Dominion of the Spear : Gaugamela 331BC

Having tried, and enjoyed, Dominion of rules in both Pike and Shot and Bismarck  variants, I saw the 'Ancients' version  Dominion of the Spear being used at The Other Partizan show last month, by Wargame Developments for their Alexander the Brief game.  Of course, that made me think 'I have Macedonian and Persian armies for DBA, could I use them for this?' Well, of course I could!  I also liked the printed booklet edition of the rules that they were using - so I ordered myself a set of 'DotS' from Lulu.  I bought a combined book of the basic rules and army lists, plus scenarios for 36 historical battles from Megiddo (1479 BC) to Agincourt (1415 AD). 

 One of those is Gaugamela ( or Arbela ) from 331 BC,  in which Alexander The Great's Macedonians  fought Darius III's Achaemenid Persians - deciding the fate of the Persian empire.   So let's give it a go.. 

The scenario has opposing armies as follows: 

Macedonians:     1 x Elite Armoured Cavalry ( Companions )  

                            1 x Cavalry ( Thessalians) 

                            1 x Elite Armoured Pikemen ( Phalanx )

                            1 x Spearmen ( Peltasts ) 

 

Persians :             3 x Cavalry

                            1 x Chariots (scythed) 

                            1 x Horse Archers

                            1 x Archers

 

So the Macedonians are outnumbered  6 units to 4, but have two very powerful units in the Companions and Pike Phalanx.  I don't yet have a Persian Chariot unit, but in the rules they are equivalent to 'melee mounted'  cavalry, so I simply replaced them with another Cavalry unit, making 4 in all.  I set up a very minimalist table, like this: 

 

The Persians are on the left of the picture, Macedonians to the right. At the top ( Left sector )  the Persian Horse Archers face Alexander's Companion cavalry; in the Centre  we have Persian Cavalry (standing in for Chariots)  against Macedonian Pike Phalanx;   and in the Right sector (bottom of picture) another Persian Cavalry unit is up against the Thessalian  cavalry.  In reserve (far left of picture) the Persians have two further cavalry units and the foot archers,  while the Macedonians (far right) have just their single unit of  Peltasts.    These dispositions were as specified in the scenario booklet.   And so, to battle.. 

 

First of all,  I diced for Attacker/Defender roles - the Persians rolled highest, and were deemed 'Attacker',  meaning they would go first in each turn. There are no less than three suggested variants for activating units in the rules, and I chose 'Option B', whereby on each turn the Attacker chooses one of the three sectors to initiate combat, and after that combat is resolved then the Defender in their turn  gets to choose one sector to fight in (which may be the same one as the attacker chose). 

 

Turn 1 began with the Persian 'attackers' choosing to attack with their cavalry in the Right sector against the Thessalian cavalry - the least powerful front-line Macedonian formation. Both are 'melee mounted' troops, so combat is a simple opposed 1D6 die roll  with a target of 4,5 or 6 to 'hit'.   The Persians rolled a 6 (hit), the Macedonians a 3 (miss) - so the Thessalians were defeated and removed from the game - simple!   When a unit is removed, it is replaced by a unit from the Reserve, if available  - accordingly, the Macedonian Peltasts moved to the Right sector to plug the gap. 

 

After Persian turn 1 - Thessalians gone, Peltasts move up

 

In their turn, Alexander's Macedonians set their Pike Phalanx moving forward to attack the Persian cavalry in the Centre sector.  Having 'Elite' status gave the Pikes an advantage in attack, and being 'Armoured' gave an advantage in defence, so it was not too surprising when the  cavalry was scattered by the mighty Phalanx ( it didn't help that the Persians only rolled a '2' ).   Darius ordered another cavalry unit to move up from Reserve to replace their defeated comrades.  At the end of Turn 1 each side had lost one unit, leaving 5 Persians against 3 Macedonians. 

 

Macedonian Turn 1 : one less Persian Cavalry! 

 On Turn 2, Darius ordered his Cavalry in the Right sector to attack the Macedonian Peltasts, again steering clear of the Companions and Pike Phalanx.  Cavalry and Peltasts being both 'melee' types were evenly matched - this time the dice went Persians 3 (miss) , Macedonians 5 (hit), and the Persian cavalry were routed.  Darius then ordered his foot Archers forward from Reserve.   With only average units facing  'Elite Armoured' Macedonians in the other two sectors, things looked pretty tough for Darius.  And then...

 

Turn 2 : Macedonian Phalanx overthrown! 

 For his Turn 2 activation, Alexander decided to keep his Pike Phalanx rolling forward in the Centre, ordering them to attack the Persian cavalry there. With advantages for being 'Elite' and 'Armoured', it seemed likely to be a repeat of the previous turn  - until the Macedonians rolled a '2' (miss)  and the Persians a '6' (hit!).  With that, the Phalanx dissolved and routed off the field - a serious blow for Alexander!  With no more units in Reserve,  this left their Centre sector empty - a very big hole in Alexander's battle line.  At the end of Turn 2, the Persians had 4 units against the Macedonians 2. 

On Turn 3, could Darius exploit the advantage so unexpectedly gained? He ordered his Centre sector Cavalry unit to make a Flanking Attack on the Peltasts, who would not be able to fight back. Now this was also 'match point', because if the Peltasts  were to be destroyed, Alexander would have only his Companions left on the field - and the rules say that if an army has zero or one remaining unit, and fewer units  than their opponents, at the end of a turn, the battle is lost.  So, rolling for the game - the Persians' dice showed - a '1' !  The Peltasts survived, and Alexander was still in the game.

 

Persian Turn 3 : Cavalry outflank Peltasts 

 

Now Alexander really needed some success to level things up - time for the Companions to attack! Facing them were Persian Horse Archers, and the combat rules decree that these ('Missile Mounted')  would shoot first at the charging Companions ('Melee Mounted'). They did so, a difficult shot owing to the Companions 'Armoured' status  - and perhaps unsurprisingly, missed.  The Companions charging home, had a 'plus 2' on the die roll  ( Elite status and 'Melee vs Missile'), but could only roll a '1' - no result. So, Turn 3 left the overall situation unchanged.    

 

For Turn 4,  the Persians had little option but to repeat their previous attack - their Cavalry in the Centre making a flanking attack on the Peltasts. Sadly for Darius, they also repeated their die roll of '1' - no result, and the Macedonians breathed again.  In their turn, they too repeated themselves, the Companions charging again at the Persian Horse Archers.  Again, the Horse Archers shot and missed, again the Companions charged home, and this time were not to be resisted. the Horse Archers were routed, to be replaced by the last Persian Reserves, their fourth unit of Cavalry. 

 

End Turn 4 :  can Alexander hang on? 

 

Thus at  the end of Turn 4, things looked a bit more equal - 3 Persian units vs. 2 Macedonians. The Companions still a powerful threat, but the gap in the Greek centre equally dangerous.  Could Alexander save himself?  

 

For Turn 5,  the Persians again had really only one option - keep attacking those Peltasts! Accordingly, their Centre sector cavalry charged for a third time at the flank of the Peltasts - and this time the dice gods were with them. They rolled a  '6' , and the Peltasts were duly destroyed.   

 

Turn 5 : Peltasts finally routed

 

Now this spelled doom for Alexander - even if his Companions could destroy their immediate opponents, at the end of  Turn 5 he would have only one unit against two Persians, and would thus lose the battle. So I could have called the game at that point, but I thought I would give Alexander his chance to even things up a little, so I played the Macedonian round. Of course the Companions attacked the opposing Persian cavalry,  but it seems both sides were becoming tired at this point; the Macedonians rolled '2' and the Persians '3', giving no effect. That ended Turn 5, and with just one Macedonian unit facing three Persian,  a famous victory went to Darius.  Perhaps history would be re-written, as Alexander's invading force  was forced to retire and the Persian Empire lived another day..

 

Turn 5 end: Alexander's last charge can't save him

I rather enjoyed that - once again the 'Dominion of..' rules proved very simple but quite clever. Things looked very tough for the Persians at the start, with no unit really matching up to  Alexander's Companions and Pike Phalanx, all 'Elite' and 'Armoured'.  But the dice intervened and the Pike Phalanx must have become disorganised, to be broken up by Persian cavalry - after that, Darius was in with a real chance, and eventually prevailed, not without some difficulty!  I think 'Quantity has a Quality all its Own' also applied, the Persians being able to keep feeding in their cheaper  units to replace losses, stay in the game and hope the dice came up in their favour, whereas Alexander relied on fewer if higher quality units, and was thus more vulnerable to attrition.  Losing the Pike Phalanx was the real killer!      

 

Not everyone's cup of tea, I'm sure, and very much dependent on '1D6'  results, but a fast and furious game  with some tactical subtlety required when deciding where to attack and  which units to call up from Reserve. Actually having a Reserve is perhaps unusual in table-top wargames, and very welcome  (see Big Lee's recent discussion) - in that respect, does this very simple game prove more 'authentic' as a command challenge than many more complex systems? 

 

Like many a simple game, I'm sure there is scope for tinkering and  expanding - the author (Steve Parker)  discusses options for larger armies ( simply more units in reserve, or perhaps  more powerful units ), and for larger battlefields ( increase the number of sectors ), and I wonder if multiple units per sector might be interesting - I assume all these would make for a longer-lasting game and perhaps less of a 'sudden death' style.  The small numbers of units required for a basic game makes it attractive to try out different armies - I have a few very vintage  Airfix Ancient Britains , who might become a Gaulish army, and I think I bought a box of HaT  Carthaginians - so obviously I just need some Romans now.. and so the megalomania starts! 

 

I hope this has been interesting for you; it was certainly good fun for me, and I will no doubt return to the theme. The next big item on my hobby agenda is the Warfare show at Farnborough  next weekend,  which I hope to visit and will try to report on, and those vintage Minifigs 7YW/AWI armies need some proper storage and organisation - and of course, to be used in a game! Until then, keep well, everyone .