By the Zvezda Company for its Age of Battles game system. It was the 14th year of the Peloponnesian War. Not participating in the war to this point, Argos became more active and began to build their own union in a counter-balance to the Peloponnesians (led by Sparta). It included Elidos, Mantinea, and a number of the finer cities (Arcadians and Argolides). After short negotiations, the Argossian Union entered the war on the side of Athens. Argossians, with Elissians and Mantineans conducted a campaign to Corinth (the largest ally of Sparta) in the hopes of breaking the Peloponnese armies into smaller parts. However, this force was surrounded when the Boeotians appeared in time on the side of the Spartans. But the battle was not decided because of the indecision of the Spartan King Aegis, who let the enemy go in peace. The Argossians, having returned home, agreed with the King that it was better to save the army from route so that they may fight again. The army then besieged the city of Tegeia, one of the largest allies of Sparta and Arcadia. The Spartans were angered by the failure of the king and threatened him gravely and with exile in case of defeat. The Spartans gave him seven elite lochoi (about 4000 Spartans), one thousand Iloti (released slaves) – veterans recently returned from Khaldiki Neodamodeis. Ten advisors were sent to the aid of the besieged Tegeians. The Argossians and their allies, having taken a position on a hill near Mantinea, waited for the Spartans’ attacks. Aegis, however, did not risk an attack before the arrival of the Boeotians and Corinthians. He withdrew to the river in the Mantinean area and prepared for battle. This river dominated the terrain, causing a dilemma for the king. He decided that the enemies would descend from the hill and will join the battle on the plain. The Argossians thought that the Spartains had escaped from them again and that day they lynched their strategists. The next day they deployed in combat order and set off in the direction of the river where the Spartan army had disappeared. The Spartans, having withdrawn from the river, were returning to Mantinea when they happened upon the Argossians, already deployed in combat formation. However, they immediately reformed and attacked. On the right wing of the Spartan army were the Arcadian allies (Tegeians, Meanalii, and Hereans) and the Spartan Cavalry. In the center were six elite Spartan lochoi led by the King himself. On the left flank were the Hoplite Iloty, veterans of the Khaldiki campaigns who struggled along with the Brasidians, and one Elite lochoi of Sciritae. On the left flank of the Argossian armies was a group of Athenians and a home guard of two small towns in Argolides. In the center stood the Argossians. The right flank was occupied by the Mantineans and a small number of Arcadian allies. The battle was fierce and bloody. The Spartans turned facing the Argossians and struck in the flank of the Athenians. Arcadians and Spartan cavalry attacked around the other flank of the Athenians. On the left flank of the Sciritae, the Neodamodaeans and Brasidians fought off the Mantinean attack, but ran when the formed phalanx included one thousand Argossians and then they attacked the Neodamodaeans in the flank. Aegis, seeing the defeat of his left wing, was bent on the destruction of the Athenians so he set moved out to pursue the Sciritae and Neodamodaeans with the Mantineans and Argossians. Broken Argossians and Athenians also withdrew. The Spartans, as always, did not pursue their enemies. Argossian losses were about 500 hoplites killed. Cleonaeans and Orneatae losses were about 100 hoplites. The Athenians lost about one out of every five and also all the strategists (Nicostratus, son of Diitrefa and Laches, son of Melanopa). The Mantineans had 200 hoplites missing. The losses of the Peloponnesian Alliance were approximately 300 hoplites (basically Neodamodaeans and Brasidians) killed. Scale: 1 figure=100 men. Conditions of a victory: Spartans lose as soon as the glory of one of their elite groups (except for the Sciritae) reaches 0. Argossians lose when the glory of one of the regiments in the centre and one of the flanks reaches 0. Argossian Union The Left Flank Athenians 1 Strategist (Laches, son of Melanopa) 3 Horse Scouts 9 Hoplite-veterans Cleonaeans and Orneatae 6 Hoplite-militia The Centre Argossians 1 Strategist 30 Hoplite-militia 9 Hoplite-veterans The Right Flank 10 Elite Hoplites Mantineans and other Arcadians 15 Hoplite-militia 15 Hoplite-veterans The Peloponnessian Union The Right Flank 2 Horse Scouts (Spartans) Tegeians 12 Hoplite-veterans Heraeans 9 Hoplite-militia Meanalii 6 Hoplite-militia The Centre Spartans (6 lochoi) 1 King (Agis, son Arkidama) 3 Flutists 32 Elite Hoplites The Left Flank Soldiers Brasida (Veterans of the campaign in Khalkidiki) 10 Hoplite-veterans Neodamodaeans (Released slaves - Iloty) 10 Hoplite-militia Lochoi of Sciritae (Spartans) 1 Flutist 6 Elite Hoplites More Mantinea 418 B.C. Part 1: Historical Research and Background Information Part 2: Scenario: The Battle of Mantinea Part 3: Battle Map Part 4: Another Mantinea Map: In Greek (slow: 118K) Back to The Gauntlet No. 22 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com