This historical re-creation of the attack on Kush by the Shireyites, circa 2350 BC, took place on my ping pong table. The walls of Kush measured about 2 feet by 2 feet, and took up the center of the playing area. Kushite archers manned the walls, and kept up a fairly effective fire against the attacking Shireyhes.
In the town itself, there were some 5 or 6 medium and heavy infantry units. If the Shireyites threw up ladders to assault the walls, there was a 70 percent chance that one of these medium or heavy units would dash up on the walls, replace the archers, and engage in melee against the attackers. If the percentage dice toss failed, the archers themselves, as light troops, would have to face the assault.
I laid out the initial dispositions of both sides in ARMATI fashion. Arty Conliffe's ARMATI requires that the heavier units all be joined and placed in blocks, called 'divisions'. Under the ARMATI rules system, each division now advances as an entity; a unit within the division can be broken off only when the block contacts an enemy block. In such a case, the units in contact remain in place, whomping away at each other, and the remainder of the division proceeds on its way.
I gave the attackers 5 blocks, 5 divisions, ranging from 2 to 5 units each. The defending Kushites had 4 divisions. Missile units (archers and javelineers) were not part of the blocks; they were free to roam the field as desired.
I have always thought ARMATI was too restrictive in its requirement that units had to remain within a block. And so what I did was to give each division commander a number of "Break-off Points (BP)", which they could use to detach one or more of their units from the main block.
Initially, the average number of these BP was 3, and one additional BP was picked up on each bound. Each half bound, the active side diced to see how many BP were actually required to break off a unit. Depending upon the dice toss, the number of necessary BP ranged from I to 3. Which meant that on some turns, detaching a unit was an expensive function (3 BP required), while on others, it was fairly cheap (1 BP).
Around Turn #4, the central Shireyike block of some 4 units approached the walls of Kush, close enough to erect ladders. But before the units within the block could do this they had to be detached from the main division. Alas! When the Shireyite commander tossed his dice to determine how many BP were required to breakoff a unit, he discovered that 3 BP were necessary. This was going to be a very expensive operation.
The block's commander had a total of 6 BP, and all he could detach, therefore, were two of his units. All during the battle, the central division's commander suffered from poor dice tossing. His breakoff requirements always seemed to need 3 BP per unit, and when he did breakoff a unit and ordered it to erect a ladder, the men refused to obey.
At the wall, a percentage dice toss of 70 or less was required to erect a ladder. As I remember, the commander failed to toss below 70 some 5 out of 7 times. Only two ladders went up. And on the walls, the archers did a fine job of decimating the attacking ranks.
There were several ways for a stand to be destroyed:
- (a). First, when hit by missile fire, a stand was immediately placed in the Rally Zone, an off-board recovery zone from which, on the next bound, the stand could attempt to rejoin its unit. There was a 50 percent chance it recovered; if it didn't, it was removed from the battle.
(b). Second, in melee, when block met block, all of the stands' combat values in each block were totaled (heavy cavalry were 20 points each, medium infantry were 10, etc.), and each side referred to the following chart:
-------------------------------------------
No effect
Total Block Points -------------------------------------------
Destroy 1 enemy stand
1/2 Total Block Points -------------------------------------------
Destroy 2 enemy stands
-------------------------------------------
Thus if a block totaled 70 points, a toss of 35 or under resulted in 2 enemy stands destroyed. Note that in melee, stands were immediately destroyed, whereas when hit by missile fire, a stand was placed in the Rally Zone and given a second bite at the apple to return to the field.
(c). Third, we have the Big Whammo! In (a) and (b) above, whenever you did something bad to the opposition, you earned a Combat Point (CP). These CP's could be used by the active side to challenge one enemy unit by reducing its morale grade (all units commenced at a morale level of 85 percent), and forcing it to take a morale test. Each CP reduced the target unit's morale grade by 5 percent. Thus if 7 CP were played, the target unit's morale level would be reduced to 85-(7x5), or 50 percent. If the unit passed its morale test, all was well and good... if it failed, however, it fled the field, destroyed.
Around Bound #3 or 4, Fred Haub, one of the Kushite commanders, singled out a block of Shireyite cavalry, composed of three units, and focused on one of them: a 3-stand unit of Shireyite heavy cavalry. Fred devoted 6 CP to the challenge effort, reducing the heavy cavalry's morale level to 86-(6x5) or 55 percent. The heavy cavalry was quite up to the challenge, however, and passed the test.
Around Bound #7, Fred again challenged the heavy cavalry, which had caused him some grief during previous melee phases. This time, Fred took no chances... Fred devoted 17 of his accumulated CP (the Kushite's entire supply of CP) to produce a heavy cavalry morale level of 85-(17x5) or zero percent!! The heavy cavalry never stood a chance! Off they went, permanently depriving their division of their services.
After some 10 Bounds of so, the attacking Shireyites had to admit defeat. They had approached the walls of Kush, but failed to put up sufficient ladders to maintain an effective assault, and those troops that climbed the available ladders got beaten back... they never gained a foothold on the walls.
A week later, the Shireyites regained their lost honor. This was a battle fought on a rather flat plain, away from the walls of Kush. The Shireyites had divided their force into some 5 divisions; each of these divisions was smaller than those of the Kushites. There was some talk that, when block contacted block, the Shireyites would suffer because of their small size divisions.
Not true. Some good dice throwing during the melee phases, and the larger Kushite blocks were appropriately reduced. On my flank, for example, I commanded a block of Shireyite cavalry, one element of which was a powerful 4-stand unit of heavy cavalry. The Kushites, using their CP during the challenge phases, reduced the morale grade of this unit to 45 percent, and then, another time, to 15 percent.
My boys were up to it! Each time, they passed with flying colors... and each time they were challenged, they got angrier and angrier and fought more fiercely.
During the battle, the discussion centered on the disproportionate strength I had assigned the light infantry ... in particular, the light javelin-carrying troops. One of our Shireyite javelin units, for example, had held up a fairly huge Kushite unit of medium and heavy infantry for several bounds.
All at table-side agreed this was too much. Lights are lights and, as such, should have been simply swept back and sent to the rear by the advancing Kushite block. Permitting the javelineers to actually do battle with the enemy block was not (gulp!!) "realistic".
I tend to go from one extreme to the other in my treatment of light troops. In one set, I'll allow them superhuman powers... in another, they're feeble, powerless units.
Somewhere in the middle lies happiness... I haven't found it yet.
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© Copyright 1997 Wally Simon
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