Cunaxa Redux

[MengJiao]

  I pondered a rational ahistorical Cunaxa.  The best I could do was to remove one Satrap and his command from each side.  Tissapherenes and his
heavy cavalry no longer are with the Great King and Ariaeus and his Asians have not turned up for the Rebels.  There were quite a few ways to
rationalize that, but there was no obvious way to strengthen the rebels.
  So I turned to Xenophon's account and found that before breakfast the rebel army thought it had been surprised by the arrival of the Royal Army.
So the two armies could collide in mid-deployment and Cyrus would not really have the option of his bad plan.  But what about a deployment from the
march for the Greeks amongst the rebels?  Why not borrow Leotychides and a very mixed bag of vaguely Spartan troops from the Greek column attack
at Mycale?  So here he is with some 3rd rate hoplites and some first-rate helots:

[MengJiao]

  I pondered a rational ahistorical Cunaxa.  The best I could do was to remove one Satrap and his command from each side.  Tissapherenes and his
heavy cavalry no longer are with the Great King and Ariaeus and his Asians have not turned up for the Rebels.  There were quite a few ways to
rationalize that, but there was no obvious way to strengthen the rebels.
  So I turned to Xenophon's account and found that before breakfast the rebel army thought it had been surprised by the arrival of the Royal Army.
So the two armies could collide in mid-deployment and Cyrus would not really have the option of his bad plan.  But what about a deployment from the
march for the Greeks amongst the rebels?  Why not borrow Leotychides and a very mixed bag of vaguely Spartan troops from the Greek column attack
at Mycale?  So here he is with some 3rd rate hoplites and some first-rate helots:

And a little into Turn 1 -- both sides start deploying:

[bayonetbrant]

a lot of those ancients games look so sparse with plain hex maps.  I'd rather see at least something resembling green grass or dirt on the map

[MengJiao]

a lot of those ancients games look so sparse with plain hex maps.  I'd rather see at least something resembling green grass or dirt on the map

Some maps for the GBOH series have such things, but given the problems the armies of the time had with any terrain at all, its not surprising that many battles happened on more or less featureless bits of ground.

[MengJiao]

a lot of those ancients games look so sparse with plain hex maps.  I'd rather see at least something resembling green grass or dirt on the map

Some maps for the GBOH series have such things, but given the problems the armies of the time had with any terrain at all, its not surprising that many battles happened on more or less featureless bits of ground.

Turn one almost over:

[MengJiao]

a lot of those ancients games look so sparse with plain hex maps.  I'd rather see at least something resembling green grass or dirt on the map

Some maps for the GBOH series have such things, but given the problems the armies of the time had with any terrain at all, its not surprising that many battles happened on more or less featureless bits of ground.

Turn one almost over:

Leotychides advancing rapidly with the rebel left.  At this point he has 3 moves and 1 reform versus a single move by most Persian formations.  This rapid move might work -- but I have my doubts:

[MengJiao]

Leotychides advancing rapidly with the rebel left.  At this point he has 3 moves and 1 reform versus a single move by most Persian formations.  This rapid move might work -- but I have my doubts:

So Leotychides is moving up the rebel left very fast.  Otherwise not much has happened yet.  Here is the start of Turn 3:

[MengJiao]

Leotychides advancing rapidly with the rebel left.  At this point he has 3 moves and 1 reform versus a single move by most Persian formations.  This rapid move might work -- but I have my doubts:

So Leotychides is moving up the rebel left very fast.  Otherwise not much has happened yet.  Here is the start of Turn 3:

Arrows fly:

[bayonetbrant]

That lone #4 counter on the center-right looks like an attack helicopter

[MengJiao]

That lone #4 counter on the center-right looks like an attack helicopter

That's how I track which side has a chit to pull next.  It's on the rebel side now since the Army of the Great King just moved and fired its horse archers.

[Staggerwing]

That lone #4 counter on the center-right looks like an attack helicopter

Could also be an AT gun- 88?

[MengJiao]

That lone #4 counter on the center-right looks like an attack helicopter

Could also be an AT gun- 88?

It's a generic heavy AA gun ( 88 or 90 or whatever) from One of the Command at Sea games.

[MengJiao]

Arrows fly:

Start of Turn 4 -- skirmishing in the center: