Why I Read

RECENTLY, while scouring the shelves of a bookshop for something to read as a back-up on a trip I was planning, I came across a thin booklet (120 small pages) entitled: Why I Write.

As it was by George Orwell, and I loved Animal Farm, Homage To Catalonia, Down And Out In Paris And London, and 1984, I thought it was worth buying, despite the £7.99 price tag.

The book turned out to contain four essays, of which the title one, Why I Write, is perhaps the least interesting, but that is at because The Lion And The Unicorn, Politics And The English Language, and even, to a certain extent, A Hanging, are such riveting reads.

Why I Write is part of Penguin's Great Ideas series, that also includes pieces by Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli

A little background for those unaware: Orwell was a social revolutionary - a Trotskyist, more-or-less - who spoke out against Stalin's version of communism at a time when most on the Left could see nothing wrong with the monster.

In The Lion And The Unicorn, published in the dark days of February 1941, he complained that Britain was not a true democracy, as the only true democracy was a Socialist Democracy.

"We know very well that with its present social structure England cannot survive. We cannot win the war without introducing Socialism."

On India: "It is a mistake to imagine that if the Indians were free to cut themselves adrift they would immediately do so. When a British government offers them unconditional independence, they will refuse it."

On his dream government: "An English Socialist government will transform the nation from top to bottom ... but it will not be doctrinaire. It will shoot traitors, but it will give them a solemn trial beforehand and occasionally it will acquit them. It will crush any open revolt promptly and cruelly, but it will interfere very little with the spoken and written word."

Orwell was clearly no Mystic Meg, and perhaps it as well many of his dreams never came true, but he was closer to the mark on how the war abroad might pan out.

"In truth there is no reason to think anyone will do our fighting for us yet awhile, except the Chinese, who have been doing it for three years already. The Russians may be driven to fight on our side by the fact of a direct attack, but they have made it clear enough that they will not stand up to the German army if there is any way of avoiding it. The subject peoples of Europe will rebel when Hitler begins to totter, but not before. Our potential allies are not the Europeans but on the one hand the Americans, who will need to mobilize their resources even if Big Business can be brought to heel, and on the other hand the coloured peoples, who cannot be even sentimentally on our side till our own revolution has started."

On a lighter note, in Politics And The English Language, he criticises longwindedness among writers.

"If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out."

Good advice, most of the time, but it could have been written: "If it is possible to cut a word, cut it."

But do not cut on reading Orwell - his works are well worth it.

Bible Truths

MY latest charity-shop find is Werner Keller's The Bible As History - Archaeology Confirms The Book Of Books.

First published in West Germany in the mid-1950s, it was quickly translated into many languages, becoming an unlikely international bestseller.

The book is a real eye-opener for anyone who has not read the Bible (the vast majority of the world's population, even in nominally Christian countries) and who is not well-versed in ancient history.

Keller was not a theologian, nor a historian, but rather a civil servant and journalist, as well as a former anti-Nazi resistance fighter (yes, there were some in Germany).

In The Bible As History he collates the growing body of archaeological evidence, much of it uncovered in the pre-WW2 and immediate post-WW2 periods, that confirmed stories in what are generally regarded as the Old and New Testaments, as well as the arguably non-canonical Books of Maccabees.

These finds include the Merenptah Stele (the name of ancient Egyptian pharaoh is now more normally rendered as Merneptah), a granite slab dating from about 1205 BC, which contains the first known mention outside of the Bible of Israel.

Inevitably archaeology has moved on a great deal in the last 70 years, and much of what was new and exciting in the 1950s is now old and, in some cases, superseded by more up-to-date information.

Keller does not concern himself with parts of the Bible he clearly regards as fairytales, but he explains how matters long regarded as, at best, far-fetched, such as manna from Heaven, and the parting of the River Jordan and the 'Red Sea', could easily have happened in nature, without divine intervention.

I bought the book for £2.99 - as usual, I cannot recall where - believing it to be different from a book I already owned on the same theme.

A hardback bargain

However, I have been unable to locate the earlier book, and I now suspect it was another edition of the same work, that perhaps I had only borrowed from a library.

Whatever the case, it is a great read, although I confess to not having gone through the New Testament section as I was mainly interested in the military and military-related details of the Old Testament.

Feeding My History Bug

MY latest great find in a charity shop is David Anthony's The Horse, The Wheel, And Language - How Bronze-Age Riders From The Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World.

In it he investigates how roughly half of the Earth came to speak Indo-European (formerly called Aryan) languages.

Or, rather, he investigates the origins of the speakers of Proto-Indo-European, ie the language that eventually gave birth to German, Latin, Hindi, etc.

If that sounds somewhat dense or highbrow, you are not wrong 

There is no doubt, in my view, that Anthony, an anthropology professor, was writing for an academic audience, as the following sentence, literally taken at random, suggests.

During Tripolye B2, around 4000-3700 BCE, there was a significant migration out of the Prut-Seret forest-steppe uplands, the most densely settled part of the Tripolye B1 landscape, eastward into the South Bug and Dneiper Valleys.

There are many sentences that are more jargon-filled, and could seem even more opaque, but the book, published by Princeton University Press in 2007, won a 2010 award from the Society for American Archaeology.

And you really do not need to be an archaeologist - I certainly am not - to get a lot of enjoyment from it, and to learn a lot, even if you already know a fair bit more about ancient history than the average person in the street.

How many of the following points about chariots, all taken from a singe section of the book, do you know?

1. War chariots were probably developed and first used in the southern Urals, rather, than, Mesopotamia, Egypt or China.

2. Javelins thrown by charioteers had a significantly greater range than javelins thrown from horseback.

3. Chariot drivers often steered with the reins looped round their hips, to leave hands free for using bows.

4. Some war chariots had single-man crews.

5. Chariots were "incredibly difficult to build, a marvel of carpentry and bent-wood joinery," requiring "a specially trained team of fast, strong horses," and for men to learn to successfully use them took "a lot of time and resources, as well as courage and balance."

The book has given me much to think about, especially in connection with my biblical wargaming rules.

A label on the back shows it cost £15.95, when sold by Blackwell. I found it in a charity shop (I cannot recall where, but it might have been Oxfam in East London's Bethnal Green Road), marked down from a secondhand price of £10 to £5 - what a bargain!

Inevitably in a book this big (500+ pages) and complex, I found something to disagree with, or, perhaps, something I am unable to get my head around.

In this case it concerns the claim that language generally follows a rule known as elite dominance, which argues that people tend, over time, to adopt the language spoken by their rulers, even if the latter are in a small minority.

But examples of the opposite happening spring readily to mind, eg the Franks, a Germanic tribe, after whom Gaul was renamed France, ended up speaking French, the Romance language of the majority of its inhabitants.

Similarly, the Normans had elite dominance in England for centuries, but they gradually abandoned their French tongue for English, the Germanic language of the majority of the land's inhabitants.

Ah well, perhaps I am not meant to understand everything, but at least the book has supplied me with plenty of food for thought.

Dead Good

NIR Arielli's The Dead Sea - A 10,000-Year History taught me a lot of things I did not know about the famous salty water mass.

Some things I did know: it is below 'sea level', ie below the average level of the word's oceans, and it features prominently, or at least peoples whose lands bordered the Dead Sea feature prominently, in the Bible.

I would like to have been told more about the area's ancient history, and prehistory, certainly at the expense of the rather detailed accounts of modern projects in the area, many of which never get off the ground.

Nevertheless I found the book, which is about somewhere I have been to, albeit fleetingly, a good read

More About The Mahdi

TWO years ago I read a book that I described as "remarkable," "brilliant" and "about as exciting as such a book can get."

That was Fire And Sword In The Sudan by Rudolf Slatin, an Austrian-born officer who, at the age of 21, was appointed governor of one of the Sudan's regions by General Charles Gordon.

Slatin had, to say the least, an eventful time, pretending to convert to Islam to inspire his troops, and eventually being captured by the so-called Mahdi, experiencing 11 years as a prisoner, before making a daring escape.

A year after that book I read Winston Churchill's The River War - An Historical Account Of The Reconquest Of The Soudan [sic].

As I pointed out, some of the early pages were familiar as they recapped much of Slatin's testimony, but nevertheless I found the book "mostly new, exciting and very entertaining."

And now I have completed a hattrick, thanks to Ten Years' Captivity In The Mahdi's Camp, 1882-1892, by Joseph Ohrwalder and Sir Francis Wingate.

Ohrwalder was an Austrian priest, captured by the Mahdists, who was helped to escape a decade later by Wingate, who held various positions with the Anglo-Egyptian authorities.

Wingate was instrumental in publishing Ohrwalder's account of his ordeal, for which the rest of us can be very grateful, for it is compelling reading.

Not just entertaining, but full of information abut the Mahdist forces - information that should prove useful to anyone interested in wargaming this period

I cannot claim I have ever had a particular interest in British involvement in Sudan (modern practice is to no longer call the country The Sudan, just as Ukraine is no longer called The Ukraine, and just as, surely, The Netherlands will one day be known simply as Netherlands).

In some ways I wish I were more interested, because these three books would make a great starting point for running a campaign.

Ohrwalder's gives much detail that he did not witness first-hand, but came to him from Mahdist troops and from the occasional friendly visitor - often a fellow captive.

But perhaps the most fascinating parts of the book are his tales of life as a prisoner, including how the atmosphere among the Mahdists changed as their fortunes in war rose and fell.

Pyramids

THINGS Seen In Egypt is not your usual travel book, or, at least, it is not the sort of travel book I usually buy.

True, it qualifies as 'history' - it was published in 1908 - but is not really an account of a single traveller's journey along the Nile and its environs.

Rather, as the title suggests, it is a guide to what visitors can expect to see, and the best ways to do so.

Clive Holland was apparently the pen name of a lawyer who turned to journalism and photography

My edition is a reprint by Forgotten Books - it makes for an interesting read, but the reproduction of the book's many photographs leaves a lot to be desired.

Spanish Practices

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

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

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

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

Gripping read

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

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

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

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

Either way, it proved a great read.

History, Naturally

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

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

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

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

A modern reprint of the 1864 edition of Bates' book

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

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

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

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

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

Summing Up Across The Danube

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great fun

Across The Danube - Turn XI: Attack Phase

Some archery, and two melees to be decided

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

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

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

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

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

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

Across The Danube: Turn XI

Situation after 10 turns

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Dacian swordsmen advance a hex.

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

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

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

I am satisfied I have the battle under control 

Across The Danube - Turn X: Attack Phase

My men will have the initiative in the big central melee

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Dacians are outnumbered and retreating

Across The Danube - Turn X

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Across The Danube - Turn IX: Attack Phase

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

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

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

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

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

An ultimately disappointing turn for the Roman cause

Across The Danube - Turn IX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another crunch attack-phase is imminent

Across The Danube - Turn VIII: Attack Phase

This looks like being a crucial phase

My archers start by shooting at the warriors on the small hill, needing 8+. I roll 9, meaning the warriors retreat off the hill and into some trees.

The central Dacian archers shoot at my right-flank cavalry, needing 9+, but roll 7.

My extreme left-flank cavalry attack the falxmen who, rather rashly, made contact this turn. My men need 8+, but there are -1 modifiers for being on higher ground and for having another friendly unit engaged with the falxmen. However, I roll a very disappointing 4.

But all is not lost as my other left-flank cavalry can attack the same target with the same modifiers, and this time I roll 9, causing the enemy unit to rout from the battlefield.

The further-forward Dacian swordsmen are engaged with two units of legionaries, but they prefer to attack the further-forward unit as that has flaxmen to its front. The swordsmen require 7+, but with a -1 modifier for the target being engaged with another enemy unit. However, this is negated by the legionaries having support from another legion. The dice total 6, narrowly missing a hit.

My legionaries strike back at the swordsmen, also needing 7+. There is a -1 modifier for the Dacians being engaged with another enemy, but a +1 modifier for the Dacians having support from friendly swordsmen. I too narrowly miss by rolling 6.

Finally, the forward central falxmen attack my forward legionaries, needing 6+. Two familiar modifiers cancel each other, and the dice land as 8, meaning my unit has to retreat three hexes, but it cannot do so as its way is blocked, so I lose my first unit.

Falxmen are living up to the fearsome reputation that went with their terrifying cutting weapons

Across The Danube - Turn VIII

Nothing changed in the attack phase of the seventh turn,  so the legionaries-v-falxmen melee can be expected to continue

The start-of-turn-event die, for the third turn running, mandates fog, meaning bow range is reduced to two hexes.

My archers do not want to get in a melee with Dacian warriors, so I leave my unit where it is, hoping the enemy will climb on to the small hill and make themselves a target.

The central Dacian archers again cannot move as they have Romans within three hexes (fog does not negate this), but the other unit of archers advances diagonally left.

My right-flank cavalry advance a hex and charge-attack the forward falxmen, needing 7+, but with a -1 modifier for legionaries already being engaged with the enemy. I roll 8, two more than needed for a hit, which forces the falxmen to retreat three hexes, taking them well above the red line.

I move my commander diagonally forward a hex to the left so he can direct my left-flank cavalry to line the edge of the hill that is being approached by two more units of Dacian falxmen.

The two units of Dacian swordsmen continue to act in unison, both advancing diagonally left.

My legionaries all advance a hex, putting them in contact with the leading swordsmen.

The leading right-flank falxmen impetuously advance to the foot of the hill, putting them in contact with both my left-flank units of cavalry. Their colleagues on the right also advance.

One unit of falxmen in the centre also advances, contacting my leading legion, but the other central unit of falxmen cannot move as it has already retreated this turn.

I leave my spearmen on the hill, worried about their ability to stand up to swordsmen.

Finally, the Dacian warriors, as I hoped, climb on to the small hill.

The attack phase looks like being a bloody one

Across The Danube - Turn VII: Attack Phase

Only one melee to be decided

My legionaries have the lower initiative number, and so they get to attack first, needing 7+ against falxmen. There are no modifiers, but I come up one short by rolling 6.

Now it is the falxmen's turn. They only need 6+, but there are +1 modifiers for attacking into trees and for the legionaries being supported by fellow legionaries. Not that it mattered, as the dice only total 5.

Across The Danube - Turn VII

Situation after six turns

The start-of-turn-event die is a 3, which means the fog from last turn continues, reducing bow range to two hexes.

My archers are out of command range, but I want to move them along the small hill to put them within two-hex range of the Dacian warriors. I therefore roll three dice, which land 6, 5, 1, allowing me to move my men in any of those three directions indicated on the wheel-like compass at the bottom-right of the map.

Close-up of the compass - I needed a 2 to advance my bowmen diagonally right

I could send the unit straight forward, which would put it within two hexes of the enemy, but the unit would no longer enjoy the advantage of being on higher ground, so I leave it where it is.

The central Dacian archers, although fog is preventing them from shooting this turn (unless a Roman unit moves closer), nevertheless are within three hexes of the enemy and so do not advance. The other unit of Dacian archers also stays where it is.

I pull my forward horsemen back from rocky ground and onto the large hill by the Danube. The other left-flank cavalry follow them, and I leave the right-flank cavalry taking shelter in a copse.

Both units of Dacian swordsmen advance diagonally right, maintaining contact with each other.

I leave my legionaries where they are.

The furthest-forward falxmen advance and become engaged with my leading legionary unit. Both falxmen units on the Dacian right also advance, but the falxmen next to the central Dacian archers stay where they are - they wanted to advance diagonally left, but were prevented because the bowmen were in the way.

My spearmen remain on high ground, and my commander stays in trees by the river.

Finally, the Dacian warriors advance diagonally left, keeping out of range of my archers, and apparently preparing to clamber onto the small hill.

My legions seem well-placed to repel the rushing falxmen in the centre of the battlefield

Across The Danube - Halfway Verdict

This is my first game of Commander, so I have nothing to base my experience on, but I feel as if I am doing well

The Romans still have all nine starting units in action, which is the same number of surviving Dacian units, so that must be a good sign.

However, to win, I have to ensure there are no enemy units below the red line at the end of turn XII. To that end I will need to be careful not to let too many Dacians slip down the flanks, as my forces are concentrated in the centre.