shooting to beginning of the move (except if skirmishers reserve their fire for split moves) allowing HI to choose to hide behind their shields (not move later in the turn) for a better save.
3. Introduce a special rule to enable the shield barricade to equalise the combat until the Greeks overcome it. The men in the shield rank are no longer able to shoot.
4. Look at the battle starting without all the units in place, and allowing the commanders to hurry contingents into the fray - given the leaders knew whom they would face, I suggest the appearance of a contingent on one side will prompt the appearance of its opponent on the other ....

Well, there is a skeleton of a game emerging from the test run, I think. I am not convinced the eventual game will be AMW, and I'm happy the methodology will translate to other systems.

Hopefully this will help move the discussion on the the key features of the battle as I am keen to hear how other designers are approaching these issues.

(The Greek right wing on the point of victory: few Persians remain on the field)