3.6.4.6 Sixth battle turn

Sixth battle turn - orders

After the collapse of Alexander's second phalanx, both Darius and Alexander sense that the decisive moment of the battle is upon them, and order their troops into all-out attack in the sixth battle turn. These orders are then revealed simultaneously.

The crucial issue is whether Alexander's phalanx 3 manages to charge into Darius's spearmen 1 before they impact of the archers. Because the two infantry units are of similar speed, the referee requires the unit commanders of the affected units to make opposing dice rolls using their Tactics (including battlefield strategy) + IQ to see whether the light cavalry evade the charge. Belzar has a basic value of 4 (Tactics) +1 (specialism) +1 (IQ) -1 (quite tired) =4; he rolls 2D-2, gets a 1 and 5 making a dice roll result of 4. Achilles has a basic value of 4 (Tactics) +2 (specialism) +0 (IQ) -2 (tired) =4; he rolls 2D-2, gets a 6 and 1 making a dice roll result of 5. Achilles phalanx smashes into Belzar's charging spearmen and prevents them from hitting the archers.

As a result of these maneuvers, the deployment at the end of the sixth battle turn is as follows:

Sixth battle turn (missile fire)

On Alexander's right flank, Alexander's Archers 3 unit (460 strong, with a missile value of 20) is led by Ptolemy, who has a Tactics score of 5 (with +2 specialism in leading a unit in battle) and an IQ of +1. The unit is slightly tired and has good morale. It is standing and firing from a normal firing position (i.e. nether advantageous or disadvantageous) at Darius' Spearmen 2 (with a defence value of 12) in close order. To determine how many casualties are delivered this battle turn, Ptolemy makes a dice roll, with a basic value of 5 (Tactics) +2 (specialism) +1 (IQ) +20 (missile value) +2 (good morale) -1 (slightly tired) +0 (normal firing position) -12 (defence value) +0 (target in close order) +0 (normal visibility/wind) = 17. He risks 5D+2, rolls a 4, 5, 3, 6 and 2 giving a dice roll result of 22. This results in the firing unit causing casualties in the target equal to 14% of its size (i.e. 14% x 460 = 64 casualties). The unit strength of the spearmen unit is reduced by 64.

Sixth battle turn (melee combat)

In the centre, Darius' Spearmen 1 charge into Alexander's Pike phalanx 3 from the front. Belzar is commanding the unit and has a Tactics score of 4 with a specialism in battlefield strategy of 1 and an IQ of +1. His unit of green troops are armed with spears, there are 2,132 of them and their melee value is 19. The unit is quite tired and has good morale. They are charging the pike phalanx (defence value of 20 in close order). To determine how many casualties are delivered this battle turn, Belzar makes a dice roll, with a basic value of 4 (Tactics) +1 (specialism) +0 (IQ) +19 (melee value) +2 (good morale) -1 (quite tired) +0 (normal position) +1 (charging) -20 (defence value) -2 (target is veterans in close order) +0 (attacking the target's front) +0 (normal visibility) = 4. He decides to roll 2D-2, gets a 4 and a 5, making a dice roll result of 7, which results in the attacking unit causing casualties equal to 6% of its size (i.e. 6% x 2,132 = 128 casualties). The pike phalanx is reduced by 128 casualties.

The pike phalanx countercharges Belzar's spearmen. Achilles is commanding the unit and has a Tactics score of 4 with a specialism in battlefield strategy of 2 and an IQ of +0. His unit of veteran troops are armed with pikes, there are 1,254 of them and their melee value is 25. The unit is tired and has good morale. They are charging the spearmen (defence value of 12 in close order). To determine how many casualties are delivered this battle turn, Achilles makes a dice roll, with a basic value of 4 (Tactics) +2 (specialism) +0 (IQ) +25 (melee value) +2 (good morale) +1 (charging) -2 (tired) +0 (normal position) -12 (defence value) -1 (target is green in close order) +0 (attacking the target's front) +0 (normal visibility) = 19. He decides to risk 5D+4, rolls a 6, 5, 1, 4 and 3 giving a dice roll result of 23. This results in the attacking unit causing casualties equal to 42% of its size (i.e. 42% x 1,254 = 527 casualties). The phalanx inflicts 527 casualties on the spearmen.

Meanwhile, Darius' Spearmen 2 continue to pursue Alexander's fleeing Pike phalanx 2 from the rear. Shadrak is commanding the unit and has a Tactics score of 3 with a specialism in battlefield strategy of 1 and an IQ of +0. His unit of green troops are armed with spears, there are 1,966 (2,030 -64 from missile fire) of them and their melee value is 19. The unit is tired and has good morale. They are engaging the pike phalanx (defence value of 20 in close order). To determine how many casualties are delivered this battle turn, Shadrak makes a dice roll, with a basic value of 3 (Tactics) +1 (specialism) +0 (IQ) +19 (melee value) +2 (good morale) -2 (tired) +2 (advantage) +0 (not charging) -20 (defence value) -2 (target is veterans in close order) +6 (attacking the target's rear) +0 (normal visibility) = 9. He decides to roll 3D, gets a 3, 2 and 6, which results in the attacking unit causing casualties equal to 12% of its size (i.e. 12% x 1,966 = 236 casualties). The pike phalanx is reduced by a further 236 casualties before it can disengage.

Sixth battle turn - consequences of combat

At the end of the battle turn, the units in the battle have the following status:

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