Medieval Armies DBA Page

The Battle of Aspenhillhae

Parthians vs. Early Imperial Roman

By David Kuijt

This describes a double-sized DBA battle between the Early Imperial Romans (DBA army #64) and the Parthians (DBA army #51).

The Map The Romans defended, so they set up terrain. The map was composed of 12" pre-made squares. To protect their vulnerable flanks the Romans deployed in a region with dense woods on both flanks; a marshy area in the center could be useful for their advantage in bad-going troops. A series of gentle low hills were on the west, with woods beyond. The image on the left shows the terrain; the Roman side (North) is the top of the picture. A small flock of sheep marks the marshy area in the center (bad going, but doesn't interfere with line of command). The two sections of green ground with trees mark the extent of the patches of dense forest (impassable); the other green blobs are woods (bad going that does block line of command). The hills are visible as contour lines.

The Davids The Parthians were played by the Two Davids, shown on the right. Dave Schlanger is on the left; David Kuijt is on the right. David K painted the Parthian armies and made the terrain.

Parthians (DBA Army #51) have the following troops:

With the large amount of bad going in the field, the Parthians decided to maximize their Psiloi. Their whole army thus contained It turns out that this is an error -- to have four psiloi, the army must have 8 cataphracts and twelve light horse. Oh, well. Honest mistake.

The Non-Davids The image on the left shows the evil visages of the Roman commanders, Led Klosky (left side) and Chris Brantley (right side). As they had set up the terrain, they had to deploy first.

Early Imperial Romans (DBA Army #64) have the following troops:

The cowardly Romans decided to take as many mounted forces as they could, to give them some chance of responding to the heroic, virtuous, and swift-riding Parthians. Chris Brantley's forces couldn't muster up all the possibilities, however. After some discussion, and pressing a couple of stands of Vikings in as Batavian 4Aux, the Romans ended up with the following array total: This represented Chris' entire Roman forces, which restricted the flexibility of their choices.

The Romans set up on the Northern side of the field. Led had to face the western more open side of the split field, so he took the following forces:

He mustered his cavalry at the far western edge with their flank against the impassable woods, then a line of blades one with psiloi support, then two auxilia and his artillery. The two Moorish light horse were in the back, in reserve. Led's General was with the cavalry.

Chris had the marsh, and had to defend a patch of woods near the camp. He left an element of Aux in the camp to increase its defensive ability should the expected happen and Parthian light horse end up assaulting it. His remaining forces in the field were as follows

Chris had a main line of five blade with a psiloi, and two auxilia ready to assault the marsh; a floating reserve of three Batavian auxilia, and one manning the walls of the camp.

starting position in the west This is the western Parthian group (commanded by David Kuijt) at setup. A column of four light horse is on the left; this is intended to outflank if the opportunity presents itself. A shorter column of two light horse is on the right of the group; these are intended to screen off the marsh and the fire of the Roman artillery. Between them is a wall of five cataphracts (the general in the center) with an additional knight element doubled up a bit to the left. Note that the setup zone is 9", not 6", on this 4x3 map.

starting position in the east David Schlanger's eastern Parthian group has all four psiloi to contest the marsh, only three cataphracts and one light horse to fight in the gap between the marsh and the impassable woods, and four light horse ready for an aggressive flank march into the Roman backfield.

Roman western flank The Romans lumbered forward; Chris moved his auxilia reserve towards the flank where he expected eventually to have to resist the eastern flank march; Led refused his mounted wing slightly. The Parthians rolled 6,5 for pips, and moved forward aggressively with their light horse. Using the multiple-move rule, David K zipped his light horse forward, unpacked their line, and moved forward again, stunning the Romans with their speed. The image on the left shows the position as the Romans (Led) are considering how to move in their second bound.

Eastern flank march On the eastern end of the battle, Dave S had used his initial pips to give his flank march of light horse a flying start. He kept his main line back due to lack of pips, and perhaps in hope to suck the Romans into being too aggressive in the gap. Chris moved his forces forward, but had no intention of advancing past the marsh. The image on the right shows the position of the Parthian forces immediately after the Romans have taken their second bound.

Skirmishing light horse To the left is the position in the west after the romans move (wheeling their infantry line) and the Parthians respond (with 3 pips) by zooming a pair of light horse to hold the hill end on the west and lumbering their main battle line forward again. The Romans weren't willing to contest for the hill edges, and kept their cavalry back where they were safe.

The eastern side of the battle was pretty much as you would expect for the next several bounds -- Chris gradually moved his Blade wall forward to fill the gap between marsh and impassable woods, and stopped them; he also ran his reserve of three auxilia over to the woods on his eastern flank in preparation for the oncoming flank march. Dave S. got a dearth of pips, and with double-cost movement for his flank march, it came on only slowly. His main battle line trundled forward also and stopped, unwilling to come forward beyond the marsh. He got his psiloi ready for the assault into the marsh.

At this point Led decided that his auxilia were too much at risk facing the oncoming cataphracts; he slid one company in front of his artillery to run for the marsh (which was clearly going to be a crucial fight) and slid the other one back behind the line of blades. Into the gap thus made he sent his Moorish light horse.

the lines close David K responded aggressively. Moving his main battle line forward again, he threw his right-flank light horse to attack the Roman auxilia, supporting their flank with the second light horse so they couldn't get trapped by the enemy in the marsh. The plan here was simple -- keep the auxilia in front of the artillery, blocking its shots. The light horse couldn't be killed, so there wasn't much of a downside. The plan worked well enough -- the Roman won the +2:+2 roll, recoiling the light horse, but was still in the face of the Parthian element. The image on the right shows the situation after the Parthian combat, and the upcoming conflict in the marsh is well illustrated. Both auxilia in the marsh are under Chris' command.

auxilia attack The Romans responded with a coordinated attack; Led's auxilia advanced to hit the Parthian light horse, while Chris' auxilia in the marsh gave overlap support. Led also finished moving his Moors to fill the gap in his line, and Chris continued bringing up his forces and making line. The image on the left shows the position after the Roman movement but before combat; note the Roman auxilia in the top left readying themselves to foil the eastern flank march.

first blood Alas for the glory of Roma, Parthian bows are powerful, and with a 1-6 roll the auxilia was dead. Suddenly the fight in the marsh was looking much more even, with three Roman auxilia (all from Chris' command) facing four Parthian psiloi (all from Dave K's). To the right is a top-view of the situation after the combat, before the Parthian turn.

Hmmm.... Chris Brantley considering the situation in the marsh. Will this be another Carrhae? What to do with my reserves? Will the flank march be held? Oh, the Romanity!

Artillery fire-for-effect Luckily for Rome, David K's pips sucked. With a single pip, all he could do was put his Light Horse in column in front of the artillery, giving Dave S enough room to put a line of psiloi into the marsh. The artillery forced a recoil on the Parthian light horse, ending up with the situation shown on the right. Note also more Roman movement to reinforce the marsh -- Led's auxilia is moving around behind his Moors and artillery to get into the fight, and Chris has moved his reserve blade shifted his psiloi over so they can impact the fight in the marsh. The Roman line now looks well ordered and solid.

major assault Hah! Now comes the assault! The Parthian cataphracts had moved forward, making ready for their soon-to-come attack all along the line. Artillery routed one of the Parthian light horse the previous turn, and the Romans (Led) decided that attacking now, before the Parthians got their line fully ordered, would be their best chance. The image on the left shows the result after the Roman combat rolls. From the right, the Parthian cataphract drove back the Moors (+3:+2), then the blade beside was likewise driven back (+3:+2). The Parthian commander was not so lucky against psiloi-backed blades (+4:+3) and was repulsed; the other two combats were ties at (+2:+3) and (+4:+4). Note that two more Parthian Lh are off to the left, off the image, trying to make their way around the impassable wood section. Although they never did make it, their presence helped inhibit the Roman cavalry from advancing. One important note: we are not using the Knight QK on Blades rule for this battle; instead we are using the following rule: Kn don't QK Blades, but are not impetuous (do not follow-up) when fighting Blades (only). That explains the gap between the recoiled Blade and the cataphract it was fighting.

Parthian counterattack Turnabout is fair play -- in the Parthian turn, David K realigns his forces and hits the Roman line with a wall of steel. Even the light horse on the flank is thrown into battle against his Moorish adversary, and the routed light horse comes running back for more. This prompted Led to whine about how much he hated Light Horse. The image on the right shows the situation before any Parthian combat rolls.

more blood And on the left is the result of the combat. Parthian light horse prove themselves again; in a (+1:+1) fight the Parthians double the Moors and kill them, removing one overlap from the double-overlapped cataphracts. The cataphracts push the other Moor element back. Two combats against blades are both ties, and the overlapped Roman general is pushed back at (+4:+3), with the cataphract following up.

the daring raid At the same time, the flank march had finally come to a position on a small hill in the Roman eastern backfield. Chris' auxilia held a line in the woods nearby. In a daring move worthy of a True Parthian, Dave S charged his three light horse forward towards the camp. It seemed like a tremendous risk -- if he was hit in the flank he could be routed off the board, counting as lost. And the camp was well defended by auxilia, not simple camp followers -- at +2 to +4, the light horse seemed unlikely to do any damage before they were hit by the auxilia from the woods. The image on the right shows the position after the Parthian move.

the center is broken Back on the western half of the table, the center was looking desperately broken. Slashing light horse flew into the hole, turning an element of Roman Blades. In the marsh, Dave S finally had the pips to assault the Roman auxilia, and one of David K's light horse turned the flank of one of them (incidently making it impossible for the artillery to shoot him). The image on the left shows the situation after the Parthian move but before any combat rolls. Note that Led had previously pulled his sole auxilia back slightly to make line with his Artillery, in expectation of a light-horse assault on the artillery.

mounted combat In the furious mounted action in the far west, Parthia had taken its first casualty. The doubly-overlapped cataphract fighting the Roman cavalry general was killed in a (+2:+4) combat. The reserve Parthian cataphract filled the gap nicely, however, making it difficult for Rome to capitalize on their success. The image on the right shows the situation in the far west at the same time as the previous image of the center, just before the Parthian combat rolls. Note that the Roman blade facing the Parthian light horse is not flanked; a small gap exists between its flank and the cataphract. The Parthians didn't have sufficient pips to attack it from front and flank at the same time as filling the gap for the lost cataphract and flanking the auxilia in the marsh.

still more blood The image on the left shows the result of the combats that turn. The doubly-overlapped blade in the center was destroyed in a (+3:+1) combat; the psiloi-backed blade merely recoiled at (+4:+3) against the Parthian general. The Moors were pushed back again by the cataphracts facing them. Everything else went poorly for the Parthians; the Parthian light horse fighting blades was recoiled (putting them without recoil room if they are hit next turn), and the crucial (+2:+2) combat on the flanked auxilia in the marsh was a victory for the auxilia, pushing back both opponents facing him. The psiloi beside him tied at (+1:+3), which was worse than a recoil, as he couldn't disengage. Note in the far left of the image the western flank march of two light horse, stalled for several turns for lack of pips.

desperation and fury Now Led was down three elements, and his shaky line had been broken again. In the next turn he would face having his cavalry hit in the flank and front by cataphracts, and his blades likewise. He decided his only chance to win was to attack. He charged one blade forward, trying to pin the light horse without recoil room and kill it. He ran his psiloi back to give overlap assistance to the Moors, aiding them in their quick-kill probability. His remaining blade fell back, but his general and other cavalry charged forward to attack, hoping to get a kill on the light horse with a good roll. The image on the right shows the situation after the Roman move but before combat rolls.

center Meanwhile, Chris had decided to press the matter, moving his blades forward in the gap to face Dave S' cataphracts. The fight in the marsh seemed likely to go his way -- he had another (+3:+1) roll on a single psiloi, and enough strength to hold the marsh now.

Batavians attack Further, he had spent two pips to throw one of his Batavian auxilia into the rear end of Dave S' column of flank-marching light horse. Things seemed to be looking up -- now the turned horse might block recoil for an attack on the camp, and a rout result would kill the offending light horse. With his ZOC behind them and woods nearby, they seemed to be trapped.

combat results Led's desperation attack had paid off -- for the Parthians. At (+2:+2), his overlapped cavalry was recoiled by the courageous Parthian light horse. His blades likewise could make no impression on the Parthian light horse without recoil room, ending in a tie. The cataphracts pushed back his Moorish light horse again at (+3:+2), and finally his double-overlapped general was killed at (+4:+2). To add insult to injury, Chris' (+3:+1) attack on a Parthian psiloi recoiled the Parthian, making a perfect defensive line. The image on the left shows the result after the combat rolls.

last gasp on the west In a double-DBA game, we modify the defeat rules as follows: a 12-element command is demoralized once it loses 4 elements, but its forces aren't completely removed from the map until it loses 6 elements. Demoralization causes a -1 combat modifier for all troops of the command in addition to some other modifiers; loss of a general counts as 2 elements for determining demoralization and total removal. Thus Led's forces weren't totally removed, and could hope to fight on briefly and delay the collapse of the western flank. Of course, it was the Parthian turn, and David K wasn't going to go easy on the perfidious Romans. The image on the right shows the situation after the Parthian move but before combat rolls. A cavalry is attacked on the left with a double overlap; a cataphract assists the Parthian light horse in its fight with the blade. Insufficient pips to do anything else. In combat rolls the cavalry was killed at (+2:+0), the blade killed at (+1:+2) with no retreat, and the Moors recoiled again. That was six elements, and the Roman western command evaporated.

victory in the west On the left is the situation after all the Roman forces in the west are removed (routing away, trying to save their doomed Roman hides after the slaughter that is the right and proper result to Roman aggression).

breakthrough Back on the eastern side, Dave S' light horse had pulled a brilliant maneuver -- when all Roman eyes (and, admittedly, David K's) had believed his flank attack in grave danger and unlikely to go anywhere good, he just kept running his light horse right past the camp, coming in toward the Roman backfield. Instead of a poor-odds attack on the camp, he had a fast-moving column that were going to hit Chris' Roman blades from the rear as the cataphracts pushed them back from the front! In desperation, Chris threw his Romans the only direction they could go -- at the cataphracts, hoping to break a hole open in the two or three turns before he was hit from behind. The image on the right shows the position after the Roman move, but before Roman combat rolls.

the last straw And here is the result after the Roman combat rolls. The first Roman blade was recoiled at (+3:+3) on the Roman far east. The second recoiled at (+3:+2). And the double-overlapped Roman general was distracted by news of the column of light horse in his rear at a crucial moment: Chris rolled a "1" for his General at (+2:+3) and his general was dead.

With his General dead he would have to pay 2 pips for every move; with only 3 of his 10 elements not in bad going, all of them heavy foot, a hole in his line and a pair of light horse coming up to hit the rear, his situation was impossible. The fact that Led's army had just evaporated and he was now alone facing 22 angry Parthian elements was just icing on the cake. The Romans surrendered. Victory to Parthia! All hail the Davids!

Last modified: October 30, 1999. Corrections to the Roman force muster and Chris' initial deployment.

Page created: October 29, 1999

The author may be contacted at kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu