Spanish Practices

IN contrast to The Naturalist On The River Amazons, I shot through Captain Cuellar's Adventures In Connaught And Ulster, A.D. 1588 in less than a day.

Francisco de Cuéllar was a captain in the Spanish Armada, shipwrecked off the northwest Irish coast as the vessel he was on limped home the long way to Spain following the Armada's defeat.

He was doubly fortunate to be alive as he had earlier been ordered off his own ship, and sentenced to death, by a furious admiral for supposed disobedience during the Armada's aborted invasion of England.

Cuéllar tells how, after being shipwrecked, he had to dodge English garrison troops, and local "savages," both of whom, according to his account, thought nothing of stripping, beating, robbing and, often, killing Spanish sailors as they were washed ashore.

Gripping read

Cuéllar eventually, after many misadventures, found refuge with anti-English chieftains, escaped to Scotland, and finally made his way home, where he wrote an account of his deliverance.

His story does not take up a great many pages of what is anyway a slim volume, published in 1897, but there is a long introduction - best read after Cuéllar's tale, although it appears before it in the book - and some well-chosen illustrations.

A lot is packed into little, including burnt-out monasteries, hanged bodies and desperate attempts to survive in the face of hostility from men and nature.

My edition is a reprint by Clachan Publishing of Ballycastle, County Antrim, bought through Amazon, although I can no longer recall what prompted me to search for it - probably a passing reference in another book, or perhaps a mention in Wikipedia.

Either way, it proved a great read.

Living History

MENTION Zeppelins to most Brits, and they will either think of bombing raids in World War One, or the Hindenburg disaster of 1937.
More than 500 people, overwhelmingly civilians, were killed by the former, and 36 died when the Hindenburg caught fire as it landed in New Jersey.
But what few people realise is that Zeppelins are still flying, from their original home in Friedrichshafen, on the shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) in the southwest German state of Baden-Württemberg.
Last month, while visiting nearby Bregenz, also on the shore of Lake Constance, but this time in Austria, I took the chance to fly in a Zeppelin.

Monument to Ferdinand von Zeppelin

Zeppelin coming in to land

Touchdown

The flight before mine, taking off

Co-pilot addresses the passengers on my flight

We were traveling at 35 knots (about 40mph or 65kph) at a height of 1,000ft (305 metres).
It was a sunny day, with little or no breeze, which made for ideal viewing of the ground - and water - below.
Soon after take-off, passengers were allowed to leave their seats and spend the rest of the 45-minute flight moving around and taking photos, the co-pilot having opened two windows in the side of the airship's gondola for this purpose.

Farmland

The cockpit

Lindau Island

Marina

Lake Constance

Insight into how a river delta is formed

The airship's shadow stands out starkly

History, Naturally

HENRY Walter Bates is a person who could easily be confused Alfred Russel Wallace, if only because their names have a similar cadence, their lives largely overlapped (they were born within two years of each other), and they both became famous as explorers and naturalists, being keen exponents of Charles Darwin's ideas on evolution.

They spent years together in the Amazon jungle rainforest, collecting specimens that in turn funded more exploring and collecting.

Much of Wallace's collection disappeared when the ship carrying it to Britain sank, but Bates, using three separate vessels, transported home more than 14,000 species.

Today Wallace is undoubtedly the better known, but that was not always the case, and reading Bates' account of his collecting, often in dreadful conditions, is eye-opening.

A modern reprint of the 1864 edition of Bates' book

Bates spent 1848-59 traveling the main Amazon, or, as he calls it, Amazons, and the river's tributaries.

You would have to be a keen naturalist to call the book gripping. I am not, and I found some of his detailed descriptions of insects, birds and plants a little wearying.

But there is no denying Bates' enthusiasm, and there was plenty of travel and history to keep me reading.

Bates comes across as, for his time, enlightened, but he is not an apologist for the people he meets, whether they be indigenous, colonials or slaves.

I doubt if I will ever be tempted to re-read the book, but I am glad I have read it for a first time.

Summing Up Across The Danube

DESPITE my uncertainties and misgivings in the heat of battle, it was a fairly comfortable victory in the end, with only two Roman units lost.

It was definitely a fun experience, and I certainly plan to fight the remaining nine scenarios.

Across The Danube has a smaller-scale, more-intimate feel to it than the scenarios in Mike Lambo's Battles Of Napoleonic Europe,

The latter are based on actual battles from the Peninsular War, while Across The Danube - and presumably the rest of the scenarios in Commander - is more generic.

But this one, at least, was just as much fun, and, I would say, ranks Commander as a simulation, not just a game.

My only quibble from the simulation viewpoint is that cavalry may be too powerful for the type of terrain encountered in Rome's Dacian wars, but I will hold judgment on that until I have played more scenarios.

Great fun

Across The Danube - Turn XI: Attack Phase

Some archery, and two melees to be decided

The Dacian archers in the trees are first to shoot. They need 8+ against both spearmen and legionaries, but since the legions can support each other, which means a +1 modifier, they shoot at my spearmen, the dice landing 11, causing my men to rout.

My extreme-left cavalry attack the falxmen on the hill, needing 7+, but with a +1 modifier for being on lower ground. I roll 6.

My other left-flank cavalry attack the falxmen they are adjacent too, also requiring 7+, but with no modifier. I roll 5.

Suddenly the battle is getting tense again. If the further-forward falxmen can defeat my cavalry, and occupy the hex the cavalrymen flee from, the Dacians would be in position to cross the red line on the 12th turn. Falxmen against cavalry need 7+, but there is a +1 modifier for attacking from rocky ground. I need not have worried - both dice land as a 1.

Finally the falxmen on the hill attack my extreme-left cavalry, with a -1 modifier for being on higher ground. The dice land as 8, sending my men retreating to the relative safety of the large hill by the Danube, and the falxmen advance a hex from the hill they have been defending.

There is only one turn left, and since no Dacian unit can cross the red line in that turn (as long as I take the precaution of withdrawing my forward legionaries, so they are not defeated in combat), I declare the battle over and award myself a triumph

Across The Danube: Turn XI

Situation after 10 turns

The start-of-turn-event die is a 5, which allows me to swop any two adjacent Roman units that are not in combat, but are within command range, ie three hexes, of the commander.

I see no use for this, and so go to the movement phase, moving my archers one hex along the little hill to put them opposite the left-flank Dacian archers, albeit at a distance of four hexes.

The Dacians choose to remain where they are, while the other Dacian archers, in the main wood, also stand still, as they have a target to shoot at.

I advance my commander a hex so he is in command range of my central cavalry, as well as of the right-flank ones. Since neither of the Dacian bow units can cross the red line before the end of the game, I move the right-flank cavalry into the trees beside the commander, just in case the horsemen should be needed to intercept rushing falxmen.

I advance the central cavalry diagonally left a hex, at which point they are out of command range, so I roll three dice, which land 3, 2, 1, and consult the on-map compass, but I do not want them to move in any of the available directions, and so I leave them as they are.

My left-flank cavalry are engaged in combat, and so do not move.

The Dacian swordsmen advance a hex.

I move both my remaining legions back diagonally right, to give the commander greater protection.

The two units of unengaged falxmen advance a hex, which puts one of them in contact with my cavalry that advanced this turn.

Finally, my spearmen advance off the hill, just in case they are needed to block the Dacian unit of falxmen that could conceivably get lucky in the attack phase.

I am satisfied I have the battle under control 

Across The Danube - Turn X: Attack Phase

My men will have the initiative in the big central melee

But first the Dacian archers in the wood shoot at my forward legionaries, needing 8+. There is a +1 modifier for the legion being accompanied by fellow legionaries, but two -1 modifiers for the enemy being in contact with two other Dacian units.. However, the dice total only 4.

I start with my left-flank cavalry, who attack the falxmen on the hill. The 7+ needed is increased for being on lower ground, but anyway I roll only 3.

My central horsemen attack the falxmen in the trees. The 7+ is increased because of the trees, but decreased thanks to the presence of friendly legionaries. I roll 8, forcing the enemy to retreat two hexes, their route taking them, by tiebreak, into cover of trees.

My forward legionaries attack the falxmen in the open, needing 7+, reduced thanks to the presence of fellow legionaries. However, I roll 5, which is one short of the score needed for a hit.

My rearward legionaries attack the same target, and this time I roll 8, forcing the falxmen to retreat three hexes. The first retreat is straight back, but the second has to be determined randomly, and the third takes them onto the hill beside the swordsmen.

The right-flank falxmen attack my left-flank cavalry, needing 7+, but there is a-1 modifier for being on higher ground. However, the dice total just 3.

The Dacians are outnumbered and retreating

Across The Danube - Turn X

With just three turns left, I am starting to get pessimistic about my chances

The start-of-turn-event mandates surprise Dacian archer fire, allowing the AI's bowmen to shoot at an enemy unit at exactly three-hex range. The central archers have three such units in their sights, but two are in cover, so they shoot at the legion already engaged with Dacian swordsmen. The 8+ required is reduced thanks to the presence of the swordsmen, but increased due to the legionaries having support from another legion. The dice total 6, so no hit.

My archers remain where they are, while the Dacian left-flank archers advance diagonally right to the bottom edge of the hill.

The cavalry directly ahead of my commander advance to charge-attack the swordsmen already engaged with my leading legion. The 7+ is reduced thanks to the legionaries, and I roll 8, which proves fatal for the enemy as the unit has nowhere to retreat. I do not let my cavalry occupy the vacated hex.

My extreme-left cavalry advance on the falxmen on the hill, and launch a charge-attack. The 7+ is increased for the enemy being on higher ground, so my roll of 7 fails.

My commander then moves to behind the rearward legion, so he can control the right-flank cavalry as it sweeps sideways to engage the warriors, and launch a charge-attack. The 6+ proves no problem as I roll 10, eliminating the Dacian unit.

Remember, despite all the attacking, we are still in the movement phase, and now the Dacian swordsmen on the hill advance diagonally left to leave it.

I take a risk and advance both my legions into contact with Dacian falxmen.

All falxmen are now engaged, so I end the movement phase by advancing my spearmen onto the large hill by the river.

I am embarrassed at my earlier pessimism - the Roman cavalry are starting to dominate the battlefield

Across The Danube - Turn IX: Attack Phase

I am starting to create a significant numbers advantage in the centre

My archers shoot at the Dacian warriors, needing 8+, but with a -1 modifier for being on higher ground. However, I roll 5.

The central Dacian archers shoot at my nearby cavalry, needing 9+, but there are two -1 modifiers for friends being already engaged with the horsemen. The dice match the 7 needed, forcing my men to retreat two hexes.

The forward Dacian swordsmen attack my spearmen, needing 7+ (if they attacked the legionaries, there would be a +1 modifier for the latter having support from another legion). The dice total 8, forcing the spearmen back two hexes.

My forward legion counterattacks the swordsmen, needing 7+. There are no modifiers, but I roll 2.

An ultimately disappointing turn for the Roman cause

Across The Danube - Turn IX

The battle feels to me to be very much in the balance

If I divert troops to deal with the Dacian warriors on the Roman right, my centre could be overrun. My best hope seems to be if I can quickly defeat the remaining unit on the Dacian right, and then swing my cavalry units from there to take the Dacian centre in the flank.

The start-of-turn-event die lands as a 2: Dacian war horns. This mandates that unengaged warrior units in a trees hex advance a hex, which means the sole Dacian unit of warriors moves to the foot of the small hill.

I leave my archers where they are. The central Dacian archers have a target within range and line-of-sight, so also stay where they are, but the other Dacian achers advance diagonally left, approaching the red line.

My extreme-left cavalry advance into the rocky ground at the foot of the large hill in the Roman position, and charge-attack the falxman unit. They require 7+, but there is a +1 modifier for attacking from rocky ground. However, I roll 8, forcing the falxmen to retreat two hexes, and I am happy for my horsemen to occupy the vacated hex.

My other left-flank cavalry advance so as to contact the rearward Dacian swordsmen, whom I charge-attack, requiring 7+. There is a +1 modifier for the Dacians having another unit of swordsmen adjacent to them, but I roll 10, forcing the swordsmen to retreat three hexes, meaning they cannot cross the red line before the end of turn XII (at least not without an improbable series of actions that would have to include advances after inflicting defeats on Roman units).

My central cavalry advance diagonally right and charge-attack the other unit of Dacian swordsmen. The 7+ is reduced for the enemy already being in combat, but I roll 5.

Neither unit of Dacian swordsmen can move - one because it is engaged by the enemy, and the other because it has already retreated this turn.

My forward legion is in combat, and the rearward one has no need to adjust its position.

Only one of the falxman units can move, and it advances into the central wood.

My spearmen descend from the big hill, entering rocky ground next to the forward Dacian swordsmen, and I advance my commander diagonally left to bring every Roman unit, apart from the archers, into command range.

Finally, the warriors move along the foot of the small hill to occupy rocky ground.

Another crunch attack-phase is imminent