Across The Danube - Turn III: Attack Phase

I am hoping for great things from my anti-horse spearmen

My archers again shoot at the left-flank Dacian cavalry. The 9+ required with two dice is reduced for my men being on higher ground, and twice for the target being adjacent to two other Roman units. I therefore need 6+ for a hit, but roll 5.

The extreme right-flank Dacian cavalry attack my spearmen, requiring 9+, but there is a +1 modifier for being on lower ground, and anyway only 3 is rolled.

The left-flank Dacian cavalry can attack either of my legionary units in the trees, and no tiebreaker separates them, so a die is rolled, and it decides the attack should be against the legionaries directly in front of the horsemen.

Cavalry versus legionaries usually need 7+, but there is a +1 modifier for attacking into trees, and another for the legionaries being supported by another legion, and only 7 is rolled.

I get the same legionaries to attack the cavalry. They need 9+, but there is a -1 modifier for a friendly unit also being adjacent to the enemy. However, I roll 6.

The second legionary unit attacks in the same circumstances, and this time I roll a magnificent 11. Since this exceeds the required score by three, the cavalry rout, and so are removed from the battlefield.

My legionaries are within command range, so I am able to order them not to follow-up their triumph by advancing from the trees.

Finally, my spearmen attack the right-flank Dacian cavalry on lower ground. Spearmen need 6+, reduced here for being on higher ground, but I roll 4.

The first significant combat victory has gone to my Romans 

Across The Danube - Turn III

Situation after two turns

The start-of-turn-event die lands as a 2, but that only affects Dacian warriors in a tree hex.

My archers stay where they are, but both Dacian bow units advance cautiously (ie diagonally, rather than straight down).

My cavalry nearest the commander are well within command range, so I am able to advance the unit two hexes, meaning I can launch an immediate attack charge. This is like a normal attack, but happens in the movement phase, and does not prevent a further attack in the attack phase.

My cavalry attacking Dacian cavalry require 8+ from two dice, but there is a -1 modifier for being on higher ground. However, I roll a disappointing 5.

My extreme-left cavalry are out of command range, but I want to move them, so I roll three dice, which land 6, 3, 2, and consult the wheel-like compass in the bottom-right corner of the map. This shows the directions the unit can take, and since I want to pull it back to the right, I use the 3 to do exactly that.

The unit is now in command range, and so I have no trouble getting it to advance diagonally right to behind my other left-flank cavalry.

I leave my right-flank cavalry where they are.

The forward Dacian cavalry are engaged, and so cannot move, but their friends next to them advance on to the high ground, which puts them next to my forward cavalry, whom they promptly charge. They require 8+ with two dice, but there is a -1 modifier for having a friendly unit next to the attacked unit.

The dice land 8, meaning the revised 7+ target has been exceeded by one, which has the same effect as matching the target, ie it causes the defenders to retreat two hexes, which in this case sends my men into the river at the edge of the battlefield.

Dacian cavalry never advance after an opponent retreats, so there is no follow-up.

However, this frees the other Dacian right-flank cavalry to activate as they are no longer engaged, but they do not move, perhaps sensing a trap? 

The Dacian cavalry in the clump of trees near the battlefield advance two hexes, finishing next to two of my legionary units sheltering in the wood near the Danube, but they cannot charge either unit as cavalry cannot charge into trees.

There are no units of Praetorian Guard, so the two units of Dacian swordsmen are next to activate, and both advance, one into a copse, the other into rocky ground.

Two of my legionary units are engaged, but the third I pull back diagonally right to be further from the double-unit of Dacian cavalry.

Just one unit of flaxmen moves, then my spearmen advance straight up to engage the unit of right-flank Dacian cavalry that is not on high ground.

I am tempted to move my commander adjacent to the legionaries to give the units in the trees a -1 modifier in any attack they launch, but this would make him vulnerable to attack from Dacian cavalry, and since losing the commander means losing the battle, that is not a risk I am willing to take.

Instead, I move the commander diagonally back to the right a hex, at which point he has to stop as being in water prevents further movement.

The Dacian warrior unit again stands pat.

With three Dacian units below the red line, and more advancing, the situation does not look good for the Roman cause, although there are nine turns to go

Across The Danube - Turn II: Attack Phase

The battle's first proper attack phase is about to begin

The attack phase is handled in a similar manner to the movement phase, in that it is a unit's initiative value that determines when it attacks.

Since Roman archers have an initiative value of 1, they go first, and my men shoot at the Dacian left-wing cavalry (friendly units do not block line-of-sight, and anyway the archers are on higher ground and so can see over them).

Roman archers shooting at Dacian cavalry need 9+ on a throw of two dice to score a hit. However there is a -1 modifier for being on higher ground, and two -1 modifiers for the attacked unit being adjacent to two Roman units. That brings the target throw down to 6+, and I roll exactly 6, which forces the Dacians to retreat two hexes, back to the clump of trees from which they have just emerged.

With no other units within attack range, that ends the turn, and I have moved the tracker on to turn III

Across The Danube - Turn II

Situation at the start of the second turn

The start-of-turn-event roll lands as a 1, giving Dacian archers a surprise attack, but none has enemy in range, so there is no effect.

In the movement phase I begin by leaving my archers where they are.

The forward Dacian archers advance diagonally left onto higher ground, but the other unit remains where it is.

Two of my cavalry units are within two hexes of Dacian cavalry, meaning I could deliver a charge attack, which is a bonus attack during the movement phase.

However, while both my units would start within command range, the second part of their movement would be out of command range, and so much harder for me to control.

Further, one of the Dacian units is in a clump of trees, and so cannot be charged, and the other has rocky ground in front of it, and attacking out of that would mean an attack penalty.

All in all, the odds of success seem against me, so I order both units to fall back a hex to be out of reach of the Dacian cavalry, whose initiative it is next.

The right-flank Dacian cavalry first advances into the rocky ground ahead of it, then advances diagonally left. Its companion unit advances similarly, to also reach the foot of the large hill by the Danube.

The left-flank Dacian cavalry rush forward two hexes to the edge of the clump of trees that one of my cavalry units has just vacated.

With there being no Pretorian Guard, the next units to activate are the Dacian swordsmen, with both units advancing, albeit not maintaining contact as the rearward unit chooses to deviate to the left to get on higher ground.

Two of my legionary units advance into clumps of trees adjacent to the left-wing Dacian cavalry, and the third unit of legionaries advances diagonally right to support them.

One unit of falxmen advances diagonally right, the others remaining where they are.

My spearmen advance a hex towards the two adjacent units of Dacian cavalry, hoping to entice one of them onto their blades.

This is my last chance this turn to move the commander, but I am happy with his current position as he has all the legionaries, together with the spearmen and a unit of cavalry, within command range.

Finally, the Dacian warriors again stay in rocky ground.

Situation at the end of the movement phase of turn II

Across The Danube - Turn I

Initial dispositions

Each turn begins with a die rolled to determine if a special event happens, special events varying by scenario.

The die lands as a 5, which means I can swop the position of any two Roman units that are not engaged in combat and are in command range.

I guess this could be useful at some point in a battle, but it is wasted here as I have only just set up.

Next comes the movement phase, and this is carried out in initiative order.

Roman archers have an initiative value of 1, so they go first, and I move my one bowman unit out of the water and onto high ground.

Dacian archers have an initiative value of 2, and so move next.

The AI has two such units, and the one further down the map moves first (if both units were the same distance down the map, the one to the left would go first). A die is rolled, landing as a 1, meaning it wants to move down to its right, but that hex is occupied by cavalry, so it remains where it is.

The other archers roll a 3, and so want to move straight down, but their way is blocked by the unit of warriors.

Roman cavalry have the initiative value of 3, so they move next, and I get to choose in which order.

I start with the right-flank cavalry, who advance to their left one hex, and then directly forward into a clump of trees, where they remain in command range.

The forward cavalry on the left advance two hexes onto the main hill in the Roman position, and the other cavalry unit follows them.

Note that all three units started each movement within three hexes of the commander, ie within command range, so there were no problems getting them to go where I wanted. However, the forward unit is now four hexes from the commander, which, if the situation does not change, could cause problems on future turns.

Dacian cavalry have an initiative value of 4, meaning they are next to be activated.

The unit on the Dacian extreme right rolls a 5, advancing diagonally left a hex, followed by a 4, again advancing diagonally left.

The cavalry in the Dacian centre rolls a 6, advancing into trees, which ends its movement phase.

The third cavalry unit, on the Dacian right, moves straight down two hexes, overtaking the unit it started adjacent to.

Praetorian Guard have an initiative value of 5, but they are not involved in this battle, so we move on to the units with an initiative value of 6, Dacian swordsmen, of which there are two.

The further-forward unit moves diagonally left into some trees, while the other swordsmen advance directly to make contact with them (this could prove useful if they manage to keep this formations as swordsmen, like legionaries, receive a bonus in the attack phase if adjacent to a similar unit).

Legionaries have 7 as their initiative number, and I advance all three units out of the river.

I also move my commander (remember, he can move at any point during a Roman initiative) forward diagonally left a hex so as to be in command range of all my cavalrymen, which could prove important next turn.

The falxmen have an initiative of 8. One unit remains where it is at the edge of the battlefield, but the other two advance a hex diagonally left.

My spearmen move onto higher ground, and finally the lone unit of Dacian warriors rolls a 6, which in this instance means it remains lurking in rocky ground.

That concludes the movement phase of turn one.

Normally, the attack phase would follow, but since even both armies' archers, with their range of three hexes, are at least five hexes from the nearest enemy, there is no attacking to be done, and so the turn ends, and the turn marker is moved on to II, before I forget!

Situation at the end of turn I

Across The Danube - Roman Dispositions

Here is how the Dacians have set up

The first thing that strikes my eye is that although there are more Dacian units in forward positions on the Dacian left, the two units of cavalry on the right wing could make a swift and formidable attacking force.

Accordingly I have stationed my spearmen - a good anti-cavalry unit - on my left, together with two of my three mounted units

Note that I have positioned the commander so he is within command range (three hexes) of every Roman unit, although this happy state of affairs may not last many turns.

My three units of legionaries are in a line - legionaries receive a bonus (explained later) if adjacent to another unit of legionaries.

Finally, my archers on the extreme right are well-placed to mount higher ground, which will give a bonus when attacking.

Across The Danube - Setting Up

Here is the relevant spread in the book - scenario-specific rules on the left, battlefield on the right

Close-up of the map, with the turn counter at the bottom - the wheel, with numbers, at bottom-right will be explained when the occasion arises

The first thing to do, apart from placing the turn counter on turn I, is to select the AI's Dacian army, which for this battle has at least 38 points.

Dice are rolled, with a running score kept of the units' total value.

The first die lands as a 3, which means a unit of swordsmen, costing 3pts.

I cut out the counters from the back of the book and mounted them - not always precisely - on 10mm-square steel bases from Products For Wargamers

The meaning of SW is, I hope, obvious, while the bottom left and right figures refer respectively to the number of hexes a unit can move and its attack range.

The top-right figure is the unit's initiative number, used to determine the order in which units move in a turn, and the order in which they attack.

The next die lands as a 2, meaning a unit of cavalry, which costs 5pts, and has the numbers 4-2-1 (initiative-movement-attack range).

Another 2 is rolled, meaning another unit of cavalry, then a 4, falxmen, the unit costing 3pts and having the values 8-1-1.

A 1 means archers, costing 3pts and having the values 2-1-3, followed by a 4, a second unit of falxmen.

The first warriors appear on a roll of 5. They cost just 2pts, and have the values 10-1-1.

Yet another unit of falxmen is activated, bringing their total to three units, and a roll of 2 means a third unit of cavalry.

A 3 brings a second unit of swordsmen, and a 1 a second unit of archers, which takes the cost of the Dacian army to exactly 38pts, and so ending recruitment.

The full Dacian army - 11 units

You may have noticed no 6 was rolled. If it had been, it would, like a 5, have indicated a unit of cheap (2pts) warriors, meaning that this army's contingent of warriors is unusually small, which hints at how the selection process randomises each scenario.

The next step is to place the chosen units on the battlefield, and this is achieved by rolling dice, eg each cavalry unit is placed on one of six hexes (there can never be more than six units of one type) marked C1, C2, etc.

The hex markings do not show up in my images of the battlefield, but this zoom-in shows you what you could see if I were a better photographer

The Dacians in position, mostly on high ground, or sheltering behind trees

The Roman army is selected in a similar manner, except that it always starts with the commander and his entourage/personal bodyguards, the unit costing 5pts.

The commander can move three hexes in a turn (one more than cavalry), and has an attack range of one.

The Roman commander - X for initiative indicates he can move at any point when the Roman army has the initiative (more on that later)

The red three is a reminder that the Roman leader has a command range of three hexes. Friendly units within three hexes are much more likely to do what the general wants.

The human, as well as having a commander, twice has the option during the army selection process of paying extra points to obtain a specific type of unit.

Being completely new to the game, I am not sure how useful this is, and anyway I will not be availing myself of the opportunity in scenario one.

As with the Dacians, I receive at least 38pts, and my first die lands aa a 2, meaning a unit of cavalry, costing 6pts. It can move two hexes a turn, and has the numbers 3-2-1 for initiative, movement and attack range.

A 6 brings a unit of spearmen, costing 3pts, and having the values 9-1-1, and this is followed by a 5, meaning legionaries, also costing 3pts, the unit's numbers being 7-1-1.

I next roll a 4, which also means legionaries, and then two 2s, so two more units of cavalry.

Then a 5 recruits a third unit of legionaries, and a 1 means archers, who cost 3pts, and have the values 1-1-3.

By coincidence, this also brings the Romans to their exact allowance of 38pts

The Roman army - nine units, but with no Praetorian Guard

I now get to set up my forces, each unit starting in a water hex of the Danube at the bottom of the map. Bear in mind that to win the scenario I have to ensure there are no Dacian units below the red line at the end of turn XII.

Lambo's Latest

REGULAR readers of this blog will know I am a big fan of Mike Lambo's solo boardgames, particularly Battles Of Napoleonic Europe.

I was so impressed by BONE hat I took the trouble of converting it into a tabletop wargame, using 10mm miniatures by WoFun, the Hexon II grid system from Kallistra, and simple but effective scenery.

His latest release goes further back in time, to wars between the Roman Empire and Dacia (a sort of expanded Transylvania) at the start of the second century AD.

There are 10 scenarios, with the human acting as the Roman commander in each

In addition to the commander, the human receives an army drawn from units of archers (called sagittarii in the book), cavalry (equites), legionaries, spearmen and Praetorian Guard - yes, the famous elite body of infantrymen.

The guard, originally formed during the republic, played a leading role in the Dacian wars.

The AI commands a Dacian force, usually made up of archers, cavalry, swordsmen, warriors and falxmen, the last being infantry armed with a sickle-like cutting weapon.

The actions of the Dacians are completely controlled by the rules, and, specifically, by throwing dice - the human never has to make a decision for the 'enemy'.

In this series of posts, I intend fighting the book's first scenario, Across The Danube, explaining it in sufficient detail to give what I hope will be a good feel for what the game is about.

It should, in effect, act as a review, as well as help me learn the game - this will be my first time playing it!

Full Force

I AM glad I decided to take stock of my biblical forces as it turns out I have quite a bit more of a collection than I realised.

This is what comes from buying and painting in dribs and drabs, rather than following a plan.

Some troops, eg the bulk of the Egyptians, have such a distinctive appearance that it would be difficult for them to pass as anyone else's.

However most troops, especially open-order archers, slingers and javelinmen, are much more interchangeable.

Here are the unit totals:

Close-order infantry 16

Open-order archers 15.5

Close-order archers 4

Chariots 12

Camels 9

Open-order slingers 6

Auxiliaries 7

Open-order javelinmen 3

Close-order cavalry 2

Open-order cavalry 12

Close-order infantry with spears and bows 3

It seems the one troop-type I am definitely short of is open-order javelinmen, and I am taking steps to rectify that.

I fielded massed chariots at Kadesh, but perhaps a few more squadrons for my collection would also come in handy

Elamites

Archers - nine units in open-order, and one in close-order

The open-order archers could certainly appear in many other biblical-era armies, and the close-order archers in a few.