Three Quarters of Plataea 479 BC

Started by MengJiao, March 26, 2017, 08:01:46 PM

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MengJiao


  The Spartan-Athenian alliance won the half of Plataea that I assembled, though just barely.  I decided to push things up a quarter of a notch to three quarters AND include the "Thebans under Medean command" that Herodotus mentions.  Other modifications include some cavalry for the Athenians (outnumbered by about seven or eight to one by the Persian Alliance), positioning the Greek center around Plataea since in Herodotus that's what most of the Greek army thought they were supposed to be doing (the "island" formed around Plataea by the Oero) , including the special formations of mixed troops fielded by the Athenians and Spartans (ie formations of hoplites and missile troops to hold exposed or important positions) and having the Persian Cavalry in the old Spartan positions (since they noticed the Spartans had left and that's what triggered the battle).  We also know that the Persian Left attacked first and that the right (in this case, the Medeans, the Greeks under Medean Command and the Greeks under Alexander I of Macedon) attacked without orders, or perhaps despite some Medean orders.

So here is most of the situation, mid-morning as the Greeks turn to face the Persian attack :

MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on March 26, 2017, 08:01:46 PM


So here is most of the situation....

  By the start of Turn 3, about 30 minutes into the battle, my reconstruction is showing some of the logic of the battle as reported by Herodotus.
You can see why Pausanius, the Spartan leader, was reluctant to move out of his defensive positions anchored around the Temple of Demeter (assuming he deployed as I have him deployed here).  You can also see why ("miraculously") there were no dead Persians found near the Temple of Demeter -- they probably would have attacked as I have them attacking here, farther west.  You can also see why -- as here -- the Tegean troops -- fartherest west of the Spartans -- would have wanted to advance and why the Greek center suffered much higher loses than the Spartans or Athenians on the flanks.
There have been some unexpected developments.  For example, the worst hoplites in the Greek army made some astonishingly lucky rolls, pivoted, came forward at a run and routed some Persian cavalry.  OF course this will probably get them routed in turn and their cohesion is all but gone.
And you can see the sunlight glinting off the Athenian array to the far west.


MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on March 27, 2017, 05:46:10 PM

So here is most of the situation....

   At the Start of Turn 5, things are starting to go wrong for the Persian Alliance.  The cavalry is mostly routed (except for the Thebans and their allies) and the Corinthians have arrived to block the Thebans under Medean command.
  For the Greeks -- as in the historical battle -- things looked iffy when the Persian cavalry met the Spartans and one of the top Spartan phalanxes was routed  -- but -- again as in the historical battle -- the Spartans advanced and routed the Persian cavalry.  So far only the very best and very worst of the Greek hoplites have routed, due in both cases to advancing too far into the midst of the enemy.  The more average hoplites have made many more average rolls and done only moderate damage to their foes without themselves being driven from the field in disorder.

 

MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on March 29, 2017, 08:04:17 PM

HMMMMMMM

End of Turn 5:

Things have gotten very Herodotian.  You can see the "confusion" of the Persian advance that he describes, but also you can see how the Greek withdrawal -- even if it did go slightly wrong in some details -- completely threw the Persians off.  For example, the ideal Persian exploitation would hold most of the cavalry in reserve until the Greek center fell apart rather than using the cavalry as the first line of attack on the strongest part of the Greek line -- which would not even have worked as well as it did here since the Athenian combined hoplite-archer formations had killed the Persian cavalry commander (resurrected in all versions of the scenario to give the Persians a chance) days before the big battle.  Historically, at this point the Medes and Macedonians and their allies left the battle, leaving the Persians to be slaughtered in the camp.

MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on April 03, 2017, 07:16:53 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on March 29, 2017, 08:04:17 PM

HMMMMMMM

End of Turn 5:

Things have gotten very Herodotian.  You can see the "confusion" of the Persian advance that he describes, but also you can see how the Greek withdrawal -- even if it did go slightly wrong in some details -- completely threw the Persians off.  For example, the ideal Persian exploitation would hold most of the cavalry in reserve until the Greek center fell apart rather than using the cavalry as the first line of attack on the strongest part of the Greek line -- which would not even have worked as well as it did here since the Athenian combined hoplite-archer formations had killed the Persian cavalry commander (resurrected in all versions of the scenario to give the Persians a chance) days before the big battle.  Historically, at this point the Medes and Macedonians and their allies left the battle, leaving the Persians to be slaughtered in the camp.

10 minutes later (almost two hours into the battle) and its pretty much all over for the Persians and their allies: the Spartans crush the Immortals and on the other side of Asopus Ridge the Corinthians, having spent almost two hours carefully approaching the battle and delicately adjusting their lines -- well they go nuts, and head off up and over the ridge at a run, slam into the faultering Thebans and rout them.  Persian rout points are at 200 (they will collapse at 260) and the Greek rout points are at 40 (they will collapse at 220).  Game over.