Achy Persians verses Mac the Pike

A Headless Body Production
Venue: On Military Matters Book Store, Now in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Event: Persian Era and friends, four camel maximum, Round 2
Players: Phil Gardocki running Achaemenid Persian list 64.
               Nat Birrer running Alexander Macedonian
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

On Military Matters has moved to Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Having merged with Winged Hussar publishing.  They still provide excellent mail service for providing little known tomes since before the internet.  Email him at onmilitarymatters@verizon.net and you'll get a weekly mailing for what's new, what's hot, or what is such a good story it simply must be told!

While scrolling the feeds the other week, I found another ADLG blogger, Colin Whittaker, of the UK.  The man has almost 300 ADLG games documented in the last 5 years.  His blog is at https://wargamingwithcolin.blogspot.com/
While googling for Colin, I few other ADLG themed blogs
https://sgtsteiner.blogspot.com
https://bucellarii.blogspot.com/
And this one from 2018 titled "Darryl Ascendant!"  https://philonancients.blogspot.com/2018/07/adlg-darryl-ascendant.html 
My figures were looking worn out even then.
And no wonder I am tired of typing that phrase, "... have 9 points towards their demoralization level of 20." I have been using that phrase for over 8 years. 

The Forces:

The Persians are commanded by Cyrus the Great, a Strategist. His sub commanders, supplied by city states now in ruin and lost to history are anonymously known as Darri, and Darri, Both are considered competent for their time.

2 Persian Guards, Heavy Cavalry, Bow, Elite

4 Meade Cavalry, Medium Cavalry, Bow
2 Bactrians, Light Cavalry, Bow, Elite
4 Immortals, ½ Medium swordsmen ½ Bowmen, Elite
8 Sparabara, ½ Medium swordsmen ½ Bowmen 

1 Light Infantry, Bow

Breakpoint of 21

The Macedonian list is guesswork from the pictures.  
Alexander has already shown his skills as a Strategist.  We'll assume Competent commanders Antigonus and Craterus.
4 Companions, Heavy Cavalry, Impact, Elite
2 Light Cavalry, Impact
4 Pike, 2 Elite
2 Hoplites
3 Thracians, Falx
2 Javelinmen
6 Light Infantry, Various
Breakpoint of 23 

 

Display Conventions: When you see a word bubble like

Inappropriately capitalized words are used to highlight terms that are specific to the game. For example Brilliant, Competent and Ordinary have specific game values for the commanders.

"XX" implies a unit killed in that location on that turn.

Deployment:

The view from the gods.  The Persians placed the two fields, fielded hill and the gully.  Alex placed the Marsh and the significantly smaller field .  

All in all, a very favorable terrain placement for the Persians.

More able to deal with terrain, the Thracians take position on the right.

The center is a short phalanx, but supported by two troops of companions, javelin men, and screened by a couple of Cretan archers.

The Macedonian left has another short phalanx well supported by horse and screened by archers.

Darri with 6 elements of mixed sword bow units are on the left.

A note on Persian organization. The term Sparabara refers to just a category of spear and shield soldiers. Hazārabam represents 1,000 warriors. Baivarabam is 10,000, but also means myriad. Which I'll use loosely to mean a group of Sparabara.

My Baivarabam are 2/3rds Sparabara and 1/3 Immortals. 

His brother Darri takes the center with a strong force of horse archers

While Cyrus "the Great" deploys on the right with half his command exposed.

Turn 1:

Alexanders two commands on their right form up and advance.

After clearing the rough going, the remaining phalanx slides towards their brother pikemen

Darri splits his Baivarabam in two.  Half to fill the gap, the other half to deploy in the field.

The Bactrians surge forward to tie down half the Macedonian Phalanx.  Also putting the Companions in the "Tactical" Zone.  

For Dari has taken his Persian horse on a round about way towards the Macedonian flank.

Turn 2:

The Macedonians continue to advance under a hailstorm of arrows.

Their left advances until they see the fletchings of the ranging shots.

Dari's archery disperses the Macedonian skirmishing screen

The Bactrians trade arrows with their opposing screen.

The Companions lights horse contingent have taken the Persian horse out of the Operational zone, but will they survive it.

Turn 3:

Thracian lights invest the Marsh.  While their heavier foot vector onto the field.

While all the taxi's of pike now change their approach towards the smaller of the farmer's fields.

The Companion cavalry decide there is no percentages here and withdraw.  Arrows chasing their lights while they flee.

Darri orders his brace of Hazarabam in the gap to retreat out of charge range.  

 

Even disordered, Companions can just run over the Sparabara or Immortals.

How bad is Companions v Med Sword matchup?

Heavy Cavalry impact elite v Med Sword (the Immortals) wins 92% of the time.

Heavy Cavalry impact elite v Med Sword Mediocre (Sparabara) wins 98.6% of the time.

IF the  Companions have a single hit

Heavy Cavalry impact elite v Med Sword (the Immortals) wins 68% of the time.

Heavy Cavalry impact elite v Med Sword Mediocre (Sparabara) wins 90.1% of the time.

Having two hits reduces this to 50% against Immortals and 71% Sparabara. 

Cyrus's Sparabara form up in the field.

Darri's horse aggressively pursue the Companion lights.

Turn 4:

The Persian army needs to do a lot of shooting to win, and shooting they have. 

Companions and Thracians both approach to close charge reach.

Three Taxis of the phalanx continue to advance.

The light horse counts the blessings of Apollo as it again retreats out of range.

The Darri's brace of Hazarabam turns and faces the Companions.  Darri's far left Sparabara is pulled out of the line to flank position the Companions should they be successful in their charge.

His Immortals disorder the Greek Hoplites.

Cyrus II, nee' Great, pushes some of his Baivarabam into the middle of the battle field, in anticipation of flanking the phalanx.

Darri's cavalry should protect them from the Companions.

Turn 5:

The Thracians assault the field.  Scoring hits on two of the Mediocre Sparabara.

The phalanx approach to charge reach of the smaller field.

The Javelin men approach to support the Thracians in the field.

The Companions advance to just out of bow range.

The Companions continue to accrue disorder.  But in the field, the Thracians trade units.  

Outflanked and outgunned, the phalanx are determined to make the Persians pay.

Darri's horse archers continue to shoot ineffectively.

Turn 6:

Thracian lights disperse their Persian counterparts.  The Companions charge and blithely dismiss their Sparabara.

In the field, the Immortals prove that they are, actually, mortal.

The phalanx invest the field.  Their center Taxis turning the flank of Cyrus's Hazarabam

An excellent turn 6 for the Macedonians, scoring 8 of the 10 points against the Persians that bound.

But the damage from archery was excessive, and forcing the Macedonians into retreat.

 

What went wrong?  

While there is no large command rating the need of a Strategist, Cyrus would have been better placed with the horse command, leaving the two nearly identical foot commands in the hands of the Dari's.

I do believe the army needs the strategist however, as this army needs terrain badly to be able to function.

The terrain here was nearly ideal here, and it shows.