Ancient History

Trieres Conversions

Decades ago I used Valiant Enterprises ‘Ramming Speed’ 1/900 scale pentakonters as 1/1200 scale aphract trieres. Since I could now use more cataphract trieres, the models are being converted by filling in the exposed benches with strips of paper. Only 40 to convert….

Before and after

Punic War Battle

Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a fictional Punic War battle using Battlesystem.

Carthaginian right flank

Carthaginian heavy cavalry drives off Roman skirmishers to hit the flank of Roman infantry. Medium cavalry charges the front. A Roman unit is destroyed and the heavy cavalry recoils.

Roman cavalry exploits a hole in the Carthaginian lines to attack Carthaginian skirmish cavalry. An elephant counter charges into their flank.

Roman infantry drives off the skirmish cavalry with fire. Roman infantry hit a phalanx unit in flank and rear.

With both sides bloodied and lines in disarray, we called a halt to the carnage.

Battle of Salamis, 306 BC

Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Hail, Agrippa! at the Dogs of War shop. The Hail, Agrippa! rules are a modification of Hail Caesar published in Issue 66 of ‘Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy’ magazine. [Hail Agrippa! rules link]

The scenario was based on the Battle of Salamis (Crete), 306 BCE fought between an Antigonid fleet led by Demetrius and a Ptolemaic fleet led by Ptolemy in person. The main source for the battle is Diodorus.

The units in the game (4 models on a base) represent about 10 ships each. Miniatures are primarily Langton 1:1200 and Navwar 1:1200, with a few Valiant 1:900 and scratch-built ships.

As described in Diodorus, the Antigonid fleet deploys first, and the Ptolemaic fleet second.

Ptolemy has chosen to deploy to seaward (east) of Demetrius. His lightest ships are on the right wing.

Ptolemy advances rapidly while Demetrius pivots.

The left wings and centers clash and both right wings are delayed by failed orders. Ptolemy loses a unit.

Most of Ptolemy’s center is destroyed by bad rolls on break tests. Demetrius swings his right wing inward. The remaining Ptolemaic ships flee.

Diadochi Era Siege Ship

seige

This is a very speculative attempt to model a double-hulled ship carrying a siege tower in 1/1200 scale. Demetrius I Poliorcetes or Lysimachus may have used something like this for siege operations against cities in the early 3rd Century BCE. See Chapter 6 of “The Age of Titans” by Murray.

The model uses the hulls of two 1/900 scale Ramming Speed ships by Valiant Enterprises. The tower is 30 meters tall in 1/1200 scale, or about 3/4 of the estimated height of Helepolis.

1/1200 Ancient Naval Basing

The 1/1200 scale ancient ships were temporarily re-based for Hail, Agrippa! simply by sticking the old individual bases to cardboard. In order to use the same ships for various game systems, they are being fitted with rare earth magnets. Custom 40 mm x 130 mm magnetic hardboard bases were made by Good Ground LLC. The magnetic material on the bases is intended for transport using steel drawers. Here they are being used upside down so the rare earth magnets on the ships will stick. This allows for variations in the type, number and positions of ships.

[Edit: Since the Good Ground bases are magnetic, a piece of ferrous metal on the bottom of the ship model works as well or better than a rare earth magnet. My recent ships have been built using a small zinc-plated steel washer or a square of tin-plated steel sheet. This is easier and cheaper than the magnets.]