Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Eight

Situation after seven turns - the Hebrews still hold Palm Hill, but the fighting around the eastern rocky ground is intensifying

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

He starts by manoeuvring the right-flank chariots so they have a clear shot at my auxiliary infantry behind the eastern rocky ground. The bowmen score two hits, but I roll a pair of 6s as saving throws, meaning both hits are cancelled.

The Egyptian spearmen now charge my auxiliaries. Both sides roll one die per base, and I score three hits while the spearmen score two. None of the hits is saved. The three suffered by the Egyptians are resolved as the loss of a base and the forced fallback of 6cm. The unit's morale suffers, meaning another base is lost. My two hits are both resolved as forcing fallbacks, but since that would take the unit off the battlefield, two bases are lost instead. These losses represent a most unfortunate example, from my perspective, of bad generalship in that I should never have put my men in such peril.

The Egyptian right-flank archers are just out of range of my men on Palm Hill, so Pharoah advances his unit 8cm.

The Sherden in the rocky ground renew their melee against my Simeonites, scoring a tremendous three hits, while suffering none. However two of the hits are saved, although the final one results in my men losing a base, and their morale collapses, despite being elite troops, meaning their final base is also removed.

The marine archers in the centre of the battlefield shoot at my four-base Benjaminite slingers on Palm Hill, scoring a hit that causes my men to lose a base, and a further one is lost to poor morale.

Finally the left-flank chariots fall back slightly and shoot at the Issacharite javelinmen, scoring a hit, which causes my men to lose a base, and a further one to poor morale.

A catastrophic half-turn for the Hebrew cause

I start by charging the Egyptian spearmen with my auxiliary infantry beside the eastern rocky ground. My men are doomed anyway, but at least this way they might just take an enemy unit with them. Both sides score a hit. I save the hit my men suffer, but the Egyptians are forced back 3cm. I take the chance to follow up and continue the melee, but my men suffer two hits while inflicting none. However one hit is saved, and the other is resolved as falling back 3cm. Pharoah chooses to follow up, but this time the fighting is inconclusive.

My right-flank Benjaminite slingers shoot at the marine archers, but without effect.

The other band of Benjaminite slingers fires at the other unit of Egyptian archers, but also without effect.

The Issacharite javelinmen bravely, despite being reduced to a single base, advance and hurl their javelins at the chariots ahead of them, but I roll a miserable 1.

My ordinary auxiliaries on Palm Hill turn, costing them half their movement allowance, and start down towards the Sherden in the eastern rocky ground, covering 5cm thanks to the Move Variation rule.

Finally I at last activate the Ephraimites, sending them in support of the ordinary auxiliaries, and they also cover 5cm thanks to move variation.

The Hebrew cause is now a lost cause, but I am not conceding as I want to play another turn to illustrate an interesting rule in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming

Battle Of Palm Hill - Turn Seven

Situation at the end of turn six

I win the dice-off (4-2) to see who goes first.

My Issacharite javelinmen edge down the western slope of Palm Hill to hurl their javelins at the oncoming Egyptian chariots, scoring two hits (and very nearly three - I rolled 6, 5 and 4). Neither hit is saved, and, despite the charioteers being elite, a base is lost, the rest of the squadron falling back 3cm. However the charioteers pass the compulsory morale test.

Benjaminite slingers on top of Palm Hill, having reorganised, advance and shoot at at the Egyptian archers to their front, but ineffectively.

The other band of Benjaminite slingers line up to shoot at the other unit of Egyptian archers, but also fail to score a hit.

My auxiliaries behind the eastern rocky ground advance around it, but having to turn to face the approaching Egyptian spearmen uses up half their movement allowance.

Next I fight the continuing melee in the rocky ground, but only the Sherden score a hit. However, I roll a 6 saving-throw to negate it.

Finally I pull back slightly the three-base auxiliaries on top of Palm Hill, and once again leave the Ephraimites where they are.

Casualties can expect to start mounting as the armies close in

Pharoah starts with his left-flank chariots shooting at the Issacharites, scoring two hits. I save one, and the other is resolved as the unit falling back 3cm.

Next his right-flank archers shoot at the slingers ahead of them, also scoring two hits. Again I save one, and again the other hit is resolved as forcing the unit back 3cm.

The other archers shoot at the same target, scoring one hit, causing the slingers to fall back a further 3cm.

Next up is the melee in the eastern rocky ground. This time my Simeonites inflict two hits, while only suffering one. However, Pharoah's saving throws both come up 5, which is enough as the Sherden have medium armour. I also roll 5, but that is not enough for men with only light protection. However, my resolution roll of 3 causes the Simeonites to fall back 3cm, rather than lose a base, as they are elite. This forces them out of the rocky ground, and the Sherden follow up to initiate another round of hand-to-hand fighting. The result is again two hits to one in favour of the Simeonites. But again the Sherden's hits are saved, while mine is again resolved as forcing the unit back 3cm, taking the men to the edge of the battlefield. Naturally the Sherden again follow up, but this time inflict no hits, while suffering two themselves. Neither hit is saved, and the Sherden are forced back 6cm. I now choose to exercise my option to follow up, but the only hit is scored by the Sherden, and once again my men are forced back 3cm. The Sherden again follow up, and both sides inflict two hits. One of mine is saved, but the other results in the loss of a base, although the Simeonites' morale remains steady. One of the Sherden's is saved, and the other forces them back 3cm. Since my men lost a base, there is no possibility of them following up, and so the epic melee ends, at least for this half-turn.

The right-flank chariots advance and shoot at the auxiliaries who have just emerged from behind the eastern rocky ground, scoring a hit, but it is saved.

The Egyptian spearmen advance towards the same auxiliaries.

The fighting between Palm Hill and the palm grove is likely to prove pivotal for the battle

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.

Shooting When Being Charged

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

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

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

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

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

But the ability to hurl javelins immediately before contact remains.

Cover

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fighting In Rocky Ground

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Armour Classes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More On Slings

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chariot Classes

MY understanding is that chariots in biblical times were generally divided into two classes: light and heavy.

Light chariots were mobile shooting platforms, fast-moving and manned by warriors armed with bows and/or javelins.

Heavy chariots were sturdier vehicles, designed to intimidate by bulk, and manned by warriors armed with spears and, usually, javelins.

The former were popular with Egyptian armies and their imitators, especially in the Levant, while heavy chariots were a feature of the Hittites.

Neil Thomas in his biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming sticks to these two categories.

But there is an argument for introducing a third category of ultra-light chariots that sacrifice protection for more speed.

Egyptian chariots would probably fall into this category as their light chariots had very low walls.

But in drawing up wargaming rules it is all too easy to get bogged down into making fine distinctions that were perhaps not all that significant in practice.

Accordingly I will stick with Thomas's two chariot categories.

How Elite Were The Elite?

OR, to put it another way, what proportion of an ancient army should be regarded as above average?

In Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, armies have eight units, each classed as elite, average or poor.

The number of elite units can vary a lot.

An army from the pre-Solomon Hebrew list, for example, will have one or two elite units, both being bands of auxiliary infantry.

But an Egyptian army can have four elite units, namely three squadrons of chariots and a band of Sherden.

That means half the army can be elite, which to me is way too high a proportion.

It gets even worse with Thomas's Assyrian army, which can have six elite units, ie 75% of the army.

I mean to modify army lists for future conflicts, but I will stick with the ones in the book for the upcoming battle in which we will use the book's suggested army compositions and deployments for Hebrews versus Egyptians.

How Many Turns?

WARFARE in ancient times tended to have a campaign season running from spring to autumn, which in the northern hemisphere means roughly March to October.

Daylight hours varied by month, although in those lands covered in the Bible the variation is not as much as further north.

Roughly speaking there are 13 hours of daylight per day from May to July, dropping to below 12 in March and October.

A fairly common convention in old-school wargaming rules is to let a turn represent the action that takes place in an hour.

Unless a battle is taking place very early or very late in the campaigning season, it is probably best, or at least convenient, to allow it to last 12 turns.

An equally valid argument could be made for 13 turns, but unless there is strong reason for deciding otherwise, I will go with the former for battles using Neil Thomas's rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

Important 10mm News

MAGISTER Militum, which announced its closure last year, has at last revealed to whom its 10mm ranges of historical figures, including extensive ancients, have been sold.

The new owner is Baccus 6mm, who, as the name suggests, is famous for its 1:285-scale figures.

The company has set up a new website to sell the Magister Militum ranges under the name Tenth Legion. 

Move & Fire

ONE of the interesting mechanisms in Bob Cordery's ancient rules in Developing The Portable Wargame is the resolution of moving and firing.

In most sets of rules, including those in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, there are separate moving and shooting phases.

But in Cordery's rules each unit completes its moving and firing, then another unit follows, and so on.

This worked well in my On The Table battle, and I think it is worth testing with Thomas's rules. 

Victory

VICTORY in Neil Thomas's rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming goes to the player who reduces the enemy army to a quarter of its starting strength, ie two two units (armies in A&MW always begin with eight units).

I intend modifying this to makjng the aim being to reduce the enemy to below 50%, which I think is more realistic. In other words, an army is defeated once it has lost five of its eight units.

Number Of Units

ANYONE who widely reads accounts of ancient battles will, sooner or later, be struck by the realisation that the smaller army nearly always wins.

So frequently does this happen that one wonders why generals of the time did not do their best to shed as many of their men pre-battle as possible.

However, a not unconnected fact is that contemporary, or relatively near-contemporary, accounts of ancient battles are nearly always written by, or based on the sources of, the victors.

Since numbers given in such accounts are so unreliable, I have much sympathy with Neil Thomas's approach in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming of having all armies consist of eight units.

I will generally try to follow this, except where to do so would be bordering on the absurd, a possible example being one of the earliest battles in the Bible, namely Abraham's night ambush of the Elamite alliance following the Battle of Siddim.

I write "possible" because I am still pondering the best way of refighting the ambush, and anyway I have not yet decided for certain to use Thomas's rules in my biblical project.

Generals

ARMY commanders played a hugely important role in ancient battles, especially in biblical times when a general was often also a king.

Neil Thomas's rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming do not reflect this.

One way of doing it would be to add a general (and bodyguard) as a separate unit.

But with armies consisting of eight units, I believe that would be disproportionate.

My plan is to instead rule that one of an army's elite units should be declared as having the general with it.

In the unlikely event that an army only has average and poor units, the general should be appointed to one of the average units, which will then count as elite.

The presence of the general means the unit gets a +1 modifier when testing morale.

The downside for an army is that if the general's unit is eliminated, every friendly unit within line-of-sight must immediately test its morale, and every other friendly unit must test its morale at the start of the next turn.

Speeding The Game

IN my biblical dry-run battle we, ie I and my regular wargaming opponent, felt the melees dragged on too long.

And generally speaking I think it would be good to resolve all combat quicker.

Under Neil Thomas's rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming a unit loses a base after suffering four hits, which means 16 hits are needed to destroy a unit (all units start with four bases).

My plan is to speed this by removing a base after a single hit.

This will also do away with unsightly markers used to record how many hits a unit has suffered.

However I will water this change down by ruling that a die score of 5+ is required, rather than Thomas's 4+.

And I will further mitigate the effects by adapting an idea from Bob Cordery's Developing The Portable Wargame.

When a unit has suffered a hit (assuming it remains a hit after a saving roll), throw a die to determine the effect of the hit.

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

Elite                      1-2                   3-6

Average               1-3                   4-6

Poor                     1-4                   5-6

*A unit that cannot fall back 3cm, eg if it has impassable terrain behind it, is surrounded by enemy troops, or has friendly troops not in open-order directly behind it and preventing even retreat diagonally, loses a base. 

When an enemy unit falls back in a melee, the victor, if it has not lost a base in the same turn, may choose to follow up by advancing 3cm and immediately instigating another round of hand-to-hand fighting.

These are quite radical changes to the rules. Only testing in a battle will determine whether they are for good or bad.

Terminology

NEIL Thomas in his biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming uses the terms Heavy and Light in a rather confusing way.

You might think Heavy Infantry, Heavy Cavalry and Heavy Archers would, by definition, have substantial protection in the form of body armour and/or shields.

Similarly you might think Light Infantry and Light Cavalry would necessarily have little or no protection.

However he is using Heavy and Light in cases where the terms close order and open order are more appropriate.

An example is the New Kingdom Egyptian army, which is allowed up to two units of archers.

These are defined as "Heavy Archers, Light armour, Average."

The last classification refers to their quality, which can be elite, average or poor, but by Heavy he means close-order.

Accordingly I will use the terms close order and open order when referring to formations, and heavy, medium and light when referring to body armour and shields.

Command & Control

ONE thing notably absent from Neil Thomas's rules, in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming and other books, is restrictions on how many units a player may move in a turn.

He argues that players make enough mistakes on their own without the need for extra uncertainty.

I am not sure about this, and for my mid-18th century rules, which owed a lot to Thomas's ideas on horse-and-musket wargaming, I eventually adopted the pip system pioneered by the Wargames Research Group.

Armies of the period were generally divided into two wings and a centre, and by allocating different dice - a 10-sided one for the centre, six-sided dice for the flanks - I restricted the number of actions, including moving and firing, that could take place in a single turn.

However my armies for refighting the War of the Austrian Succession contained many more units than are allowed in Thomas's rules.

In Ancient & Medieval Wargaming armies consist of eight units, and, as I have mentioned before, I think this works well for battles where numbers are a matter of much speculation.

My move-variation rule already adds some uncertainty to a battle, and I propose to add more by adapting an idea from Bob Cordery's ancient rules in Developing The Portable Wargame.

He has players rolling dice at the start of each turn, higher thrower moving first.

This means that, not infrequently, an army will get to have two turns, or two half-turns to be more precise, in a row.

I will slightly modify this by awarding a great general a +1 modifier, and a poor general a -1 modifier.

With any luck these additions to Thomas's rules will do away with the need for command & control, but, to borrow a common expression from chess when discussing new moves in an opening, tests are needed.

Sling v Bow

THERE are four types of hand-held missiles in the biblical rules in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming - javelins, slings, bows on foot and bows on horseback.

Their ranges are, respectively, 8cm, 16cm, 24cm and 16cm, which, presumably, are effective ranges rather than maximums.

The difference between bows on foot and on horseback is easily explained: "A mobile horse is inevitably not as stable a firing platform as the earth on which the footman stood."

Unfortunately Thomas does not specifically mention whether the range of bow-armed charioteers should be 16cm or 24cm.

On the one hand charioteers are standing upright, rather than on horseback, but cannot be regarded as "on foot" in the normal sense of the phrase as a chariot floor is not stable.

I think the shooting range of bow-armed charioteers should be the same as for horse archers, namely 16cm.

So far, so simple, and in accordance with the spirit of the rules, I believe.

But the question of the range of slings is another matter.

It might be thought obvious that a bow is more powerful and so will have a longer range.

But my reading of authorities on the subject suggests that the ranges of bows and slings were compatible, especially when it came to effective range, ie the range at which weapons were typically used.

Some bows had longer ranges than other bows, but the same was true for slings, whose ranges were strongly influenced by the size of shot.

There were times when slings considerably outranged bows.

The following speech from Xenophon's Anabasis is informative: "The enemy can shoot arrows and sling stones so far that neither our Cretan bowmen nor our javelinmen can reach them in reply.

"We need slingers ourselves at once, [and] I am told there are Rhodians in our army, that most of them understand the use of the sling, and that their missiles carry no less than twice as far as those from the Persian slings.
"The latter have only a short range, because the stones used in them are as large as the hand can hold. The Rhodians, however, are versed also in the art of slinging leaden bullets."

It might be wondered, if slingers were as good as good as archers, and at times better, why they were by medieval times more-or-less completely replaced by bowmen.

This was partly due to slingers requiring many years of habitual use and practice to become proficient, which was why slingers from certain areas, for example the Balearic islands, were especially sought after. Archery also required dedicated practice, but to a lesser extent.

Also, more widespread use of armour made archery less effective - so much so that in most of Europe traditional archery died out, with the crossbow replacing ordinary bows, until both were superseded by gunpowder weapons.

A further complication is that the sling was a concussion weapon, while the arrow was a piercing weapon, which again made their effectiveness vary.

However, the main point is that slingers should, in my opinion, have the same range as bows on foot, ie 24cm.

Move Variation

IN wargaming it is regarded as normal to use dice to help determine such major things as shooting, hand-to-hand fighting and morale.

Dice, or perhaps drawing cards, are also often used for the weather and special events.

But everyone seems happy with troops moving at a strictly regimented pace, which means that if, for example, two units from rival armies are heading for a particular feature, perhaps a hill top, it is easy to see which should get there first.

I like to shake this up in my rules by introducing what I call the move variation.

This has it that if a unit is ordered to advance at least 75% of its permissible move distance that turn, roll a six-sided die.

If the die lands 2-5, all proceeds normally, but a 6 means 25% is added to the distance to be covered, while a 1 means 25% is deducted from the wished-for distance.

This represents the unexpected effects of terrain and other possible factors that may catch a unit by surprise.

The rule should not be enforced too zealously. For example a regiment sent to guard the bank of a river should not have to enter the river thanks to the move-variation rule.

Next Up

I PLAN in my next tabletop battle to use Neil Thomas's biblical rules from Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, pitting Egyptians against Hebrews.

As a twist, I think it will be fun to set up the two armies using the suggested deployments in the book.

That means the Egyptians will consist of three elite chariot squadrons, two units of spearmen (one upgraded to medium armour), two units of close-order archers and a unit of elite Sherden.

The suggested deployment for a pre-Solomon Hebrew army involves two elite units of Simeonite and Ephraimite auxiliary infantry, two units of javelinmen (Gadites and Issacharites), two units of Benjaminite slingers and two units of ordinary auxiliary infantry.

The two armies - Egyptians on the right

However, before proceeding further there are some adjustments I want to make to the rules that will in my opinion improve the game.

Full Hebrew Army

UNDER Neil Thomas's rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, an army always starts with eight units, each consisting of four bases.

I think this system works well for ancient battles, particularly for biblical-era ones where army strengths are usually a matter of speculation.

Having completed painting my latest batch of chariots from Old Glory, I now have enough troops to field the options from Thomas's Israelite Army (1220-940 BC) list.

For Post-Solomonic armies (740-587 BC) he suggests using his Canaanite/Philistine list as "later [Israelite] armies seem to have lost their cutting edge."

Thomas adds: "This can be accounted for by allowing for the increased prominence of the chariot arm, and decline in the quality of foot soldiers."

Note that there is a 200-year between the main list and the start of Post-Solomonic armies.

It is hard to tell whether this is a typo, or perhaps deliberate, allowing the player to gradually move from early Hebrew to later monarchy.*

Anyway, so far I have troops to cover the Hebrew invasion of the Promised Land and the start of the united monarchy, before the split under Solomon's son Rehoboam into the twin monarchies of Israel, aka Samaria, and Judah (the reason I prefer to use Hebrew over Israelite is that it avoids confusion as to what exactly is meant).

My Hebrew forces

Left to right are two units of Simeonites and Ephraimites (auxiliary infantry, light armour, elite), two units of Gadites and Issacharites (javelin-armed open-order infantry, light armour, average), two units of Benjaminites (sling-armed open-order infantry, light armour, average), four units of Other Seven Tribes (auxiliary infantry, light armour, average) and three squadrons of Light Chariots (bow-armed, elite).

The pre-Solomon list reads:

Simeonites & Ephraimites 1-2 units

Gadites & Issacharites 1-2 units

Benjaminites 1-2 units

Other Seven Tribes 2-4 units

This army has the Guerrilla Warfare rule, which allows the Hebrew general to place extra rocky terrain and set an ambush.

That rule is lost for King Solomon's army, but the general instead gets to choose from 1-3 chariot squadrons.

*A typo seems more likely, especially as on the previous page Issachar is spelt Issacher.

Chariotry

Have painted 10 10mm chariots from Old Glory

They are specifically designed for a Solomonic Hebrew army under Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, but will be usable by other nations.

Prince Bruncvik

NEAR the south end of the Charles Bridge, ie on the Lesser Town side, is a statue erected in 1884.

It depicts the legendary Prince Bruncvik, who is famed for setting off on an adventure with a magical sword

At one point, so the story goes, he helped a lion defeat a dragon, resulting in the former becoming the prince's faithful companion.

The lion can be seen at the statue's feet

The interesting thing to me is the prince's armour, which seems a mix of medieval and renaissance, but that may say more about the state of my knowledge than about the accuracy of the depiction.