Summer Read: SPQR by Mary Beard

My latest summer read (or rather listen to, at odd moments of the day such as dog walking and driving in the car) was Mary Beard's SPQR as background material for an unexpected wargame project with a friend who is taking up the hobby late in life. I spied Command and Colours in his games cupboard (I do know him as an active RPG fan) which led to a few leading questions and he revealed all. Then from board games he independently took the plunge into 6mm Baccus Late Republican Rome. I clearly have some catching up to do. Ancient Rome was an area I always wanted to dig deeper into, I have sated my Greek knowledge with books and extended DBA armies, but have only tinkered at Rome. I spied Mary Beard's SPQR book on his shelf and thought that a good supplement to by Osprey's Enemies of Rome compendium (see below, narrated by a voice actor but good nevertheless): 

Boy these Romans are a funny lot, indeed what constituted being Roman seemed a flexible definition in itself. Background done, it is time to move onto some physical armies. I am aiming at some Spanish (Numantines) and Pontics to fight my friends Late Republican Romans. We have ducked the Punic Wars for the moment, but doubtless we will come back to them in teh future. 

Looking back at Connections UK 2019 Sabin - Punic War

While on the subject of things dating back to 2019, I found a couple of photos from the first day of Connections UK 2019 which as I remember was was packed full of "other" games. I took full advantage of this and joined a morning gaming session of Phil Sabin's multi-player Second Punic War game (I had read it from the book [Simulating War] but had never assembled a critical mass of interested people to actually get down to play it). Wargaming the strategic level of the Punic War board/wargame was a first for me, I only partially knew the background (Cannae to Zama), so I was not going to pass up a session with the author of the game. It was memorable. In the first run through, playing as the Leader of  Carthage I was beautifully stitched up by the Numidians and lost to Rome (even before the arrival of Scipio Africanus) .. so ho hum (see below, the state of the Cyber game board says it all, lots of Romans in North Africa - it did beautifully show the dynamic behaviour of the campaign and shows how a game can help unravel historical elements hidden by the text book - the importance of alliances and keeping  allies in check in particular - one of those Carthage "C"s in Africa [the Numidian] turns to a "R" [infamy] and the fat lady sings for Carthage):

The second run-through (where I played as Rome, but as a junior general) had a strange fratricidal "re-cock" [nothing I hasten to add to do with me] as internal Roman politics proved to be more dangerous than the Armies of Carthage - leading to a stupendous case of petulant "bad play" that let Carthage have an easy victory. After a 'group discussion' a decision to re-cock was made and the Romans got their act together so Carthage fell again (see below, "R" for Roman and "C" for Carthage - Africa has fallen to Rome, end-game for Carthage): 

Individual player scores are kept (so you can be the winner of the winning team and/or loser of the losing team), but this part of the game seems to be more of avoiding a "race to the bottom" - no good seems to come from going to war when you lose (see below, presumably the Roman winners will now celebrate in the traditional Roman way by plotting against each other in internal Senate politics, probably with as equally fatal consequences): 

The other point to note is the really effective way the game was presented by using" minimal computer power". Professor Sabin used a simple Cyberboard display (akin to a PowerPoint or Google Docs electronic document) with the Mediterranean game board & counters. He acted as control by moving the simple tokens about the board as directed by the players. All-in-all it was an obvious evolution of his "chalk and talk" KCL seminar sessions associated with his MA courses. The Cyberboard way of hosting will doubtless have saved him a fair bit of chalk by not having to continuously redraw the map of the Mediterranean. 

Command and Colours: Ancients

It came to pass, perhaps old hat to everybody else but I have never played it and it seems to be a stalwart of the wargaming community. In fact I think it a transition game between miniatures and board-games. Indeed the likes of Tim Gow uses the (modified) rules with hex based boards and his miniature armies (see below, not cheap but full of kit - a game to be played though):

It starts with Rome and Carthage which means a bit of background reading is required by me, as most of my ancient knowledge is based around Greeks to Macedonians beating up the Persians. That stuff is in later expansion packs (which I see as perfect birthday and Christmas presents). I see a long journey ahead of me. I am hoping perhaps to get the family involved because of the blocks and ease of set up. However I see myself moving to figures in the mode of Tim Gow.

Early Imperial Romans WIP Update

Early Imperial Romans don't look Roman until you give them their shields (see below, the first stage):

The plan is to paint up these nine Romans and have them fight a hoard of Ancient Britons who come at them individually. This mini-game can be one of his summer-term school projects. It is quite inspiring to see my youngster get interested in Roman stuff. His preferred shield design is quite complicated so I might just slip on the Warlord Games decals when he is not looking (see below):

Again to me, 28mm Early Imperial Romans (Warlord Games or Wargames Foundry) are one of those iconic wargaming musts that need to be in your collection .. it goes without saying they need Celts, Gauls or Ancient Britons to fight too. It dates to circa 200610 in my wargame diary, so I am only a decade late. I figured I better do this bucket list item before I run out of decades ;)

Gone to the Wall .. Hadrian's that is ;)

Back from a family holiday up North to "The Wall" (but not that of Game of Thrones ilk with the army of the dead behind it) but the one that Uncle Hadrian built to keep the Pict tribes out (see below):

Don't let those smiling faces in the sunshine on the cover deceive you, at Birdoswald it was blooming cold and by the staff's confession not unusually so! I pity the Numidian auxiliary that got posted here! However I am pleased to report that it has stirred my blood to get back to painting that 28mm Warlord Games Imperial Roman Army starter set (plus the metal extras I bought, shush!). I also have a host of Roman history books to read. To remind me of this 'pledge to Rome' I bought a "cup" in the English Heritage sale (see below):

Amongst my holiday travels in Keswick I found a toy shop having a sale. I managed to pick this little GW Sci-Fi item up for £9.(see below, it was 'almost cheap' at half the recommended retail price):

I have always wanted to beef up the Space Marines on Space Crusade so an Ultra Marine Terminator (I knew I was going to get one someday) comes in handy. (See below, an 'old school' model, the skull with a bullet hole through it for the 'base' was a nice touch though): 

The Marine on Bike is just table dressing or paper weight as I don't do the full 40K tabletop thing, opting for more atmospheric 'deep space' Space Crusade RPG narrative! (see below, and the brush and paints were a bonus - the wife is amazed how I can sniff these shops out! Although the words "amazed" might be replaced by a more harsher alternative phrase):

There were some more 'sensible' items in the sale, so I picked up some 'modern' German Paratroopers and British Infantry (20mm) for five quid each. These will be perfect for my Modern Chain of Command games planned (see below):

Fun for the future!

DBMM v2 Battle (3): Rome versus Three Kingdoms Chinese (again)

The broken Roman Barbarians were herded like sheep to their slaughter, in their defense they fought on making sure it was not a bloodless victory (see below):

The long sought after clash of Legion Blade(O) and Blade(S) versus Chinese Blade(O) at last came about (see below):

Two long lines formed. Losses accrued on both sides. To the horror of the Roman Commander he lost Blades(S) which his army morale to half a point of cracking. To be fair the Chinese losses were approaching breaking point too (see below)

A final breakthrough seemed to seal it for the Chinese. A break through next move should surely see victory in their grasp as the mounted Chinese General could be positioned in the Roman rear (See below):

Alas the Roman Knights had caught up with the Chinese cavalry command (that had been falling back but "ran out of room"). The sum total of two small commands AND losses from the larger command broke the Chinese Army morale. Rome was triumphant (again).

One thing had happened though, over the last two games I had been converted to DBMM. It played better than any game of DBM I had experienced to date and allowed progression from small armies using DBMM 100 point, DBMM 200 point up to larger games of full DBMM. This IMHO was superior to playing DBA for smaller games and DBM/DBMM for larger games as the same core rules could be used. So good I went out and ordered a set of rules "to study". As it was clear that despite the "enjoyment" we still didn't know the rules and there was too much potentially bitter misunderstanding and "rule creation" (dangerously falling back to defunct DBM concepts) during the game.    

DBMM 200 v2 Battle (2): Rome versus Three Kingdoms Chinese (again)

Still trying to perform a "miracle maneuver" my inner cavalry formed a column to get them away from fighting an infantry battle (would that have been so bad?) and I retreated my Bows(I) away from the hungry looking Roman Blades(O). Still lacking a plan though (see below):

Meanwhile the main infantry command of the Chinese was looking in good form to set into Roman Barbarian allies. Infavt th eRoman Commander was starting to worry about the fate of his Auxilla (see below, Chinese bottom, Rome top):

The battle started was initiated by the Chinese Blade. Rather than letting the Warbands come at him the Chinese Commander (me) decided to take advantage of the Blade "quick kill" [in its turn] against Warband (rather than visa versa). It started to work (see below):

Meanwhile I won where I least expected it (a single Bow(I) against a Knight) and ended up fighting infantry with cavalry after all. In the process my outer command was clearly going to get "bust" which was a sad sight (see below):

The middle changed my mood as the Roman Barbarian Allies and Auxilla were savaged by my rampant Blade, so much so additional Auxilla and sacred Blades (The Legion) were hurried across to help out (see below):

The battle seemed to be in the balance!

DBMM 200 v2 Battle (1): Rome versus Three Kingdoms Chinese (again)

Time passed and there was another chance to fight Middle Imperial Rome in DBMM. My Three Kingdom Chinese army once again lined up but this time I matched Regular Blades to Regular Blades instead of bulking out with "cheaper" (I). My main command set up to the left hand side of the battlefield utilising the defensive terrain feature of a hill and wood (see below):

This peculiar arrangement was caused by the "open" right hand side flank attracting my two wing commands of cavalry and bow (see below):

The Romans copied my cavalry arrangement so the battle started with my Chinese infantry line attempting to envelope his (see below):

I was less sure at how to deploy my cavalry and attempted to perform a clever retreat, but like all clever ideas it seemed to come unstuck in execution. I was unsure of how the bows would do against the Knights that faced them (Agincourt?)  and the ghastly specter of them being run down by Blades as his infantry line lapped into the cavalry sector caused a knee-jerk reaction (see below):

What I was trying to do clearly was not going to pull off and I needed to invent a quick "Plan B" which is always 'not a good sign' (see below):

My mistake seemed to stem from wanting to fight a cavalry action (against Knights, I was informed of their "quick kill potential" against cavalry during the game (my steep DBMM learning curve should be apparent here) and not giving myself sufficient deployment space. I had a lovely piece of rough ground behind me I should have used (in hindsight).

More "chaos" to follow ...

Greeks and Romans ... tell me who were these Romans?

Whenever one reads about the Greeks (lumping Alexander and the Successors all in as one) there always seems to be a few chapters "comparing and contrasting" the Greeks to the Romans. "Soldiers and Ghosts" is no exception and gives a fascinating recount of the cultural as well as military forces that guided the Roman legionary war machine development (see below):

All these books seem to be drawing me away from WWII modelling intentions (see New Year's Resolutions) but heck "variety is the spice of life". My DBA+ armies of 15mm ancient painting projects 'frozen in time' are now calling me:

• Republican Romans
• Hoplite Greeks
• Early Achaemenid Persia
• Alexandria Macedonian

But which to start first? The Romans seen to be a bit of a front runner as I already have a Later Carthaginian army in need of the Roman Republican opponent to fight

;)

 

DBMM Magnesia: Part 3 (The Final Cuts are the Deepest)

Things that decide battles ...

The Roman left flank "although although known as lost" put up a fierce rearguard action. In fact they cause a major upset in striking back at the flank of a careless elephant with an auxillia stand (see middle, centre below where the invisible elephant should be). The auxillia unexpectedly won (or otherwise I would have got the dramatic "before and after" shots) and killed the elephant and even better in the elephant's retreat squashed a unit of knights, ow. This bought the Roman centre some more precious time (see the resulting disposition below):

The phalanxes again were winning (in the sense of a grinding push back back) but at the same time were putting themselves in losing positions when the legion surged back into the attack on its turn. So much so a Roman cavalry unit took its chance to sweep in from the side and compromise the integrity of the phalanx. Notice also the yawning clear space between the Seleucid pike blocks (see below):

Fate smiled once more upon the Romans and the Seleucid pike, again three layers worth , perished (see below):

Sensing the break point of the Seleucid Army approaching the Romans took advantage of poor Seleucid command PiPs roll leaving the phalanx still vulnerable. This time it was legionnaires on the flank making another "do or die" dilemma for the Seleucid (see below):  

Rome prevails in dramatic fashion, three more layers of pike are sent to Hades (see below):

That was enough for the Seleucid Army break point to be reached and the game had been snatched from the jaws of defeat by the plucky Republican Romans legionnaires.

I have not dwelt on the rules too much, as always there was "heated debate" it three, but that is best forgotten about as the search for a different set of ancient rules continues.

My vote is for Lost Battles.

DBMM Magnesia: Part 2 (The Deadly Danger of the Short Stabbing Blade)

The Seleucid general meets his doom. In ways in which I cannot fathom the legion just has to beat (not double) a pike on "their attacking turn" to destroy pike. I don't care as it gets me out of a tight pickle but I still am wary of the beast they refer to as DBMM. Goodbye brave Seleucid General history shall forget you, I shall not miss you and those nasty "cataphract legion killing knights" behind you will now have PiP point trouble getting into the fight (see below):   

The other Seleucid pike blocks apply relentless pressure to the rest of the legions, but in "their" turn the legions have a sting in their blade (see below): 

The result is more brave pikemen fall (to the glory of Rome) as the legion buzz-saw goes to work (see below):

Even worse is to follow for the Seleucid plater(s) as a lowly Psilio places itself on the flank of the phalanx as the legion surges forward again. Unable to retreat this time "three layers" of pike fall like sheaves of wheat being harvested in the summer sun, Homer does it better but you get the drift  (see below)

It does not all go Rome's way though as the as the pike surge back t the legion(s) on their own go, however for every Seleucid success (as in push back, with compulsory pike follow up) there also comes a haunting danger as the "phalanxes" continuously risk exposing their [very] vulnerable flanks against the thin Roman line. The Seleucid does struggle to keep his forces ordered as pike sits next to warband, which sits next to knight or elephant (see below):  

It all still hangs in the balance ... to be continued!

DBMM First Battle of Magnesia: Part 1 (Into the Maelstrom)

Two months into the year (2014) and I finally got an opportunity to play a wargame, A re-fight he First Battle of Magnesia to be precise, Republican Rome versus the Seleucid Successors of Alexander the Great, in 190BC.

It is a case of the might of the Republican Legion [blade and spear] versus the Pike Phalanx [pike] (see below)

I joined a battle 'already in motion' with the flanking wing actions out of the way and the heavy infantry about to get stuck in. By this time the Romans have to win in the center as the wings look ahem, "lost". The central skirmish lines are being brushed to the rear as the pikes lower to charge (see below):

As seen from from behind the Seleucid center, I am commanding the "Red", "Yellow" and "Green" Legions in the top half of the picture (see below):

The eagle eyes view depicts the threat to Roman line.

In addition to four huge phalanxes the Seleucid have two murderous elephants and a line of deadly Knight Cataphracts waiting in reserve to run down the legion in "quick kill" fashion (see below, middle left):

The left most legion in the Roman line is heavily engaged (see above). Its left flank rests on a river. The first surge of the Seleucid phalanx is checked and a local Roman counterattack has a fleeting opportunity to attack an exposed "Seleucid general" (see bottom middle below):  

The only down-side to the game is that we are playing under the DBMM rule set. I play it only under duress. These games always seems to start off on the right tack but then devolve into ever so frequent disputes over "how the rules read and are interpreted", this even after "years of playing". I always feel that this "bottom up" set of rules is more geometry based rather than historical simulation/game, lacking formation morale and army cohesion (for alternative "better" examples see Impetus, Lost Battles, Strategos II and even Fields of Glory). Sorry rant over.

IMHO there always seems to be an unexplained counter intuitive element to the rules which need just a little more of a plain speaking or diagram for me to "get it". They sometimes seem to work fine, but then along comes the DBMM "Barker moment" with a twenty minute discussion on whether a living and dying by +1/-1 modifier is to be applied or not. Or maybe it's just me (possibly/probably).

So far it still looks very, very pretty. In fact it is a joy just to see so many well painted figures on the table.

:)

Rome Total War (The Original One)the DBA Way

Other things I have been doing:

Although computers are my trade I don't get the spare time amongst my other hobbies to sit down and immerse myself in a game for long periods of time. In fact most of my games will be circa 2005 or earlier. 

However a few of these titles have a long lasting appeal such as Rome Total War, a game which had great potential but did not fill the "wargaming hole" in me (see below):

The game has various features, excellent graphics being the most obvious but it's command and control verges on the "arcade twitchy" approach that could be tweaked rather than a time-delayed "simulation" of frustration. The army composition also allows non-historical mixtures as it is just based on a points based shopping cart which leads to cheesy choices IMHO but I may be wrong there.

However by combining the DBA army lists with its game play  (i.e. choosing twelve element armies based on DBA army lists rather than equal points)I managed to get what I consider "stable battles" I can sit back and watch. A good classic is Republican Rome v Cathage viz Cannae. I managed to win using what I consider viable "historical tactics" (from both sides, admittedly when I was the Romans I assumed my cavalry would be beaten in a straight up fight so my flank legions were angled to protect my flanks) against its 'logical Vulcan' AI, now "sadly" that is what I want from a computer wargame ;)

Fun was had and I could even bear to stand to watch the replay again!

The Circus Maximus Project: A game or more of a "Frame of Mind?"

Do you covert the laurel wreath? Will you risk all in search of glory at the games? Not even put off by those horrific crash scenes in Ben Hurr .. OK then Avalon Hill's Circus Maximus is for you. It's time to take a the chariot of your choice for a trial race. He drives like a pro ... (see below):

Looking good, then ... Oh dear what could possibly have happened here then? Medic! (see below):

The course will be cruel and unforgiving (see above and below, just look at the number of charts):

Nevertheless a new batch of Colosseum hopefuls (fresh farm boys from the country) arrive (see below):

So I will probably need these extra crash markers painted then (see below):

But will it be ready in time for Xms? All I need do is get twelve 6mm chariot pieces painted, doesn't sound hard does it?

(Ahem, I suppose there is the small matter of reading the rules too)

End of Ancients Campaign

Started way back at the beginning of the year the DBMM Ancients Campaign has been officially wound up. The Spanish Ulcer proudly taking its place for regular weekly entertainment. Announcement of the end was forestalled as we were planning or rather thinking about one big last battle (in a winner take all sense) to decide the top civilisation.

After the last post/battle-report of Greek v Roman intrigue the campaign settled sown to more board game style than table top wargaming action, as fighting a battle purely for the sake of one would have been very counter productive for most (if not all) players. The economic negatives of losing your seat of power crippled Rome and she was barely left with enough men under arms to defend herself against Carthaginian probes.The former would-be masters of the known world were hunted to near extinction in the backwoods of Gaul and Germany.

Greece too suffered from economic pressure of the eastern Hellenes (aka the Seleucid) losing cities more by influence and cultural invasion that direct military action. So the ancient world started to crumble from centre, becoming a hollow vacuum exploited by two superpowers (the Seleucid and Carthaginian) with "safe" borders. In hindsight the mutual mistrust and opportunism of Rome and Greece was their own undoing, hubris being a rank cake to eat cold, but it did have a splendid intensity to it. The game in a sense continues with two players down and one to go but would take an age to conclude in a "last one standing fashion" and mediocre fun just doing a points count exercise.

As it has long since stopped being the battle generator it has to make way for the Spanish Ulcer. Perhaps we shall return to a big Carthage v Seleucid DBMM battle to put a name on the trophy as peaceful cohabitation seemed unlikely.   

Ancient Campaign Update: Politics and Greek Opportunism

Rome survives. Offerings of thanksgiving plume their way up to the heavens, the endurance and fortitude of the citizens of Rome conquers (once again) the reckless move of a bold captain of antiquity.

What is there now left to fear?

Answer: A Greek bearing gifts!

Blatant Greek opportunism at its best or worst (delete as applicable). The ancient Greeks were never a united nation as we know it. Factional disputes and petty City State one-upmanship was always their downfall. So with the eastern borders aflame and crumbling to Seleucid expansion, for want of an effective army to counterbalance the Seleucid pike and shield, an adventurous general with such a force leads a fleet west, beaches itself in the lee of a friendly Italiot City State and marches unannounced and unopposed to the very Gates of Rome.

The citizens of Rome stare in disbelief at the advancing column. How can "The Fates" curse us so?

The walls of Rome as yet not repaired, the surviving citizen legions outnumbered 4:1 were but capable of a mere token resistance as the great city fell ingloriously to "Son of Phyrus" in a tame and feeble fashion. (Not even making it to a token tabletop game.)

As the wet clay hardens for this Greek scribe there has little of worth or note to add to affair. Rome is now under the protection of the Greeks while those Romans still bearing arms are now confined to a region in the north of the country. The Greek success can only be seen as a desperate gamble to grab the short-term wealth/plunder of Rome to fund the large mercenary army needed to successfully confront the Seleucid Empire.

Carthage too prospers as its influence and empire consolidates, its army intent to stay on in northern Italy and hunt down the last defiant Romans that remain. The western Mediterranean is now her lake and even the fierce Gallic/Germanic tribes pay her tribute.

Diplomats usher forth on secret missions as the powers of the east (Seleucid) and west (Carthage) exert great pressure on the diminished powers of the middle (Greece and Rome). One senses now is the time for careful or artful diplomacy.