All Roads Lead To Damascus - Battle Report 1

Barbarians Get Awkward in the Orchard

or

Village People Go East

Report by our scribe in the field Dubius Factus.

This week saw a valiant defence of our Republic and the loss of a true Roman hero. Roman soil was soiled by filth of a barbarian horde. The Gods were with us and the horde was sent packing!

The day began well for our illustrious general, Legatus Pulcher Prope Fraxinum, who although late in years was still considered a strategic genius. The invading barbarians with their dodgy facial hair, leather fetishes, and love of anything a little fruity' were easily lead to an area heavy with orchards and steep hills, thus funnelling their advances exactly where our hero wanted them.  Upon entrapping the enemy in this constricting terrain, further advantage was gained by enticing the horde with promises of dancing and sweet drinks at the fable temple of the Blue Oyster. The Parthians in such a hurry to quench their queer desires, deployed first and Pulcher was able to take advantage. The barbarians scouted the area well uncovering our ambushes, but this was planned and accounted for.

The moustachioed villains deployed four commands with their cataphracts and horse archers on the flanks and a mass of light infantry and Psidian allies crammed into the orchard (no doubt trying to locate the fruits of Temple of the Blue Oyster!). The marvellous Romans deployed all 4 commands to their right flank with cavalry and legions ready to advance upon the unwashed heathens.  Two ambushes were prepared, one on the hill to the left flank and another in the orchard to the right flank.

The Parthians had the initiative but in an act of cowardly ignobleness, immediately turned tail (as if already in the Blue Oyster!) and tried to flee the field. Pulcher in turn was hesitant (rolling three 1s for regular commands), expecting some barbarian trickery. His ally general Rolus Asixus however, saw the Parthians retreat for what it was and was quick to charge across the field. Cavalry, Legions and Peltasts all advancing to close the gap and trap the savages.

And thus the battle was engaged. The valiant Romans pushed the attack on their right flank whilst the Parthians sought without success to escape.  On the left flank, the psiloi on the difficult hill proved enough of a distraction and hindrance to effectively negate Parthian efforts. In the centre, the Roman auxiliary were outnumbered but held on.

Having trapped the Parthians from escaping on the right flank, the Thracian light horse (o) pinned the cataphracts in place and launched an attack on the few horse archers (f) guarding their flank. The Thracians did their job and punched a hole in the Parthian line. Trapped and outflanked their days were numbered. It was then that barbarian heavy knights decided to actually fight. The CiC supported one of his brethren against sole Roman cavalry alae.  The barbarians, encumbered by their facial hair, leather and studs, were destroyed with great violence. That was enough to break their spirit!

Pulcher himself at this time stepped to the fray as he felt his years upon him. His closest aids tell us that he saw the battle was won on the right flank and his job was done, thus he wished to end his days in glory upon the field of battle. He is quoted as saying, ‘I am long in years, old beyond reckoning. The fields of Elysium await me. Let me die here in glory!’ as he charged the enemy foot.  The battle raged and he was driven back by a stubborn foe. It was while falling back that old age finally caught up with the old warrior. He slid from his horse, happy in the knowledge that his day was glorious.* / **

With the CiC fallen, his very small command broke. However, there was little effect on the army and on the right flank the Parthian CiC was fleeing with the remnants of his broken command. He was ridden down in eternal shame with his back to the enemy and his (or someone else’s) tail between his legs.  The Roman army was in a fine position to move into the rear of the enemy. The baggage was undefended and the Psidians exposed.  Alas that time favoured the barbarians this time and the battle was forced to end.

The result: a glorious victory for the Republic ***. An honourable death for a long lived and loyal son of Rome. A dark day for the invaders. And the start of a new era for the newly appointed Legatus Rolus Asixus!

*Actually, the cic was 6-1ed by the auxiliary. Now, this should not have killed him but for the fact that I for some reason reverted to DBM (not dbmm) factors! Anyway, the mistake was made and not noticed until sometime later

** It could also be that old age caught up with him as he awaited the Parthians to finish their moves!

*** It should have been a bigger victory. In the end the result was close 14 - 11 I believe.  Anthony is a newish player to DBMM and his plan was too ambitious for his irregular army. In other ways he played well though.

We were fortunate enough to interview Legatus Pulcher Prope Fraxinum prior to the engagement and discuss his plans.

Dubius Factus: Legatus, What is your opinion of the Parthian army?

Legatus Pulcher:  The Parthians have 2 strengths. The first is in their highly mobile and flexible Light Horse. The second is their Heavy Cataphracts. They may also outnumber us.

DF: Does this worry you?
LP: Worry, no. But I do have to consider their strengths and weaknesses. If the light horse envelope us then we could have problems. If the Cataphracts attack our cavalry we will be in trouble. Therefore, I must do two things: stop the LH from going around our flank, and keep their cataphracts away from our cavalry.

DF: How do you plan to do this?
LP: By choosing my ground very carefully and by attacking with a combination of troops, this forcing the enemy into my killing ground against the troops that I want them to fight.  The battlefield needs to be dense with difficult terrain to channel the enemy. If it is an open battlefield we will not be able to stop him. Our troops are better trained than the barbarians and we will be able to manoeuvre more effectively through gaps in the terrain. We will be able to reduce the battle to a small area thus negating his speed and flexibility.

DF: Are the cataphracts a great danger?
LP: Yes. They are deadly against our cavalry and against the legions. However, given the choice, I will attack them with the legions as we should win on attrition. The ideal situation though is to create a situation in which the cataphracts are unable to join battle. Our easiest targets are the horse archers. Although fast, if they can be pinned down they will be destroyed. Again, the terrain is key. We will draw them into our defensive positions in the hills and orchards.

DF: You have a choice of allies, which will you take?
LP: My first choice was to take Sarmatians as their heavy knights (kn f) will be an equal threat to the enemy knights. However, after some deliberation it was decided that this would be too much in the hands of Fortuna. My next choice was Skythians with their unnumbered horse archers, but again that was a risky choice. In the end, I chose to enlist my own nephew Rolus Asixus. With him commanding half the legions and cavalry it would allow me greater numbers and more flexibility with my commands. Regular troops are also more reliable.


DF: What is your opinion of the Parthian general?
LP: I have a great deal of respect for him - I would be foolish not to. But, he will over complicate his plan. I am not sure how, but he will. I will expect him to try to draw us into open ground, but we will force him into the hills. I also expect him to outscout us, but we will set up ambushes anyway. If he brings foot, we will outclass them. If he brings mounted, we will close the battlefield around them. Either way, we will be victorious.

DF: Legatus Pulcher Prope Faxinum, thank you and may Mars smile upon you for the glory of Rome.

LP: Thank you. Ave.