Saturday 10 July 2021

A quick ancients game using OHW scenario

I thought I would be fun to have a quick Punic War ancients game as a quick reminder of the rules using One Hour Wargames (OHW) scenario 21 (twin objectives). I opted to use six units per side as per the scenario but selected the units myself rather than have them generated. This is so I could use a unit of elephants.

OHW scenarios are normally for a tabletop size of 3 by 3 foot, and I would normally have slightly increased the size and played the game on a 4 by 4 foot tabletop. However, I though it would be interesting to try and stretch the scenario to fit a 6 by 4 foot tabletop. While at the same time increasing unit base sizes from the OHW suggested 4-6 inch width to a width of 12 inches. 

The rules remained the same when it came to movement with 6, 9 ad 12 inches for heavy infantry, light infantry, and cavalry.

Order of battle...

Romans:

  • 1 x Light infantry
  • 3 x Heavy infantry

Carthaginians:

  • 1 x Light infantry
  • 1 x Elephants
  • 1 x Light cavalry
  • 3 x Heavy infantry
In terms of rules for elephants and light cavalry as OHW does not have specific rules for them:

Light Cavalry - operate like light infantry (Skirmishers) moving 12 inches and are allowed to exit combat with enemy foot units. They cannot pass through through other friendly units unlike light infantry.
Elephants - move 9 inches, hits equal a D6 with no reductions for armour. When eliminated roll D6:
  • 1-2 they go berserk and attack nearest friendly unit within 9 inches and are then removed from play.
  • 3-4 they are removed from play immediately.
  • 5-6 they go berserk and attack nearest enemy unit within 9 inches and are then removed from play.
Generals - I also had one general in each army assigned to a heavy infantry unit. These represented the veteran part of the army. Units with an assigned general were able to re-roll they hit D6, but had to accept the second value.

Opening moves of the game with Roman forces defending the town and wooded hill and Carthaginian forces having to wheel around to engage.

My figures are based on 4 by 3 inch bases. I used three of them to make a unit with a 12 inch width. This made for some largish looking units and also helped with the tracking of hits. For each 5 hits one based was removed.

Carthaginians split their attack while the elephants engage the Roman centre.

The town defenders are drawn out to support the defence against the elephants. The Carthaginian light cavalry were now unable to join any attack and waited in reserve for an opportunity.

The Roman centre collapses and the remnants are able to escape and hold up in the town. Time is now against the Carthaginians who need to control one of the town or hill objectives to salvage the game and get a draw.

Romans did enough in the end to win by holding the town and denying control of the hill. One more turn and the Carthaginians would have controlled the hill and gained a draw.

I enjoyed playing the scenario and using the larger unit sizes. As for the reasons I liked the larger units, they are:

  1. They are visually more appealing and I get to see more of the figures I have spent time and effort painting, which is always a good thing.
  2. The ability to manoeuvre units is restricted as they can easily get the way of each other. I definitely started to think more in terms of my army's centre and flanks, and what was in my first line and second line for support. 
  3. The benefits of a front line of light infantry who can pass through the lines behind heavy infantry became a lot more apparent to me. The larger units stopped light infantry from moving sideways out of any trouble.
  4. The constraints of movement places more importance on how an army is deployed. As any deployment mistakes are not easily undone with some quick manoeuvres before engaging the enemy.

Further thoughts:

  1. I am really tempted to increase the size of units for my Punic War campaign and reduce to number of units to 6-8 rather than the intended 10-12 units.
  2. Rather than removing one base from a unit for every 5 hits, have one base removed after 7 hits. A unit would then be eliminated upon taking 14 hits (one less than OHW's 15 hits for elimination). That way units will always have a minimum of 2 bases.
  3. Having read Lost Battles by P. Sabin I definitely want to see what deployment rules can be added.
As for my Punic War campaign, the opening campaign moves are to be made this weekend.

20 comments:

  1. An interesting tweak to the OHW. The bigger unit with a base loss as part of the deterioration is a good idea. Also going with wide units doesn't really effect depth of the battlefield, so units are still traversing the table from one side to the other at the same old rate, preserving the integrity of the scenarios, which often have the fighting over that distance as part of their victory conditions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am hoping most of the scenarios still hold true. It is the breath of the tabletop that has the limiting factor. If a unit is placed on the flank it tends to stay on the flank or at best moves to support the centre. So far I am liking this limitation.

      Delete
  2. It certainly looks great but it also seems to give a simple, effective approach to focus on the overall deployments and battleplan rather than on minor details.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is good in these games to focus on the areas of deployment and the battle plan, and it is quite tempting to introduce written orders which would be very old school.

      Delete
  3. Fascinating stuff and the big units look really good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I had better decide if I am going to have fewer but bigger units quickly as the land campaign is soon to start.

      Delete
  4. Those big uinits look really nice and with their staying power make melees more important to overall battle outcome. I doubt they could wheel like that - none of the ancient drill manuals show it.
    Lost Battles uses LOTS of units so I'm not sure if it will work as well with a small number of big units.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, the bigger units certainly improve the look. As for movement, I may end up with units pivoting or moving, but not both, after a few test games and seeing what movement constraints fit best.

      Delete
    2. Worked out the reason why I like them - they remind me of the photos in Charles Grant's 'The Ancient War Game' and 'Ancient Battles for Wargamers'. Fewer bigger units also make for a simpler narrative in the AAR that's easier to follow as each combat matters more. Also, I'm a sucker for old-school.

      Delete
    3. I do remember getting the first book out from the local library many years ago, but remember little of it now other than the cover with a building/temple and troops passing by. As you say the larger units will certainly help with the game reports and I have noticed in the few games I have played they tend to complete within 12-15 turns.

      Delete
  5. The game looks good with those unit sizes, and if you use forces similar to or slightly larger to OHW, you probably have everything you need , or nearly so!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I certainly like the look of larger units, particularly with the 20mm scale. A few more figures will be required to beef up a couple of units.

      Delete
  6. The larger units look great and really give the feel of an ancient battle. The base removal sounds like a great idea too, should give a greater indication of which units are struggling and allow for troops to punch holes in the enemy's lines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. There are advantages to base removal as you mention. I need to play a few more test games me thinks.

      Delete
  7. Great looking game Peter. The larger bases look excellent, I reckon and work well for the bizarre concept of ancient battles that is 'units'. I came to them via Impetus but, having now 'found' Lost Battles (coming to it late), they will be perfect for that.
    Regards, James

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I have been reading Solo Battles recently too. A fascinating book.

      Delete
  8. Looks excellent Peter.
    I do love your campaign play, and look forward to how it pans out for this period/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. The campaign is now underway and the first land battle is waiting on the tabletop for later this week.

      Delete
  9. That's a great looking game Peter and the post game thoughts are very interesting to read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I will definitely be trying out some simple deployment rules in my next game.

      Delete