The year is 1,200 BC... the opponents are neighboring Mesopotamian kingdoms... the Keddites, led by Briam the Bloody, and the Challeans, headed by Gorbon the Ruthless. Obviously, these are not people you'd ordinarily want to mix with, or invite to your home. Briam's Keddites struck first. On his left flank, he had two heavy cavalry units, one of 4 stands, one of 3 stands. One of the phases in the sequence calls for the active side to 'brigade' his units in a block, or division... the division then acts as a single unit, one entity, adding the combat values of all of its component stands in melee. I had researched this division concept in the archives of the Centre For Provocative Wargaming Analysis... and come across an old, withered papyrus which spoke of ancient warfare and explained the brigading system. For my purposes, to brigade 2 units encompassed the following steps: a. First, the active side was given 3 points. b. Second, he diced to see how many of his points were required to link 2 units together in a division... it might take 1, 2, or all 3 of his points. If he was lucky, it would take only 1 point, and he could attempt to form several divisions, each of 2 units. c. Third, he selected the 2 units (there was a maximum of 2 in a division), and had them pass a "control" test (toss percentage dice less than 70). If he made the toss, the division was formed, if not, the units remained independent. Briam successfully brigaded his two heavy cavalry units, a combined total of 7 stands, into a division, and charged a heavy infantry unit of Gorbon's. Gorbon's Challeans hadn't had a chance to brigade anything... all of his units remained independent. The heavy cavalry division, at 10 Combat Points (CP) per stand, totaled 70 points. The defending heavy infantry unit of 3 stands (at 8 CP per stand) totaled only 24 points. The infantry called on a nearby 3-stand medium infantry unit for support. Each medium infantry stand contributed 6 points, hence added 3x6, or 18 points to the combat. This gave the heavy infantry a total CP of 24+18, or 42 points. Each side now added a percentage dice throw to its CP. Not surprisingly, with a bias of +28 points on its throw (70 - 42), the heavy cavalry's total exceeded the infantry's total. This result gave the Keddites complete control of the field on their left flank. Briam now hoped to do the same on his right flank. Fought Back But the Challeans fought back. In several combats between medium cavalry units, Gorbon's Challean cavalry, adding up their CP (each medium cavalry stand yielded 7 CP) and a dice toss, managed to exceed the totals of the Keddites, and so kept even. A key ploy in the game focused on a concept called "control", and the "control" function was pre-eminent in all phases of the battle. For this game, the control percentage was 70 for each side... a unit had to toss 70 or less on percentage dice to pass. For example, archers could normally fire only 'straight head' during the fire phase. If there was a target to the side, however, then by passing the control test, the unit could pivot and face the target before firing. Similarly, a unit could change formation only if it passed a control test. In another instance, a unit was required to move 'straight ahead' when the movement phase occurred... by passing a control test, it could pivot before moving. And the ubiquitous control test had to be passed before a unit could join up with another to form a division. An important use of the control function involved two opposing cavalry units, just about to join in melee. If a heavy cavalry unit charged down on a medium cavalry unit, could the medium cavalry evade? The answer was "yes"... if the medium cavalry passed what I termed a stress control test. Here, the normal control level of 70 percent was halved to 35... a percentage toss of 35 or under, and the medium cavalry escaped. By changing the control percentage, an army can be made to be as fluid or as stiff as desired. For my purposes, a value of 70 percent proved quite playable. Occasionally, a unit would foul up on its control test, and either Briam or Gorbon would grimace, but for the most part, units did as they were told. Another aspect of the rules concerned a 'challenge' to the opponent. Each time a side won a melee, it received 2 challenge tokens. There was a separate challenge phase in the sequence, and at this time, each side could gather its accumulated tokens and challenge one unit on the opposing side. This was done by first, selecting the enemy unit, and second, applying as many challenge tokens to it as desired. Not all accumulated tokens had to be used at once. The selected enemy unit then took a morale test. From its basic Morale Level (ML) of 80 percent, was subtracted -5 percent for every token applied. In the Keddite 2-unit heavy cavalry block, one of the units had 4 stands, the other had 3. It was obvious that the larger cavalry unit was a prime target for a challenge. It took a couple of bounds to gather up tokens, but during one challenge phase, the Challeans, having accumulated 4 challenge tokens, applied them all to the 4-stand cavalry unit. The resultant ML was 80, less the -20 supplied by the tokens, or 60 percent. The cavalry tossed their percentage dice... the result was a 73... and the unit fled the field, never to be seen again. This put a huge dent in Briam's left flank force. One challenge phase later, and Briam struck back... Gorbon's force was severely impacted... Gorbon had formed a brigade from two medium infantry units, a total of 6 stands. A challenge was applied to one of these units, and POOF!... it, too disappeared from the field. At this stage, Briam had two things going for him... first, a couple of his medium cavalry units, plus one of his heavy cavalry units, had penetrated Gorbon's line, and were diverting a major portion of Gorbon's attention from his front line to his back ranks. Second, Briam had a huge contingent of heavy infantry stands in the center of his battle line, all ready to form into one, or more,. brigades, and advance. Seeing this, Gorbon thought it was time to pick up his toys and return to Challea. I should note that this battle was a solo effort. The control parameter proved invaluable, for most of the time, it provided a check on the functions I asked the units of both sides to perform. Back to PW Review January 1998 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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