A Kushary of Kushan

A Headless Body Production

Venue: Harve de Grace Community Center
Event: Cold Barrage 2026
Theme: US Nationals, 2nd Period
Round: 4
Players: Phil Gardocki running Republican Roman, list 58
              Mark Cribbs, Team Cellar Rats, running Kushan
Game System: L'Art de la Guerre, 15mm, 200 points per side.

The Forces:

The Kushans are led by the Competent Kujula Kadphises (A real person!), and Vima Kadphises, the Ordinary, who claims relationship through his paternal grandfather, but also "protests too much" in that regard.  And Abdagases, the Brilliant.
2 Elephants
4 Nobles, Cataphracts, Elite
1 Indian Horseman, Medium Cavalry (could be worse, they could be Mediocre)
4 Light Cavalry, Bow
2 Horse Archers, Medium Cavalry, Bow
1 Indian Horseman, Medium Cavalry, Mediocre (Ahhh, there they are!)
2 Graeco Bactrians, Pike, Mediocre
3 Indian Archers 1/2 Medium Sword, 1/2 Bow 
1 Levy
3 Light Infantry, Bow
Breakpoint of 23

The legions are commanded by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Consul of Rome, a Strategist, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, Son of Tiberius Sempronius Longus, Consul of Rome, Defeater of the Boli, regarded as Competent, and Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, also rated Competent despite his years.

2 Equites, Medium Cavalry
2 Numidians, Light Cavalry, Javelins
8 Hastati or Principes, Heavy Swordsmen, Impact, 1/2 Armored
2 Newly Recruited Hastati, Heavy Swordsmen, Impact, Mediocre
2 Extraordinarii, Medium Swordsmen, Elite
2 Other Italians, Medium Swordsmen
6 Velites, Light Infantry Javelin, most Elite
2 Syracusians, Light Infantry sling
Breakpoint...26

Display Conventions: When you see a jagged word bubble like "Ouch!" or "Heus!", or "貴霜!", this implies a disorder caused by missiles. Letters in parenthesis represent some up or downgrade for the specific unit. For commanders it is s for strategist, b for Brilliant, c for Competent and o for Ordinary, u for unreliable. For troops it is e for Elite, and m for Mediocre. Other abbreviations, Hvy Heavy, XB Crossbow, LB, Longbow, Jav Javelin, 2HW 2 Handed Weapons, B Bow, Kn Knight, HKn Heavy Knight, HC Heavy Cavalry, Md Medium, Sgt Sergeants, LC Light Cavalry, Chr Chariot, Cat Cataphract, Pa Pavise, LI, Light Infantry, HG Hand Gun, FKn Foot Knight, Hvy Spear, Heavy Spearmen.

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.

Any ambiguity as to what was moved or who is being referred to is to be considered Fog of War and part of the fun. 

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

So far, team"Full Monty" has defended the 6th table from all opponents.  Next up, the Cellar Rats! 

Deployment:

Kujula Kadphises (A real person!) wins the initiative and elects to attack in the plains.

Vima deploys his small force of horse on the Kushan right

Abdagases deploys in the center with a strong force of pike, elephants and archers

Kujula takes his cataphracts to the left

Cato the Elder's Italians find entertainment in a near by village

While Tiberius and Scipio muster their legions in the center.

Relying on terrain and a small force of horse and Velites to hold their right.

The Mars eye view

On the Feudal stage, Garth's Normans are again facing elephants.  This time however, he has dismounted his knights with 2 handed swordsmen.

Steve's Warring States are up against Classical Greeks

Turn 1:

Vima orders his horse forward at a gallop

While Vima's horse are facing unfavorable terrain, he is supported by foot and elephantry that have no problems there.

Kujula's horse also advance, but they are facing terrain problems there as well.

Marcus orders his Italians forward.

Tiberius and Scipio's legions step forward and slide.

An ambush is revealed.  A cohort of Velites emerge from the Marsh.

Turn 2:

On the Medieval board, Eric's "Golden Horde", are already exchanging arrows with Tom's Teutonics

The Normans fearlessly advance on to the Ghaznavid main line  

The Warring States are more cautious in their advance.

Vima's horse race around the village

The farmers field is inundated by Indian foot.

A bit of a sideline story here.  Many decades ago I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism.  We made armor and went to do battle with weapons made of rattan.  Once in a while, full kingdoms would go to war with about 500 men on a side.

If you are sitting on the side lines as the lines close, you will be inundated by bugs fleeing the scene.  Vima's horse right are now spitting bugs. 

Scipio has stepped too far forward, and has his flank turned already by Kujula's lights.

His other troop of lights decides to stay way back from the Marsh

Cato the Elder orders one of his Italians back to the village, to cut off Vima's horse from racing to the camp

Putting the Velites to the test, they are ordered to charge.  Win lose or draw, the Italians will follow up.

Scipio orders his legions to advance to a hands breath away from the Cataphracts.  This is to ZOC them and keep them from doing anything tricky.

Roman horse charge off a troop of Kushan lights.

Turn 3:

The charge of the Velites did not go as well as it could have.

The Kushan horse vectors towards the Italians in the Village.

I think Mark thought it was a plantation.

The grand charge.  The Legions lose 2 but win one of the initial exchange.

Kujula withdraws his lights, but pins a cohort with his Indian horse.

The Italians charge!  Whisking away one Indian foot, and disordering two others.

One legionary cohort is routed, but another routs a Graeco-Bactrian pike.

Velites effectively block any passage in the fields

The score at the bottom of the third is

9 for the Romans of 26

to 7 of 23 for the Kushans

Turn 4:

Correcting his mistake, Vima orders his lights to continue rounding the Village.  But waiting there are two troops of Numidians.

More importantly, his horse charges into the field, squashing bugs, and routing a cohort of "Other Italians"

Elephants charge Tiberius's legions.

Kujula's cataphracts run down a fresh legionary cohort.

Taking the Roman score to 17...

To the Kushan score of just 10.

Extraordinarii turn both left and right.  Clearing out the Kushan horse, and threatening the flanks of the Elephantry.

Both Tiberius and Scipio's legions are sorely pressed.

Scipio's reserve legion is facing 3 troops of nobles.

 Turn 5:

Vima's lights finally turn the corner on the Village.

His horse archers find their range.

Scipio and Tiberius both lose a cohort of legionnaires  

Nothing much happening here...

The Kushan score is just 12 of 23.

The Romans are nearly broken at a score of 24

A cohort takes rampages an elephant.  The Extraordinarii charges the other, but the Kushan light infantry stand firm, and doesn't die!

Ignore the arrow.  The Newly raised legion holds firm.

 

At this point we called it.  Mark only needed 2 points and had plenty of locations to get them, and I wasn't going to get the 8 I needed to demoralize his army.  3 points would be easy for me, but that assumes I would get another turn.  But there was no point in playing it out.

One thing of note.  My armored legions had a single battle where their armor mattered.  It stood out because before that point in this whole tournament, there was no hand-to-hand when losing, or a missile shot, where that +1 armor  mattered.  Either because they were fighting heavy armored cataphracts, furious charge, or just didn't miss by one.