Plataea the battle - moves 4-6

 Trying to mix a couple of videos in on this one... if it works, start of move 3 and after completing movement (but not combat) of move 7...

The Spartans on the hill are starting to look more and more threatened.

The orange shields are rushing up to plug the gap in the centre

While the other Corinthians try to block the left.

Quick picture to show how things stand on move 4...

Centre outflanking movement continues

The right flank Spartans hit the green and red sparabara units (Corps 2 and 3)

It didn't go well for the Persians - Corps 3 dies.

In the attritional warfare on the Athenian left another hoplite element goes under. As each element is classed as a separate entity for combat end elements are proving quite susceptible to outflanking and overlaps.

There is now a big hole in the Greek centre with the Spartans isolated from the other Greeks. The Persian 'Crescent'  light cavalry are moving away from the orange battalion to make way for the infantry moving up.

More nibbling away at the flank of a phalanx battalion - this time the Grant Spartan battalion loses an element.In this case, the element behind the 'dead' element had been pushed back so it was directly behind the next element to be pushed back - the whole Spartan battalion rolled low - combats may be individual when needed, but the entire battalion only throws once for the random factor. Saves time, less messy.

Meanwhile Corps 2 of the Persian army is just hanging on.

Leaving this video to show the position on move 7, after movement but before I start resolving combat.

Plataea the battle 1 - photos

So, treating the video version as an 'extra', this is the main post for moves 1-3...
 Starting with the initial setup.

Note that I don't have enough river tiles to cover the entire frontage!

On the first move the Persians have crossed the river and are advancing.

The two skirmish lines in front of the Grant Spartans clash with the Persians supported by some heavy cavalry. In the actual battle the Persians were beaten when the general Mardonius was killed. To represent that, I will move the general into the battle line if there is close combat and replace a spara element - if the spara unit is destroyed, he dies, Persians retreat.

As the left flank Persian cavalry and Greek infantry clash the Persians advance towards the Spartans who are trying to form a line.

The combination of cavalry and Sakae prove too much for the Greek light javelins and they die.

The right  hand Athenian battalion is looking stressed... In the 'real' battle the Persian centre held back - here, it's proving to be a major factor!

And meanwhile the supports in front of the right flank Spartans have seen off the Persian light cavalry... All the Persians needed to do was roll better than the Greeks - the Greeks rolled up three times, pushing back the Persians twice then killing them!

The right flank Athenian battalion is taking serious casualties - but survives a morale test! Meanwhile the Thebans are poised to strike.

Leaving things looking very interesting as far as the battle is concerned... especially looking at the Theban cavalry and Corinthians dashing to cover that exposed flank!

Plataea - the battle 1 (video)

Completed the first 3 moves. However, continuing the experiment I want to eventually try mixing photos and video - but as videos are very big files I'm going slowly - ie separate, starting with the video first!

I've used my usual trees to mark which move it is - 1 tree for move 1, 2 trees for move 2, etc.

In thefirst move, the Persian line is moving forward as the the 'Corinthians' start moving to support the Athenians and Pausanius is moving up on the right flank to get into the battle.

Move 2 shows the Spartan right moving into line as the Corinthians continue to move up. The Greek and Persian light troops are in action...

In move 3, The Athenians are under a lot of pressure. Meanwhile the Spartans on the hill have lost their supports and are coming under fire from the Sparabara. The Spartan light javelins and Persian (Grant) light cavalry continue their fight... all the cavalry had to do was get a higher dice roll to destroy the Greeks, 3 moves in a row the Greeks rolled higher finally destroying the cavalry! And the Athenians are also under pressure...

In fact, some of the Athenian elements have been destroyed - but the rest of the unit passed a morale test and decided to halt for two periods!

So, at thed of move 3 The Spartans look OK, the 'Corinthians' are moving to try and cover the flanks of the Athenians - but the Athenians seem to be in trouble!

Setting up Plataea

 Getting there with an attempt to do something similar to the Charles Grant version of Plataea - similar in the sense I've also tried to match it with the Herodotus version of the Persian army as well. My table is a foot too narrow to allow for the depth Grant was able to achieve in his battlefield as well - in his version, the battlefield looks to be almost deeper than it is wide!

 Anyway, I'm splitting this bit into two parts - mainly because this is a pure experiment. I've set it up and tried to do a short (but very large file) video of the setup as a taster... and at time of typing this no idea whether it will work!

 The picture is slightly out of date as far as the Persian left flank is concerned - updated version will come later.

Meanwhile, this is the experiment - seems to have worked even though the quality is not of the best.

 

Athenian Hoplites

Taken a while, mainly because I started doing the next unit with them - mostly shields left to do on those. so should have that unit finished in a couple of days as well.

The Athenian shields show a lot of owls and As to represent Athens. I've included some bull's heads to represent a Theseus and the Minotaur theme plus triremes and dolphins to represent the fleet and the sea. Adding a few other designs to the mix and, overall, hope the effect is a good representation of 'Athens'.

Time now to think about the next things to do. My original idea was for the summer to be Newhaven based - set up scenarios, sort rules, make more buildings. Instead it's been about casting issues, getting 2 melting pots repaired and painting about 150 hoplites. Still got another 50 to paint plus the elite units but, frankly, getting a bit hoplite weary.

So, two main choices. I've got enough figures cast to get the Early Imperial Romans done, giving me another DBA army in the current project. Or I could get back to the Vanha - lots of swordsmen and archers cast and ready to go.

Romans would need about 50 figures and I'd have to find the RAFM scorpios I've got - Garrison version I don't like as much. Vanha open ended - once strarted could easily run to about 80 infantry at which point I would probably add a couple more cavalry units. I keep changing my mind. Could even add more pikes and crossbows to the Republic of Cataplana!

Still, it's nice to have both the choice and the figures available.

Some old Garrison Hoplites

One of my favourite figures was the old Garrison hoplite with Corinthian helmet. It was quite a shock when I ordered some and the figures that arrived were the new, larger 25mm ones. Anyway, the unit of the old style ones formed a mainstay of my Greeks until I bought Garrison.

The original figures were modified a bit - I replaced the short spear with a longer wire one, some lost their crests for the sake of variety... they finally went out of service because they were replaced by unmodified figures.

 These are the originals.

Their eventual replacements are now the Athenian component of my Greek armies.

The front unit is ones I did a few years ago, the rest were part of Harry's collection.

 
However, the Garrison figures were not my first hoplite unit - that honour belongs to this unit of 'S' Range figures.

Greek Light Forces

Cavalry and light infantry are one way in which I'm trying to add 'National Characteristics' to my various Greek contingents. At the moment I'm working my way through basing some of these.

Over the years the  Athenians were recorded as using both Thracian mercenaries and Scythians, although the Thracians hired for the trip to Sicily arrived too late and the Scythians were hired as a 'police force'.  So these two groups were obvious ones to add and I've supplemented them with mercenary Greek archers - probably from Crete.

The Scythian horse archers have yet to be rebased and are also a lot nicer than the photo suggests!

 

 

 

Apart from hoplites I've given the Spartans a unit of heavy  cavalry as 'bodyguard' - the hippeis - though in reality these would have acted as mounted infantry. For light infantry I've given them 4 units of low quality Helots, 3 of light javelins, 1 of slingers.

 

 

And...more Greeks...Athens

Continuing the theme of trying to use a different code for each city, Athens gets G3. Which is a pity because none of them have an owl as the shield design. Still, Athens was a major naval power, and the biggest unit has a dolphin motif. Close enough.

The whole hoplite body - 1 x 48, 4 x 24

This is the unit I painted. The shield pattern is the same one I used for a 15mm unit.

This unit and the following 3 were acquired from Harry.

All four units. I suppose I should probably call them tribes!