Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Six

Situation after turn five, looking from behind the Egyptian lines towards Palm Hill

Pharoah wins the dice-off (3-2, after a 2-2 tie) to see who goes first.

He starts by ordering his right-flank chariots to advance and shoot at my Simeonites in the eastern rocky ground. However they drag their heels, or at least the horses drag their hooves, as the squadron only advances 16cm (Pharoah rolled a 1 under the move-variation rule), leaving them out of mounted-bow range.

Next the Sherden enter the rocky ground and engage the Simeonites in hand-to-hand fighting. Since this is a battle in difficult terrain between two bands of auxiliary infantry, both get one die per base. My men fail to score a hit, but the Sherden are slightly more successful. However the one hit they register, while not saved, is resolved as my unit falling back 3cm, rather than losing a base. Pharoah exercises his right to follow up, and so another round of meleeing takes place, still in the rocky ground. This time both units inflict two hits, and none is saved. One of the hits my men suffer results in the loss of a base, but the other only causes them to fall back a further 3cm (I rolled a 3, which is enough to avoid the loss of a base when the unit is elite). The Sherden suffer similarly - a base lost, and falling back 3cm. Both units pass their compulsory morale tests.

The Egyptian close-order archers in the centre of the battlefield shoot at my slingers in the rocky ground on Palm Hill, scoring one hit. This is halved because units in such terrain effectively count as being in cover, but on a 50:50 roll the half becomes a full hit. My saving throw fails, but the hit is resolved as forcing my men back 3cm. Since they cannot fall back through the Ephraimites, they have to retreat to the latter's right, between the auxiliary infantry and the Issacharite javelinmen. Since the gap is too small for the unit to fit through in good order, my opponent and I agree that, even though the slingers are in open order, they would become a disorganised and confused mess, requiring a turn to reorganise (we felt this was the fairest interpretation). 

The other unit of Egyptian close-order archers advance, but only 6cm instead of its full allowance of 8cm, thanks again to the move-variation rule. However both units of spearmen advance the full 8cm.

Finally the left-flank chariots advance 24cm and shoot at the Issacharite javelinmen on Palm Hill, but unsuccessfully (Pharoah rolled two 3s, 2 and 1).

The Egyptian attack continues, but in a somewhat uncoordinated manner

Close-up of the confusion among Benjaminite slingers atop Palm Hil

I start by ordering the Issacharites to advance and hurl their javelins at the approaching chariots. They score a hit, which is not saved, but is resolved as the chariots being forced back 3cm.

The Benjaminite slingers on Palm Hill reorganise, but cannot move this turn.

The auxiliary infantry next to the rocky ground on the hill charge the approaching marine spearmen. The latter are not quite caught in the flank, but the Hebrews are uphill of their opponents, and so receive an extra die per base in the first round of the melee. The eight dice produce four hits, but the marines, despite only having two bases, fight back with two hits. One of the four hits is saved, but two of the other three are resolved as the loss of a base, meaning the marine spear unit is eliminated. However, they manage to eliminate a base of the auxiliaries, and cause the remainder to pause and fall back 3cm, but morale holds good.

The two-base Benjaminite slingers, recently expelled from the eastern rocky ground, manoeuvre along the hill (movement on hills is not normally penalised), and shoot at the Sherden, but without success.

The Simeonites charge the Sherden for another round of hand-to-hand fighting, both units scoring a hit. However the Sherden save their hit, while my men's is resolved as falling back 3cm. The Sherden again follow up their success to initiate another round of meleeing, this time scoring the only hit, and again my men fall back 3cm, this time ending up just outside of the rocky ground. The Sherden again follow up. Two auxiliary units fighting in open terrain receive one die per base (the same as when up against each other in difficult terrain). Again the Sherden score the only hit, which forces my men back to the edge of the battlefield. Not surprisingly, the Sherden again follow up their success, and since my men have nowhere left to retreat to (units that exit the battlefield cannot return), a hit resolved as causing a fall back of 3cm will instead mean the loss of a base. The Simeonites at last prevail, by two hits to one. I save the hit my men suffer, but the Sherden are not so fortunate. However, both hits are resolved as falling back 3cm. This time it is my turn to exercise the right to follow up, and the melee continues into the rocky ground, where the Simeonites score the only hit. However, it is saved, which brings this half-turn of frantic meleeing to an end, with honours even and apparently very little blood spilt despite the toing and froing.

My auxiliary infantry on the side of the hill turn, using up half their movement allowance, and move behind the rocky ground, the idea being for them to confront the four-base Egyptian spearmen.

Both armies have seven of their eight units remaining, albeit some in better shape than others

Sherden and Simeonites melee in the eastern rocky ground, watched by Benjaminite slingers on Palm Hill, while a band of Hebrew auxiliaries pass beyond the rocky ground, and Egyptian spearmen approach from the south

Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Five

Situation after turn four

Pharoah won the dice-off (2-1) to see who goes first, which is likely to be of special importance this turn.

He begins by ordering the Sherden to charge my Benjaminite slingers in the eastern rocky ground. Since Sherden are auxiliary infantry, they have no problems entering rocky ground. The difficult-terrain combat table, rather than the normal melee table, is used for such hand-to-hand fighting. Auxiliary infantry in a melee with other troops, ie troops who are not auxiliary infantry, receive two dice per base, while all other troops in difficult terrain always get one dice per base (note there is no bonus for charging). The Sherden score an exceptional five hits, while my slingers inflict none, so it is shaping up to be a massacre. I manage successful saving throws for two of the hits, but the other three have to be resolved. Thankfully only one results in the removal of a base, the other two causing my unit to fall back a total of 6cm. This they are able to do by falling back to the right of the Simeonites, who are behind them, the direction being decided by a 50:50 die roll (if there had been other friendly units blocking such a retreat, further bases would have been lost). Having lost a base in hand-to-hand combat, the Benjaminites have to take a morale test, and I roll a 3, meaning they narrowly fail it, so losing a further base. Pharoah declines to use the follow-up rule, by which the Sherden could have forced a further round of meleeing, presumably fearing the Sherden would be too exposed to flank attacks.

Next the right-flank chariots advance slightly and shoot at the Gadites near the palm grove, scoring a stupendous three hits with their four dice. My saving throws are inadequate, and so the last base of Gadites is removed, meaning my Hebrew army is the first to lose a unit.

The left-flank chariots shoot at the Issacharites descending the hill, scoring two hits, neither of which is saved. One hit is resolved as a lost base, the other causes the javelinmen to fall back 3cm, Fortunately, for me at any rate, their morale remains good.

The left-flank archers shoot at my slingers on the hill, but miss.

The left-flank spears advance 8cm, slightly diagonally right, to support the Sherden.

The right-flank spears advance similarly, but lose half their movement allowance for deviating more than 30 degrees from a straight line.

The single-base royal squadron advances 8cm, staying well away from any potential trouble.

Judging from the quality of this view, a heat haze seems to have descended over the battlefield

Close-up of the Sherden on the edge of the eastern rocky ground, supported by units of Egyptian spearmen

I start by ordering my slingers on the hill to shoot at the left-flank Egyptian spearmen, scoring one hit. This is the Egyptian marine unit that has been upgraded to medium armour, but Pharoah's saving roll of 4 is one short of the required score. A further die roll shows the hit is resolved as the loss of a base, which is compounded by another base being lost to poor morale.

I pull the Issacharites on the Hebrew right flank back on top of the hill.

My slingers who have been driven out of the eastern rocky ground shoot at the marine archers, scoring a hit, which is not saved, but is resolved as causing the unit to fall back 3cm.

The Simeonites in the same rocky ground charge the Sherden, which means a melee between two elite units of auxiliary infantry. Both sides get one die per base, and both sides score a hit. I save mine, but the Sherden just fail (Pharoah again rolls a 4, when 5+ is needed), and the hit is resolved as forcing the Sherden back 3cm. I use the melee follow-up rule to advance my Simeonites and force another round of hand-to-hand fighting, which takes place right on the edge of the rocky ground. A question arises - should we use the difficult-terrain melee table, or the normal one? Actually, it does not matter since either way both units receive one die per base, and so we leave the question unanswered (at least for now). Unfortunately the Simeonites' eagerness backfires on them, when they score no hits but suffer two. Neither hit is saved, but thanks to their elite status the Simeonites do not lose a base, instead falling back 6cm.

I order the non-elite auxiliaries on the hill to advance 8cm, but they prove reluctant, edging forward only 6cm thanks to the Move Variation rule.

The Hebrews have lost a unit, but the army presents a compact formation on Palm Hill

Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Four

Situation at the end of turn three

I win the dice-off (5-4) to see who goes first.

My surviving Gadites charge out of the palm grove, covering 15cm thanks to rolling a 6 for Move Variation, and hurl their javelins at the startled Egyptian right-flank charioteers, scoring a hit. The saving throw is to no avail, but the hit is resolved by the Egyptians having to fall back 3cm rather than losing a base.

The Benjaminite slingers in the eastern rocky ground shoot at the Sherden, scoring a hit, but it is saved.

The Issacharites advance down the hill, somewhat further than I intended, thanks to Move Variation, and shower javelins on the chariots facing them, scoring two hits, neither of which is saved. However, no bases are lost as instead the charioteers fall back 6cm.

My other units stand still.

Looking from above the village in the southwest corner of the battlefield

The Egyptian right-flank chariots fall back from the palm grove, but remain within bowshot of the Gadites. However the sudden emergence of the javelinmen seems to have unnerved them as they fail to register a hit.

The surviving base of the royal squadron moves more centrally behind the Egyptian infantry.

The right-flank archers are just in range of my Gadites, and score three hits, although one is saved. However one of the two remaining hits causes my unit to lose a base - the other forces it back 3cm - but the Gadites' morale remains good.

The left-flank archers are just in range of the Benjaminite slingers on the hill. They score a hit, but on a 50:50 chance it does not count, thanks to my men enjoying the benefit of cover from rocky ground.

The Egyptian spearmen and the Sherden are ordered to advance as quickly as possible. That means 8cm for the spearment, but the Sherden, being auxiliary infantry, can cover 12cm, and that is increased to 15cm by Move Variation.

The left-flank chariots fall back from the Issacharites, but remain within archery range, although they too seem to have been unnerved, as their shooting is off-target.

Something of a mad scramble in the centre as the Egyptian close-combat troops strive to close with the Hebrew infantry

Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Three

Situation at the end of turn two

I win the dice-off (5-2) to go first.

Although the Egyptian royal squadron fell back last turn after suffering hits, it is still within range of my left-flank Benjaminite slingers, so the latter again shoot at the charioteers, scoring a hit. Pharoah's saving throw is no good, and the hit resolution causes the squadron to lose a base. However this time its morale holds steady, fortunately for my opponent as otherwise the person of Pharoah would have been lost, with likely catastrophic effects on the rest of the army.

My Benjaminite slingers on the hill shoot at the left-flank Egyptian chariots, scoring two hits, one of which is saved. The other hit causes the squadron to fall back 3cm, rather than lose a base.

The rest of my men stay where they are.

Looking from above the eastern rocky ground towards the Egyptian right-flank chariot squadrons

Pharoah pulls back the one-base royal squadron, but sends the other right-flank squadron to shoot into the palm grove, while being sure to stay out of range of my slingers. The charioteers score two hits, but these are halved as the target is in cover. My saving roll fails, but the hit is resolved by the Gadites falling back 3cm.

All the Egyptian infantry units advance 8cm, putting the archers in range of some of my men, but the archers cannot shoot as only open-order troops and light chariots and move and fire.

The left-flank chariots skirt round towards the west of the hill and shoot at the Issacharite javelinmen, but fail to register a hit.

The surviving chariots of the royal squadron lick their wounds at the rear of the Egyptian army

Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Two

Situation at the end of turn one, looking from behind the Egyptian lines

Pharoah wins the dice-off (4-1) to see who goes first.

He begins by ordering both his right-flank chariot squadrons to shoot at my Gadite javelinmen, who by the palm grove. The regular squadron fires first, scoring two hits, but I manage to negate one by rolling a 6 saving throw (I was a little unlucky here as my other saving throw was a 5 - not enough for men with light protection). The effect of the hit is to cause my men to lose a base, but their morale holds firm (I rolled the minimum of 4). The royal squadron also scores two hits, and again I negate one.  To resolve the other I roll 5, meaning the Gadites fell back 3cm.

All the Egyptian foot are sent forward 8cm, with the marine spears making up for their earlier tardiness by advancing 10cm thanks to the Move Variation modification.

Finally, the left-flank chariots advance slightly to their left to be able to shoot at the Issacharite javelinmen, who, unlike the Benjaminite slingers, are not in cover. One hit is scored, resulting in my men falling back 3cm.

After the Egyptian half-turn

My Gadites take cover in the palm grove.

The left-flank Benjaminite slingers are just in range of the Egyptian royal chariot squadron (slings have the same range as foot bows). I score two hits, and Pharoah is unable to roll a 5+ saving throw, which is what light chariots require. One of the hits causes a base to be lost, and the other forces the squadron to fall back 3cm. There is further woe for the Egyptians when the unit, despite being elite and so passing a morale test on 3+, gets a 2, meaning a second base is lost.

The Benjaminite slingers on the hill shoot at the left-flank chariots, also scoring two hits - but both are saved.

I leave my other units where they are.

Gadites sheltering in the palm grove

From behind the Egyptian lines

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.