Beware of Greeks Bearing Jiff's

A Headless Body Production
Venue: An Undisclosed Basement
Event: Wed Night.
Players: Phil Gardocki running Classical Greek
               Steve Turn running Alexandrian
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 25mm, 200 points per side.

The Forces:
Classical Greek(list 60)
3 Larrytios (ordinary), his brother Darreltios (ordinary), and his other brother Darreltios (also ordinary).
18 Hoplites, Heavy Spearmen, 2 are Elite
6 Peltasts and Thracians, as Javelinmen
4 Slingers
Breakpoint of 28

Alexandrian Macedonian (look it up)
Alexander the Late (Strategist), Antigonos One Eye (Competent), and Coenus (Brilliant).
6 Pike, one Elite
2 Heavy Spear
3 Companions, HC, Impact, Elite
2 Peltasts, Javelinmen
2 Agrianians, Light Infantry, Javelin
2 Light Infantry, Bow
2 Light Horse, Javelin
2 Medium Horse
Breakpoint of 21

I never understood the idiom, Beware of Greeks Bearing Jiff's.

Why is this a problem? Is Troy having a allergy problem of pandemic proportions?

It has been a while since I have done one of these. I forgot to edit the pictures with "Ouch" and lines before uploading them.  Hopefully the cheesey joke about peanut butter will make up for it.
 

The Board:

Alexander takes the position of honor on the right.

Antigonos One Eye with 6 Pike, 2 Heavy Spear and 2 Peltast in the center.

Coenus with Horse and Cretans on the left.

Darreltios takes the left with 6 Heavy Spear and 2 Peltasts.

Because when your army is largely immobile, it is important to have an unfortified camp for the enemy to loot.

The other brother Darreltios, takes the right with 6 Heavy Spear, 2 Peltast and 2 Slingers.

I miscounted the number of heavy spear I had, so 2 Medium foot are substituting on the right side of the battle line.

Turn 1:

Alexander has an initiative of 4 to the Greeks Zero and he elects to attack.

Alexander rolls a 1 for command points, and so his forces crawl forward.

Antigonos also rolls a 1 for command points, and his forces advance at a stately march.

Coenus rolls a 1 for command points, and so his forces do some maneuvering, but otherwise, barely advance.

Darreltios, the ordinary, rolls 3 command points. His peltasts race to the nearby gully, reinforcing the defenders in ambush.

Larrintios sends his Peltasts forward, but otherwise waits with his line.

Darreltios has way too many troops for to deploy against Coenus. He advances his lights and hopes to deal with the Macedonian horse with just them.

Turn 2:

Alexander closes in on the Peltast flank. He orders his Agrianians to take the gully. The gods frowned upon the decision, favoring the Greeks in the dice exchange.

Antigonos continues to advance at a stately pace.

Coenus attacks Darreltios's lights. Which stand to receive, and are nearly annihilated.

Why stand? The Light Horse was going to catch one of them anyway, so they might as well stand and take a chance.

Darreltios charges with his Peltasts, effectively occupying the gully

Larrintios advances his peltasts and main line. On the right, Darreltios's Heavy Spear advance to nearly support position.

Darreltios skirmish battle isn't going well. He splits his hoplite battle group in two. Half to support the center, half to deal with Coenus's cavalry.

Well, he doesn't have too many troops now.

Also, as ordinary, his command radius is just 4 UDs.

Turn 3:

Alexander goes indecisive. He forms a column and awaits an opportunity.

Antigonos holds back his elite pike unit to cover the flank of his phalanx from the Peltasts in the gully. The remaining phalanx advances boldly.

Antigonos's peltasts prove deadly missilemen. Disordering both of Larrintios's peltasts.

Coenus's horse charges Darreltios's peltasts. They flee behind his hoplites.

Largely unreported is on the left, Darreltios had split his hoplites as well. 3 of them step forth, causing Alexanders lights to flee, nearly off the board.

Darreltios orders his peltasts to prepare to attack the flanks of Antigonos's phalanx.

Larrintios advances to just out of charge reach. His trap is nearly set, but not quite.

For his peltasts need to retire and recover. Darreltios's hoplites take up the being the snap of the trap. First they charge Antigonos's peltasts, causing them to flee.

And Darreltios's other hoplites charge, roll long, and are zocing Coenus's cavalry behind it's flank.

Turn 4:

Alexander is not seeing an opportunity for a good charge near the road, so goes elsewhere.

One of Antigonos's Hoplites covers the exit points of the gully.

And lines up his phalanx for a charge.

But he is having a critical shortage of command points, and cannot bring up the flank guards on his left.

Coenus is also short on command points, but enough to bring up his light horse to the Darreltios's rear.

Darreltios is flush with command points and orders his hoplites to challenge Alexanders Companions.

The trap for the phalanx is sprung! One taxis of pike is destroyed!

<<Caption This>>

Out of command, and with his focus elsewhere, Darreltios effectively has orphaned off half his troops.

Turn 5:

Alexander has had enough of not finding a hole, and decides to go elsewhere. Leaving 3 units of hoplites in looking at a single light horse.

Antigonos brings up his hoplites and flank charge a peltast, and barely misses destroying it.

The Macedonian phalanx is cracking, but holding.

The Macedonian peltast swarm advances and scores with their javelins.

Coenus is setting up a front and back attack on the Darreltios's right most hoplite.

Note on figure substitution here. Those Medium Foot are actually Heavy Foot.

Darreltios orders another charge on the light horse, and just misses ZOC'ing Alexanders Companions.

Another Taxis of pike fall.

A bit of posturing here.

More charges by Darreltios's hoplites. They were all free as their targets were within 1 UD of their targets.

Turn 6:

The Companions continue to look elsewhere for better hunting. But the Macedonian Agrianians have largely taken control of the gully.

Flanked but still fighting. The Pike destroy two hoplites.

Macedonian peltasts continue to harass Darreltios's hoplites, but his peltasts are being brought forth to respond.

Coenus orders his cavalry to charge the rear of an isolated hoplite. The half hearted nature the medium horse is demonstrated as they actually were disordered on contact.

By the River Drin, the body count. The Greeks have 20 points, 14 dead, 6 disordered, out of 28.

And the Macedonians are at 13 of 21.

You probably thought the Greeks were winning, right? I did...

With no real enemy to engage, Darreltios recalls his left flank.

And engages with his right. Giving the Macedonian phalanx no breather to recover.

In a hard fought battle, two more Taxis of Pike fall.

Darreltios's hoplites chase off the Macedonian peltasts again, and bring up one of their own behind the Macedonian hoplite's flank.

The battle on the far right continues.

Turn 7:

Alexander's Companions return.

Antigonos sets up for his last stand.

Another flank attack by medium horse on a hoplite. Bad dice leaves the hoplites unscathed.

A break off by this horse.

Darreltios's hoplites are not caught napping, and turn to face the Companions.

The final charges upon the phalanx.

Darreltios left hoplites also charge their flanked foe, nearly destroying him on contact.

No command points for these orphans.

The Greeks score holds at 20

The Macedonian are at 16.

Turn 8:

Alexander finally has an opportunity. One companion runs down a Greek light.

Antigonos still holds is line.

Another Macedonian unit is destroyed.

A Greek hoplite joins him in death.

The score is now 18 for the Macedonian, and 24 for the Greeks.

Still anyone's game.

Darreltios has a surplus of command points, and pins Alexanders heavy horse.

Antigonos is down to his last Taxis.

Darreltios command is largely uncommitted, but so spread out and way beyond his skills to control it.

If Coenus had any decent troops, Darreltios's command would have been vivisected.

Turn 9:

Alexander still proves to be the king of cavalry. From being pinned, he pulls off a charge against a formed hoplite unit, disordering it.

Antigonos's last taxis has just one hit left, with an enemy coming up the rear.

Coenus continues to be aggressive, with forces he doesn't have.

Taking the Greeks to 25 of 28.

The Macedonians are at 20 of 21.

Alexander kills a hoplite, the rout disorders another.

But Antigonos goes down fighting.

Coenus could have taken this to a mutual destruction, if the dice were a little kinder. The final score is Macedonia 21 of 21, and the Greeks 27 of 28. The barest win.

One of the problems with the Macedonians was their luck was very selective. Despite having a strategist, a brilliant and a competent commander, the Greeks, with 3 ordinaries, were consistently out rolling them for command points. Allowing the Greeks to pass orders when normally they could not.

It wasn't until Darreltios's right flank forces fragmented to 7 bodies did he lose control of most of his units. Allowing Coenus, with his much weaker forces to constantly throw flank charges, at least 3. And then luck in the battle dice defeated him.

Beware of Greeks Bearing Gif's?