As a general rule, I don't like the way irregular ancient armies are dealt with in wargames rules. Using DBM, for instance, my Ancient British, Irish or Picts act like nothing so much as a Seven Years War army, marching across the table in steady linear formations with cavalry hovering obediently on the flanks. Does this sound like an army of Celtic individualists? Of course it doesn't! It doesn't FEEL right at all. Celtic armies should use impetuous rushes, preferably from cover, becoming quickly discouraged if defeated but impossible to control if successful. They should, above all, be UNPREDICTABLE. I determined to do something to make my Celts fight on the table like their flesh and blood ancestors did. My ideas were formed (you might say half-formed) with the British and Irish Celts in mind, but they should apply equally well to many another irregular army. ORGANISATION The first problem is that we know little about the way an ancient Celtic army was organised. The Celts themselves left no written record and the accounts of outsiders like Caesar or Tacitus are highly biased and often inaccurate. However, I think we can get some clues from the organisation of highland clan armies during the 17th and 18th centuries. If we can strip away some of the trappings of warfare as it was fought in these later eras, we have an example of armies from the same type of patriarchal, pastoral society that would have been familiar to the ancients. The basic unit of a Celtic army is the clan. All the warriors of the clan, from the richest to the poorest, would fight with their clan under the command of their clan chief, irrespective of how they are armed. There should be no massing together of similarly armed warriors from different clans into separate units. The richer men of the clan, the chief's family, gentlemen, duine-uasal or whatever you like to call them, will be the better armed, perhaps with sword, shield, javelins, etc. and perhaps a helmet. These would stand to the fore of the clan unit, around the chief, and would be the first into contact in a charge. They may also own a horse or a chariot and could be eager to strike out from the clan towards the enemy to show off their prowess. Behind the gentlemen would stand the middle classes; men slightly less well off, but still possessing weapons and having some practice in their use. At the rear of the warband are the poorer classes, the "humblies", with few weapons other than their agricultural implements but able to lend their weight to the charge. I imagine the clan unit to form a sort of amorphous blob, with the chief at the forefront and all others trying to get as close to him as possible, with the better classes getting first pick of a place to stand. Once moving, the blob becomes elongated with, once again, the duine-uasal staying closest to the chief and the others lagging behind a little. Men (or women, for that matter) from all classes would leave the ranks of the warband to get closer to the enemy. Gentlemen, mounted or on foot calling out a worthy individual from the enemy ranks to single combat or showing off from saddle or chariot. Younger warriors trying to gain renown by an act of bravery in sight of all their kin, or skirmishers, skilled in the use of sling or bow, getting in close to thin the enemy ranks. THE CHIEF At the heart of the clan is the chief. This gentlemen would be very narrow-minded, putting his own pride and that of his clan first under any circumstances. The wider considerations of the army or the country as a whole would take very much second place. He may be old, experienced and wily or young and impetuous. In later times, if the chief was old or infirm, or too young to lead the tribe in battle, they would be commanded by a hereditary deputy or captain. In ancient times, however, a chief who was unable to lead in person had to stand down in favour of the Tanist, his nominated successor, as a chief must be without blemish. The army may be made up of a number of such clan units, led by an appointed warleader. The warleader must have held his post by consent, as the clan chiefs would have followed his directions strictly on their own terms. If they didn't like the way he ran things, they could easily leave the army or simply ignore him and do things their own way. TO THE TABLE Can we recreate this sort of army on the wargames table? Well,here goes...... Imagine youself as a Celtic warleader, under whose leadership a number of clans have agreed to fight, e.g. Vercingetorix, Caradoc (Caratacus), Caswallon (Cassivellaunus), Boudicca, Calgacus. The number of clan units under your leadership should be decided at random by dice throw, as should the size of the individual clans. Say the army is made up of five to eight clan units. My armies are based up for DBM rules, i.e. warband on three figures to a base. I threw three D6 to determine the number of bases in each clan. The clan chief should be prominent. Each chief is given two factors, again randomly diced for on a D6, representing Impetuosity and Caution. Shuffle a pack of playing cards and deal one to each clan. Clans receiving the same suit are friends or traditional allies. Clans receiving the same value card in different suits are at feud with each other. Place your units on the table, and await the arrival of the enemy. BRING ON THE BARBARIANS! The Roman army enters from one table edge. Being barbarians, the Romans will show little originality in the way they deploy and their movements are easily predicted; legionaries in the centre, auxiliaries and cavalry on the flanks, skirmishers in front.(Yawn!) I use 2-3 four-figure bases to represent a cohort of legionaries or auxiliaries, and 2-4 three-figure bases to represent an Ala of cavalry. (N.B. despite what Caesar wrote, it is most likely that he outnumbered his Celtic opponents.) Work out two or three possible battle plans for the Romans, then dice for which one they use. TO BATTLE Now you can tell your clans what you want them to do. The orders (I should properly say requests - I thought of a "susceptibility to flattery" factor, but dismissed the idea!) should be fairly simple: "Defend this hill.", "Wait until the enemy reach the stream, then attack." - that sort of thing. In all the following circumstances, test the chiefs reaction: First sight of the enemy. First time enemy within charge reach. Enemy unit presents flank or rear. Orders are changed. Adjacent friendly unit changes orders. The chief's reaction is tested as follows: take two different coloured D6, naming one the impetuosity dice and the other the caution dice. Add the score thrown on the dice to the chief's factors. Add or subtract the following modifiers: +3 to either factor if you are present with the clan +1 to imp. factor if ordered to attack +1 to caut. factor if ordered to stand or retire. +1 to caut. factor if friend to flank falls back. -2 from caut. factor if enemy to front routs. +2 to imp. if friend to flank charges impetuously. +3 to caut. for each defeat in melee. If a double is thrown, (i.e. dice scores are equal) take an event card. Calculate the ratio of the resulting impetuosity to caution factors and cross reference on the following chart to the clan's current order. AD = Advance. Move towards nearest enemy. Charge when in reach. Impetuously/ Cautiously ORDER 3/1 2/1 3/2 1/1 2/3 1/2 1/3 Attack AI AI AI AD AC H R Advance AI AI AD AD AC H R Hold AI AD AC H H H R Outflank AI AI AD AC AC H R Retire AI AD H H R R R AI = Attack impetuously. Charge at nearest enemy to front, even if outside charge reach. AC = Advance cautiously. Move towards nearest enemy, but only charge exposed flank or rear. Try to move round nearest flank if enemy presents front. H = Hold. Remain stationary but may change front. R = Retire. Move towards own side of table. Break if charged. SKIRMISHING AND SHOWING OFF If the clan is in sight of the enemy, but is not charging, various individuals will move forward from the warband. 1 D6 chariots per clan 1 D6 skirmishers per 20 figures. 1 D6 cavalry per clan (Not Irish) Do not deduct equivalent numbers of figures from the warband - all these individuals will automatically rejoin their kinsmen if it charges or is charged. If the chief's impetuosity factor is 5 or 6, throw a further D6; if three or over, he will mount his own chariot and rush forward to show off. Each move, the chariots and/or cavalry of a clan will attempt a charge by throwing a 6 on a D6. (4,5 or 6 if led in person by the chief) They will only charge home if the target unit is shaken; otherwise the charge becomes a feint. MOVE DISTANCES (for 15mm) UNIT TERRAIN CHARGE IMPETUOUS CHARGE Normal Difficult Warband 4" 4" +2" +D6" Mounted men 6" 4" +2" +D6" Chariots 5" 2" +2" +D6" Skirmishers 6" 6" +2" +D6" Legionaries 2" 2" +2" +D6" Auxiliaries 4" 4" +2" +D6" Cavalry 4" 3" +2" +D6" SHOOTING Shooting range for bow or sling 3". Legionaries may throw pilum just before charge contacts. Front rank only may shoot. In all cases, throw a D10 per 2 figures shooting. 0 = a hit. STEADINESS When shot at or charged, a unit takes a steadiness test. A D10 is thrown. If the score is less than the units steadiness factor, it becomes shaken. A unit which fails two steadiness tests in succession will break and run. Veteran Roman Regulars: -1 Average Roman Regulars: 0 Raw Roman Regulars: 1 Celtic Warband and Mounted: 1 Skirmishers: 3 Modifiers +1 per shooting casualty. +1 if being charged +1 if unit on flank breaks MELEE Melee is adjudicated on a unit to unit basis, with clan warband, cohort or ala counting as a unit. If facing more than one opponent, a unit uses the same die throw against each, counting the worst result inflicted upon it. Melee factors. Legionaries 5 Auxiliaries 4 Warband 3 Cavalry 3 Chariots & mtd 2 Skirmishers 1 Modifiers +2 if charging impetuously. -2 if shaken -1 if stationary +2 if charging flank or rear. Dice throw: Irregulars: 1 = 2, 2 = 1, 3,4 = evens, 5 = +1, 6 = +2. Regulars: 1,2 = -1, 3,4 = evens, 5,6 = +1. If a units score is half that of its opponent, it will break. If its result is less than that of its opponent, it will fall back 1", shaken. If results are equal, both units stand. After two rounds of melee without their opponent breaking, any Celtic unit will break. CHANCE CARDS Make out two each of the following: 1 Chief attacks nearest clan with which he is at feud. 2 Chief moves to the side of nearest clan to which he is allied. 3 Chief calls out enemy officers to single combat. 4 Chief meets a "Bean-tuirm" (weeping woman). Bad omen. Double caution factor. 5 Chief has a vision of Epona, Horse Goddess. He leaps onto his chariot and speeds off towards enemy. 6 Chief's bard extemporises a song to his courage in battle. Double impetuosity factor. 7 Chief demands point of honour. He insists that his clan move onto your right wing. He will take them home if not allowed. 8 Chief calls a halt while his druids consult the auguries. No movement for two moves. 9 Chief has been suborned by the enemy. He takes his clan across to the other side. 10. Chief considers he is a better leader than you. His clan and any allies ignore the +3 for you being present during reaction tests. So there it is; my attempt to recreate the Celtic style of battle. As you may guess, the way to succeed is to predict what the clans will WANT to do, then order them to do it! Of course, the above ideas are geared towards ancient Celtic armies against the Romans, but a similar system may work equally well for other periods, e.g. Jacobites against Redcoats or North West Frontier Tribesmen against the British army. One word of warning, though - don't try this against a live opponent: he'll beat you to a pulp! Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #122 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Solo Wargamers Association. 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