Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn One

Looking from behind Pharoah's Egyptian army - Pharoah is with the royal-blue chariot squadron, second from the right

I win the dice-off (5-1) to go first this turn.

The only order I make is to send the Gadite javelinmen on my left towards the palm grove. They cannot quite reach it in one turn, but since open-order infantry suffer no penalty for turning, they are able to move 12cm and finish still facing the enemy.

Pharoah sends his right-flank chariots towards the Gadites, their full move taking them within bow range, but their shooting is off-target (Pharoah rolls three 4s and a 2, and under my modifications to the rules, 5+ is needed - see Speeding The Game for details).

Next, Pharoah's own royal squadron rushes towards the Gadites, and prove extra keen, covering 30cm, instead of the usual 24cm, under the Move Variation modification. They also shoot at the Gadites, scoring a hit. My saving roll fails to negate the hit, so I roll to see the effect of the hit (also covered in Speeding The Game), the unit losing a base. That means a compulsory morale test, but they pass it as I roll a 5 (average units need 4+ not to lose a further base).

All the Egyptian foot units are ordered to advance 8cm, including the Sherden, who, being auxiliary infantry, have a maximum move of 12cm. Thanks to Move Variation, one unit of spears lags a little behind, while the left-flank archers edge ahead.

Finally the left-flank chariots advance 24cm, bringing them just in bowshot of my Benjaminite slingers on the hill. The charioteers shooting registers one hit, but since the target is in rocky ground, that becomes half a hit, which has to be diced for, with a 50:50 chance of becoming a hit, However, Pharoah rolls a 1, meaning no hit.

The Egyptian chariots have advanced ahead of the infantry, which have a somewhat ragged line

Setup

I AM testing my modifications to Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming by taking on my regular wargaming opponent ('Reg' - he does not want his real name used) in a battle between Early Hebrews and Egyptians.

The last time we fought with these two armies, Reg chose to command the Hebrews, but this time will be sinking his persona in that of Pharoah.

As we are adopting the suggested army compositions and deployments in Thomas's books, we already know who will have what.

Egyptians

3 x chariots (light chariots, bow-armed, elite)

1 x spears (biblical infantry, light armour, average)

1 x spears (biblical infantry, medium armour, average)*

2 x bows (close-order archers, light armour, average)

1 x Sherden (auxiliary infantry, medium armour, elite)

The Egyptian army, with Pharoah's personal squadron of royal-blue chariots to the fore

*These are marines, who have been designated as the one unit the Egyptians are allowed to upgrade to medium armour (in addition to the Sherden, who have medium armour to start with).

Hebrews

2 x Simeonites & Ephraimites (auxiliary infantry, light armour, elite)

2 x Gadites & Issacharites (open-order javelinmen, light armour, average)

2 x Benjaminites (open-order slingers, light armour, average)

2 x other tribes (auxiliary infantry, light armour, average)

I am taking on the mantle of Joshua, an Ephraimite who succeeded Moses as commander of the Israelites, leading the tribes across the Jordan (the unit of Ephraimite auxiliary infantry is in the foreground)

First we will use my Middle East random terrain generator to form the battlefield.

The result is a hill and palm grove on the north side of the battlefield, and an unfortified large village (or small town) in the southwest corner

There could have been a piece of terrain on the immediate west-side of the hill, but the dice fell as "Player A's choice."

Pharoah had been designated as Player A, and he chose to leave the sector as open ground, not wanting to impede his chariots, or help my units of open-order and auxiliary infantry, who would have welcomed more terrain.

We diced for choice of table edge (south or north), and I won 6-4, choosing to take the north side.

Looking from the hill to the Egyptians on the south side of the battlefield - left to right: chariots, Pharoah's personal squadron, archers, spearmen, Sherden, marine spearmen, marine archers (no enhanced armour or fighting qualities), archers, chariots

The Hebrew deployment is not so straightforward, nor so linear, in that the pre-Solomon Hebrew armies have a special guerrilla-warfare rule that allows two piece of rocky terrain to be placed anywhere on the battlefield.

Looking from the Egyptian lines to the Hebrews straddling the hill on the north side of the battlefield - left to right: Issacharite javelinmen, Benjaminite slingers and Ephraimite auxiliary infantry in rocky ground, two ordinary bands of auxiliary infantry in the centre rear, more Benjaminite slingers and Simeonite auxiliary infantry in the second patch of rocky ground, Gadite javelinmen

As usual I will write up the battle as we go along.

I have added tufts of desert-growth to add to the visual appeal, but they will have no effect on the battle

So it is time for the Battle of Palm Hill to get underway.

To be continued

Latest Assyrians Painted

10mm figures from Newline Designs

Summary

HERE is a summary of rule changes (to Neil Thomas's biblical rules) that may prove particularly relevant for the upcoming Egyptians v Hebrews battle.

Move Variation

Roll a die when a unit uses 75% or more of its movement allowance. 6: add 25% to the distance covered; 1: subtract 25% from the distance covered.

Slings' Range

Same range as for bows on foot, ie 24cm.

Who Moves First?

Dice each turn to decide. Great general: +1; poor general: -1.

Terminology

'Heavy' and 'light' refer to degrees of armour, while 'close order' and 'open order' refer to formations.

Speeding The Game

Hits are scored on 5+, not 4+.

If a hit still stands after a saving throw, dice to determine its effect.

Unit Quality....Lose a base....Fall back 3cm

Elite                      1-2                   3-6

Average               1-3                   4-6

Poor                     1-4                   5-6

A victor in a melee that has not lost a base may follow up a loser that has fallen back 3cm, thus immediately forcing another round of hand-to-hand fighting.

Generals

One elite unit is designated as the general's, receiving a +1 modifier when testing morale. If the unit is destroyed, all friends in line-of-sight immediately test their morale, and all other friendly units test their morale at the start of the next turn.

Victory

An army losing more than half its units has lost the battle.

Move & Fire

A unit moves and shoots before before another unit moves and shoots, etc.

How Long?

A battle will usually last no more than 12 turns before night falls and combat ends.

Melees In Rocky Ground Etc

Use the same combat table as for fighting in woods.

Cover

Troops behind cover get an extra die per base in the first round of hand-to-hand fighting.

Shooting When Charged

Troops armed with javelins can hurl these immediately before contact, provided the chargers started more than 8cm away.

Professional Job

THERE are five categories of infantry in the biblical rules in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming: heavy infantry, biblical infantry, auxiliary infantry, light infantry and heavy archers.

I have already explained I prefer close-order and open-order, rather than heavy and light, when referring to formations, and I reserve the terms heavy and light for degrees of protection, ie body armour and shields.

It is easiest to think of auxiliary infantry as what are often termed warband.

Indeed Thomas states that auxiliary infantry is simply a different name for what in his first book, Wargaming: An Introduction, was called warband.

However the difference between his categories of heavy infantry and biblical infantry needs more detail.

His heavy infantry are "well-drilled, often quite heavily armoured, and extremely formidable in hand-to-hand combat," whereas biblical infantry are "essentially a much less effective variety of heavy infantry."

I like the term biblical infantry, but I think Thomas's heavy infantry are better labelled professional infantry.

Since my ancient armies are composed of 10mm figures on 40x20mm bases, intended for figures up to twice as tall, I have different numbers from the 'official' ones on each base.

So a base of professional and biblical infantry has six figures in two rows of three (as do close-order archers), rather than the recommended four figures.

Similarly a base of auxiliary infantry has four figures rather than three, and a base of open-order infantry has three figures rather than two.

Shooting When Being Charged

UNDER Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming each half-turn starts with charges being declared.

There is no bonus for charging, but charges have to be worked out before all other actions.

This means 1) declaring each charge, ie each move intended to bring about hand-to-hand combat, 2) allowing defensive fire from javelin-armed troops who were more than 8cm away at the start of the half-turn, 3) fighting the melee.

Once all charges are carried out, the half-turn continues with phases for normal movement, shooting, meleeing and morale testing.

Since I am replacing these phases with each unit completing its movement, firing, meleeing, etc before the next unit does likewise (the player choosing the order in which units do this), Thomas's charge phase is redundant.

But the ability to hurl javelins immediately before contact remains.

Cover

ALMOST no mention is made in Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming of any combat bonuses for troops behind cover, whether the fighting be hand-to-hand or by missiles.

The exception is that "units in woods only suffer half the number of hits registered" by missiles.

It is a simple matter to extend this to troops in rocky ground, built-up areas and the like.

However there is a complication in that the illustrative battle for the biblical section, Kadesh, features a "well-defended" Egyptian camp.

This is reflected by allowing Egyptian troops defending the camp one extra die per base in hand-to-hand combat.

A further rule makes the Hittite units spend a complete turn crossing the walls of the camp before they can "assault the defenders behind them."

These two rules make the camp a formidable fortification, although it is implied that the defenders' extra die per base does not apply against Hittites that have succeeded in entering.

I think that in general troops behind cover should receive an extra die per base in the first round of hand-to-hand fighting, but this might be extended to subsequent rounds if the cover is deemed above the ordinary, in which case it might also be appropriate to make attackers spend a turn crossing the cover before being able to inflict casualties.

Fighting In Rocky Ground

MELEES in the biblical rules in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming are decided by rolling a set number of dice per base.

Usually this means one die per base, but it can rise to two, three or even four dice per base, eg heavy chariots roll three dice per base in hand-to-hand fighting with light infantry.

The number of dice can also be increased because of the situation of the combatants, so troops on higher ground roll an extra die per base in the first round of a melee, as do troops defending a riverbank if their opponents are in the water.

All these numbers apply when fighting takes place in "open terrain."

However, melees in woods use a completely different combat table, one in which most troops get one die per base, but auxiliary infantry get two dice if fighting troops other than auxiliary infantry.

Nothing is mentioned about combat in other non-standard terrain, such as rocky ground.

I think it right that the same combat table as for woods should be used, and it might be easiest to call this the table for difficult terrain (as opposed to the one for open terrain).

Armour Classes

TROOPS in Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming are considered to have light, medium or heavy armour.

By light he means "breastplate or shield," and by medium he means "breastplate and a shield."

Thomas adds: "These ratings can be augmented if the man has extra armour, horse armour, or an unusually large shield."

Such soldiers, although it is not explicitly stated, count as having heavy armour.

A hit can be negated by a saving roll, using a normal six-sided die: 6 is required for light armour, 5+ for medium and 4+ for heavy.

But should there by an extra class, or sub-class, for troops without any protection?

Completely unarmoured men were certainly not unknown, especially among nomads skirmishing in open order, and they could be represented by not being allowed a saving throw.

For now I do not intend amending the rules in such a way, but I might if a specifically compelling scenario arises.

More On Slings

FURTHER to my post on the relative ranges of slings and bows, I came across this reference in William Hamblin's Warfare In The Ancient Near East To 1600 BC - Holy Warriors At The Dawn Of History.

"The sling made its first appearance as a significant weapon among the Egyptians in the martial murals from the tombs of Beni Hasan [a cemetery near Memphis].

"It is perhaps not coincidental that the weapon is associated with Canaanite mercenaries, since the weapon is a favourite of nomads.

"While several Canaanite mercenaries are shown with slings, only one native Egyptian is shown using the weapon.

"In the siege scene at Beni Hasan slingers are shown standing behind the archers, possibly indicating that their effective range was greater than that of the Egyptian bow."

All in all I feel I am right in amending the ranges in Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming so slingers have the same range as archers on foot, ie 24cm, rather than the 16cm of mounted archers.