Parthians vs Romans, sometime around 54 BC

Last Saturday, we had a Parthian vs. Roman battle using 28mm figures and modified DBA rules. DBA is a popular game here in the US, and there are many tournaments around the country. We are not tournament gamers (I used to be), so we try to have interesting games that are a little more than just lining up each army and crashing into each other. Present for the game was Al (the host), Bob, Ken, Mike, Bill, and I (Dave).

The battlefield that the Parthian and Romans fought over was mostly arid steppe or desert, without much in the way of terrain. Our battlefield had a few hills (made with ½ inch dense Styrofoam that was spray painted) placed on a felt mat that was also spray painted. The table was 8’x5,’ played in Al’s eat-in kitchen, at his home in Belvedere IL.

The Romans entered the board from one end in a march column of 4 Legions with light infantry and cavalry support, and some Scorpion bolt shooters (ancient artillery). The Parthians came on random locations of the table in 3 commands, the first two coming on behind the Roman right rear flank.

The Romans decided when the game began that they would halt in place and wait to see where the Parthians would appear. This was a fortunate decision, as they were able to react to the 2 Parthian commands in their rear before being strung out and away from a table edge. (NOTE: Unlike real battles, table edges in miniature battles help one to avoid being outflanked). The Roman right flank turned and soon, they formed a line against the Parthian cavalry. See the photo below:

The Roman right flank turns to face the Parthians. (Click on photo to enlarge)

The Roman light infantry archers engaged the Parthian light horse in an archery contest (unlike the DBA rules, we allow light troops to use missile fire; however we haven’t completely worked out how the missile fire effects should work).  The Roman light infantry are in the foreground in the photo below. The Roman Legionaries with green and blue shields are behind.

The next picture below shows an overhead shot of the Roman right flank just before the Parthian light horse hit the archers. The Roman Legion in column in the right rear of the photo with red shields was deploying to eventually form a line perpendicular to the first, to face the flank where the 3^rd Parthian command was expected to appear (it did, but not until turn 6).

Below is another shot of the Legion with red shields.

There are no more pictures of this battle, since your author’s camera battery went dead, and our host Al wouldn’t let me use the batteries from the remote control. In summary, the Parthians pushed the Roman right flank back and decimated the light infantry on that side. The Parthians in the center harassed the Legions until they pressed forward, forcing the light horse to mostly flee. The Parthian heavy cataphract cavalry moved forward to counter, and began overrunning some of the Legionaries. The 3^rd Parthian command arrived on the scene and pressed unsuccessfully against the Roman left (the Roman line was in an L shape). The game was called when exhaustion set in on both sides with no clear victor.

We are currently discussing how we will re-work some of the rules for the next time, though the game and scenario itself seemed somewhat balanced. The beautifully painted figures are by Al (the Romans) and Bob (the Parthians).

Battles with Model Soldiers

This blog is about a group of guys from Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin who get together periodically to play miniature wargames; or small battles on a tabletop with model soldiers. This group has been in existence playing regularly for about 10 years, but individually most of us have been involved in the hobby and known each other since the 1960’s.

The hobby of Miniature Wargaming has been around since before the 1900’s. The Prussian Army played a form of miniature wargame called “Kriegsspiel,” a military training game invented by Georg von Reisswitz, which used blocks of wood to represent troop formations and was played on a large scale map. Sir Winston Churchill played a form of wargames with his own large collection of toy soldiers when he was a young man. In 1913, the British author H.G. Wells published a book entitled “Little Wars,” for which this page is named. You can read this book free on line at the link below:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3691

The game played in “Little Wars” used large lead or tin toy soldiers. The game rules allowed for movement of troops and combat. Cannons which actually fired small projectiles were used to “kill” opposing troops. Since “Little Wars” was published in 1913, the hobby has steadily grown and matured over the years, and is especially popular in England and Commonwealth countries, as well as the United States. The hobby really expanded in the 1960’s, early 1970’s. Authors/gamers who have been great influences in the hobby include Donald Featherstone, Brigadier Peter Young, Charles Grant, and Phil Barker from England, and Jack Scruby from the United States. The difference between the games played today and those of H. G. Wells are that the miniatures representing soldiers from nearly any period in history are available in many different scales from numerous manufacturers, and are qualitatively much better in appearance and detail. The rules that are used today are also advanced from the original “Little Wars” book. Much effort is used to make the terrain of the miniature battlefield have a more realistic appearance. 

This blog is also dedicated to our friend, the late Charles L. Prosek, USMC (retired), who was a voice of reason in our hobby that is sorely missed. Charlie was a veteran of the Korean War and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Due to the traumatic nature of his military service, Charlie had difficulty listening to battle sound effects of modern war movies, having to turn off the volume. We used to regularly hang out at Charlie’s hobby shop in Winfield IL for many hours over many years, discussing the latest happenings in the hobby. 

Our gatherings for games are called "Al-Con," ("Con" or convention) for our friend Al, who usually hosts these events at his home. Here, we will periodically post articles about our latest battles, and may show some that we’ve had in the past. We play these games in all military periods and scales. Your comments and questions are welcome.