Powder Power

WORK on Prague's imposing Powder Gate began in 1475, and was intended as a grand entrance to the Old Town rather than a practical defensive structure.

Gunpowder made tall fortifications largely redundant, but they still looked good

Originally called New Tower, it was modelled after the 14th century Old Town Bridge Tower.

The building was used to store gunpower in the 1600s, hence its modern name of Powder Gate or Powder Tower.

It was badly damaged in 1757, during Frederick the Great's attempt to capture Prague after conquering Saxony to open the Seven Years War, but was quickly repaired, and received its most recent major restoration last year.

Signing Off

A FINAL set of shouse signs from Prague Old Town.

This stone carving of an elephant dates back to the 1300s, and was placed on an inn - now a hotel - as a symbol of wealth and prestige

The House At The Black Bear - now the Beer Restaurant - was built in 1428 in a merchants' courtyard that had its own high walls and moat to separate it from the rest of the old town

Peacocks are another symbol of wealth, although the building on which this iron peacock spreads its feathers has seen better times, and is now partly a Duck Boutique - a shop selling rubber ducks in various colours and sizes

Hotel Metamorphis was converted from a historic building known as The Blue House, and the sign above the entrance may have had a special religious meaning for a previous owner as the image and wording refer to the seven golden lampstands of Revelation, which symbolised seven early Christian churches, and the woman is probably the Wife of the Lamb, ie the church symbolised as Jesus's bride

Signing On

 MORE signs from Prague Old Town, and the stories behind them.

These bears were originally gilded, and may have referred to the building's use as a tannery (Czech leather makers often used bear skins rather cattle hide), although it was later occupied by an alchemist with connections to Habsburg royalty (bears were an early symbol of alchemy)

No one seems to know the significance of the blue horse - it may have just been a way of identifying the building in days before house numbers became common

The Golden Jug underground hostelry dates back to medieval times, but the name of the next-door Golden Kettle Irish bar is presumably more modern 

These three ducks may indicate the building was also used as a restaurant, but probably was just a house sign symbolising family and nurturing

Signs Of The Times

WALKING around Prague Old Town I have had a lot of fun looking at the district's many house signs from the days of mass illiteracy, and trying to guess what they signify.

This looks as if it should be on a winebar or tavern, but was placed on a housefront in the late 1700s by owners who wanted to highlight the biblical story of Joshua and Caleb bringing a huge bunch of grapes from the Promised Land 

I guessed this golden animal represented a lion, and indeed the house - now a pub-restaurant - previously had a lion as its emblem, but this was changed in 1713 to what is apparently a tiger

Snakes and their venom were associated with Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, and this one indicates the building was once a pharmacy

This mermaid is a long way from the sea, but has had plenty of time to contemplate her fate, having been installed in 1439 for reasons no longer known

Lesser Prague

OPPOSITE Prague Old Town on the opposite bank of the Vltava is the Lesser Town, which in modern times has become the embassy district.

Access to the Charles Bridge is through an arched gateway guarded by the Lesser Town Bridge Tower, built in the second half of the 15th century and modelled on the Old Town Bridge Tower.

The Lesser Town Bridge Tower was built partly in response to the district being the site of fierce fighting between Hussites and the castle garrison in 1419

Towering Defence

ACCESS to Prague Old Town from the Charles Bridge is protected by the Old Town Bridge Tower, sometimes called the Charles Tower in reference to Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316-78).

It became customary for kings of Bohemia to pass through the tower's arch as part of their coronation procession.

Old Town Bridge Tower ... still impressive

The tower's role in repulsing Swedish attacks in 1648 is commemorated in a Latin inscription: SISTE VIATOR, SED LUBENS, AC VOLENS UBI SISTERE DEBUIT, SED COACTUS GOTHORUM, AC VANDALORUM FUROR

Roughly translated: "Stop, traveller, willingly; here unwillingly were stopped the Goths and their vandalistic fury."

Impressive Bridge

AM visiting Prague for 11 nights, during which time I have walked to and crossed the famous Charles Bridge every possible day.

The bridge is packed with tourists most of the day, so it pays to get there early if you want to study its features undisturbed.

Charles Bridge ... beautiful in early morning sunshine

Construction began in 1357 to replace the 12th century Judith Bridge damaged by a major flood in 1342.

It took almost 50 years to fully complete the project, and almost another 300 years were to pass before the bridge's iconic statues were added.

What many visitors do not realise is that all the statues now on the bridge are copies, the originals having been moved under cover in the Czech National Museum and nearby Vyšehrad fort.

Nevertheless most of the replicas on the bridge are very darkened with age, although they clean up nicely, as can be seen with the statue nearest the camera in the above photo.

The bridge was the scene of desperate fighting in 1648 when Swedish troops tried to capture Prague Old Town in one of the last actions of the 30 Years War.

Those could almost be Swedes looming out of the fog - photo taken from where the Czech defenders made their successful last stand

Charles Bridge kept its unique military and economic importance until 1841, when Prague gained its second bridge across the Vltava.

Pro Bows

I have painted these 10mm Assyrian archers from Newline Designs as professional bowmen with mail tops and iron helmets

More Camelry

I have painted Black-robed Midianite camelry - 10mm figures from Newline Designs - to supplement my white-robed Midianite raiders

On The Table - Concluded

REG conceded before we started the sixth turn, which brought up an interesting point.

His Egyptians counted as exhausted under the rules, meaning they could take no offensive action.

But my Assyrians were very close to becoming exhausted, and might well have been before turn six was completed.

The rules in the Portable Wargame state that a battle ends when both sides are exhausted, but the rules do not state how the winner is then decided.

Should it be the army that has lost fewer strength points? Or should it be the army that has more strength points remaining? Or should the winner be decided in some other way?

Reg said that, whatever the rules stated, he felt I had scored a moral victory, and I was happy to accept that!

More importantly, neither of us was satisfied with the experience.

The rules seemed bland, with little or no difference between the various units, whatever their weapons, whatever their formation, etc.

We were also unhappy with some of the basic rules, eg archers have a shooting range of three hexes, only one hex more than troops armed with javelins.

And surely there should be a difference between mounted bowmen and those on foot?

Actually  there is a solution to this, which starts in the same way as my adjustments for portable Franco-Prussian wargame rules.

The first step is to take away the ability of units to melee when in adjacent hexes. Instead a melee should occur when a unit attempts to enter a hex occupied by an enemy unit.

The throwing range of javelins can then be reduced to one hex, and that of mounted archers, whether on horseback or in a chariot, to two hexes.

There are other adjustments I plan to make before playing a similar game again, mainly by borrowing fairly heavily from Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

I should stress we were far from being completely unhappy with the Portable Wargame rules.

We felt they helped make a fine spectacle on the tabletop, and played quickly, with fighting not dragging on far too long, as it can in A&MW.

And we particularly liked having to dice at the start of each turn to see who moved first, which added to a battle's tension and uncertainty. 

The bottom line is we enjoyed ourselves - but not as much as usual when wargaming.

*One thing we got wrong: units that move and shoot in the same turn suffer a movement penalty (in addition to not shooting as well as stationary units, which gain a +1 modifier).

On The Table - Turn Five

Situation at the end of turn four

Pharoah wins the dice-off 6-2 to decide who moves first.

He starts on the Egyptian right by advancing the one-base chariot squadron, which then shoots at my Assyrian cavalry. A hit is scored, but I am able to resolve it by falling back a hex rather than losing a strength point.

The other right-flank chariots shoot at the slingers at the rear of the town, but with no effect.

The blue-shield Egyptian infantry advance a hex and attack the other slingers in the town. In the melee that follows, both sides score a hit. I take the option of letting my men retreat onto the hill behind the town, but the Egyptians have no such choice and so lose 1SP.

That reduces Pharoah's army to 26 strength points, which means it is exhausted and can no longer take offensive action - in other words "it will continue to fight to defend its existing position, but will not continue any movement towards the enemy."

Pharoah switches attention to the Egyptian left, where the three-base archers shoot at the camelry directly ahead., but with no effect.

The forward chariots on the hill shoot at the same target, but also miss.

The continuing melee in the centre of the battlefield sees both sides score a hit. The Egyptians are able to fall back a hex, but my men have to lose 1SP.

Thanks to the melee having ended, the marine archers are able to fire at my same infantry. Thanks to a +1 modifier for having not moved, a hit is scored, but I am able to choose the option of falling back a hex.

The Egyptians are officially exhausted, but still form a sizeable army

My slingers in the town shoot at the one-base chariots to their left, scoring a hit that finishes off the enemy unit.

My cavalry advance three hexes and attack the remaining right-flank Egyptian chariot squadron, but fail to score a hit, while suffering one, which proves to be a compulsory strength-point loss.

The other Assyrian slingers enter the town, which puts them adjacent to the Egyptian blue-shield heavy infantry. But are they allowed to shoot, or do they have to engage in close combat? The rules are not clear, but Reg and I agreed the former makes more sense. However the point became somewhat academic when I roll a 2, meaning a miss.

I switch to the Assyrian right, where the far-right Bedouin camelry mount the hill and attack the forward Egyptian chariots, choosing to shoot rather than melee, but without effect.

The other camelry shoot at the marine spearmen directly ahead, scoring a hit that causes the loss of 1SP.

My armoured archers shoot at the same target, scoring a hit that removes the final base of the marine spears.

My elite chariots, who have the general with them, shoot at the red-shield infantry, scoring a hit that is resolved by withdrawing the infantry.

My chariots next to the town shoot at the one-base Egyptian infantry, but without effect.

My third chariot squadron shoots at the same target, but again without effect.

Finally my one-base heavy infantry drop back a hex to get out of range of the Egyptian archers.

It is definitely 'Advantage Assyria'

On The Table - Turn Four

Situation at the start of turn four

I win the dice-off, to see who moves first, 5-1.

My cavalry charge the Egyptian one-base chariots directly ahead of them, but the combat is indecisive.

My slingers in the hex that contains the town's main building cannot shoot at the same target as there is an ongoing melee, so instead they fire at the other Egyptian right-flank chariots, but the shooting has no effect.

The other Assyrian slingers shoot at the yellow-shield Egyptian infantry, scoring a hit, which has to be resolved as a loss of a strength point as the close-order infantry cannot fall back into the rough ground.

My chariots next to the town shoot at the same target, missing; the squadron next to them petforms likewise.

But my elite chariots have more luck, and the die thrown to resolve the hit shows 1SP must be lost.

My blue-shield heavy infantry continue their melee against the marine spearmen, but no hits are scored.

My close-order archers fire at the nearest chariots on the hill, but the shooting has no effect.

The further-back Bedouin camelry mount the hill and attack the Egyptian one-base left-flank chariots, but there are no hits.

The other camelry advance diagonally left and shoot at the other chariot squadron on the hill, scoring a hit that is resolved as the compulsory loss of a base.

The Egyptians are down to 29 strength points - if three more go, the army will be exhausted and unable to undertake offensive action

Close-up of the isolated Egyptian Yellow Shields, confronted by three Assyrian chariot squadrons and a unit of slingers 

On the Egyptian right, Pharoah orders the one-base chariots to break off from their melee (there seems to be no rule to prevent this), fall back a hex, turn and shoot, but they fire wildly wide (a 2 was rolled).

The other right-flank chariots shoot at the same target, scoring a hit which I am able to choose to resolve by ordering the cavalry to drop back a hex.

The blue-shield Egyptian infantry, who were nearly forced off the battlefield, advance two hexes towards the town.

Pharoah next chooses to fight the melee between his marine spears and my heavy infantry. Both units roll a 4, and both scores become a hit thanks to a +1 modifier for being heavy infantry. The resolution dice mean both units lose a strength point.

The marine archers fire at my elite chariots, but with no effect.

The other Egyptian close-order archers shoot at the further-back camelry, but also with no effect.

The Egyptian red-shield infantry, who have Pharoah's chariot with them, advance two hexes.

The extreme-left chariots fall back a hex, turn and shoot at the camelry they had been meleeing, scoring a hit that I am able to choose to resolve by having the unit retreat off the hill.

The other left-flank chariots shoot at the other Bedouin camelry, but miss.

The Egyptian army has 27SP left, two fewer than my Assyrians

Close-up of the action on the Egyptian left

On The Table - Turn Three

Situation at the start of turn three

Close-up of elite Egyptian chariots on the hill above the village, which is being approached by Bedouin camelry and a unit of close-order Assyrian archers

Pharoah won the dice-off (3-1) to see who moves first this turn, and decided he wants to begin by seeing what happens with the continuing melees.

First, his marine spearmen fight my blue-shield heavy infantry. Pharoah rolls a 4 while I roll a 1, the former becoming a hit thanks to the marines' +1 modifier for being heavy infantry. Resolving the hit, I roll a 2, meaning my unit loses a strength point.

Next his archers also fight my blue-shield unit. We both roll a 6, so both suffer a hit. Pharoah rolls a 5 to resolve the hit, and chooses to retreat a hex rather than lose 1SP. I roll a 6 and also choose to fallback a hex.

In the melees between Pharoah's red shields and my red shields, I roll a 6 against Pharoah's 1. Pharoah's resolution die lands as a 6, and he makes the unit fallback a hex. I choose the option of following up such a retreat by advancing my unit and continuing the melee. This time we both roll a 5, meaning a hit apiece. Pharoah again takes the chance to retreat rather than lose a strength point. I roll a 1, and have no such choice, so my unit loses 1SP.

The final ongoing melee is between the Egyptian yellow-shield heavy spearmen and my furthest-forward chariot squadron, but no hit is scored.

On the left-flank the three-base Egyptian archers shoot at the camels straight ahead of them, rolling a 5. To resolve the hit I roll a 3, which, since the camelry is of poor quality, means 1SP is lost, so eliminating the unit.

The chariots on the extreme left shoot at the nearest camelry, but roll a 1.

The other left-flank chariots are in firing-range of the same camel unit, but can they shoot over the village? The rules do not provide an answer, but we decided that this would be possible, but with a -1 modifier. Pharoah rolled a 4, which would normally have been enough thanks to the +1 modifier for not having moved, but in this case failed, thanks to the -1 modifier.

On the Egyptian right the blue-shield heavy spearmen move diagonally left and into melee with my furthest-forward chariot squadron. Pharoah rolls a 1, but I roll a 5, and Pharoah, after rolling a 5 to resolve the hit, orders the unit to fall back a hex rather than lose 1SP. I opt to follow-up this relative success, initiating a second round of combat. However this time I roll a 1 and Pharoah a 5, and my resolving die throw of 2 means my unit has to lose a strength point. Since the unit is elite, it still has 1SP left - its state being shown by moving the rock to the unit's side.

The weakened chariot squadron is clearly marked, while in the background the other elite Assyrian chariot squadron is still at full strength and has been joined by the Assyrian general's chariot

The rearward Egyptian chariot squadron on the Egyptian right advances two hexes and fires at my heavy cavalry, but rolls a 1.

The other right-flank Egyptian chariots also advance and fire at my heavy cavalry, but also roll a 1.

The battlefield suddenly looks rather different, and so do the casualties - the Egyptians have 35 strength points left, but the Assyrians are down to 32SP 

I start on the Assyrian left by continuing the melee between my chariot squadron and the Egyptian blue-shield heavy spearmen. I roll a 5, scoring a hit even without the +1 bonus for chariotry, while the infantry roll a miserable 1. To resolve the hit Pharoah rolls a 5, choosing to fall back a hex rather than lose a strength point. The question arises: should the unit retreat towards the Egyptian baseline, or directly away from its attacker (the rules do not seem to cover this)? Reg and I agree that retreating directly away seems more realistic. Despite my previous failures in such circumstances, I take the option of following up for another round of close combat. We both roll a 5, meaning mutual hits. I roll a 2 to resolve mine, and, despite the unit being elite, it loses its final strength point. Pharoah's resolution die is a 4, and he chooses to retreat another hex rather lose 1SP.

My heavy cavalry attack the further forward of the right-flank Egyptian chariots, but I roll a 2 against the Egyptians' 6. To resolve the hit the cavalry suffered, I roll a 6, choosing to fall back a hex. Pharoah declines to follow up.

My further-back slingers in the town shoot at the victorious chariots, rolling a 6. Pharoah rolls a 6 to resolve the hit, but cannot order the unit to fall back a hex as that would take it off the battlefield, so instead loses 1SP.

My other slingers in the town shoot at the yellow-shield heavy spearmen to their front, but roll a 1.

In the centre of the battlefield my one-base red-shield heavy infantry are pinned by being adjacent to Egyptian archers, and so turn to face and engage them in close combat. I roll a 2, but the archers roll a 6. To resolve it I roll a 6, but my men cannot retreat as they have rough ground behind them, which cannot be entered by heavy infantry, and so they lose their final strength point.

My elite chariots, which have the Assyrian commander with them, charge the yellow-shield Egyptian spearmen. We both roll a 6, meaning a hit each, and to resolve the hits we both roll a 3. Because my unit is elite, I have the choice of losing 1SP or falling back a hex, and choose the latter, but the infantry are of average quality and so have to lose 1SP.

It was only now that I realised there was little point in using my chariots for close combat when I could have used them to shoot, and so not have suffered a hit back. I do not make the same mistake with my next chariot squadron, which shoots at the same unit of Egyptian infantry, but rolls a 1.

My other chariot squadron advances a hex and shoots at the same target, coming agonisingly short with a 4. Ironically, in a melee this would have been enough for a hit as chariots receive a +1 modifier in close combat.

My archers shoot at the marine spearmen to their front, but roll a 3, which is not enough despite a +1 modifier for firing without moving.

My blue-shield heavy infantry advance and attack the same target, rolling a 6 against the Egyptians' 1. Pharoah resolves the hit with a 3, meaning the unit must lose 1SP.

My further-forward camelry drop back a hex diagonally right to get a clear line-of-sight to the Egyptian chariots on the extreme left, rolling a 6. Pharoah's resolution die lands a 1, so the unit must lose 1SP.

My other camelry occupy the hex that has just been vacated and shoot at the same target, rolling a 6. Pharoah rolls a 3 to resolve the hit, and since the unit is elite, that lets him choose for the unit to fall back a hex (we felt that the angles involved allowed the chariots to retreat without leaving the battlefield).

My Assyrians have been reduced to 30 strength points

Looking from behind Pharoah's chariot, which is with the Egyptian Red Shields

On The Table - Turn Two

Situation at the start of the turn

As per the rules, we again dice to see who will move first - this is done each turn - and I win 6-5.

My two units of slingers advance into the orchard and edge of the town, both shooting at the Egyptian further-forward right-flank heavy infantry, but I roll a pair of 1s.

The heavy cavalry edge forward to keep in line with the slingers.

The further-forward elite chariots advance a hex and shoot at the nearest javelinmen. I roll a 5, which means a hit. Pharoah rolls a die to determine the outcome of the hit, and his die lands on 1, meaning the unit loses a strength point. And since the unit is of poor quality, it started with 1SP, so the unit is eliminated, reducing the Egyptian army's strength from 40SP to 39SP.

My other chariot squadrons cautiously advance one hex.

My blue-shield heavy infantry advance two hexes, which puts them in close combat with the Egyptian marine archers, who have Pharoah in direct support. Close combats are decided by both units rolling a die, needing 5+ to score a hit. I roll a 6, which is a hit without the +1 modifier for my unit being heavy infantry. The archers roll a 3, which is not enough despite a +1 modifier for Pharoah being in the same hex. The Egyptians have to roll a die to see the effect of the hit they suffered. The roll is a 2, meaning the unit loses a strength point, or I can choose to try to make Pharoah the victim of the hit. I would need to roll a 6 - anything less, and not only does Pharoah not become a casualty, but the unit does not lose a strength point. I decide to play conservatively, and settle for the base loss. 

My red-shield heavy infantry advance and attack the Egyptian heavy infantry between the archers and the rough ground. I roll 3 and Pharoah rolls 1, so neither side scores a hit.

My close-order archers fire at the marine spearmen directly ahead of them, but roll a 2, which is nowhere near enough despite a +1 modifier for shooting without moving.

My average-quality Bedouin camelry shoot at the Egyptian archers directly ahead of them, rolling a 6. The archers roll a 4 to determine the outcome of the hit, and since the unit is average, it can choose to lose 1SP or retreat a hex. Pharoah chooses the latter.

The further-forward poor-quality camelry advance diagonally left, which puts them in firing range of the same Egyptian archers, but I roll a 3.

The other camelry advance to directly behind the village, and my commander joins the further-back of the two elite chariot squadrons.

The battlelines have clashed, and so far only the Egyptians have suffered hits

Close-up of Assyrian troops in and around the town

Here's a question - could the figure of Pharoah start by supporting the marine archers in their melee, and then move to join the heavy infantry by the rough ground and support them in their melee?

The rules do not, as it were, rule it out, but we agree this seems against the spirit of the game.

Reg therefore begins by moving Pharoah from the archers' hex to the heavy-infantry's hex, and chooses for that close combat to be fought first. We both roll a 4, which means we both score a hit as there are +1 modifiers for being heavy infantry (as well as the Egyptians getting a +1 modifier for the commander's support). To resolve the hits, we both roll a 3, which, with the units being of average quality, means both lose 1SP (I don't try to make Pharoah a casualty).

The marine spearmen advance a hex and turn to attack my blue-shield heavy infantry. Pharoah rolls a 3, which is not enough despite a +1 modifier for being heavy infantry. I roll a 2, which also is not enough.

The big melee

Not that it made a difference, at least on this occasion, but we agreed the marines' angle of attack did not count as attacking from a flank (there is a -1 modifier for a unit trying to score a hit if the enemy unit is attacking from a flank or the rear).

The surviving Egyptian javelin unit cannot advance and hurl their spears at my red-shield heavy infantry (Reg and I agreed troops can only fire into a melee from behind, otherwise there is too great a danger of hitting one's own mend), so instead advance and engage them in close combat. Pharoah rolls a 5, scoring a hit. To resolve it I roll a 1, meaning the unit loses a base. The embattled red shields in return roll a 5 - also a hit. Resolving it, Pharaoh rolls a 1, meaning a loss of 1SP, which eliminates the light-infantry unit as it is of poor quality and so only had 1SP to start with.

The Egyptian archers by the hill shoot at the leading camelry unit, but roll a 1.

Both elite chariot squadrons advance to the edge of the hill and shoot at the nearest camelry, but rolls of 4 and 1 are not enough.

On the Egyptian right both chariot squadrons advance a hex and shoot at my heavy cavalry, rolling 6 and 3, so one hit. I resolve it by rolling a 5, choosing to retreat a hex rather than lose 1SP.

Also on the Egyptian right, the further-forward heavy infantry advance straight forward a hex, and then diagonally left, and so attack my further-forward elite chariots. Pharoah rolls a 5, but I only roll a 2. I resolve the hit on my unit by rolling a 2, which means that despite being elite it has to lose 1SP.

The other heavy infantry on the Egyptian right advance and attack my slingers in the orchard. Pharoah rolls a 5, to which is added +1 for being heavy infantry, while I roll a 6 (in the rules there is no modifier for being behind cover in close combat, as opposed to being behind cover when shot at). Both sides score a hit. To resolve the hits, Pharoah rolls a 3, which means the heavy infantry lose 1SP, while I roll a 4, choosing to retreat a hex rather than lose a strength point. Since my unit retreated, the heavy infantry can choose to follow-up by occupying the vacated hex and initiating another round of close combat, but Pharoah decides not to, perhaps fearing his men will be too vulnerable so far in advance of any friendly unit.

The Egyptians have lost five strength points, the Assyrians three, meaning the former have 35SP remaining, the latter 36SP

The losses have been relatively small so far, but it should be remembered an army counts as exhausted if it loses a third of its initial strength points.

So my Assyrians, who started with 39SP, would be exhausted if 13SP are lost, while the Egyptians, who started with 40SP, would be exhausted on losing 14SP (one-third rounded up to the nearest whole number).

Once an army is exhausted, it can no longer take offensive action, and a battle continues until both armies are exhausted.

On The Table - Turn One

Overview of the battlefield from behind the Egyptian lines

We dice to see who moves first, and I win 6-4.

I order every Assyrian unit to advance at heavy-infantry pace, ie two hexes.

After the Assyrian advance

Unlike in many rulesets, an army's units in the Ancients Portable Wargame do not all move and then all shoot (all that can and want to, that is).

Instead each unit is activated individually, ie it moves and shoots, or shoots and moves, or just moves, or just shoots.

There is a penalty to moving in the same turn as shooting - movement is reduced by one hex.

But there is a bonus for shooting without moving, and I will come to that later.

Pharoah's right-flank chariots could move their full three hexes, which would put them in range of the slingers in the town and of the Assyrian heavy cavalry.

But they would be unable to shoot as troops who use up their full movement allowance cannot fire.

Instead the chariot squadrons could advance two hexes, but then they would be out-of-range as chariots only have a shooting range of two hexes, which is the same as for javelin-armed cavalry and infantry, rather than the three hexes of bow-armed cavalry and infantry.

Why chariots are discriminated in this way is not explained - all we are told is that chariots (and war elephants) "are assumed to be carrying missile-armed crews," without the type of weapon being specified.

I have ideas about possibly modifying this and other aspects of the rules, but I will not go into that until after the battle - first we want to play the rules "as is."

Pharoah decides to advance his extreme-right squadron one hex, but leaves the other where it is, ensuring neither can be charged by the heavy cavalry next turn (heavy cavalry, like chariots, can move three hexes).

The spear-armed heavy infantry next to them also advance a hex, and the javelin-armed open-order infantry enter the rough ground (only light infantry and light cavalry can enter rough ground, and their movement rate is reduced to one hex a turn).

On the Egyptian left are two units of close-order archers, who count as light infantry and so have a movement rate of three hexes.

Pharoah orders the more-central archers - they happen to be marines - to advance two hexes and shoot at the Assyrian heavy infantry directly ahead, who are three hexes away (maximum range for bows).

No modifiers apply, so Pharoah rolls a die, needing 5+ to score a hit (this is always the requirement for weapon shooting), but he gets a 1.

The left-flank heavy infantry also advance two hexes, as do the other close-order archers, who fire at a camel squadron directly ahead. This time Pharoah rolls a 3 - still not good enough.

Both left-flank chariot squadrons advance onto the nearby hill, there being no penalty for hill movement.

Finally, Pharoah personally advances and joins the hex occupied by the marine archers, presumably hoping his presence will improve their aim next turn.

The Egyptians are holding back on their right, but pushing forward in the centre-left

On The Table

IT is one thing painting figures, quite another getting the figures on the table.

However my regular wargaming opponent ('Reg') and I are in position to do just that.

We will be killing several birds, as it were, with one game.

1. Fielding some of my recently painted Assyrians, together with Bedouin camelry.

2. Using recently bought and/or painted pieces of scenery.

3. Trying the ancient rules from Bob Cordery's Developing The Portable Wargame.

4. Testing the suitability of my Hexon II gridded terrain for 10mm ancients.

Cordery's rules, including army lists and combat examples, take up almost 40 pages in his book, but are considerably simpler than this might suggest.

Infantry and cavalry are divided into light and heavy types, while chariots are "mobile platforms for missile-armed troops" that can also be used for "battering weakened heavy infantry."

The rules do not mention camelry, but I feel fairly confident in my ability to follow Cordery's advice and make up my own rules for them.

Accordingly camelry will have the same strength-point-value as light cavalry, ie two, but will move at the speed of heavy cavalry, ie three hexes.

They will have the same double-move capability as other light troops, and their bow range will be the normal three hexes.

Any cavalry or chariot unit in close combat while in a hex adjacent to camels will suffer a -1 modifier.

The battle will see an Assyrian force, with Bedouin allies, face an Egyptian army, and since I commanded the Egyptians in our Biblical Dry Run battle, Reg has agreed this time he will play at being Pharoah.

We will each secretly choose an army with a maximum value of 40 strength points from a list that includes units of heavy infantry (4SP), slingers (2SP), javelin-armed light infantry (2SP), chariots (2SP), heavy cavalry (3SP), camelry (2SP), close-order archers with heavy armour (4SP) and close-order archers with light armour (3SP).

In addition each army must have a commander, whose notional strength-point-value of six is important for calculating when an army becomes exhausted, after which it can no longer take offensive action.

Here is my army.

Commander = 6pts

Heavy Infantry* x2 = 8pts

Close-Order Archers (heavy armour) = 4pts

Heavy Cavalry = 3pts

Bedouin Camelry x3 = 6pts

Chariots x4 = 8pts

Light Infantry (slingers) x2 = 4pts

Total: 39pts

Reg has revealed his choice as follows.

Commander = 6pts

Heavy Infantry x4 = 16pts

Close-Order Archers (light armour) x2 = 6pts

Chariots x4 = 8pts

Mercenary javelinmen x2 = 4pts

Total: 40pts

*The Assyrian heavy infantry are professional mixed units of spearmen and archers. They can shoot, but also enjoy the +1 modifier of heavy infantry in melees.

Each unit has the same number of bases as it has strength points, so heavy infantry (4SP) have four bases, while slingers (2SP) have two bases.

The exception to this rule is commanders, who are represented by a single base.

Each player can name two units as being elite (their strength-point-value is increased by one), and must designate two units as poor (their strength-point-value is decreased by one).

Elite units will be indicated on the table by having a small rock placed at the front of the hex they occupy, showing their SP is one more than the number of bases.

Poor units will be indicated on the table by having a small rock placed at the rear of the hex they occupy, showing their SP is one lower than the number of bases.

I have given elite status to two squadrons of chariots, while designating two of the camelry units as poor.

Assyrian army - 13 units, plus the commander

Reg announces two of his chariot squadrons are elite, and the javelin units are poor.

The Egyptian army consists of 12 units, plus Pharoah in a blue - the colour of Egyptian royalty - chariot

An elite Egyptian chariot squadron deployed on the table

Note that strength points are not an indication of a unit's fighting ability, but rather how many hits a unit can take before it is removed from the table.

This is particularly to be remembered in the case of an army general, who is rated as 6SP but has no offensive capability by himself.

However, if in the same hex as a friendly unit, the general gives a +1 modifier to the unit's combat-dice throws. But there is a drawback - if the unit is eliminated, the general goes with it.

What the rules do not state is what happens if an enemy unit can shoot at an enemy general, or engage him in hand-to-hand fighting, when he is alone in a hex.

We have decided that if a commander suffers a hit, it is resolved as for a hit on an elite unit, but only one hit will be needed to eliminate him, although his loss will cause his army to lose six strength points (and so bring it much nearer to exhaustion).

The basic battlefield is formed of 12x10 Hexon II hexes, each 100mm across.

The battlefield is mainly a cultivated plain, with two bare hills, a small town with an orchard, a village and a three-hex patch of rough ground

Close-up of the town - the main building came from the Christmas decorations section of a Chinese store in Altea, Costa Blanca (inside the packet, along with what may be an anachronistic mosque, were a giant hen and chick, the adult being taller than the building!) 

We diced for choice of baseline, Reg winning 4-2 and choosing the side nearer the camera.

Normally we each draw a sketch map of our planned dispositions, but with hexes it is easier to number the hexes and assign units accordingly by writing down a number for each unit.

We agreed that all units must start in the first two rows.

Overview of the battlefield, with the Egyptians nearer the camera

One of the first things that springs to mind - to me, anyway - is that, thanks to the hex system, the battlelines are not exactly straight.

Perhaps this does not matter overmuch, but Reg and I have agreed that next time we we might try turning the battlefield 90 degrees.

But there are problems with doing that.

For starters, troops would not move directly forward, but rather in a sort of zigzag, and there would be difficulties in lining up opposing units for melees.

It is certainly something we will have to give serious consideration to before coming to a final decision.

Returning to the battle, and before it commences, there is the question of terrain effects.

Built-up areas, woods (an orchard in this case) and hills are covered in the rules, but rough ground is not mentioned.

We will treat it as a wood for movement purposes, meaning only light infantry (and, theoretically, light cavalry, not that either side has any) can enter it.

A unit entering the rough ground must immediately stop, and can only move a single hex while in it, but there is no reduction to shooting ranges. Rough ground does not count as cover, and there is no -1 modifier for close combat.

View from Pharoah's chariot

Close-up of the Assyrian centre

As usual I will write up the battle as it unfolds.

More Horsemen Painted

Assyrian close-order cavalry - 10mm figures from Newline Designs