A Plenitude of Pike

A Headless Body Production

Location:  An undisclosed basement

Event:       Solitaire Game
Players:    Phil Gardocki,  playing King Porus
                  Phil Gardocki,  playing Alexander the Great

Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, about 200 points per side. 

What is it about the Battle of Hydaspes?  Is it the spectacle of massed elephantry?  The grandeur of massed pikemen?  The timing of the shock of impact of the Companions?  The clash of cultures?  Or is it simply, I have painted the figures, damn it, I'm playing them.

The Forces:
Classical Indian (list 79)
King Porus, Competent, Spitakes, Competent, and Parvataka, Ordinary and included.
      5 Elephant, Elite
      6 1/2 Medium Swordsmen, 1/2 Bowmen

      2 Light Cavalry, Javelin
      1 Medium Cavalry, Mediocre
      5 Light Infantry, Bow
      2 Guardsmen, Medium Swordsmen, 2HW, Elite  
Breakpoint of 22

Alexandrian Macedonian (list 39)
King Alexander the Great, Strategist, Seleucus, the Brilliant and Croenor, the Ordinary
      8 Pikemen
      4 Companions, Heavy Cavalry, Impact, Elite
      1 Thracians, Javelinmen
      1 Thracian, Light Cavalry, Javelin
      2 Prodromoi, Light Cavalry, Impact
      1 Hypaspist, Medium Spearman, Elite
      2 Agrianians, Light Infantry Javelin
Breakpoint of 20

The Board

Alexander wins the initiative and elects to attack in the plains.  Porus selects two fields, a fielded hill and a plantation.  Alexander selects a small field and a road.  Initially, the terrain was mostly on the center line and in the Indian side of the board, but as a Strategist, with 3 adjustment rolls, Alexander moved the center line terrain out of reach of the defenders deployment area.

Deployment:

On the Indian right, deployed in a field, is one of Porus's unnamed sons.  He is included and ordinary with an elite elephant, and escorted by elite Guardsmen.

In the center is King Porus.  The command is 2 elephants, 3 mixed bow/sword and 2 light infantry.

On the left is Spitakes with an identical command to Porus's.

The Macedonian left is Croenor (Ordinary), with Thracian Javelinmen and Light Horse, and 2 taxis of pike.  The center command is Selucus (Brilliant), with 6 taxis of pike, and 2 Agrianians.

Alexander takes the point of honor with 4 Companions, 2 Prodromoi and a Hypaspist.

 Turn 1:

All the pike double march forward, sliding right.

Making a hole for Alexander's Companions to redeploy on the road.

His Hypaspist's try to keep up, but in vain.

The Indian right attempts to surround the Thracians.

Porus waits and watches.

Spitakes sees no threat to being flanked and lines up with Porus.

But he sends his lights forward to slow down the pike.

 Turn 2:

As historically, Alexander has redeployed his Companions, but has left behind his Hypaspist and one of his Prodromoi.  This is going to cause command control issues.  Hopefully his +3 command rating will mitigate that somewhat.

Spoiler alert, it didn't.  He had sucky command rolls all game.

The Thracians pull back to safety, while Alexander approaches in column.

Selucus and Croenor march their pike forward.

The Indian light horse is surrounded by Prodromoi, and disordered by Agrianian Javelins.

With the arrival of Alexander's Companions on the flank, Porus's son orders a withdrawal of his lights.

The skies darken as arrows fly.  Only one taxis suffers any casualties.

The Indian Light Horse cannot get away, so tries to cut through the Prodromoi to safety. 

 Turn 3:

Companions carefully advance.

The pike advance to charge reach.

Indian bowfire proves largely ineffective.  Only the right side Taxis takes more casualties.

Porus's son advances out of the field, but without his screen of lights, and rolls poorly against the Thracian Light Horse, taking a hit.

Indian archery finally finds their range, and score more hits on the phalanx.

Spitakes sends comforting words to his end unit, and his men are heartened! 

At the Tree of Woe we have a measurable score.

 Turn 4:

Selucus was a seasoned general even before the Persian wars.  So having only 1 command point at this critical turn is not a problem with him.

Alexander sees an opportunity here.  Even though it's cavalry vs. elephants, he has flank support, armor, furious charge and elites.  So he turns and faces the Indian command.

Croenor and Selucus charge down the line.  They lose 7 battles...

...tie 1, and win 2.

The score is 5 of 22 to 12 of 20.

The Prince also has a command point shortage, and is only able to reform his line.

King Porus advances his elephant

While another elephant is routed.

The score is 11 to 16. 

 This game is going to take less time to play then to write-up.

Turn 5:

The Companions charge.  The Guardsmen hold their ground!

Croenor's line has only one, very disordered taxis left.

But Spitakes's line has even heavier casualties.

The score is tie, 16-16.  But the Indians are 6 points away from breaking to the Macedonians 4.

A Companion is trampled, elephants in pursuit.  Another is disordered. 

The phalanx's left has failed.

It's a race as Spitakes command is also close to total destruction.

The score is 19-All

 Turn 6:

The fog comes on little cat feet.

With his army 1 point away from demoralization, Alexander recalls his Companions.

Selecus takes out Spitakes troops, but Spitakes himself escapes.

Hypaspist charge Indian archers.  Who roll a 2 on evade, and so stay on the field.

That one die roll keeps the Indians alive.  Both sides are only 1 point from demoralization. 

Selucus's left taxis is hammered and anviled by elephants.

That will automatically break the Macedonian army.  But if that taxis rolls well, the Indians will rout as well.

But not to be.

Actually, by quite a lot, "not to be"

Final score, 20-20, a win for Porus and family.

What did Porus do right?  He kept his lines tight.

Wrong, his weakest command leaving the field unnecessarily.  Alexander wasn't coming in there.  And would have taken many turns trying to round the terrain.  The fact that he did well on the combat was more due to luck than anything else.

What did Alexander do right?  Probably the Companion redeployment.  Facing Spitakes troops of bow and elephants wouldn't have gone well.

Wrong?  Assigning Hypaspist to the cavalry command.  They couldn't keep up with the redeployment, and so settled in with the phalanx.  And while it wasn't clear in the photos, they often did not move, and were not set in a supporting position on contact.  This meant the light horse took their place, and LOST against the LI bow. Disordering the hypaspist.  Cost 3 points towards demoralization and the game.