Macedonians and Persians and Welcome Burt

Rules : Fire and Fury (Ancients Variant)
Hosted by Jim Carpenter
Played January 30, 2009
Figures: Essex and Old Glory 15mm
Based : As per DBA

The game consisted of a sizable Macedonian force facing off against a large Persian army contingent.
Greek Phalanx, Persians , Macedonian and Thessalian cavalry faced off against one another.

The Persians placed their heavy infantry (Greeks) in the center rear. The light and medium troops were placed forward center and to the right flank. A token Persian light cavalry unit was placed forward right and scythed chariots were placed in a hidden position on the far right. The Persian left consisted of medium and heavy cavalry.














The Macedonians placed most of their cavalry on their left flank. The phalanxes were center an to the right. Light and medium troops filled out the center. We realized quickly that the phalanxes moved at a very slow pace, 6 inches at the most. Medium and light infantry moved at 9 and 12 inched respectively. The phalanxes were quickly outpaced on both sides.Heavy cavalry on the Persian left clash against Macedonian and Greek formations. Heavy cavalry proved quite valuable in this set of rules for both commanders.

.










About one hour into the game the heavy fighting began. We learned a long time ago to set up opposing forces close enough to get into the fighting quickly, we only have a 4 hour window. The Macedonians are as good as an armored column in modern combat. Light and medium troops struggled through the game.














A broad shot of the battlefield shows the scope and size of the battle. Many of the group were familiar with Fire and Fury which helped the game move along.











There were many units on the field but maneuvering was not a problem. This is the sign of a great game.
The Persian left struggled but their right flank made progress. About 2/3 through the game some Macedonian units took severe casualties. Like most games t helps when you roll well.









Macedonians and Thessalian cavalry progressed quickly across the field. The white markers denote disordered troops. Disordered troops can slow movement and have negative combat modifiers.

.







Persian troops advance as they steadily gain ground but were ground down as they faced fresh Macedonian reserves

.






Light Persian cavalry face off against heavy Macedonian infantry....the result wasn't pretty.

In the end the Persians did fare better than the Macedonians. A very close game. Our newest member, Burt, played his first ancients game. He seemed to really enjoy the game and hopefully he will be a regular player.