900th post! Featuring Hoplite - The Portable Pelepponesian Wars 431BC to 403BC

Well what an amazing milestone, who would have thought I'd hit 900 posts, particularly after having some very fallow blogging periods Being retired helps of course, and in some ways producing content has become something of an employment replacement and it helps me to maintain a balance between modelling, gaming and rules and scenario design. Many thanks to my readers, I do appreciate your comments and thank you for taking the time to looking at my gaming ramblings. 

So for this one, it is time to go back classical Greece once more. 

 I was slightly disappointed with my previous outing of Mark Cordones 'Hoplite' after making a number of mistakes playing it, and was disinclined to try again. I find this time of year difficult with the longer nights etc and it saps my energy levels, however a dose of gardening and a dollop of sunray lamp revived me and I approached it with new enthusiasm. Be warned, this is a rather longer post than usual, perhaps not surprising as it covers an entire war lasting 28 years and includes several battles, but hey, it is my 900th post.

My more streamlined setup, now I know what I'm doing. I've got two sets of initiative dice - one for battles the other for strategic moves, as I kept getting them muddled up before. I've also got combat dice in contrasting colours to avoid accidentally picking up the initiative dice. As before the armies and fleets are grey or brown wooden blocks and I've marked the grid corners on the 'battle board' with stones.

For the battles I'm reverting to the one hit per unit. I've also simplified Marks suggested terrain to just Hill, River (and ford) and Rough Ground, with the entire battlefield clear on a 4+. Borrowing from Strategos, I'm also allowing armies to spend 2 PIPs to have a 'heroic attack' that turn to represent a concentration of effort and leadership. This adds +1 temporarily and is a way of breaking the tactical deadlock as so many battles end up as +5 vs +5. I'm going to use individual figures as heroes. 

Chronicles of the Peleponnesian Wars

431: The Athenians attack Corinth from Delos and are defeated. The Spartans occupy Delos in response.

429: Athens defeats the Spartan Fleet. The Spartans attack Chalkis from Thebes and take the city.

427: Sparta garrisons Corinth. Athens attacks Chalkis and retakes the city.

425: Athens raises a fresh army. The Spartans march from Corinth to Thebes.

423: Athenians try to retake Delos and are repulsed. 

421: Athens raises a fresh army. The Spartans in Thebes attack Chalkis and the city falls (again).

419: Revolt in Ionia! Athens sends and expeditionary force to quell the uprising which fails.

417: Athens controls the seas, the Spartans are denied a crossing.

415: Athens still controls the seas.

413: Persian intervention. The Athenian Fleet defeats the Persians and saves Athens.

411: Athens controls the seas.

409: Athens (finally) raises a new army.

407: Athens attacks Chalkis but is repulsed and the army is lost.

405: Sparta raises a new fleet. Athens raises a new army.

403: The Spartans, escorted by their fleet, attack Athens and the city falls. The war is over.

This is the setup for the Battle of Corinth (431). Athenians at the top and Spartans at the bottom, which is always the case. There is rough ground on the right - forbidden to cavalry, -1 cover from shooting and Hoplites only have a combat value of 2 when in it. Rather then using the suggested pluses and minuses, I gave the units DBA style combat values of 4 (hoplites), 3 (cavalry) and 2 (peltasts). Both sides have hoplites and peltasts for this one. I'll do this one as a blow-by-blow, the later battles will be more sketchy.

All set up, both sides have wisely put their peltasts opposite the rough ground. With six units and only three squares to deploy in, you end up with all the squares fully populated.

And off we go. Sparta occupies the rough ground and advances on the left. The Athenians advance into the gap and flank the main Spartan attack. Each side rolls 1D6 for how many units they can activate to move, which restricts how much stuff moves each turn. I also make units spend a PIP to initiate a combat unless it is a 'continuing battle' from the CRT or they moved into combat. 

The Spartan left wing is duly crushed. Outflanking attacks against two units in a square are fought as two separate battles, and the Athenians had the advantage on both.

The hit marker shows I'm still using the 2-hit option for this. The Athenian centre is crushed - getting outflanked is really bad, so the Athenians opt to attack on their right. The Spartans rol up enough PIPs to move to meet ahem and to counterattack supported by a heroic leader (an extra 2 PIPs).

The Athenians destroy the Spartan peltasts and conduct a general advance. If they can get to the Spartan baseline and stay there, they can still win.

The Peltasts make it and the Athenians rout another Spartan unit with the aid of a heroic leader.

The Spartans have one last chance..... and manage to roll tons of PIPs and finish off the last Athenian units. Sparta wins, just! The invasion of Corinth has ben repulsed and Athens loses an army.

That was good fun, the terrain really added some nuance to the battle (you really don't want hoplites in the rough ground) and the heroic leaders really added something. All too often you just get hoplite + support vs hoplite + support and a boring dice rolling contest. The leader option gives you an opportunity to spend some PIPs and get a slight local advantage, but the wild swings of a 2D6 opposed combat still gives plenty of swings of fortuna. The bad thing was the 2 hit option which meant the battle lasted for way to long to be useable in this campaign format. I'll dump it for the next ones.

With the destruction of the Delosian army, Sparta simply sailed across the Aegean and occupied Delos. Athens rolled enough to strategic PIPs to initiative a naval battle and sank the Spartan fleet. This has no undue effects on naval transport, but protects Athens from attack as the only route is by sea from Thebes. I'm wondering if loss of naval superiority should have some impact on all naval movement? Something to think on. Mark suggested unlimited naval movement for the side with superiority.

Anyway, Sparta attacked Chalkis from Thebes in 429 and both sides lined up for battle. They rolled up mirror armies, each of 2 x peltasts and 4 x hoplites. I deployed them identically as I couldn't think of anything better. The peltasts are useful as they can skirmish with missile weapons, even if they are weak in melee. Hits from skirmishing take out peltasts, cavalry and then hoplites in the target square, so a side with an inferiority in skirmishers will have to attack at some point or be whittled down.

The Spartans went for a right flank attack early on, supported by a hero. Although they managed to kill one hoplite (hoplites fight first in melee, then cavalry, then peltasts), the Athenians responded my moving another one across from their centre. In the ensuing combats the peltasts shot their opposite numbers and the Spartan hoplites died in the melee, leaving the hero out on his own. Ouch! the one hit combat system is brutal, but quick. 

Units then proceeded to die like flies in the back and forth struggle. It finally came down to one last Athenian hoplite reaching the Spartan baseline, opposed by one last Spartan hoplite.

The Spartans managed to prevail, but it was a close run thing. Chalkis fell, and another Athenian army lost.

That went much better, it was a faster more decisive battle but still plenty of meaningful decision making. I'm having to make some stuff on the fly in getting to grips with the grid, but that is always the case.

Athens only had one army left, and was unable to raise replacements as Sparta now occupied all the others! The only course of action left was to attack Chalkis, as if they lost, at least the Athenian fleet would protect them from invasion.

So in 427 the Athenian expedition mounted up and set sail for Chalkis.

The Athenians rolled up four hoplites, one peltast and one cavalry, and once again the Spartans were a mirror. There was some rough ground on the right of the Spartan line, where they put their peltasts.

After several turns of slogging, it was a complete wipeout for the Spartans. The last turn saw their last remaining unit overwhelmed by Athenians. Athens retook Chalkis and Sparta lost an army. 

The Athenians now had room to raise another army, and in 425 attacked Delos from Chalkis. (I haven't finished adjusting the board in the picture above).

The Delosian plain was featureless. Both sides rolled up hoplite armies, the Athenians had one peltast and the Spartans two.

The Spartans got stuck in almost immediately, aided by great PIP rolling which let them deploy a heroic leader almost every turn. First blood to Sparta.

It didn't go all their way as their right wing was shattered by an Athenian counterattack.

But eventually the Spartans prevailed and the Athenians were bottled up on their baseline. The expedition had failed.

The Athenians managed to raise a fresh army in Chaklis to replace the one lost in the expedition, but no sooner had they done that, than in 421 the Spartans attacked the fresh army in Chaklis from Thebes once more.

Once again both sides rolled up similar armies, 4 x hoplite, 1 x peltast and 1 x cavalry each. There was rough ground in the bottom right corner. Sparta got stuck in quickly after their peltasts rapidly despatched their opposite numbers.

The attack failed dismally! One battle was drawn (continuing combat) and they lost the other, despite the presence of a hero.

The following rounds went a bit more their way and both sides suffered heavy losses., but the Spartans were still pressing the Athenian baseline.

Ooer! Just one left on each side now.

But the Spartans (just) win the race to the baseline and win this one. Once again Chalkis fell to the Spartans and Athens loses an army.

Athens still has naval superiority, which saves it from invasion, but now only has one army left. Sadly in 419 there is a revolt in Ionia. Athens has to send an army to quell the rebellion or have its military capacity permanently reduced. The last Athenian army sails to meet its destiny.

A river features in this battle, with a ford in the central section. Athens has 5 x hoplites and 1 x peltast, the rebels have 4 x hoplites and 2 x peltasts (looking suspiciously like Spartans).

Athens starts off with its peltast missing completely and big attack on the ford supported by a hero, which fails dismally.

The Spartans counterattack with a hero of their own and rout the remaining Athenians. Horatio at the bridge and all that.

The Spartans chip off another unit with their peltasts and the Athenians have to straighten their line to fill the gaps.

Nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Athenians charge the ford again, led by their hero.

But it is all in vain and the rebels win. Ionia is in revolt and Athens both loses its last army  and is restricted to a maximum of 2 armies

Things are looking pretty bleak for Athens, however the Spartans need to replace their fleet and until they do, they can;t attack Athens. Meanwhile Athens needs to raise a new army - both actions need one side or the other to roll 5+ on their strategic initiative roll.

So all is quiet as Athens is raising new soldiers and Sparta is busy in its shipyards, However in 413 the Persian Fleet puts in an appearance. The fleets meet in battle off Delos.

After a titanic struggle the Persian fleet is driven off, although not destroyed. The Athenian fleet sails back to port, damaged but still in being.

 

In 407 Athens finally manages to raise its new army and mounts another expedition across the straits to Chalkis. This battle also took place across a river with a central ford.

Athens had 4 x hoplites, 1 x peltast and 1 x cavalry, the Spartan defenders 4 x hoplites and 2 x peltasts.

The peltasts missed completely and the Spartans charged the ford, led by a hero.

The Spartans destroyed one hoplite, but the Athenians moved across reinforcements, counterattacked and returned the favour.

Both sides were light on hoplites anyway and the early melees exposed their cavalry and peltasts to direct attack. Sparta attacked on the left and Athens on the right, as these river sections were held by lighter forces. The ford was strongly held by both sides.

One last big push was a disaster for Athens though, and the assault on Chalkis failed. Athens had lost its army again!

In 405 both sides rolled high on their strategic initiative. Sparta finally rebuilt its fleet and  Athens raised another army in Athens.

In 403, Athens was lined up to attack Chalkis again, but Sparta won the initiative. Escorted by her new navy the Spartan army crossed the straits and attacked Athens.

Athens had 3 x hoplites, 2 x peltasts and 1 x cavalry. Maybe that recruitment drive hadn't gone so well after all.

Sparta had 4 x hoplites and 2 x peltasts. Maybe they'd eaten all the horses after the last battle. This battle was on an open plain.

Sparta won the initiative and a devastating volley knocked out all the Athenian peltasts. The followed up with a charge on each flank, the right accompanied by a hero.

The attack on the right succeeds but the Athenians win on the left. They mass their cavalry and mount a heroic charge.

Sadly it fails to stop the Spartans. Their right wing phalanx makes it onto the Athenian baseline. The Athenians mount a counterattack.

Which fails. The Spartans win the battle and Athens falls. The Peleponnesian Wars end in 403 with the fall of Athens. Bizarrely, almost exactly the same date as in the real campaign.

That was really good fun, very enjoyable. Many thanks to Mark Cordone for the idea. It worked excellently as  solo game, I'm less sure good it would be face-face. It took about three hours to play from end-end including fighting seven battles, so it is quite slick.

 

If I was doing it again, I'd probably make the strategic events slightly more likely, perhaps if either initiative dice rolls a 1 as well as a double. That makes the chance of an event about 25%. I'd also think a bit more about naval superiority. Mark suggested allowing the side with naval superiority unlimited movement to ports, which would certainly prevent Athens getting completely bottled up but might be too flexible? Alternatively it might inhibit some of the existing sea movement. It would also be fun to develop more of a naval battle system rather than just an opposed dice roll. 

I'm (still) working on a 6x6 Ancients game with a view to remote games, a sort of mashup of One Hour Wargames, Phalanx and Strategos with a dollop of Command and Colours, but this gave me some food for thought. There are plenty of decent Ancients rules around, but I can't see a lot of them working remotely for my typical turnout of half a dozen players or more. I quite like using the DBA troop classifications and combat values as a lot of the hard thinking has already been done, but then you need fit it onto a grid in a sensible way.