3.6.4 Example of a battle
3.6.4 Example of a battle |
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Army units
The armies of Darius and Alexander are about to fight. The morale of both armies is good to start, and both armies are fresh and rested.
Darius has seven units - four are infantry with spears, one is cataphract cavalry, one is light cavalry and one comprises his baggage train and camp followers.
| Unit | Type | Size | Melee value | Missile value | Defence value | Commanded by | Commander's Tactics score | Commander's IQ score | Morale | Tiredness |
| Spearmen 1 | Green disciplined, close order | 2,500 | 19 | 0 | 12 | Belzar | 4 (+1) | +1 | Good | Fresh |
| Spearmen 2 | Green disciplined, close order | 2,500 | 19 | 0 | 12 | Shadrak | 3 (+1) | +0 | Good | Fresh |
| Spearmen 3 | Green disciplined, close order | 2,500 | 19 | 0 | 12 | Mishak | 5 (+2) | +1 | Good | Fresh |
| Spearmen 4 | Green disciplined, close order | 2,500 | 19 | 0 | 12 | Abednigo | 3 (+1) | +1 | Good | Fresh |
| Cataphracts | Elite, disciplined, close order | 200 | 34 | 19 | 29 | Darius* | 3 (+1) | +0 | Good | Fresh |
| Light cavalry | skirmish order | 400 | 22 | 18 | 11 | Xerxes | 3 (+1) | +0 | Good | Fresh |
| Camp followers | Irregular, skirmish order | 1,000 | 10 | 12 | 1 | Goliath | 2 (+1) | -1 | Good | Fresh |
Alexander has eight units - three are pike phalanxes, three are archers, one is heavy cavalry and one comprises his baggage train and camp followers.
| Unit | Type | Size | Melee value | Missile value | Defence value | Commanded by | Commander's Tactics score | Commander's IQ score | Morale | Tiredness |
| Phalanx 1 | Veteran, close order | 1,500 | 25 | 0 | 20 | Pericles | 5 (+2) | +0 | Good | Fresh |
| Phalanx 2 | Veteran, close order | 1,500 | 25 | 0 | 20 | Leonidas | 4 (+2) | +1 | Good | Fresh |
| Phalanx 3 | Veteran, close order | 1,500 | 25 | 0 | 20 | Achilles | 4 (+2) | +0 | Good | Fresh |
| Archers 1 | Veteran,skirmish order | 500 | 18 | 20 | 7 | Hector | 5 (+1) | +1 | Good | Fresh |
| Archers 2 | Veteran,skirmish order | 500 | 18 | 20 | 7 | Skipios | 4 (+2) | +0 | Good | Fresh |
| Archers 3 | Veteran,skirmish order | 500 | 18 | 20 | 7 | Ptolemy | 5 (+2) | +1 | Good | Fresh |
| Heavy cavalry | Elite, close order | 250 | 30 | 0 | 18 | Alexander* | 7 (+3+2) | +2 | Good | Fresh |
| Camp followers | Irregular, skirmish order | 500 | 10 | 12 | 1 | Lysander | 3 (+1) | -1 | Good | Fresh |
The terrain is open throughout.
Darius' army outscouts Alexander's since Darius has more than twice as much cavalry as Alexander.
Both commanders independently decide on their initial deployment.
| Darius Army Reserve Open Camp followers & Baggage train |
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| Darius Army Right flank Open Spearmen 1 & Cataphracts |
Darius Army Centre Open Spearmen 2 & Spearmen 3 |
Darius Army Left flank Open Spearmen 4 & Light Cavalry |
| Alexander Army Left flank Open Pike phalanx 1, Archers 1 & Heavy cavalry |
Alexander Army Centre Open Pike phalanx 2 & Archers 2 |
Alexander Army Right flank Open Pike phalanx 3 & Archers 3 |
| Alexander Army Reserve Camp followers & Baggage train |
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Both commanders now make their battlefield strategy dice rolls. Darius has a Tactics score of 3 with a specialism in battlefield strategy of 1, and an IQ of +0; he gets a +3 bonus for outscouting Alexander. He rolls 2D+1 and gets a 4, and a 3, making a dice roll result of 8. Alexander has a talent for Tactics (+2), a Tactics score of 7 with a specialism in battlefield strategy of 3 and an IQ of +2. He rolls 4D+2 and gets a 3, 2, 4 and 3, making a dice roll result of 14. Since this is six points higher than Darius' result, Alexander can decide to move one of his units' initial deployment. He decides that his heavy cavalry would be better deployed engaging on Darius' relatively weak left flank and so switches them across to his own right flank.
The adjusted initial deployment is therefore:
| Darius Army Reserve Open Camp followers & baggage train |
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| Darius Army Right flank Open Spearmen 1 & Cataphracts |
Darius Army Centre Open Spearmen 2 & Spearmen 3 |
Darius Army Left flank Open Spearmen 4 & Light Cavalry |
| Alexander Army Left flank Open Pike phalanx 1 & Archers 1 |
Alexander Army Centre Open Pike phalanx 2 & Archers 2 |
Alexander Army Right flank Open Pike phalanx 3, Archers 3 & Heavy cavalry |
| Alexander Army Reserve Camp followers & baggage train |
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