Saturday, 20 February 2021

Battle report - Greeks vs Carthage - Josh Barton - 15/02/2021

 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing Gary Lewis's Later Carthaginians with my not-Syracusans (Thebans standing in). I was looking forward to this because it was the first time I'd play spear vs spear, so it wasn't going to be a short game!
After rolling up, Carthage was the invader and Gary put down a pair of rocky flats. I responded in kind (wanting to disrupt the elephants if possible), and added a difficult hill on one of my flanks. I think we were both happy with the terrain.
To be honest I think I out-thought myself in my deployment, deciding to put the cavalry in the middle, flanked by the hoplites on either side and then both of the psiloi. I did this because it was unexpected and I thought I might get a match against the elephants with my cavalry... however with me deploying first (and misplacing the cavalry to boot) this wasn't going to happen. Gary brought 4 commands with a Greek ally, four elephants, some warband, auxilia, spear and a smattering of cavalry. The elephants and the Greeks were on his right, with the Auxilia in a rocky flat and most of the spear on the left.
The game started ideally for the Greeks, with the Greek mercenaries being unreliable, debating the merits of fighting fellow Greeks. This led to a significant decision - did I move the phalanx on the left away from the elephants, assuming that the Greeks wouldn't become reliable, or should I leave them backing up my psiloi? I decided to take the risk, repositioning the phalanx behind the cavalry, who sadly had poor pip die and couldn't move out of the way.
The Carthaginian general, sending a bribe to the Greeks clearly threw the vote in his favour, and the Greek mercenaries betrayed civilisation for Phoenician barbarism. Meanwhile the Carthaginian cavalry began swinging around the left and the Aux positioned themselves in a rocky flat, flanked by spear.
With the Greek ally becoming reliable, the Greeks were out of position, and decided to aggressively advance. After significant delaying by the Carthaginians (and several turns of terrible pips), both the phalanx and the cavalry crashed into the Carthaginian lines, with the Sacred Band surprising the Carthaginians by pushing into the rocky flats and cutting into the Auxillia.
It was at about this point that I asked Gary if he was playing 400 or 450 points... and we realised that, fittingly enough the Greeks were fighting outnumbered! Oh well, no worries, quality over quantity...
The phalanx pushed forward as hard as they could slowly getting the better of the Carthaginian citizens. The hippeus also acquitted themsleves admirably, cutting through several spearmen and psiloi. The psiloi on the flanks however, crumbled quickly to the combination of cavalry, light horse, spear and other psiloi.
The Greeks were showing the superiority of the hoplites though, having yet to lose a base, and taking a toll on the Carthaginian's largest command, giving them a slim hope.
In order to delay the envelopment the repositioned Greek phalanx in the middle adopted as defensive formation as possible. However, the Carthaginians had brought warband and elephants who quickly cut through the ranks at several points, disheartening and then breaking that command.
The Greeks weren't done yet though, the right of the phalanx broke the large Carthaginian command, and Pelopidas, a cavalry general repeatedly refused to break from an elephant, despite flanks, rears and an inability to recoil. Surely Herakles' blood flows in his veins.
It was to be a glorious defeat however, with the cavalry command unable to hold out against the sheer numbers of Carthaginians enveloping the remaining Greeks (including an elephant that managed a rear-charge), resulting in a 19 - 6 victory for the Carthaginians.
And a glorious defeat it was. The big take away is to always agree on points with your opponent and don't assume what they're taking 🤣. Still, being outnumbered, and the unreliable Greek ally added a nice narrative to the game, which felt like a genuine battle between two nearly-equally matched classical armies. My phalanx, now 36 spear and usually 3 deep is far more resilient than in my early lists, so I'm happy with how the army is shaping out.


















Michael Stonyer, John van den Hoeven and 10 others
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  • Nick Buckby
    Maybe we should all split the difference and play 425 AP.
    It is ludicrous not having a default points value for games.
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    • John Edmundson
      Well I think 400 is usually considered the default for 15mm on 6x4 and 25/28mm on 8x6. 325 I think is considered standard for 35/38mm on a 6x4. Obviously Wellington is populated by a bunch of megalomaniac wannabe Caligulas trying to start an arms race.… 
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    • Nick Buckby
      John Edmundson
       does it end with people turning up with 500 points?
      I might try that. It’s only a problem if you get caught...
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  • Russell Briant
    Another superb battle oration. Barton the Bard.
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    Josh Barton replied
     
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  • Alastair Duncan
    Gary taking on Syracuse suggests he has crossed the cosa nostra. Be safe Josh!!!
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