Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn Six

Situation after five turns

Just for a change, I win the dice-off (5-3) to decide who goes first.

My light infantry on the Egyptian left hurl their javelins at the Eshnunna cavalry, scoring a hit, but it is saved. The Kush archers shoot at the same target, also scoring a hit, but it too is saved.

The Ptah heroically charge the Tutub, which brings up a question about the Assyrian terror rule in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

It reads: "The reputation of the Assyrians was such that many opponents often ran away before contact. Accordingly, any enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat with Assyrian chariots, cavalry, line* infantry or auxiliary infantry, must test morale before the first round."

[*Line infantry are not mentioned as a troop type in the biblical wargaming rules, and the Assyrians are the only ones mentioned as having them. It would seem to be another term for what Thomas elsewhere calls heavy infantry, as opposed to the more-common biblical infantry, which are a lower-quality type of close-order foot.]

My opponent and I discussed whether the rule should apply in only the first round of the first time a unit melees with Assyrians in a battle, or whether it should also apply in the first round of subsequent melees involving the same unit in the same battle.

We fairly quickly agreed that the spirit of the rule means it should only apply in the first round of the first melee, which gives my men more of a glimmer of hope.

Anyway, in the second melee between the Ptah and Tutub, I roll 4, 4 - close, but no hits (5+ is needed). Reg rolls 6, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1 (each of his bases gets two dice) - just one hit. I am unable to save it, but the hit is resolved as my men falling back 3cm.

In the ongoing melee between the three-base Ptah and the one-base Tarbisa - both biblical infantry - I roll 6, 3, 3 - one hit. Reg rolls 4 - no hits. The one hit is not saved, and is resolved as the Tarbisa falling back 3cm.

The Koth archers shoot at the Hassuna archers, rolling 5, 2 - one hit. It is not saved, and the Hassuna fall back 3cm.

Finally, my Ka archers shoot at the javelin-armed cavalry, but roll three 3s and a 2.

This feels like a half-turn of missed opportunities for the Egyptians

Reg starts by charging the Eshnunna cavalry into my one-base Lacish javelinmen.

This is the second time they have meleed, so the terror rule does not apply, but each of the cavalry's two bases gets three dice, and Reg rolls 5, 5, 4, 2, 2, 1 - two hits. Neither hit is saved, and the Lacish are eliminated (their one dice comes up an ineffective 2, so they take no Assyrians with them), meaning I have now lost two units.

The Assyrians' Repiquum javelinmen hurl their weapons at the Kush archers, rolling 5 - a hit. It is not saved, and causes my men to lose a base. That forces a morale test, which is passed.

Then the Akalate archers shoot at the same target, rolling 5, 4, 3, 3 - one hit. Another base is lost, but again my men's morale holds firm.

The elite Tutub charge my Ptah infantry. As already discussed, the terror rule does not apply, but Reg rolls 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - four hits! None is saved, but only one base is lost - the other hits are resolved as each forcing the Ptah back 3cm. Despite this, the remaining Ptah pass their morale test. As part of the same melee, I roll 5, 3 - one hit. It is not saved, and the Tutub fall back 3cm.

The one-base Tarbisa infantry turn, using half their move-allowance, and retreat 4cm, except move-variation comes into effect, so they only cover 3cm.

The Hassuna archers are no longer within firing range of my Koth archers, so they switch to shooting at my Kush archers, rolling 5, 3, 3 1 - one hit. It is not saved, and my men are forced to withdraw 3cm.

The Zarzi light cavalry advance just over 12cm and hurl their javelins at the Kush, rolling 6, 4, 3 - one hit. It is not saved, and my men are forced back a further 3cm. The cavalry, using the rest of their split-move, fall back as far as they can.

The Egyptian left has all but disappeared

The Kush archers on the Egyptian left look very isolated, with four Assyrian units closing in

Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn Five

Looking from behind the Egyptian lines after four turns

It feels as if winning the right to go first this turn could be important, and Reg wins the dice-off 5-4.

He starts on the Assyrian right, where the much-diminished Eshnunna elite cavalry charge my levy javelinmen. Under the Assyrian terror rule, the latter have to immediately check their morale, which is poor, meaning they lose a base before hand-to-hand-fighting begins.

In the melee the Assyrians get six dice (three for each remaining base), scoring one hit, which is not saved, and is resolved as the loss of a base. This means another morale test, which my men again fail, not surprisingly, and so are reduced to one base.

However, blows in melees are struck simultaneously, so I still get to roll three dice  - one for each base remaining after the terror-morale fail. Amazingly, I roll 5, 5, 5 - three hits. One hit is saved, and the other two are resolved as fallbacks, ie a 6cm-withdrawal.

The one-base Assyrian light infantry hurl javelins at my Ka archers, but ineffectively.

The Akalate archers cross the western low hill, finishing just short of the Ka, and the Tutub elite infantry likewise advance onto the southern low hill.

In the ongoing melee between the outnumbered Tarbisa biblical infantry and my Ptah yellow-shields, neither side scores a hit.

The Hassuna close-order archers on the Assyrian left shoot at my Koth open-order archers, scoring a hit, which forces my men back 3cm.

The Assyrian mounted javelinmen split-move, hurling their weapons at the Ka archers, scoring a hit, which, however, is saved, and then fall back to beside the Hassuna.

I feared suffering heavier losses this half-turn

My javelinmen shoot at the Eshnunna horsemen, but without effect, and my Kush archers fire at the same target, again ineffectively.

The Ra spearmen charge the Tutub, but first have to test their morale under the Assyrian terror rule, losing a base in the process. Despite this, in the melee my three-base biblical infantry roll three dice, scoring 6, 5, 3 - two hits. The four-base Tutub, being professional close-order infantry, roll eight dice, which result in four hits. The two hits I inflict are both saved, but only one of the hits I suffer is saved. The remaining three are all resolved as the loss of a base, meaning the Ra become the first unit eliminated.

The Senekht spearmen also charge the Tutub, with one of the unit's two bases gaining a bonus die for attacking from a flank. That means three dice in all, and one hit is scored, but it is saved. The Tutub roll six dice (the base attacked in the flank does not count this half-turn), scoring two hits. Neither is saved, but my men do not lose a base, instead being pushed back 6cm.

The two-base Koth archers shoot at the Hassuna archers, but without success.

Finally, my Ka archers shoot at the Assyrian light cavalry, scoring three hits. Two are saved - Reg rolling 6s again! - and the third is resolved as the horsemen falling back 3cm.

The success of the elite Tutub infantry has put the well firmly in Assyrian hands, at least for now

Looking from behind the Senekht, with the Tutub directly ahead of them - to the Tutub's right are the Akalate archers, while to the Tutub's left is the melee between Egypt's Ptah infantry and Assyria's Tarbisa, which continued ineffectively throughout this turn

Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn Four

Situation after three turns

Reg wins the dice-off (4-3, after a 3-3 tie) to see who goes first.

He starts by sending his open-order cavalry to again hurl javelins at my chariot squadron, the dice landing 6, 6, 3 - two hits. My men have medium armour, but neither hit is saved, and the hits are resolved as the squadron losing two bases, which causes it to fail a morale test, thus losing a further base! The cavalry complete a split-move by returning to their previous position alongside the Hassuna archers.

The archers shoot at my Koth open-order archers, rolling 6, 2, 1, 1 - one hit. The hit is not saved, and the Koth lose a second base. However, their morale remains firm.

The Tarbisa infantry advance 10cm, thanks a 2cm-bonus from the move-variation rule, but do not quite make contact with my Ptah unit.

The Tutub elite infantry advance 8cm, and being a dual-threat unit, shoot with half their bases at the Senekht spearmen, rolling 6, 3 - one hit. This is not saved, and it is resolved as the loss of a base, with a further base lost due to my men failing their morale test.

On the Assyrian right the elite Eshnunna cavalry advance their full move towards my javelinmen, narrowly failing to make contact - a move-variation roll of 6 would have been enough.

The Assyrian javelinmen advance 12cm and are just in range to hurl their javelins at the Kush open-order archers, but roll 4, 4, 3, 2 - no hits.

The Akalate close-order archers advance to the edge of the western low hill.

An excellent half-turn for the Assyrians

I start on the Egyptian right with the Ka archers shooting at the Assyrian javelin-armed cavalry, rolling 5, 4, 4, 4 - one hit. However, the hit is saved by Reg rolling a 6.

The two-base Koth archers shoot at the Tarbisa infantry, rolling 5, 3 - one hit. It is not saved, and the Assyrians lose a base, but pass their morale test.

My Ptah infantry then charge the Tarbisa (Reg and I agreed that, because we are resolving actions unit-by-unit, rather than first having movement for all units, then shooting for all units, etc, we would not use the charge-declaration rule, which states that charges have to be declared at the beginning of a player's turn).

The Assyrian terror rule means my men have to take a morale test before the hand-to-hand combat is decided, and my men narrowly fail it - I roll a 3 instead of 4+. That means my men lose a base, so it is three bases against three. My dice land 6, 4, 3 - one hit; Reg rolls 4, 3, 3 - no hits. The Tarbisa, perhaps surprised at the unexpected spirit of my men, lose a further base when they fail their morale test, and so are reduced to one surviving base.

On the Egyptian left my javelinmen hurl their weapons at the Eshnunna cavalry, rolling 6, 4, 2, 1 - one hit, which is not saved, and is resolved as a lost base. The Eshnunna, despite being elite, fail their morale when Reg rolls a 2 instead of 3+, and so lose a further base.

The Kush archers shoot at the Assyrian javelinmen, rolling 6, 5, 2, 1 - two hits. Neither hit is saved, and the javelinmen lose a further base to poor morale.

I move the remaining base of my chariot squadron out of harm's way, behind my right-flank archers.

Finally, I pull the Senekht red-shields slightly back to be in line with the Ra. 

A good half-turn for the Egyptians!

Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn Three

Situation after the second turn

I win the dice-off (5-3) to decide who goes first.

I start by again manoeuvring my chariots, so they can shoot at the Assyrian left-flank cavalry without moving in range of the Assyrian archers.

My four dice land 6, 5, 5, 3 - three hits! But, incredibly, Reg's saving-throws all land with the 6 required for troops with light protection.

I plan to advance the rest of my army cautiously, and this works on the left, where the Ra and Senekht spearmen move into the hills surrounding the well, supported to their left by the Kush archers and Lacish javelinemen.

But the Ptah spears precipitately advance 10cm, thanks to the move-variation rule, taking them past the south hill and into bowshot range of the Assyrians.

Fearing the worst, I order the Koth archers to move alongside them, but they are also carried away with excess zeal, advancing 12.5cm, instead of the 10cm I want. Again there is nothing for it but to order the Ka archers to support them, and this they do.

The Egyptians' lack of discipline could have disastrous consequences

The Hasunna close-order archers on the Assyrian left shoot at my Koth archers, who have advanced well within bowshot.The four dice land 6, 6, 3, 1 - two hits.

I fail to save either of them. One is resolved as the loss of a base, but the other causes my men to fall back 3cm, although their morale holds firm.

The first Egyptian casualties

The Zarzi cavalry advance 10cm and fling javelins at my chariots, but the three dice land 4, 4, 3 - no hits. Open-order cavalry with javelins are allowed to split-move, so they complete their move by turning and falling back to their original position beside the Hasunna archers.

On the other flank the Eshnunna cavalry start to swing to their right, supported by the Repiquum javelinmen and the Akalate archers, although the latter, being close-order infantry, can only move 4cm, as they lose half their move-distance for deviating more than 30° from straight ahead.

Both the Tutub and Tarbisa infantry advance into the hills, although the former move further than ordered, thanks to the move-variation rule.

Both armies are close to their ultimate objective - the green well - but there's fighting to be done first

Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn Two

Looking from behind the Egyptian lines after the first turn

Reg again wins the dice-off (4-2) to see who goes first.

He straightens out the Assyrian line by getting the leading units to advance only 6cm, allowing laggards to catch up (move-variation did not affect any unit's movement this half-turn).

I start by sending my chariots forward, but to the right, so they get within mounted-bowshot of the light cavalry on the Assyrian left, but not within range of the Assyrian close-order archers.

Since light chariots can move and fire in the same turn, I shoot at the cavalry, the four dice landing 6, 4, 4, 1. Under my modifications to Neil Thomas's rules, that represents one hit.

The Zarzi horsmen have light armour, meaning a saving roll of 6 is needed, but Reg comes up one short with a 5.

To resolve the hit, he rolls a 2, which results in the compulsory loss of a base - first blood to the Egyptians. However, the unit passes its morale test, rolling the bare minimum for average troops of 4.

The first casualties

I try to straighten out the line of the rest of my army, but while the Senekht spearmen advance the required 8cm, both Ptah and Ra again drag their feet, failing to move further than 6cm.

The main bodies are just outside maximum bowshot range (24cm)

Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Turn One

Dawn has broken on a fine day - weather will play no part in the battle

We dice to see who moves first, Reg winning 5-2.

He orders a general advance at close-order infantry speed, ie 8cm, although the move-variation rule affects the distance each unit covers.

The Assyrian line has quickly become slightly ragged

I give similar orders, but also get the army to slant marginally to the right.

However, while the archers and javelinmen advance the required 8cm, all three regiments of biblical infantry - Ptah, Ra and Senekht - drag their heels, only advancing 6cm.

The Egyptian line has become concave

Battle Of The Apocryphal Well - Final Preparations

MY opponent for this battle will be my regular wargaming opponent, who I will call Reg.

As my guest he gets to choose which army to command, and has opted for the Assyrians, who, although outnumbered by eight units to seven, have the 'weightier' force.

We will also be using the optional terror rule, which stipulates that enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat with any but open-order Assyrian infantry have to test their morale before the first round of the melee.

Note also that the Tutub infantry have both spears and bows, and can shoot with half their bases each turn, even if also moving.

However, the advantages do not all lie with the Assyrians. An army that loses more than half its units is defeated, which for the Egyptians, who start with eight units, means they can keep going until five units are destroyed, but the Assyrians, starting with seven units, will have lost if four are eliminated.

All units must start within 3cm of the army's baseline, and between the west and east hills (given the somewhat unlikely names of Coptic and Manak in Charles Grant's account).

My general will be part of the chariot squadron, but Reg has a choice - his commander can be with either of his two elite units, the Eshnunna cavalry or the Tutub infantry. He has picked the former.

Finally, each player now makes a sketch of his initial dispositions, and then it will be time for battle.

*****

Assyrians (left-right): Eshnunna close-order elite cavalry, Repiquum levy javelinmen, Akalate close-order archers, Tutub elite professional infantry, Tarbisa biblical infantry, Hassuna close-order archers, Zarzi open-order cavalry

Egyptians (left-right): Pharoah's elite light chariots, Ka open-order archers, Koth open-order archers, Ptah biblical infantry (yellow shields), Ra biblical infantry (blue shields), Senekht biblical infantry (red shields - one base akew!), Kush open-order archers, Lacish levy javelinmen

Bird's-eye view from above the west hill - Egyptians on the right, Assyrians on the left

Looking from behind the Egyptian lines, after adding tumbleweed to break up the terrain (it will have no effect on the game)

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

Apocryphal Well - The Egyptians

Pharoah's Chariot Squadron - light chariots, medium armour, elite

Ptah, Ra and Senekht biblical infantry - spears, light armour, average

Kush, Koth and Ka open-order archers - bows, light armour, average

Lacish open-order infantry - javelins, light armour, levy

Apocryphal Well - The Assyrians

Eshnunna close-order cavalry - spears, medium armour, elite

Zarzi open-order cavalry - javelins, light armour, average

Tutub professional infantry - bows and spears, heavy armour, elite

Tarbisa biblical infantry - spears, medium armour, average

Akalate and Hassuna close-order archers - bows, light armour, average

Repiquum open-order infantry - javelins, light armour, levy

Apocryphal Well - Converting The Armies From WRG To A&MW

FOR refighting the Battle of the Apocryphal Well, I will use my modified version of Neil Thomas's biblical rules from his book, Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

That means I need to convert Charles Grant's units, designed for the Wargames Research Group's ancient rules (probably the third edition), into A&MW units.

Under Thomas's rules, an army always consists of eight units, each usually made up of four bases.

At the Apocryphal Well, the Egyptians had eight units, and the Assyrians seven, so that is as near as darn it.

Grant's units, leaving aside the chariot squadron, varied in size from 18 figures for a unit of Egyptian javelinmen to 45 figures for a unit of Egyptian close-order spearmen.

The Assyrian units were more equal in size, varying from 20-man cavalry squadrons to a regiment of close-order archers numbering 31 figures.

In A&MW the number of figures on a base does not represent a certain number of soldiers. Rather, the figures tell more about the kinds of troops being represented.

There are five types of foot soldier: heavy infantry, biblical infantry, auxiliary infantry, heavy archers and light infantry.

Thomas's "heavy infantry" are effectively full-time soldiers who fight in close-order.

Generally, I have replaced the terms heavy and light with close-order and open-order, since heavy archers, for example, could easily have no armour or shield, relying on mass close-order shooting to make themselves effective.

Thomas's rules are designed primarily with 15mm figures in mind, using 40x20mm bases.

I have kept the base-size, but am using 10mm figures, so close-order infantry, including biblical infantry and close-order archers, are represented by six figures in two rows of three.

A base of auxiliaries - "disciplined troops who adopt a looser formation" - has four figures, approximately in two rows of two, and a base of open-order infantry has three figures, spaced relatively widely apart.

Mounted troops in A&MW have four categories: heavy cavalry, light cavalry, heavy chariots and light chariots.

I keep the terms heavy and light for the chariots, but usually call cavalry either close-order or open-order.

Taking the Assyrians at the Apocryphal Well first, there were two units of cavalry - one in close-order, carrying long spears and shields, as well as wearing body armour, and the other in open-order, carrying short spears and shields.

These are easily translated into an A&MW unit of close-order cavalry with medium armour (medium, rather than heavy, as the horses are unprotected) and a unit of open-order cavalry with light armour.

Leading the dismounted troops was a unit of infantry, armed with bows and spears, while wearing full mail, as well as carrying shields.

These troops translate into a "mixed unit" under A&MW special rules for the Assyrians. Such a unit, as well as fully functioning as spearmen, can shoot with half its bases each turn, even if moving.

Clearly, the men have heavy armour, and would almost certainly be rated as elite - a designation I think is also suitable for the close-order cavalry.

A second unit of close-order infantry has spears, shields and "half-armour," and are probably best rated in A&MW terms as having medium protection.

Two units of close-order archers are described as having neither shield nor armour. It could be argued that in A&MW they should not get a saving throw, but under Thomas's rules the lowest category of protection is "light armour," and, on balance, I think the Assyrians should receive this level of protection, rather than being denied a saving throw.

This can be rationalised as saying the archers had long robes, under which they would probably have worn a linen or woollen corselet.

Finally, a unit of open-order javelinmen has shields, and so under A&MW count as having light armour, and should probably be classed as levy, rather than "average."

The Egyptians at the Apocryphal Well are, if anything, easier to categorise.

"Pharoah's Chariot Squadron" becomes a unit of elite light chariots, which under A&MW rules have medium armour.

Three units of of close-order infantry, with spears and shields, become biblical infantry, "a much less effective variety of heavy infantry." Thomas classifies ordinary Egyptian spearmen as having light armour, rather than medium, despite their large shields.

The unit of open-order javelinmen, with shields, should be treated the same as its Assyrian counterpart, ie light armour, and levy rather than average.

Finally, there is the question of the three units of Egyptian open-order archers.

The only archers available in Thomas's Egyptian list are close-order bowmen with light armour.

However, Grant's three Egyptian archery units were definitely in open order, and that is what I will go with in A&MW.

The men have no protection from shield or body covering, but their open order probably entitles them to being classed under A&MW as having light armour.